Argentine wheat exports could reach its lowest level in eight years in the 2022/23 campaign at just 6.5 million tonnes, due to the impact of a prolonged drought in the country, the Rosario grains exchange (BCR) said on Friday.

"It is likely that Argentina will run out of wheat exports relatively quickly," BCR said, saying it could be as early as February if its shipments follow the same pace seen in the last campaign.

Argentina is a major world exporter of wheat, but the lack of rains in its agricultural region has caused heavy crop losses.

BCR recently cut its total harvest estimate to just 11.8 million tonnes from the 19 million tonnes it forecast back in May.

The number is much lower than its record seen in the 2021/22 cycle, when the country harvested 22.1 million tonnes and exported 14.5 million tonnes, according to data from Argentina's Agriculture Ministry.

In November, the Argentine government authorized agro-export companies to reschedule grain sales for up to 360 days, fearing that both export and domestic demand could not be met due to the lack of grains.

Exporter companies have presented sworn statements of sales of 2022/23 wheat for almost 9 million tonnes, according to official data. These statements were made during the year, before the full impact of the drought that began in May was known. 

Source - https://www.agriculture.com