Country News
Argentina: A strike undertaken by workers at Rosario, Argentina’s largest agricultural exporting port, over a disagreement in wages has been called off after government arbitration, according to Reuters. The protest began on Monday and had held up 126 grain ships and had negatively impacted all of the port’s terminals. Rosario accounts for 80 percent of Argentina’s agricultural shipments.
France: French barley has been beset by “unprecedented” levels of the fungal disease yellow rust, according to Bloomberg News. While there is not yet an official estimate at what the damage to this year’s crop might be, FranceAgriMer has indicated that rust can impact yields by as much as 3-4 MT per hectare. The harvesting of winter barley is expected to begin in Burgundy this week, and barley grain ear development there was estimated at about 10 days ahead of the average seen in recent years.
India: India’s weather office has announced that monsoon rains arrived both a week late and 48 percent below average levels, reports Reuters. However, heavy rains will not be critical for the health of India’s crops until later in the season, around mid-July. Agriculture accounts for 14 percent of India’s economy, and only half of India’s farmland has access to irrigation. If poor rains persist, it could raise food prices and put negative pressure on the country’s economic growth. The Indian Meteorological Department estimates that there is a 33 percent chance that monsoon rains will be deficient, which is defined as rainfall that is less than 90 percent of the long-period average.
South Africa: Yellow corn for July delivery in Africa’s largest corn producing country has fallen to $183.93/MT, according to Bloomberg News.
Spain: Grain production in the Castile and Leon regions of Spain are projected to fall by 40 percent due to disease and poor growing conditions, reports Bloomberg News. Barley production is expected to fall to 1.88 MMT, which is a significant reduction from the 3.5 MMT brought in last year. The decrease is due to a combination of factors, including a very wet winter followed by very dry conditions in April and May and a major outbreak of fungal diseases rust and septoria.