Argentina raises record of wheat exports to 10 million tons

Buenos Aires, 19 Mar Argentina announced this Saturday the opening of the export registry for 8 million tons of wheat for the 2022/23 season, adding up to 2 million tons previously enabled, in a context of rising international prices due to the war in Ukraine and when it foresees “a record harvest”. “We have decided, in order to capture the international prices of this historical juncture, of prices that are historic, to open export records for the 22/23 harvest for a total of 8 million tons of wheat, which are in addition to the 2 million tons already authorized,” said the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Argentine, Julián Domínguez, at a press conference. With this decision, Alberto Fernández's government intends to “give producers predictability for the next wheat sowing and achieve a new production record,” Domínguez said. “We hope that the 22/23 harvest will be a new production record in Argentina,” Domínguez said. The measure to enable wheat exports totaling 10 million tons is part of the sharp rise in international prices of grains and derivatives since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, two major agricultural producers and exporters worldwide, which has also raised the cost of fertilizers and phytosanitary. “The Argentine producer did not capture the war price,” said Domínguez based on export records, who said he has to take on the new harvest “with much higher fertilizer and phytosanitary prices.” Argentina, which in 2020 was the seventh exporter of wheat in the world, has already sold almost all the wheat to be exported in the 2021/22 season for 13.9 million tons, according to data from the Rosario Stock Exchange. CHIEF vd/laa