Damages Caused by the Corn Leafhopper in Argentina Might Be Worse Than Expected
Fiscal surplus of 0.2% of the country’s GDP in the 1Q/2024 was the first recorded since 2008. Argentina reached a financial surplus of more than US$ 315.4 million in March. (Ministry of Economy)
Damages caused by the corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis) might be worse than expected. According to Sebastian Gavalda, director of Globaltecnos in Argentina, losses could reach up to 10 million tonnes, which represents more than a 18% reduction when compared to the estimates of 53 million tonnes of corn for the harvest. “Officially, some institutions have estimated from 5 to 6 million tonnes lost, but we calculate between 8 and 10 million. This is a very big impact for the affected farmers. Some will have zero grains harvested and others will have losses of up to 50%, 60%, or 70%”, said Gavalda. (Globaltecnos)
Area destined for wheat should reach 5.9 million hectares in 2024/25. This represents a drop of 6.9% when compared to the average of the past five seasons. (Buenos Aires Cereal Exchange)
Minister Gilmar Mendes from the Federal Supreme Court has decided on April 22nd to determine the beginning of a conciliation process for actions regarding the timeframe for the demarcation of indigenous lands. With the decision, actions regarding this issue must be suspended until the Court’s final decision. Parties involved will have 30 days to present conciliation proposals. (STF)
Ministry of Agriculture has accepted the Federal Prosecutor Office’s recommendation not to authorize changes in the soybean fallow period to control Soybean Asian Rust in the State of Mato Grosso, without first obtaining a demonstration of “exceptional condition”, provided for in art. 10, of Ordinance SDA/MAPA No. 865. (MAPA)
Timbro, a Brazilian international trade platform, plans to increase sugar exports by more than 40% in 2024, reaching 2 million tonnes. (Timbro)
Yields at the beginning of the Robusta and Conilon coffee harvest are below expectations, a result of extremely high temperatures during the last summer. “What we are hearing from the farmers is that the grain this year is smaller than last year, which means that they did not develop as they should”, said Luiz Carlos Bastianello, president of Cooabriel, the largest conilon coffee cooperative in the country. (Cooabriel)
Brazilian Association of Corn Farmers elected a new president, Paulo Pusch Bertolini. The entity’s new board of directors should take over from May of 2024 and continue until 2027. In addition, from May onwards, the entity will also represent the country’s sorghum farmers, being then called the Brazilian Association of Corn and Sorghum Farmers. (Abramilho)
National Union of the Animal Feed Industry has announced that the market will increase total production by 2.4% in 2024, compared to 2023, reaching 88.3 million tonnes, including mineral salt. Projection considers that there will be a favorable performance of the poultry and pork production chain, mainly in relation to exports. (Sindirações)
Ricardo Santin was reappointed as president of the Brazilian Animal Protein Association – ABPA. After an assembly held on April 24th, a new council was defined for ABPA, led by Irineo da Costa Rodrigues, president of Lar Cooperativa Agroindustrial. (ABPA)
Demand for dairy products is falling, and per capita consumption decreased to 152 L per year, below the recommendations of the World Health Organization. (Fedegan; Alquería)
According to Bancolombia, the avocado export market is going through a “promising moment”. Growth of 19% in export volume is expected, due to favorable weather conditions, reduced input costs and increased production area. (Grupo Bancolombia)
Still trying to recover from the bad performance of recent years, for the current season Colombia should harvest 12 million bags of coffee, according to Germán Bahamón, president of the National Federation of Coffee Growers. (FNC)
In February, the Mexican economy reversed a trend of four months without growth by achieving an increase of 1.4% in the monthly variation. The Global Economic Activity Indicator presented the best level since March of 2021. The economy was driven by the agricultural sector, which grew 16.5% when compared to January. (Inegi)
The rainy season is starting in the country, which should allow the logistical bottleneck at the Panama Canal to be resolved in time for the busiest period of the year. According to a report from Panama’s Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, the country started shifting to a more humid seasonal pattern. (PortWatch; Panama’s Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology)
The largest agricultural fair in the countryside of Paraguay, Expo Santa Rita 2024 starts next Saturday, on April 27th. According to the organization, the participation of more than 400 exhibitors has been confirmed, from commerce, services, industry, logistics, agriculture and livestock. (Expo Santa Rita)
In 2023, Peru exported 5,244 tonnes of nuts, a drop of 2.1% in the amount shipped when compared to 2022. Main purchasing country for Peruvian nuts is South Korea, followed by USA. The main nut exporting companies in Peru are: Beneficiadora de Almendras Urkupina S.R.L., with 26.7% of the market; White Lion Nuts S.A.C. (12.2%); Procesadora de Alimentos Santa Isabel and Agrícolas y Forestales S.A.C. (both with 5.4%); Manutata S.A.C. (3.5%). From 2022 to 2023, there was a 23.8% drop in exported value. (FreshFruit)
With the objective to produce 171,938 native seedlings, the Regional Management of Natural Resources and Environmental Management of Cusco is installing four forest nurseries in the districts of Alto Pichigua, Pallpata, Coporaque and Espinar. (Regional Management of Natural Resources and Environmental Management of Cusco)
National Institute of Agrarian Innovation – INIA has developed a new variety of hard yellow corn, called “INIA 627-Pátapo”. According to INIA, this new cultivar could increase corn yields by 72%. The variety has a yield potential of 11.52 to 14.20 tonnes/ha, being tolerant to the fungi Phyllachora maydis, Fusarium spp. and Aspergillus. More than 43 thousand small and medium-sized farmers in the north of the country should benefit from the new variety. (INIA)
Given the record wheat yields over the past two years, Uruguayan farmers are expected to plant more in the 2024/25 season, but total production should decrease slightly. Harvest in 2023/24 is estimated at 1.56 million tonnes. (USDA)
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