North China’s corn production may be greater than last year

This conclusion was reached following crop tours conducted by the US Grains Council's branch in Beijing.

The anticipated increase in North China, along with a two to four million tonne increase in Northeast China and a one to two million tonne increase in other growing regions, adds up to an anticipated six-10 million tonne increase overall in China this year compared to last, said Bryan Lohmar, USGC director in China.

"While China's corn crop looks good, there may be greater demand for corn since the country's winter wheat crop was adveresly affected by disease and poor weather" Lohmar said. "This may result in less wheat being used in place of corn in animal feed, which may create additional demand for corn."

The crop tours were conducted July 9-13 and visited Henan, Shandong and Hebei provinces, where roughly 30 per cent of China's corn is produced.