Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina’s Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday that soybean planting had progressed very smoothly over the past week, following abundant rainfall across key parts of the major grains supplier’s agricultural heartlands.
Argentina is the world’s top exporter of soybean oil and meal, and its farmers have already planted some 20.1 per cent of an expected 18.6 million hectares (46 million acres) this season, the exchange said, marking a rapid 12.2 percentage point increase over the last week.
“Optimal surface moisture has allowed early soybean planting to progress smoothly over both key agricultural hubs,” the exchange said in a weekly report.
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The report was published a day after the Rosario grains exchange edged up its forecast for the country’s soy output to 53-53.5 million metric tons from a prior forecast of 52-53 million tons.
Regarding the nation’s corn farming, the Buenos Aires exchange said farmers had planted some 38.6 per cent of an expected 6.3 million hectares (15.6 million acres), while wheat farmers had sowed 17.2 per cent of an expected 18.6 million hectares of wheatfields.
Argentina is the world’s third-largest corn exporter and a key global supplier of wheat.
— Reporting by Maximilian Heath
