China: Corn Harvets Down

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Scott C. Lucas|8 October 2007

Meyer and Gary Clark of the Missouri Corn Growers Association and Missouri Corn Merchandising Council toured corn fields in the North China Plain and Northeast regions. Those regions account for nearly 70% of China’s overall corn production. "This is about 6.5 million tons below last year’s crop of 145.5 million tons," said Meyer.

"The expected increase in area in several provinces has helped to offset the drop in yield," he explained. "We estimate the increase in area to be about 1 million hectares (Ha)." He also noted that the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC) has not changed their crop estimate of 149 million tons. "On the other hand, a private Chinese grain market information service who traveled with us on the tour has put the crop at 134 to 135 million tons in their estimate released after our tour completed," said said. "I think 139 million tons is backed up by the data that we collected and general impressions that we heard from producers along the way."