Argentina faces 'complex planting scenario' as wheat prices soar

With wheat prices skyrocketing due to Russia's assault on Ukraine, major producer Argentina faces its "worst planting scenario in 12 years" of the crucial grain, a major trade forum has said.

The Rosario Board of Trade said on Thursday the area planted with wheat in Argentina for the 2022-23 season would be a lower-than-expected 6.2 million hectares.

This was 700,000 hectares smaller than the preceding season, which yielded a record harvest of 23 million tonnes of wheat.

Argentina was the world's eighth-biggest wheat producer in 2021-22, according to figures from the United States Department of Agriculture.

And according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it was the seventh-largest exporter in 2021, behind Ukraine in sixth place.

'Complex planting scenario'

This year, Argentina faces "a very complex planting scenario" for wheat due to three successive years of drought caused by the La Nina weather phenomenon, said the board.

Last week, the FAO said wheat prices were up 5.6 percent in May from a month earlier and were 56.2 percent higher than a year ago.

This was the result of Russia's attack on Ukraine as well as an export ban announced by India – the eighth-largest wheat exporter in 2021.

The hottest March on record hit Indian harvests hard.

Ukraine's wheat harvest is expected to fall by 40 percent this season, according to the Ukrainian Grain Association.

The conflict has also disrupted deliveries of agricultural products from the country, fuelling concerns of a global food crisis.