BCR raises Argentina’s 2021-22 corn output to 49.17 mil mt, up 1.5 mil mt

Argentina’s corn production estimate has been revised upward to 49.17 million mt in 2021-22 from 47.7 million mt, the Rosario Grains Exchange, known as BCR, said in a report April 20.

This comes after a fresh survey revealed that the planted area was higher than the initial estimates, according to the report.

The 2021-22 corn crop will be marketed from March 2022 to February 2023.

The BCR has pegged Argentina’s total corn crop area at 8.42 million hectares for 2021-22, up from the previous estimate of 7.96 million ha.

“There was no doubt that corn sowing was a record, but growth was estimated at 8% year on year. However, new data and analysis with satellite images are proving that it was much more: Argentina’s (corn) area grew 14% compared to the 2020-21 cycle,” the report said.

Although corn area in 2021-22 is higher than the last year’s level of 7.3 million ha, production is expected to be lower on the back of inadequate rainfall causing damage to the early corn crop and recent frost, which is expected to hit the late-planted corn crop.

The corn harvest in the country so far continues to show lower values for the early corn crop. As corn crops in the south of Cordoba, La Pampa, and San Luis were hit severely by frost, yields are likely to be down, the BCR said.

Argentina, one of the top three exporters, produced 52 million mt of corn in 2020-21, according to the BCR.

Argentina remains a crucial supplier of the cereal as the global buyers wait for the new corn crop from Brazil, the second-largest exporter, to hit the market in July.

In the US, which is the top exporter of corn, farmers are currently focusing on corn planting, and the marketing activity takes a back seat usually around this time.

Tags: corn, estimate, Production, crop, planted area, Argentina