*

Paraguay River hits record low, impacting grain shipments

*

Parana River in Argentina also near year-lows

*

La Nina expected to bring less rain, worsening drought

conditions

*

Paraguay is world's No. 3 soybean exporter

By Daniela Desantis, Lucinda Elliott

ASUNCION, Sept 9 (Reuters) - South America's Paraguay

River, a key thoroughfare for grains, has hit a record low in

Paraguay's capital Asuncion, with water levels depleted by a

severe drought upriver in Brazil that has hindered navigation

along waterways in the Amazon.

The depth of the Paraguay River, measured versus a "zero"

index rather than the riverbed, has dropped below minus 0.82

meter, breaking the previous record low in October 2021, data

from the national Meteorology and Hydrology Directorate shows.

The body expects the river will keep falling with no rain

forecast.

The Parana River in Argentina is also near year lows around

grains hub Rosario. Both the Paraguay and Parana rivers start in

Brazil, eventually joining and flowing into the sea near Buenos

Aires. They are important routes for soy, corn and other trade.

"In the northern section (of the Paraguay waterway),

navigation is practically halted due to the extreme drop in

water levels," the Paraguayan oilseed and grain crushing chamber

CAPPRO told Reuters in written comments.

The chamber, whose grain-trader members handle some 60% of

Paraguay's soybean exports, said the low river was hitting

shipments, though the impact was capped as it was not peak

trading season.

"Vessels have had to transport volumes below the average of

their normal cargo capacity," said CAPPRO. "This has generated

delays and made travel times longer." The chamber's members

include ADM, Bunge and Cargill.

EXPECTED RAINS NOT ENOUGH

The Paraguay-Parana system is a waterway of more than 3,400

kilometers (2,113 miles) that runs through Argentina, Brazil,

Uruguay, as well as landlocked Paraguay and Bolivia.

Paraguay is the world's No. 3 soybean exporter and roughly

80% of grains travel along waterways to seaports downriver.

Argentina is the top exporter of processed soy, most of which

goes down the Parana from around river port city Rosario.

Paraguay's deputy director for the Meteorology and Hydrology

Directorate, Jorge Sanchez, said the outlook for river levels in

the coming months was not encouraging, even with the traditional

October-November rainy season ahead.

"This would alleviate the level of the river, but it's not

expected to be enough," Sanchez said.

Less rain than normal 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 usually

heralds wetter weather farther north in Brazil.

Sanchez said this year, however, La Nina was delayed and its

effects would be seen only between October and November. "There

is a lot of variability due to climate change," he added.

In Brazil, where record wildfires have also occurred, the low

water levels are leaving some communities in the Amazon

isolated, as well as hitting soy and corn shipments in

center-west states such as Mato Grosso, Brazil's number one

grains growing area.