El Niño Rains Slow Argentina's Corn Harvest, Raising Planting Concerns

Argentina's 2025/26 corn harvest is facing significant delays as persistent humidity and unseasonal rainfall, linked to El Niño, continue to hamper fieldwork across key farming regions. The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange reported that high atmospheric moisture is slowing grain drying and preventing farmers from completing the harvest in several areas.

Nationwide, farmers have harvested 77% of the planted corn area. However, in several major producing regions, the pace of work is running 14 to 26 percentage points behind the same period last year. The delays come just over a month before the start of planting for the 2026/27 crop, which typically begins in the second half of September.

While corn can usually tolerate a delayed harvest without major yield losses, the slow progress raises concerns about field preparation ahead of the next planting campaign. In many fields where only stubble would normally remain by now, corn plants are still standing, waiting to be harvested.

The exchange maintains its estimate for the 2025/26 corn crop at a record 64 million metric tons, underscoring the resilience of the crop despite the challenging conditions. Argentina is the world's third-largest corn exporter.

Separately, the exchange noted that sowing of the 2026/27 wheat crop is nearly complete, with planted area expected to reach 6.5 million hectares.