MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Latest storms and rainy weather could cost Argentina 3 million tons of soybeans

Soy beans suffer more than corn in wet fields

Argentina's crop of soybeans and cereals, and the country's main source of hard currency is threatened by the last few days storms of pouring rainfall, flash floods and mud slides that have punished at least seven provinces. Argentina is one of the world's main suppliers of grains.

 Farmers organizations estimate that the latest rainfall has meant the loss of at least a million tons of soybeans, particularly in the heartland of the country's best farmland hit by an average of 200mm rainfall in 72 hours.

According to the latest report from the Cereals Stock Exchange in Buenos Aires, until last Thursday, only 9.5% of land planted with 20 million tons of soy had been harvested, with an estimated loss of 525 million dollars.

“Rainfall at this time of the year, in full harvesting time is the worst thing that could happen” according to farm analyst Alejandro Ramírez.

“With rains every 72 hours, days are shorter, there's less sunlight and thus the fields and soil taken much longer to dry up”, explained Ramirez, who added that the roads' system leading to the farms is also important. “Maybe harvest equipment can start working, but trucks can't get to the fields because they are dirt roads, soft and swampy”.

The worst is for soy since it's a low plant, and beans need dry air and sun to ripen correctly, “but it's not that bad for corn that can stand ten, fifteen days while the soil dries”.

Ramirez said that in some areas of central Argentina such as the east of Cordoba and west of Santa Fe, “losses were already significant before this last downpour”, both in volume and yields, “which will be quite uneven because soy was exposed to drought and extreme hot temperatures last December and January”.

Private estimates were expecting a soy crop of 54 million tons this 2013/14; the Argentine government 55 million, “but taking into account what has happened this last week, it should be closer to 52 million tons”, concluded Ramirez.