Prospects for the global corn crop are deteriorating – IGC

According to IGC’s October estimates, the global corn harvest in MY 2023/24 will fall to 1.219 billion tons (3 million tons lower than the previous month), thanks to lower forecasts for Brazil, the US and the EU, partially offset by an increase in the estimate for China.

In particular, for Brazil, the forecast was lowered to 127.2 million tons against 130.2 million tons in the preliminary forecast, which is also inferior to the result in MY 2022/23 (132 million tons) due to the reduction of sown areas under the grain amid the reorientation of farmers to sowing soybeans. For the US, the forecast was lowered to 382.7 (384.4; 348.4) million tons due to deteriorating crop conditions and yield prospects. For the EU, the corn production forecast was lowered to 59.8 (61.1; 52.8) million tons.

The lower corn crop forecast has already contributed to higher grain prices on the SWOT exchange – to $218.3 (+$5.1) per ton, while quotations on the Euronext exchange remained unchanged at €205.25/t.

Tags: corn, Brazil, EU, USA, crop forecast, China