Recent dry weather in Argentina gave momentum to wheat planting for the 2019-20 season, which began last week and would cover 6.4 million hectares, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said on Thursday. By Wednesday, farmers in Argentina, one of the top 10 wheat exporters in the world, had planted 7.7% of the planting area.
The grains exchange noted in its weekly crop report that Argentina's northeast farmlands "continue to face difficulties in planting due to excess water that could negatively impact the planting area this cycle if it continues during the month of June." The grains exchange said that 90.7% of the soyabean planting area for the 2018-19 had already been harvested. Production is expected to total 56 million tonnes.
Argentine producers have also harvested 37.4% of the commercial corn planting area for the 2018-19 season, which will produce a record harvest of 48 million tonnes, the grains exchange said. Argentina is the world's biggest exporter of soyameal livestock feed and soyaoil, as well as a major supplier of raw soyabeans, corn and wheat.