USDA projects a soybean crop of 50 million tons in Argentina in 2026/27.

The attaché of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) In Buenos Aires, the projection for the 2026/27 Argentine soybean crop remained at 50 million tons. The estimate is contained in a report released this Tuesday (7) and considers a planted area of 17.4 million hectares, without changes compared to the previous survey. Despite the expectation of expansion of the cultivated area, the USDA The report projects a slight reduction in productivity compared to the previous season. According to the report, many regions recorded exceptionally high yields in the last harvest, especially in second-crop soybeans, and the trend is for a return to average productivity levels under normal weather conditions. For the 2025/26 harvest, the agency raised its production estimate to 50 million tons, reflecting the better-than-expected results observed during the harvest. The area projection remained at 16.5 million hectares. The revision was motivated by the high yields recorded in the last months of the cycle, favored by good weather conditions. The national average productivity is estimated at 3.13 tons per hectare, a level significantly higher than the average of the last five years. The report also revised upwards the forecast for soybean crushing in the 2025/26 season, which increased from 43.0 million to 43.5 million tons, due to the greater availability of raw material. Domestic consumption for animal feed was maintained at 5 million tons. Argentine soybean exports remained unchanged, with expected shipments of 5.5 million tons in both the 2025/26 and 2026/27 crop years. Regarding imports, the USDA projects a reduction to 6.5 million tons in the 2026/27 season, a volume 500,000 tons lower than estimated for the previous cycle. The decrease is attributed to the expectation of lower production in Paraguay, the main supplier of soybeans to the Argentine industry, in addition to increased domestic processing in the neighboring country, reducing the exportable surplus. The report also highlights that Argentina will continue to import smaller volumes of soybeans from Brazil, Uruguay, and, to a lesser extent, Bolivia to supply its crushing operations.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.