Argentina wheat crop forecasts cut again as drought hardens

Argentina’s two major grains exchanges cut their forecasts for the upcoming wheat harvest on Thursday as drought and low temperatures hit the crop, with little relief in sight for key farming regions and scant rains forecast in weeks ahead. A senior analyst at the key Rosario grains exchange, Cristian Russo, told Reuters that the 2022/23 wheat harvest would likely come in at 16 million tonnes, a 500,000-tonne cut from the entity’s previous formal forecast. A separate 2022/23 wheat crop estimate also issued on Thursday, from the Buenos Aires grains exchange, forecast a harvest of 16.5 million tonnes, down from the exchange’s prior forecast of 17.5 million tonnes. Argentina is a major exporter of wheat and its role in global markets has come into greater focus amid a worldwide supply crunch linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both countries are major wheat producers. The Rosario exchange wheat forecast would mark Argentina’s smallest crop in seven years and far below last year’s ...