Amid one of the worst droughts in recent history, the USDA attaché is projecting a much smaller than expected 2022-23 soybean crop in Argentina.
A report Tuesday from the Buenos Aires attaché of the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Services agency pegged Argentina’s crop at just 36 million tonnes, a whopping 9.5 million tonnes below the latest official USDA estimate released in January. If accurate, this year’s Argentine crop would fall almost 8 million or nearly 18% below the 2021-22 crop of 43.9 million, and even below the 2017-18 drought-battered crop of 37.8 million.
The report noted is the third year in a row with a dry La Niña influenced weather pattern for Argentina. As such, there was little soil moisture available during the optimum planting windows for soybeans in October, November, and December.