Argentina’s Jan-Oct corn exports hit 34.5m mt record: chamber

Argentina has exported a record 34.5 million mt of corn in the January-October period, up 10% compared with the same period of 2019, a study by the Cordoba Grain Exchange has found.

The chamber noted that the value of corn exports in the period reached $5.56 billion, up 8% year-on-year, with Vietnam the biggest customer taking 22% of corn exports in the period, followed by Egypt with 10% and Algeria with 9%.

“The average price of the cereal during the first ten months of 2020 was $162 per mt, the lowest value in the last 13 years, decreasing 2% compared to 2019 and $8 below the average of the last five years,” the chamber said.

According to Agricensus data, the FOB Up River complex averaged $168.42/mt between January and October. 

In the wheat segment, the country exported 9.5 million mt in the first ten months of the year, surging 11% compared to an 8.5% increase in the January-October period of 2019.

Brazil accounted for 41% of total wheat exports in the period. Other key export markets were Indonesia (23%), Bangladesh (6%) and Thailand (5%).

The study also highlighted that the contribution of Brazil in the wheat export market declined from 95% in 2014, as the export markets for Argentine wheat diversified in recent years.

In the soybean segment, exports in the January-October period amounted to 32 million mt, down 13% year-on-year, while the value of exports totaled $12.3 billion, a decline of 7% versus the same period of 2019.

“Both soybean and soymeal presented decreases... On the other hand, soyoil exports increased 3% compared with the same period of 2019,” the chamber said.

The study showed that soymeal exports accounted for 54% of the soybean complex’s overall exports in the period, followed by soyoil, with 27% and soybean, with 19%

“China absorbed 81% of soybean exports, while India and Egypt led the demand for soybean oil. Soymeal has a more diversified market, exporting mainly to Vietnam and Indonesia, which accounted for 17% and 8% of sales, respectively.”

Argentina is heavily reliant on revenues raised from grain exports as the main source of US dollars, which are key to boosting the reserves of the country’s Central Bank.

In related news, on December 2 the Agriculture Ministry issued a resolution obliging grain exporters to sell in the local foreign exchange market the US dollars obtained through the sale of grains within a 15-day period, in line with the Central Bank’s current regulations.

In the resolution, the ministry stated that those grain exporters failing to fulfill with these regulations could lose its grain export registry.

The ministry said it will exchange information with the Central Bank to oversee the fulfillment of the regulation.

An industry source told Agricensus that the measure would not have a negative impact in the grain export sector but stressed that the regulation should be implemented in an impartial way.