Global Grain Glut to Continue with Second-Biggest Crop on Record

A global grain surplus will continue to pressure crop prices as this year’s harvest will expand to the second-highest on record. The International Grains Council says world grain production will be nine million metric tons more than forecasted in April as wheat crops improve in the European Union, the United States, and Russia. The International Grains Council expects grain stocks will likely grow again, with much of the increase in China. Crop prices have dropped in the past three years on increased production, and the IGC expects global grain production will reach 2.015 billion tons in the season starting in July, up 0.6 percent from a year earlier. Global stockpiles will expand to a record 474 million tons, with China accounting for about 40 percent. The report predicts farmers around the world will gather 722 million tons of wheat, 0.7 percent higher than the April forecast but down 1.9 percent from a year earlier.  Meanwhile, corn production is predicted at 1.003 billion tons, 3.3 percent larger than the last growing season.