October 7, 2024

China's corn production set to reach 293 million tonnes in 2024/25

Corn production in China is forecasted to increase to 293 million tonnes for the 2024/25 season, according to a report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) attaché in Beijing, Country Guide reported.

This growth is attributed to improved yields, which offset a slight decline in the harvested area.

The USDA report detailed that China's corn output for 2023/24 was 288.84 million tonnes, based on an average yield of 6.53 tonnes per hectare, spread across 44.22 million hectares of land. Although the harvested area is expected to slightly decrease to 44.20 million hectares, yields are projected to rise to 6.63 tonnes per hectare in 2024/25.

In line with China's strategy to reduce dependence on agricultural imports, the USDA Beijing office revised its forecast for the country's corn imports to 20 million tonnes in 2024/25, down from 24 million tonnes in the previous year. The report noted that China held contracts for 2.80 million tonnes of 2023/24 US corn (excluding unknown destinations), a 63% decrease from the previous year.

So far in 2024, China has imported 12 million tonnes of corn, a decline of 11% compared to the same period in 2023. Of these imports, 5.80 million tonnes came from Brazil, four million tonnes from Ukraine, 1.80 million tonnes from the US, with the remainder sourced from other suppliers.

The attaché also provided estimates on China's corn consumption. Feed and residual usage are projected to rise to 235 million tonnes in 2024/25, up from 223 million tonnes in 2023/24. Additionally, food, seed, and industrial consumption are expected to increase by one million tonnes, reaching 83 million tonnes.

China's corn carryover for the 2024/25 season is forecasted to shrink to 206.83 million tonnes, down from 211.85 million tonnes the previous year.

-      Country Guide