The USDA’s August World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report projects a record corn crop for the U.S., and the impact is being felt across the global balance sheet. Mark Jekanowski, Chair of the World Agricultural Outlook Board, shared insights on how the U.S. production surge is shifting the global outlook for corn.
“In terms of the global balance sheet, it’s mainly the U.S. that dominates by far. That billion bushel increase in production for the U.S. translates into about a 26.3 million ton increase globally.”
With that sharp rise in domestic production, the global corn supply is being pushed to new highs for the month of August.
“In terms of the global corn balance sheet, total global corn supply this month was raised by 23.8 million tons. Feed use was raised by 10.2 million tons. That’s mainly feed use in the U.S., as well as several important importers, including higher feed use in Egypt, Mexico, Turkey, and Colombia.”
This growth in supply and demand has also impacted global trade flows, particularly for the U.S. and Ukraine.
“Global corn trade was raised 5 million tons, mainly reflecting higher exports out of the U.S., but we also raised our Ukraine corn export forecast by 1.5 million tons. That is almost perfectly offset by lower exports we’re anticipating from Serbia and the EU, reflecting the smaller crops there.”
In line with these projections, global ending stocks were also adjusted upward.
“Global ending stocks raised by 10.5 million tons this month.”
Strong demand for U.S. corn exports continues to be a key factor, as reflected in the back-year revisions.
“We have seen a lot of export strength for U.S. corn recently, and that is reflected in us raising our back year export forecast by 70 million bushels.”
With record production and growing international demand, the U.S. corn industry is positioned for a strong finish to the year, with global implications for feed use, trade, and stock levels.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.