A most unusual low water level of the Paraná river has caused losses of nearly US$ 280 million so far in 2022 to Argentine rural producers and exporters, it was reported.
Argentine farmers, anxious about an increasingly murky political outlook and economic turmoil, are turning toward soy over more expensive corn to cut costs, a shift that could impact next season’s harvest in one of the world’s top grain exporters.
If trade strife continues between the United States and Mexico despite a deal struck on Friday, Argentine grain exporters are ready to step in to meet Mexican food demand, the head of an Argentine industry chamber said.
Argentine farm exports rocketed 68% higher in the first quarter compared to the same 2015 period, thanks to new policies that prompted growers to sell stockpiles built up under the previous administration, the government announced.
The Argentine Central Bank, starved of dollars and declining international reserves started to trade new short-term dollar-denominate bonds in order to encourage the farm sector to sell the crops they are still holding on to. It is estimated that over 3bn dollars in mainly soybeans remain in the hands of farmers and cereal exporters.