The core region’s wheat exceeded initial expectations and contributed 7 million tons to the Argentine harvest, according to estimates from the Rosario Stock Exchange (BCR).
The last rains and the state-of-the-art technological package used by the producers allow to sustain the yields, in a scenario with very good prices for cereal, both internationally and locally.
In that area, comprised by the north of Buenos Aires and the south of Santa Fe and Cordoba, 5% of the implanted area has been harvested so far. But, according to the entity, the yields “reflect better results than expected, with an investment in fertilization that made the difference.”
In the south-central part of Santa Fe, the harvest began, with yields that presented a floor of 4,500 kilos per hectare, reaching ceilings of up to 7,000, a performance that is equated with the cereal of the southeast of Buenos Aires.
In addition to the weather and the rains that arrived at the right time, fertilization is the other variable that allows to sustain the very good wheat projections. The commercial pre-campaign of grain Fines was intense both for this crop and for barley and producers took advantage (at sowing time, in winter) of the favorable relationship between inputs and products.
Projections for the fine crop move in time with the weather. The latest private estimates mark a floor of 20 million tons, but there is still much to be threshed and the cereal from the southeast of Buenos Aires will finish tipping the balance. Beyond some specific frosts that were registered in that region, a very good level of yields is expected.
The current ones prices International markets, which reached close to USD300 per ton, allow us to anticipate a record inflow of foreign currency for this value chain, which will begin to flow from next month and will be a relief for the fiscal coffers.
With a floor of 20 million tons, the exportable balance will be between 13 and 13.5 million, which between November and December will generate foreign exchange for USD630 million, according to the estimates of private analysts. Exporters took note of this firmness in the prices and they acquired 9 million tons of the cereal of the current campaign, a figure that doubles the purchases compared to the same period of 2020.
Globally, shipments of wheat from 2021-2022 will add up to USD4.3 billion, which in terms of export rights represent USD510 million.
The prices Locals also play strong in the business.
During the first fortnight of November, the Rosario Stock Exchange highlighted that prices of the cereal were traded between USD240 and USD245, the highest price registered since 2013.
By Andrs Lobato
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