Argentina Weather Update: Rainfall Commences After Days of Hot Climate

Rainfall has begun in the agricultural belts of Argentina, in line with the industry forecast reports. The precipitation was reported in the middle of January onwards and scattered clusters, waves, and batches of moisture have been around since then.

There are reports of rainfall totaling 30 to 75 millimeters (1.2 to about 3 inches) in the crop sown areas. Argentina's main crops include soybeans, indigenous cattle meat, wheat, maize, whole fresh cow milk, grapes, indigenous chicken meat, sunflower seed, sugar cane and apples.

Grains and cereals are part of major diets in Argentina, and these staple foods are the base of bread, pasta, muesli which are essential preparation for the daily meals. Grains and cereals are also used as animal feed for cattle, chickens, fish and pigs. Additionally, these commodities namely maize and soybean are an important part of the economy for Argentina, as their export share is very high in the agricultural segment. The area of Argentinean land devoted to soybean cultivation is expected to continuously increase in the present decade which covers 16 million hectares of land.

Besides being one of the main global producers of soybean, Argentina produces over six million tons of soybean oil per year, which makes it the third-largest producer of edible oil globally. Reports say that the Argentine grains market is expected to register a CAGR of slightly above 6 percent between 2020 and 2025.

Rainfall has commenced with lower temperatures. After days of higher temperature, often above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) across most areas of the country, the readings have ranged lower between 21 and 29 C (70 to 85 F) of late, except in far northern areas which are yet to receive the rainfall. Market sources have conveyed that there are signs of early planted crop damage in few regions. Between 2018 and 2021 the soybean crop production of Argentina has averaged between 46 and 50 million metric tonnes.

For the same period, corn production of Argentina has ranged between 50 and 55 million metric tonnes. The annual crop yield of soybean in Argentina is expected to increase by roughly 54 percent between 2017 and 2029. On the other hand, industry forecasts have indicated that production of corn in this South American nation will increase until 2029, and can reach around 64 million tons.