Foreign media, October 26 news: Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture released a report showing that soybean sales by Argentine farmers increased slightly, but overall sales continued to lag the same period last year.

As of October 19, Argentine farmers had sold 30.959 million tons of 2021/22 soybeans, up 165,000 tons from a week earlier and lower than the 32.659 million tons sold in the same period last year.

For comparison, weekly sales in the first two weeks of October were 55,000 and 376,000 tons of soybeans, respectively. 1.787 million tons of soybeans were sold in the week ended Sept. 28, as the Argentine government offered farmers a special exchange rate of 200 pesos per dollar in September to encourage faster soybean sales and boost 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 44 million tons in October.

Due to high inflation in Argentina, which is likely to be close to 100% this year, and the continued depreciation of the currency, farmers in Argentina are reluctant to sell soybeans as a hard currency against a weaker peso.

Argentine farmers get peso income from selling soybeans, so the devaluation of the peso means it is more cost-effective to hold soybeans than to hold the peso.

In addition, Argentine farmers have pre-sold 1.626 million tons of 2022/23 soybeans, an increase of 117,000 tons from a week ago and down from 2.441 million tons in the same period last year.

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange forecasts Argentina’s 2022/23 soybean production at 48 million tonnes. The USDA in October projected Argentina’s 2022/23 soybean production at 51 million tons.