Argentina forward bean sales reach 9.4m mt

Argentina sold forward 9.4 million mt of its new crop by February 21, according to data released by the ministry of agriculture industry on Thursday, up 14% on the same period last year.

Crushers had bought 5.15 million mt and the export sector 4.25 million mt, according to the data.

Both purchases remain above forward sales at this time of year, with the export sector having bought 3.6 million mt and crushers 4.7 million mt by February 2017.

The rise in forward purchases comes as Argentina's harvest is expected to be markedly lower than the 57.8 million mt produced last year.

On Thursday the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange expect Argentina to produce 44 million mt of beans due to dry weather.