Global soybean production is down by a sharp 3 percent, with the latest reductions due to weather damage to the crop in Brazil, said the International Grains Council. The Brazil drop helped pull down inventories as the world heads into a new growing season. “Underpinned by demand for soybean products, consumption is seen expanding further, resulting in another season of tightening stocks,” says the council’s monthly Grain Market Report.
The new soybean crop could hit 320 million tonnes, matching the record set in 2014/15, assuming an expansion in plantings, said the report. “Prospects for 2016/17 are highly tentative given that fieldwork in South America will not begin until September.”
Wheat and coarse grains production is forecast to top 2 billion tonnes for the fourth consecutive year in 2016/17, said the IGC report. While wheat and barley output will dip, corn was forecast to recover from its three-year low in 2015/16. The grain stockpile would expand 3 percent because of the huge harvest. “Lower shipments to China contribute to a predicted drop in world trade,” said the IGC.