Brazilian mills will purchase at least 5.5 million tons of wheat from Argentina in 2020 and 2.25 million tons of grain from June to November this year, the Argentine government said on Thursday, May 30 after a meeting with colleagues from Brazil.

The message came a few months after Brazil scared Argentine farmers by agreeing to import 750,000 tons of wheat from the United States and other countries outside the Mercosur regional block, abandoning the commonly applied tax of 10%.

Argentina is one of the world's leading suppliers of wheat, and most of its supplies are destined for Brazil.

The deal followed a meeting between officials from Argentina and the Brazilian Wheat Producers Association (Abitrigo) in São Paulo.

During the meeting, Abitrigo members evaluated their purchases for a 6-month period from June to November of this year and “next year at no less than 5.5 million tons,” the Argentine Agricultural Secretariat said in a statement.

According to official government data, in the first quarter of 2019, Argentina exported 1.7 million tons of wheat to Brazil; in 2018, Argentinean wheat exports to this country amounted to 5.9 million tons.