MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina expects a 19 million tons 2021/22 wheat harvest, with 12 million tons for export

This has been a good season for Argentine corn, with shipments totaling some 33 million tons out of a total harvest of 48 million tons

Argentine wheat exports should reach 12 million tons in the 2021/22 winter harvest, according to a new estimate released by the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange. If confirmed, the volume, the highest since 2016/17, will be 26.3% above this season's production.

The increase is mainly due to the expectation of production growth, projected at 19.15 million tons, compared to 17 million in 2020/21. In this scenario, the internal wheat milling should also grow in 2021/22, by 8.3%, and reach 6.5 million tons. This also means the country will have a larger than usual surplus for export.

Also according to the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange, corn shipments from Argentina totaled 36.26 million tons in the 2019/20 cycle, down 3% compared to the previous crop year. Grain processing for bio-fuel production also contracted, from 1.55 million tons in 2018/19, to 1.1 million tons in the season just ended. This was mainly because of import tariffs controversies with the EU and the US.

Argentina also destined an additional 1.3 million tons of corn for animal feed, and the total volume reached 11.8 million tons. Argentina produced 51.5 million tons of corn in the 2019/20 harvest. The market’s initial estimate for Argentine corn exports in 2020/21 is 33 million tons from a harvest of 48 million tons. Brazil has become a major buyer of Argentine corn to feed its rodeo, pig industry and poultry since the country has been ravaged by drought.