Argentina's 2021-22 corn output estimate cut to 49 mil mt, down 2 mil mt: BAGE

Argentina's corn production estimate was cut to 49 million mt for MY 2021-22, down 2 million mt from the previous forecast, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said.

Argentina, the third-largest exporter of corn, produced 52.5 million mt of corn in MY 2020-21, according to BAGE.

The 2021-22 corn crop will be marketed from March 2022 to February 2023.

The country's first corn crop was hit by the lack of rains, especially in January, BAGE said

BAGE said the country's corn output for 2021-22 estimate was cut due to lower-than-expected yields so far from the harvested fields.

Harvesting of corn in Argentina reached 10.1% of the total planted area of 7.3 million hectares, and 4.16 million mt of corn collected as of March 22, BAGE said March 23.

In Argentina, early corn is usually planted September-October and harvested April-May, while the late corn crop is sown December-January and harvested June-July.

The downward revision in corn production for the South American nation comes at a time when the risks to supply from the Black Sea region have heightened following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both major suppliers of grains and oilseeds.

Corn marketing by producers in the country has also picked up with sales touching nearly 1.2 million mt for the week ended March 16 and 1.1 million mt in the previous week.

Farmers in the country have marketed 18.83 million mt of 2021-22 corn as of March 16, compared with 19.56 million mt a year ago, the agriculture ministry data showed.