Argentine farm exports brought in some $743.5 million in October, a 25% fall from the same month last year, an industry group said on Wednesday, confirming the impact of drought and election-related market conditions.
The combined oilseed industry and grains export chambers CIARA-CEC said that exports in the first ten months of the year were down 50%, or about $17.5 billion, from the same period in 2022.
Argentina is the top global exporter of processed soy oil and meal, the No. 3 for corn and a major producer of wheat. A historic drought hammered crops over the last year, and dry conditions are still affecting crops in parts of the country’s farming heartland.
“October’s foreign currency inflow is the result of the drought, which has generated losses of available grain stock, as well as an electoral process that always conditions the grain market,” explained CIARA-CEC.
The chamber estimates that the remaining coarse grain harvest will restrict port terminal operations and the soybean crushing industry in the upcoming months.
With central bank reserves dwindling, Argentina’s government has repeatedly pushed for a special exchange rate for exporters to speed up their grains sales, the main source of the South American country’s foreign currency income.
Last year, grain and oilseed exports, including biodiesel, constituted 48% of Argentina’s total exports, according to data from the national statistics agency.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
