[ti:With World Facing a Wheat Shortage, Argentina Farmers Struggle] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Dry weather, increasing fertilizer costs, [00:04.24]and concerns over export rules [00:06.96]are pushing farmers in Argentina to plant less wheat. [00:11.92]They might plant more soybeans instead. [00:16.04]That is causing worries in world markets [00:19.96]because the South American nation [00:22.16]is the world's number six exporter of wheat. [00:26.68]Argentina's production is even more important [00:30.40]because of the worldwide wheat shortage. [00:34.28]Russia's invasion of Ukraine has greatly increased wheat prices. [00:40.68]The two countries are among the world's top wheat producers. [00:46.00]Juan Francisco Arregui is an Argentinian farmer. [00:51.28]He told Reuters, "The season for wheat is complicated." [00:56.52]His fields have not received rainfall in two months. [01:00.80]He said the crop needs rain to arrive soon, [01:04.52]but weather predictions are not promising. [01:08.52]While there was enough water to plant the seeds, [01:11.88]"there is not much left," he said. [01:15.16]He added, "It means that the wheat crop is not sure by any means. [01:21.00]We can get it started, but then we are waiting for rain." [01:25.92]Argentina had a record wheat harvest [01:29.24]of 22.4 million metric tons in the season that ended. [01:35.36]Suppliers were hoping the country could replace the grain lost [01:39.60]because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. [01:43.40]But now, both of Argentina's main grains exchanges, [01:48.00]Buenos Aires and Rosario, have cut wheat planting predictions. [01:53.68]And they are warning of more cuts if the weather does not improve. [01:59.12]Cristian Russo is the head agronomist [02:02.52]at the Rosario grains exchange. [02:06.24]Its highest estimate of the next harvest is 18.5 million metric tons. [02:13.28]Russo said, "Today anything that goes wrong with wheat [02:17.20]is more important and means greater losses." [02:21.76]The exchange has warned about the worst wheat planting conditions in 12 years. [02:28.00]It says planting of the grain is at 65 percent [02:32.04]because of the dry conditions. Many fields could be left unplanted. [02:38.36]The Russia-Ukraine fighting has also greatly increased fertilizer prices. [02:45.00]Russia is a major supplier. [02:48.08]The loss of Russian fertilizer has hit farmers [02:51.96]from the United States to South America. [02:55.88]Arregui said this season he paid $1,600 per metric ton for phosphate fertilizer. [03:04.16]That is more than double the $700 he paid a year ago. [03:09.40]Another fertilizer, called urea, doubled to $1,100 per metric ton. [03:17.28]That pushed him away from planting wheat to planting soy, [03:21.40]which requires a lower investment. [03:25.28]Concerns over government intervention also weigh on farmers' minds. [03:31.16]Officials in Argentina are trying to control national inflation [03:35.96]which is at about 60 percent. [03:39.28]The government has kept a lower cap on wheat exports than last year. [03:45.08]It has raised export taxes on the products soymeal and oil, [03:50.12]and has threatened higher taxes for wheat. [03:54.28]But Reuters news service reports [03:56.88]that there is not enough support in congress for that step. [04:01.40]Wheat exports for the 2022 to 2023 growing cycle [04:07.32]are currently capped at 10 million metric tons, [04:11.36]from 14.5 million metric tons a year earlier. [04:16.68]That limit could be raised later however. [04:20.16]Arregui said, "Here you go to bed on a Sunday [04:24.48]and on a Monday you don't know what news you're going to find." [04:29.04]He was commenting on the changes in government policy. [04:33.92]He added, "Every day they are making decisions [04:37.64]that indirectly affect what you do and it's a terrible uncertainty, [04:43.48]you can't plan anything. It really costs you a lot every day." [04:50.16]I'm Gregory Stachel. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM