Argentina’s corn production, already cut sharply due a stunt disease spread by leafhopper insects, was “likely” to be cut further, the Rosario Grain Exchange said. “Corn is very affected and this is something we fear and that worries us,” Cristian Russo, head of agricultural estimates at the exchange, told Reuters. “It is likely that this will be a factor in further losses, which will not be minor losses.”
Russo said that in the worst-hit northern provinces such as Chaco, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán, the losses caused by the disease ranged between 40% and 50%, when normally the figure only reach 5% at worst. He added that severe cases of leafhoppers, which thrive in humid and warm conditions, were also being seen in regions where they usually did not appear, a reflection of the unusual nature of this year’s damaging outbreak.
“It has reached areas where it never reached before. It took the technicians by surprise. It hit the center and north of (the province of) Santa Fe and (the province of) Córdoba very hard and reached the (agricultural) core region,” Russo said.
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