Tighter corn supply limits EU exports

EU27 countries and the UK have exported significantly less corn this year amid tighter regional availability.

Exports from the bloc trail the previous marketing year by some 1.05mn t, according to the latest data from the European Commission, and stood at just 645,000t on 23 November. Only 21,000t was exported in the seven days to 23 November, compared with more than 159,000t in the same period last year.

The downturn reflects reduced yield and harvest size expectations this year because of prolonged drought conditions during the summer that hampered crop development, alongside heavy rainfall during the autumn, which delayed harvesting operations.

Overall production for the bloc was forecast to peak at 64mn t this year by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), amounting to a reduction of some 2.5mn t on the previous year. Argus' agricultural division, Agritel, expects the sharpest reductions in regional corn output to come from France and Romania, which are both among the top regional producers.

But despite the weaker regional availability, corn imports are also trailing the previous year by some 1.38mn t, totalling 6.7mn t by 23 November amid lower global availability. Ukraine and Brazil — the top two suppliers — delivered just 4.1mn t and 1.3mn t, down by 4.3mn t and 2.9mn t, respectively, from the previous year.

Ukrainian corn production has been similarly affected by adverse weather this year. The country is expected to produce its lowest corn yield since the 2012-13 season as a result, according to USDA data, with overall production set to peak at 28.5mn t.

By Andrew Kanyemba

EU corn production estimates mn t