Unprecedented drought could knock US$25 billion off Argentina’s crop

By Artur Piva

An unprecedented drought could knock US$25 billion off Argentina’s crop this year.

The drought and the “lack of prospects are decreasing for harvest estimates month by month,” explained Martín Polo, chief strategist at Cohen Consulting.

According to Polo, the drought is a negative shock that complicates the delicate balance of the local economy.

“With the high temperatures and lack of rain in March, harvest forecasts have been corrected downwards again,” he commented.

According to the specialist’s estimate, the combined harvest of the three main grains in the country (corn, soybean, and wheat) will decrease by about 40% over the previous year.

Thus, the Argentine harvest of these grains would fall to 73 million tonnes.

“The wheat harvest is set at 12.9 million tonnes, 42% less than the previous cycle, and estimates for corn and soybeans have fallen to 35 million tonnes and 25 million tonnes, respectively, which implies a 40% over last year’s harvest.”

With these results, the revenue from the harvest will be around US$28 million.

That is: around US$25 million less than last year.

Thus, the loss should reduce the revenue from the Argentinean harvest by half.

With information from Revista Oeste

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