Big grains ships filling up with soy and corn at Argentina's significant inland river ports around Rosario are handling less freight as water levels drop to near record lows due to a significant drought upstream in Brazil, pushing up expenses and transportation times.

The Parana River, which brings practically 80% of Argentina's. grains and oilseeds for export, is at the second lowest level. for this time of year considering that 1970, behind just a major decline in. 2021, data from the Rosario grains exchange program.

The drop in river levels, so right after the last major. decrease, highlights how more severe weather, connected to climate. modification, is striking trade along major waterways in the. resource-rich region that provides the world with grains and. metals.

The low levels now are forcing the big seagoing boats that. load up at the inland river ports near Rosario to handle. countless heaps less freight, industry insiders said.

The Parana River is actually low, Guillermo Wade, manager of. the Chamber of Port and Maritime Activities (CAPyM), said in. remarks to Reuters.

They are loading 3 feet and 8 inches less than they. could load if the river were normal, so that implies around. 15% less than what could be filled.

The latest information from the Argentine Naval Prefecture reveal the. level of the Parana at Rosario was 0.38 meters - measured from a. depth stick zero index instead of the riverbed - far listed below. the regular level of around 2.5 meters at this time of year.

MORE SHIPS, HIGHER EXPENSES

Major rivers around South America, including likewise the. Paraguay River, have actually been hitting record lows in current weeks. with water levels depleted by a severe dry spell upriver in Brazil. that has prevented navigation along waterways in the Amazon.

The Paraguay-Parana system is a waterway of more than 3,400. kilometers (2,113 miles) that goes through Argentina, Brazil,. Uruguay, in addition to landlocked Paraguay and Bolivia.

Argentina is the world's leading exporter of processed soy oil. and meal, squashed from soybeans in huge plants together with the. Parana River. The reality huge seagoing ships can come up-river to. Rosario provides the country an important competitive edge.

The Rosario grains exchange said in a report that the low. water levels looked not likely to enhance any time quickly and this. might indicate lots more ships than typical would be required in. the rest of the year to carry soy, corn and wheat.

The forecasts for the coming months are stressing as we. technique peak season for wheat transportation. The persistence. of these water levels could start to generate significant losses. for the agroindustry, it said.

Neighboring Paraguay is the No. 3 soybean exporter and some. 80% of its grains travel along waterways to seaports down-river.

Less rain than regular is expected in the second half of the. year due to the La Nina weather phenomenon, which brings drier,. cooler conditions in Paraguay and Argentina, though it normally. heralds wetter weather condition further north in Brazil.

In Brazil the worst dry spell on record has actually decreased the water. level of rivers in the Amazon basin to historical lows, parching. much of the region's greenery and triggering wildfires across. South American countries, cloaking cities in clouds of smoke.

(source: Reuters)