Paraguay books rare soybean cargo from Argentina

Paraguay was heard to have booked its first ever order of Argentine soybeans for 18,000 mt in an unprecedented move amid a sharp drought-related crop loss, trade sources told Agricensus Tuesday.

“This is the first ever time [that Paraguay has imported soybeans from Argentina] ... the situation is very difficult over there,” a South American trade source told Agricensus.

Paraguay is the fourth larger soybean exporter in the world, but the country has been severely hit by severe droughts over the past two seasons as a result of La Nina weather conditions, with the latest event badly impacting the country's 2021/22 soybean crop.

“It is a very unusual situation…against the flux from Up River,” soybean analyst at Brazil’s Agrinvest Commodities Eduardo Vanin told Agricensus.

“Paraguay has been having a hard time to honour soybean contracts,” head of the Latam grains sales desk at HedgePoint Global Maria Sol Arcidiácono said.

“Soybean crop losses are estimated at 50% in the country and, from the 50% that have been harvested, some 75% is under bad quality conditions… they need something to blend in order to increase quality somewhat,” Arcidiácono added.

Paraguay is forecast to produce 10 million mt of soybeans in the 2021/22 marketing year and to export 6.4 million mt of the oilseed according to USDA’s latest estimates that many expect will be downgraded on February 9.