Released today, the August edition of the FAO Monthly News Report on Grains features multiple announcements of 2015 crops exceeding weather-dampened expectations, with world grain stocks expected to hit a 29-year high according to the the International Grains Council (IGC).
The FAO Monthly News Report on Grains provides a collection of news articles on issues or factors considered critical in shaping the regional/global grains economy, as well as links to reports, statistics, and upcoming events.
France and Russia are expecting record wheat harvests, and India has reinstated import tariffs on wheat for the first time in eight years to encourage purchases of the country's ample domestic stocks. Iran is not planning to import wheat from the world market for what the USDA says is at least the first time in 60 years; the government corporation responsible for imports announced that current guaranteed wheat purchases and those to come before the end of the harvest in October will be sufficient to provide for the country's domestic needs.
Meanwhile, near-record output from the U.S. soybean and corn sectors in the face of an already glutted world market is expected to cause prices to drop as much as $1-$2 per bushel below production costs. Attempts by farmers to maximize their yields in order to meet their costs is expected to further adversely affect futures markets for these commodities. Even with the bump in U.S. corn, however, reductions in both area and yields expected to result in a three percent contraction in the global corn crop, according to the IGC.
For additional details on these stories and more, you can read the full Monthly News Report on Grains for this month and view previous editions here .
BY: Rachel Kohn, IFPRI