Argentina Cuts Forecast for Farmland Planted with Soybeans by 2%, Says Grains Exchange

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Argentine farmland set aside for the country’s 2024/25 soybean crop is seen at 18.6 million hectares, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange (BdeC) said on Thursday, a cut of about 2% compared to a previous estimate of 19 million hectares.

The downward revision is due to an adjustment of the planted area from the South American country’s previous soybean crop based on an analysis of satellite images, the exchange said in its weekly crop report.

Argentina is one of the world’s top exporters of processed soybeans, as well as a major global supplier of corn and wheat.

The exchange noted that about 37% of the area set aside for Argentina’s 2024/25 corn crop, or 6.3 million hectares, has already been sown. Corn planting began in September.

The BdeC added that 89% of the area planted with corn is in “normal/excellent” conditions.

Meanwhile, the exchange estimated that about 12% of the 2024/25 wheat crop has already been harvested, with production forecast at 18.6 million metric tons.

(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by David Alire Garcia)