LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) – The International Grains Council on Thursday trimmed its forecasts for the 2017-18 global corn and wheat crop.
“A number of regions have experienced unfavourable weather in recent weeks and some crops forecasts are being revised lower, including the United States and the European Union,” the IGC said in a monthly report.
The IGC forecast the 2017-18 global corn crop at 1.025 billion tonnes, down one million tonnes from last month’s estimate and well below the prior season’s 1.069 billion.
Downward revisions for corn crops in China (213.2 million tonnes from 215.2 million) and the European Union (60.2 million from 61.0 million) were partially offset by an improved outlook for production in Argentina (41.8 million from 39.8 million).
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Global wheat production in 2017-18 was seen at 735 million tonnes, down one million tonnes from last month and below the previous season’s 754 million.
Production in the United States was cut to 48.6 million tonnes from 49.6 million while the EU’s crop was put at 149.4 million, down from a previous forecast of 149.9 million.
“The extent of any damage is unclear in many areas, particularly where crops are far from maturity, and a fuller assessment will be possible as combining becomes more widespread,” the IGC said.
The IGC maintained its forecast for global soybean production in 2017-18 at 348 million tonnes, down slightly from 351 million in the prior season.
“Prospects for 2017-18 are tentative but output could be only fractionally short of the prior season’s harvest as acreage gains mostly compensate for a potential retreat in productivity,” the report said.
