Drought hits Argentine farm exports

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) Oct 03, 2003
The farm exports Argentina desperately needs to climb out of its four-year-old recession have been drying up during the worst drought in decades, experts said Friday.

Experts of the Intercooperative Farm Confederation meeting here said some regions of the country were drier than historic lows recorded in 1929.

"It threatens all farm activity in the country," the group said in a statement.

The wheat harvest, one of Argentina's top exports, was down two million tonnes for a loss of 81 million dollars, leader of rural associations in the states of Buenos Aires and La Pampa Mario Llambias said at the meeting.

The Interamerican Farm Cooperation Institute said agricultural products made up 57 percent of Argentine exports from January to August 2003, a rise of 27 percent over the same period the previous year.

Those exports total 19.6 billion dollars, according to government figures.

TERRA.WIRE