Foreign media November 16 news: Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture released a report showing that the soybean sales of Argentine farmers continued to lag the same period last year.

As of November 9, Argentine farmers had pre-sold 1.866 million tons of 2022/23 soybeans, an increase of 65,000 tons from a week earlier and down from 3.136 million tons in the same period last year.

The USDA in November projected Argentina’s 2022/23 soybean production at 49.5 million tons, down from an October forecast of 51 million tons. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange forecast soybean production at 48 million tonnes.

As of November 9, Argentine farmers had sold 31.78 million tons of 2021/22 soybeans, up 249,000 tons from a week earlier and lower than the 34.11 million tons sold in the same period last year.

For comparison, the weekly sales volume on November 2 was 248,000 tons, and the weekly sales in October were 323,000 tons, 165,000 tons, 55,000 tons and 376,000 tons respectively.

For comparison, 1.787 million tons of soybeans were sold in the week ended September 28, because in September the Argentine government provided farmers with a special exchange rate of 1 US dollar to 200 pesos to encourage faster soybean sales and increase the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange forecasts Argentina’s soybean production to reach 43.3 million tonnes in 2021/22. The U.S. Department of Agriculture projected Argentina’s soybean production at 43.9 million tons in November, down from its October forecast of 44 million tons.

The Argentine Finance Minister announced on September 4 that from September 5 to 30, the settlement exchange rate for soybean farmers in Argentina to sell soybeans was 200 pesos per US dollar, instead of the official 140 pesos, prompting farmers to sell soybeans actively.

Previously, due to high inflation in Argentina (which may be close to 100% this year) and the continued depreciation of the currency, Argentine farmers were reluctant to sell soybeans, using soybeans as a hard currency against a weakening peso. Because Argentine farmers sell soybeans for peso income, the depreciation of the peso means it is more cost-effective to hold soybeans than to hold the peso.