Soybean sales in Argentina reach highest level in months

Argentine farmers sold 299,000 tonnes of soybeans on Nov 28, the highest volume in the last two months, thanks to the special exchange rate that the government established for the rest of the year to try to accelerate the inflow of foreign currency into the country, reported this Tuesday the Rosario Stock Exchange (BCR).

Argentina, the world’s largest exporter of soybean oil and meal, has been selling its soybeans since Monday at an exchange rate of 230 pesos to the dollar, 38% higher than the interbank rate that governed the market on Tuesday, which encouraged operations.

Soy complex exports are the main source of foreign exchange for the South American country, whose central bank is trying to bolster its foreign currency holdings, which have fallen sharply on uncertainty over the local currency amid high inflation and financial adversity.

“In total, 298,911 tonnes were operated on the first day of validity, the highest value since the end of the validity of the ‘soybean dollar 1’ in October”, said the BCR in a report, referring to the first time that the government gave a special exchange rate to encourage sales.

According to BCR, the reference value for Rosario, Argentina’s main grain market, was on Monday for soybeans at ARG$85,000 (US$509) a tonne.

During the month of September, those who sold their soybeans received an exchange rate of 200 pesos to the dollar, against the approximately 147 units at which the local currency was quoted on the official market. Argentina suffers from very high inflation that in 2022 could close at around 100%.

The September plan was very effective, as it boosted sales of around 13.3 million tonnes of soybeans, compared to a monthly average of 4.4 million tonnes.

According to the latest official weekly grain sales data, updated to November 16, producers sold almost 32 million tonnes of soybeans from the 2021/22 crop, whose production was 44 million tonnes.

That same report showed that between November 10th and 17th, producers had sold a total of 165,500 tonnes of 2021/22 soybeans, well below the nearly 300,000 reported on Monday.

With information from Forbes