One of the top importers of U.S. corn, Mexico is forecast to harvest a record 26 million tonnes of the crop during the 2016/17 crop year, thanks to larger plantings and favorable rainfall, says USDA’s World Agricultural Production report. The crop would exceed the mark set last season of 25.9 million tonnes.
Mexico harvests two crops of corn each year. The harvest of corn planted during last spring and summer is nearly complete. It accounts for three-fourths of Mexican production. Development of the crop planted in the fall and winter has benefited from adequate supplies of irrigation water. The fall/winter crop is harvested in May.
Planting of the spring/summer crop was delayed by up to four weeks because of erratic rains in June and July in some of Mexico’s major corn regions before a favorable change in the weather. “Precipitation was 50 percent higher than last year during the corn’s reproductive stages, August through September, which significantly reduced area losses compared to last year,” said USDA. Some growers planted corn as a way to prevent damage from an aphid that attacks sorghum, a feed grain competitor to corn in dry regions.