Country News
Brazil: Ethanol production in Brazil should fall in the coming three years if the world’s sugar deficits continue. The FG/AGRO consultancy noted recently that Brazil’s center-south sugar cane producing region may produce 27.2 billion liters of ethanol in 2016/17, down from 28.2 billion in the prior year. The fall in ethanol output will come despite increases in sugar cane production. Sugar cane production is set to reach 36.8 million tons this year, up from 31.2 in the prior year. Sugar cane will be transitioned from use in ethanol plants to sugar mills due to the global sweetener supply deficits. Current projections call for a global sugar deficit of 4-8 million tons for the next two years. (Reuters)
Russia: The latest production estimates from USDA FAS officials in Moscow increased grain production by 7 MMT to 107.7 MMT for the major crops. Russia’s corn production is estimated at 13.5 MMT while barley production is set to reach 17.5 MMT. Forecasts call for 4.1 MMT of corn and 3.8 MMT of barley to be exported from the 2016 crop. (USDA FAS)
South Africa: South African farmers have shifted acres away from wheat and into corn. The latest data from the South African Crop Estimates Committee pegged the 2016 corn crop at 7.26 MMT, driven partly by the third-smallest wheat planted area on record. South Africa’s corn production was revised upward by 0.1 MMT from last month’s estimate. The projected harvest for 2016 would still be 27 percent lower than 2015, due the El Nino-induced drought in the African nation. A private source projected South Africa will likely need to import 3.8 MMT of corn this year, a third of which is expected to be white corn – the staple variety for food consumption in the country. (Bloomberg)
Zimbabwe: A $500 million program has been announced to increase the nation’s corn production. The program is an effort to help domestic farmers meet the nation’s growing corn demand. The program will intentionally expand planted area and expand irrigation to boost production to 2 MMT per year. In 2014/15, Zimbabwean farmers harvested 724,000 tons of corn, far less than the domestic consumption of 1.8 million. (Bloomberg)