UNITED STATES (25 August)
The 2003 winter wheat harvest was virtually complete by the end of July. The USDA Crop Report estimates a total of winter wheat output was 46.7 million tonnes, 50 percent up from the poor crop of 2002. The spring wheat crop is also expected to increase significantly. Although the area planted decreased, abandonment is expected to be much less and yields are forecast to be well up on last year. The aggregate (winter and spring) wheat output is forecast at 62.4 million tonnes, 42 percent up from 2002. The 2003 coarse grain output is also forecast to rebound from last year’s drought-reduced level to about 276 million tonnes, 12.5 percent up from the previous year. Of the total, maize is forecast to account for 256 million tonnes. The 2003 paddy area, estimated at 1.2 million hectares, is reported to be the lowest since 1996/97 and production is expected to fall to around 9 million tonnes.