Europe will have to import 20 million tons of corn despite better crop forecasts

The corn harvest in the EU exceeds expectations, but imports will remain quite high.

Thus, the EU corn production is estimated at 60.6 mln tons. This is about 1 mln tonnes more than forecasted in September, and 8.2 mln tonnes more compared to the dry 2022, writes Agrarheute.

Despite the significant reduction of the acreage, the harvest growth is expected in France, Poland and Germany, which will compensate for the decline in Bulgaria and Romania.

Analysts note that the current corn harvest is far behind the average for the last five years, which will again require high imports this season. According to forecasts, about 20 million tons of corn will have to be imported. This will account for at least 25% of European consumption, and internationally it will be exceeded only by China with 23 million tons of imports.

This season, by October 8, the EU countries imported about 4.8 million tons of corn, which is about 40% less than a year ago. The main suppliers are Ukraine with 46% and Brazil with 42% of total imports.

The main buyer is still Spain with 1.87 million tons, which is significantly ahead of Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal. Germany purchased at least 270 thousand tons of corn from third countries (Ukraine).

Corn prices on the European futures market temporarily fell below 200 €/t, but are now slightly higher again. Since the beginning of the year, corn prices have fallen by about a third.

Tags: crop forecast, corn, EU, imports