Global maize production is projected to rise to a record 900 million tonnes in 2012-13, outstripping demand for the first time since the 2008-09 season, the International Grains Council said April 2.
The IGC, in a monthly report, also cut its forecast for the global maize stocks at the end of the 2011-12 season following a lower-than-expected estimate for U.S. inventories issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture March 30.
“The supply-and-demand outlook for maize is projected to remain quite tight in 2012-13 but a large crop, including a major upturn in the U.S., is expected to be not entirely absorbed by demand, leaving room for a modest rise in stocks,” the IGC said in a monthly report.
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The IGC forecast maize stocks at the end of the 2012-13 season would rise to 129 million tonnes.
Maize consumption in 2012-13 was seen rising by around 2.2 per cent to 893 million tonnes with growth slowing following a 3.7 per cent climb in 2011-12.
The IGC projected the 2012-13 world wheat crop at 681 million tonnes, marginally above the prior month’s forecast of 680 million but still shy of previous season’s 696 million.
