For 2006/07, China's corn crop is estimated at 143.0 million tons, up 2 million from last month and up 3.6 million from last year's record crop. Corn area is estimated at a record 27.0 million.

The yield is estimated at a record 1,221 kilograms per hectare, up more than 8 percent from last hectares, unchanged from last year. The estimated yield of 5.3 tons per hectare is up 1.4 percent from last month but equal to last year's record yield.

China's 2006/07 main-season corn harvest started in August and was completed in October. The weather has been unusually warm and dry in most crop areas since mid-September, creating excellent conditions for crop maturation and harvest.

According to preliminary harvest reports, bumper crops are expected on the North China Plain (40 percent of total production) in response to higher planted area, adequate summer rainfall, and good harvest conditions. Crop quality is reportedly better than last year, and moisture content is significantly lower.

The situation was also favorable in the Northeast (36 percent of total production). In Heilongjiang, corn yield and quality were adversely affected by cool and wet weather in August and September, but production was expected to exceed last year due to higher planted area.

Seasonably dry autumn weather, combined with a late frost, resulted in higher than expected yields in Jilin. Similar conditions were also reported in Liaoning and Inner Mongolia.

In contrast, the weather has been less than ideal for corn in southern China, which accounts for about 10 percent of total production. A severe summer drought in Sichuan and Chongqing had a negative affect on the early corn crop, with production down by an estimated 50 percent in some locations.

An autumn drought is currently affecting nearly 3 million hectares of cropland in southeast China, particularly in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces. The drought likely lowered the yield of the late corn crop, which was harvested in October.

Source:佚名