Argentine ambitions of record corn seem bleak as BAGE lowers output forecast

Maize (Corn) Starch

Grains, Cereal & Legumes

Sustainability & Environmental Impact

Market & Price Trends

Published Mar 28, 2024

Tridge summary

The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange has lowered its forecast for Argentina's 2023-24 corn production to 54 million metric tons, down from an initial estimate of 56.5 million mt, due to a February heat wave and the spread of spiroplasmakunkeii disease. This revision places the expected yield below the 2018-19 record of 55.5 million mt and marks a significant recovery from the drought-affected 34 million mt harvest in 2022-23. Despite this adjustment, experts predict further reductions, with some estimates going as low as 52 million mt. Although this year's production represents a recovery, global factors like weak demand, large US stocks, and increasing Ukrainian supplies are likely to moderate the impact on corn prices.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange adjusted its forecast for Argentina 2023-24 corn production down to 54 million mt, reducing the prospects of a record output from what market experts were anticipating to be a super campaign. The reduction, announced on March 21, comes as an impact of the heat wave in Argentina during the month of February in the intermediate and late plantings, added to the increasing incidence and severity of spiroplasmakunkeii disease in the late plantings, “which will not allow achieving the production projection raised until last week.” BAGE had previously projected a record corn production at 56.5 million mt, compared with the drought-induced crop failure of 34 million mt in 2022-23. Market experts see no respite or recovery to Argentina’s corn campaign from here, which is anticipated to fall further. “The numbers are moving further and further away from the initial predictions of 56.5 million mt, and now, with this new number, we are below the record crop of ...

Source: Hellenic Shipping News