La Nina develops in Pacific Ocean, likely to last until at least 2020 end

New Delhi — La Nina has developed in the Pacific Ocean, upgrading to an active event from a La Nina alert status, and is likely to remain until at least the end of this year, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology announced on Sept. 29.

The expected development of a moderate La Nina could result in prolonged dryness and warmer temperatures across some of the largest grain producing countries globally, Kyle Tapley, senior agricultural meteorologist with weather agency Maxar, had said Sept. 17.

Generally, Southeast Asia, South Africa, India, and Australia receive above-normal rainfall in event of a La Nina event, and drier weather is seen in Argentina, Europe, Brazil, and the southern US.

La Nina is associated with cooler than average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

Currently, Argentina's wheat crop is already hit by dry weather in many parts of the country and many analysts have predicted yield to drop this season.

If the dry weather conditions persist, this would further hamper corn planting in the country that has already begun.

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

Moreover, soybean planting in Argentina also typically starts in October and second planting can be taken until January.

Forecasts by commodity exchanges have already indicated that production of wheat and corn in 2020-21 in Argentina is likely to be lesser than the previous year.

Argentina is one of the largest exporters of some key agricultural products such as soy meal, edible oils, and corn.