Argentine farmers sold 24.5 million tons of 2020/21 soybeans, government says

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentine farmers have sold 24.5 million tons of soybeans for the 2020/21 season after transactions were recorded in a week of 831,300 tons, the Ministry of Agriculture said Tuesday in a report with data updated through July 7.

According to official information, the pace of sales of the main crop in Argentina is lower than the previous crop, when by the same date, sales of 26.9 million tons of the oilseed had been recorded.

Argentina’s 2020/21 soybean crop ended last month at 43.5 million tons, according to the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange (BdeC), which for the 2019/20 season estimated production was 49 million tons.

Argentina needs foreign exchange from exports to boost its battered economy, which has been going through a period of stagflation for two years, made worse by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, sales of 2021/22 soybeans have already been recorded at 1.1 million tons, down from 1.2 million tons simultaneously in the previous cycle. Sowing of the next season starts in October.

Regarding corn, the government said that sales of the grain for the 2020/21 season were recorded at 32.7 million tons, about 2.3 million tons more than those recorded on the same date in the previous season.