The Bolivian Association of Oilseed and Wheat Producers (Anapo) recently reported that total production of soybeans, corn, sorghum, sunflower, wheat and chia seeds has fallen for the second consecutive year this year to about 4.524 million tons, down 5 percent from last year and 11 percent from the year before, as sowing activities were affected by dry weather.
Anapo President Fidel Flores noted that this year’s total cereal production generated a flow of at least $1.8 billion, a 12 percent increase over 2021, Bolivian newspaper La Opinion reported Dec. 15.
This year, soybeans were the most productive crop among grains, with a total production of 3.075 million tons, down 4% from last year, according to Anapo. The average yield of soybeans fell from 2.3 mt/ha last year to 2.04 mt/ha this year due to the summer and winter drought.
This year, the largest year-over-year decline in wheat production was 44%, with an average yield of only 0.87 mt/ha and a total production of 103,000 tons; followed by corn with a 28% decline and a total production of 453,000 tons, with an average yield of 2.82 mt/ha this year, down from 4 mt/ha in 2021; sunflower was in third place with a 16% decline. Affected by drought and severe cold, the average yield of sunflower decreased from 1.32 mt/ha last year to 1.04 mt/ha this year, with a total yield of 173,000 tons this year.
Although the total yield of this year’s crop decreased, the yield of chia seeds rose sharply, up 68% from last year, to a total of 4,800 tons, with the average yield increasing from 0.14 mt/ha to 0.24 mt/ha, but still lower than the previous year’s 0.53 mt/ha. In addition, total sorghum production this year also increased by 29 percent over last year to 712,000 metric tons, but was down 100 percent compared to the previous year. This year’s average sorghum yield of 1.59 mt/ha has not yet recovered to the 2.93 mt/ha of the previous year.
Source: South American Diaspora News Network
Post time: Dec-29-2022