A producer from Entre Ríos needed to obtain an average of 3,712.5 kilos of corn per hectare to meet costs in the 2022/23 campaign, according to an analysis by the provincial Grain Exchange and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA). .
According to the study, whoever leases the fields must have produced an average of 4,410 kilograms per hectare; and, if the land is owned, an average of 3,015 kilos.
The entities took as a reference an expected price of US$242 per ton of corn, a harvest cost of US$56 that included monitoring costs (due to drought and lack of rain) and segmented the province into four zones: North South East and west.
They also took a lease equivalent to eight quintals of soybeans per hectare per year for the southern and western zones; and five quintals for the north and east, considering 40% of the annual amount for corn (double crop per year along with second-rate soybeans).
In this framework, the price of soybeans taken for lease was calculated according to the price of the Rosario Grain Arbitration Chamber in April 2023.
In the southern zone, the producer needed to harvest 2,900 kilograms of corn without leasing and 4,610 with leasing to achieve a positive result; while in the northern zone he must have obtained 3,150 and 4,250 kilos, respectively.
In the western zone he had to harvest 2,810 and 4,470 kilograms per hectare without and with lease; while in the east of Entre Ríos he needed to produce 3,200 and 4,310 kilos, respectively.
When making the final calculation, the report took into account the average cost of labor and supplies, the gross margin per surface unit, the yield of indifference, and the direct return per peso spent.
The expenses in labor and inputs (seeds, agrochemicals, fertilizers) used to calculate the cost of implantation and protection of the crop were US$537 and US$572 per ton depending on the region.
In addition, implementation and marketing expenses without taxes, and technical advice and company expenses were taken as costs.
Finally, for the sale price of corn, the average prices of the Grain Arbitration Chamber of Rosario in last April were taken.
Source: Ambito
