The world is headed toward the biggest corn harvest in history, 4 percent larger than last year, at 1.166 billion tonnes, said the International Grains Council on Thursday. But consumption is surging as well — up by 33 million tonnes — which should help keep the corn stockpile under control during the 2020/21 trade year.
In its monthly Grain Market Report, the IGC said the corn carryover would decline during 2020/21 for the fourth year in a row, dipping to 288 million tonnes, compared to 343 million tonnes in 2017/18. Corn accounts for half of total grain production — wheat and feed grains — tracked by the IGC.
“The world wheat crop is also expected to be a new high, while above-average outturns are predicted for barley, sorghum, oats, and rye,” said the IGC, which estimates total grain production at a record 2.23 billion tonnes. Wheat would account for 763 million tonnes of the total.
The IGC also forecast a record soybean harvest of 373 million tonnes worldwide, up 10 percent from 2019/20. World trade in soybeans, “at 164 million tonnes, would be a new high, with U.S. exports projected to rebound strongly,” it said.