March 26, 2010
US to lead world in 2010 corn planting
US farmers will lead the world into a year of record corn plantings, reported the International Grains Council.
The majority of the 2% rise of world corn sowings, with this year's total pegged at 156 million hectares, would come from the US, the world's biggest corn grower.
The crop is currently deemed more profitable than spring wheat, which sees its global production forecast cut by one million tonnes to 658 million tonnes this year, according to the council.
Cold weather is likely to delay spring wheat plantings in the Black Sea states and America's northern plains region. Also, unfavourable hot and dry conditions have hampered wheat crop production in north India, the world's second biggest producing country after China.
The council has raised its estimate of the world's 2009-10 corn harvest to a record 800 million tonnes, citing favourable weather in Argentina and South Africa helps increase the global production forecasts.
