Argentina farmer sales nearly treble during week govt takes power

Argentine farmers continued to sell wheat, corn and soybeans at accelerated levels in the run-up to the new populist government taking hold on December 10, with sales almost three times higher during that week than the equivalent week in 2018.

Both farmer sales and export registration far outpaced last year’s levels during the week up to December 11.

Farmer selling totalled 5.8 million mt of both old crop and new crop soybeans, corn and wheat.

That compares with 1.75 million mt in the same week last year.

And licences to export 2.7 million mt of those crops were applied for, compared with just 500,000 mt last year.

Farmers have been accelerating crop sales since August, when a primary election showed that the centre-left Frente de Todos coalition, which had favoured higher export taxes, was likely to take office on December 10.

The new government announced a proposal to hike taxes this week.

The figures mean that a total of 43.6 million mt of wheat, corn and soybeans have been sold of the new crop, compared with just 17.6 million mt at this point last year.

Both crops are expected to be a similar size.

Corn

Sales totalled 1.76 million mt, more than double the 800,000 mt sold forward at this point last year.

Around 1 million mt was for new crop to be delivered from April next year, more than 10 times the amount sold in the same week a year earlier, while old crop sales were just marginally higher at 750,000 mt versus 698,000 mt.

In terms of export licences, 1.2 million mt of corn was applied for versus nothing last year for new crop, and for old crop just 53,000 mt versus 261,000 mt a year earlier.

Soybeans

Farmer sales accounted for 2.7 million mt versus 300,000 a year earlier.

New crop totalled 1.66 million mt versus 120,000 mt a year earlier and old crop totalled 1 million mt versus 187,000 mt.

In terms of export licences, 440,000 mt was applied for versus nothing last year for new crop and for old crop just 30,000 mt versus zero a year earlier.

Wheat

Farmer sales accounted for 1.32 million mt versus 640,000 mt a year earlier.

New crop totalled 1.3 million mt versus 611,000 mt a year earlier and old crop totalled 34,000 mt versus 29,000 mt.

In terms of export licences, 925,000 mt was applied for versus 291,000 mt nothing last year for new crop.

Nothing for old crop was applied for either this year or last.