BUENOS AIRES, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Argentina's farmers have begun planting the first batches of 2021/22 corn this week, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday, a predicted record harvest of 55 million tonnes due to expanded planting area at the expense of rival crop soy.
Argentina is the second largest global exporter of corn and in the current campaign farmers are expected to plant a record 7.1 million hectares with the grain, the eighth consecutive year the planting area will have expanded.
The exchange in a weekly report said farmers had planted 2.3% of the total estimated area of corn, while good rainfall earlier this month was a positive for the planting process.
"The rains recorded during the first half of September allowed humidity levels to be renewed, promoting the start of the campaign," the grains exchange said.
The Buenos Aires exchange said earlier this week that corn has been gaining territory from soybeans in recent years due to a wider sowing window than that of the oilseed, which meant it was easier to avoid the impact of drought.
In the coming months, the presence of the La Niña weather phenomenon is expected, which in the main agricultural regions of Argentina manifests itself with lower than normal rainfall.
The exchange said that regarding 2021/22 wheat, 78% of the area planted with the grain showed conditions between normal and excellent, helped by recent rains. It has estimated production of a record 19.2 million tonnes of the grain.
Many batches of wheat are currently going through key stages of development. In Argentina, a leading world grains exporter, harvesting of the grain begins in November. (Reporting by Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Adam Jourdan and David Evans)
