(Farm Futures) – Brazil said it expects to harvest 95.8 million metric tons of soybeans in 2015, an 11.2% increase from the previous crop. The harvest will begin in January.
The number surprised Chicago traders as USDA estimates Brazil’s crop at 94 million tons. Brazil is the world’s second largest soybean producer after the United States, and said soybean acreage will be up 4.9%.
Saudi Arabia to import all of its wheat beginning in 2016 – Newspaper
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia said it will stop buying locally produced wheat beginning in 2016 and will rely on imported wheat, the Arabic newspaper Saudi Gazette said on Thursday.
The announcement was made by the Middle East kingdom’s new Minister of Agriculture during an International Grains Forum event in Jeddah.
The kingdom began growing wheat in the 1980s, but production has declined since 2008 as the crop requires considerable water. Saudi Arabia expects to import 3 million metric tons this year.
France Corn: Record Crop Increased – USDA
USDA estimates France’s 2014/15 corn production at a record 17.4 million tons, up 0.4 million, or 2.4% from last month, and up 18.4% from last year, USDA said this week.
France is the European Union’s largest corn producer, with estimated output comprising 24 % of the 2014/15 EU corn crop.
The corn harvest in France was reportedly 95 percent finished by mid-November, ahead of last year’s harvest pace, which was hampered by rain. Abundant moisture boosted yields this season to the second-highest level on record but raised concerns about quality in some regions, USDA said.
