Argentina’s Soy Harvest Stalls After Rains, Meteorologist Says

By Maximilian Heath

BUENOS AIRES, May 6 (Reuters) – Argentina’s already-delayed soy harvest has stalled further, a meteorologist said on Tuesday, following heavy rains and high humidity in the nation’s main agricultural regions.

Harvesting in Argentina, the world’s largest exporter of soybean oil and meal, had already fallen behind after rains in March and early April.

“The harvest has stopped,” German Heinzenknecht, a consultant with Applied Climatology Consulting, said in an interview.

According to the expert and data from the national meteorological service, Argentina’s grains belt received between 30 millimeters (1.18 inches) and 50 millimeters of rain over the past several days, ending a streak of sunny days which had allowed many farmers to start up their combines for the first time this season.

The delays could hurt the crop, with the high moisture increasing the risk of fungus.

Heinzenknecht said that the harvest could restart on Saturday.

The harvest is nine percentage points behind last season’s pace, with 25% of the area already harvested, the latest data from the agricultural ministry showed.

Sales Rebound

Sales of the crop fell to their slowest pace in 11 years in April as a result of the rains and industry uncertainty following the lifting of capital controls, which affected exchange rates.

They picked back up by the end of the month, hitting their highest weekly pace of the season with 1.21 million metric tons of the crop sold, government data showed on Tuesday.

Sales typically tick up this time of year, with farmers needing the funds to start wheat planting.

The boost is good news for the government of libertarian President Javier Milei, which has pushed for farmers to sell their crops to exporters.

Argentina charges high rates on sales of soy and soy products abroad, relying on the foreign currency they bring in to prop up the weakened economy.

Still, sales remain behind schedule, with just over 26% of an estimated 49 million tons sold.

(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Nia Williams)