Russia’s war on Ukraine has sent grain prices skyrocketing — a worry for consumers worldwide but potentially a boon for producers like Argentina, which hopes an influx of soybean “agridollars” will boost its faltering economy. South America’s third-largest economy is the biggest exporter of soybean meal and oil in the world, and only the United States and Brazil export more soybean grains.
Soy represents nearly a third of Argentina’s exports and in 2021 contributed $9-billion to the state coffers. This year, the sector is expecting record sales of $23.7 billion about $700 million more than in 2021 despite a 10 percent smaller harvest due to severe drought.
“The prospects for the producer are good… There is optimism,” said Martin Semino, who sells farming equipment and presides over the Rural Society of Lobos, a fertile agricultural zone southwest of Buenos Aires.
The harvest season is at its height, and workers are laboring from dawn to dusk to clear the fields before the autumn rains arrive. Soy is the dollar, the currency of the countryside,” Semino told AFP. In the past, the grain has been a savior for inflation-troubled Argentina.
A soybean boom in the 2000s is widely considered to have helped the country recover from its worst economic crisis in 2001. In the last 40 years, the planted surface area of soy has multiplied 14 times.
Argentina is also a major producer of sunflower oil and wheat — other grains affected by the ongoing war.
After a record sunflower harvest of 3.4 million tonnes in 2021-2022, the area under cultivation is set to increase by 17 percent this season to two million hectares (4.9 million acres). The country also had a record wheat harvest this season.
Source: eNCA
In other news – Bahumi opens up on how her father, Somizi and Mohale’s marriage affected her
South African media personality Somizi Mhlongo’s “baby mama” actress Palesa Madisakwane weighed in on how she felt about his marriage to Mohale Motaung, via an episode of his reality show which aired on Showmax on Wednesday 4 May.
So, how did Bahumi feel? Well, she said that she felt as if she was shut out and it was hurtful to find out he was getting married, the way she did. Learn more
