BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 26 -- Argentina's crop harvest is set to increase by 4.1
percent in the 2013-2014 farming season, a private-sector report said
Thursday.
The report, released by the consulting firm Sectors Economic
Research,forecast a harvest of "103.9 million tons, an increase of 4.1 percent
compared to the previous season."
November rains "reverted the water deficit that was delaying the sowing" and
thus improved the expected harvest, it said.
The report added that agricultural products exports in the first 10 months of
this year reached 26.839 billion U.S. dollars, "a slight 0.8 percent growth"
over the previous year.
While export revenue increased slightly, actual export volume fell 6.3
percent in the same period to 61.7 million tons.
Agribusiness is vital for Argentina's export trade. Agricultural exports
"accounted for 41.4 percent of the country's total exports until October 2013,
higher than the 39.1 percent for the same period in 2012," said the report.
Argentina is the world's third largest producer of soy, soy oil and soybean
pellets, the fourth largest producer of sunflower oil, the fifth largest
producer of corn and sorghum, and the sixth largest producer of wheat.