Argentina corn harvest at 6.7% of planted area amid water stress in late crop

New Delhi — Corn harvest in Argentina advanced to 6.7% of the planted area of 6.3 million hectares as of Wednesday, the Buenos Aires Exchange said in a report Thursday.

About 3.8 million mt of corn has been harvested as of Wednesday. The exchange has maintained Argentina's corn production at 50 million mt for 2019-20 as compared to 50.6 million mt in 2018-19.

While the yield of early planted corn crop has been good so far, the northwest region requires more rains for the crop to achieve good yields as water level in reservoirs is below the required level, the report said.

Water reserve level are also very tight in Cordoba and corn crops are developing under uneven moisture conditions in Central-eastern area of Entre Rios, the report said.

Moreover, high temperature in the Northeast region of Argentina is causing water stress among crops, the report said.

Argentina is the third largest exporter of corn in the world.

The country is likely to export 33.5 million mt of corn in 2019-20, which refers to the period March 2020-February 2021, as compared to the estimated 37 million mt in 2018-19, according to the US Department of Agriculture.