Country News
China: The agriculture ministry has announced that China is planning to cut corn acreage in 2016 in favor of planting a wider variety of crops, reports Reuters. The four provinces in northeastern China that produce around 40 percent of the country’s corn are the primary targets of this crop scheme. The ministry noted that deteriorating soil and water conditions are forcing the country to reassess its policy of pursuing annual bumper harvests in order to address environmental concerns. Instead, the government will look to boost imports and make food safety a higher priority. It is estimated that China currently has 120 MMT of corn stockpiled (eight months of consumption).
France: Unseasonably hot and dry weather has been linked to a series of fires that have broken out and are currently disrupting the French grain harvest, according to Bloomberg News. 140 field fires across 606 hectares have been recorded in the Eure-et-Loir department with many caused by sparks thrown off by combines and other harvesting equipment. So far, the fires have mostly impacted winter barley and it is unclear to what extent they will affect the final harvest totals. French farmers planted 1.3 million hectares of barley and prior forecasts have already called for smaller yields this year due to the weather.
South Africa: Africa’s largest producer has the potential to be a net-importer of corn for the first time in seven years, reports Bloomberg News. South Africa could import 716,000 MT of yellow corn this year, which would be the first time since the 2007/08 season that it imports more corn than it exports. The country has imported 79,850 MT of Argentine corn since April.