May 17, 2023

2022/23 Argentina Corn 21.2% Harvested vs. 31.7% Average

Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.

Corn in Argentina has handled the adverse weather this growing season better than the soybeans and my estimate of 35.0 million tons is in the middle of the pack. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange left the corn estimate unchanged last week at 36.0 million tons. The Rosario Exchange left the corn estimate unchanged at 32.0 million tons. The USDA left the corn estimate unchanged at 37.0 million tons.

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange estimates that 109,000 hectares of corn will be abandoned (270,000 acres) due to the drought, which would equate to approximately 1.5% depending on the starting acreage.

Corn in Argentina was 21.2% harvested as of late last week compared to 25.8% last year and 31.7% average. This represents an advance of 1.5% for the week. In the core production areas, the corn is 65-70% harvested, while the corn is 15-30% harvested in southern Argentina and 0% harvested in far northern Argentina. The early planted corn is 46% harvested, while the later planted corn is 2.5% harvested.

Of the corn harvested thus far in Argentina, the average yield is 4,540 kg/ha (72.1 bu/ac). In the northern core area, the corn is averaging 3,940 kg/ha (62.6 bu/ac), while in the southern core, the corn is averaging 5,060 kg/ha (80.4 bu/ac). In southern Argentina the corn was impacted by drought and frost and in central Buenos Aires, the corn is averaging 4,300 kg/ha (68.3 bu/ac) and in western Buenos Aires, the corn is averaging 5,000 kg/ha (79.6 bu/ac).

In far northern Argentina, the corn harvest has not started, but farmers are anticipating higher corn yields, maybe as high as 6,500 kg/ha (103 bu/ac).

Below is the corn harvest progress in Argentina (black line) from the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange.

map

The corn in Argentina was rated 55% poor/very poor, 43% fair, and 2% good/excellent as of late last week. The good/excellent percentage was down 2% from the prior week. The soil moisture for the corn was rated 49% short/very short and 51% favorable/optimum. The favorable/optimum increased 1% from the prior week.

Below is the corn condition rating in Argentina from the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange for May 11, 2023.

map

2022/23 Argentina Corn Ratings*


ConditionSoil Moisture
Poor/V. Poor %Good/Excellent %Short/V ShortFavorable/Optimum
Apr. 5, 2023 52 (24) 7 (21) 45 (19) 55 (81)
Apr. 12, 2023 53 (22) 6 (20) 46 (13) 54 (84)
Apr. 20, 2023 54 (23) 6 (18) 45 (13) 55 (86)
Apr. 27, 2023 52 (22) 5 (18) 49 (16) 51 (83)
May 4, 2023 54 (24) 4 (16) 50 (21) 50 (78)
May 11, 2023 55 (24) 2 (17) 49 (26) 51 (73)

*Source: Buenos Aires Grain Exchange – Crop Condition & Development Stages