SAO PAULO, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government cut its 2016 winter corn crop forecast by 1.1 percent to 42.59 million tonnes on Tuesday from 43.05 million tonnes in July as evidence of drought continues to weigh on the final harvest numbers.
In its 11th forecast of the season, crop supply agency Conab said it expected Brazil’s total corn output, including the summer harvest, to be 68.48 million tonnes, down from July’s 69.14 million and last year’s 84.67 million. Exports of corn this year will fall to 20 million tonnes from 30.17 million last year, it said.
Conab raised its forecast for area planted for winter corn, the bigger of the two crops, to 10.53 million hectares (26 million acres) from 10.13 million hectares in July.
But irregular rainfall in the main winter corn-producing regions of the center-west grain belt continues to push yield numbers lower. Productivity fell to 4.05 tonnes per hectare from 4.17 in July’s estimate, Conab said.
Brazil has been importing corn from Argentina and Paraguay to make up for the shortfall in output and supply feed to its struggling pork and poultry industries.
Brazil’s restrictions on certain genetically modified varieties of corn have held up imports from the United States. Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said in recent days, however, that he was working on a solution to secure clearance for North American corn to try to bring down stubbornly high local prices.
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