USDA: penultimate global grain harvest estimate 2018/19 - slight downward correction The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is slightly downgrading the global grain harvest in 2018/19 . Slightly less wheat and less corn are the causes. Overall, a harvest of 2,105 million t is estimated . This is offset by consumption of around 2,150 million t . The deficit is disputed from the reduction of inventories . The final holdings fall by just under 7% to approx. 600 million t. As a result, the calculated inventories fall from 30.7 to 28% of consumption according to new accounting standards and are still below 2015/16 . The wheat harvest of 2018/19 is estimated at 733 million tonnes (-1.5 million tonnes the previous month). Compared to the previous year are missing approx. 30 million tonnes, mainly due to Russia, the EU and Australia. Global wheat consumption is estimated at 742 million tonnes (-5 million tonnes the previous month).The wheat stocks estimate the USDA at a slightly higher 270 million t from the previous month. Year - on-year, Russian end-of-wheat stocks fell to half the previous year's level. EU final stocks also fall by 35%. In the other major production areas, inventories remain largely unchanged. The global corn crop only marginally revised the USDA to a slightly higher 1,101 Mt compared to the previous month. Compared to the previous year, the worldwide harvest falls by approx. 25 million t higher. Consumption estimates the USDA to slightly higher 1,134 million t . The shortage of maize is covered by the reduced final stocks, which are reduced by 33 million t compared to the previous year. This means that global corn reserves are still below 2015/16. As time progresses, the need for corrections to the estimates decreases. Accordingly, the reactions on the stock exchanges are only minor.On the Chicago Stock Exchange, the wheat price rose slightly, while corn prices eased slightly. However, the weekend influence with the usual close positions should have made a considerable contribution to the price changes. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has also reiterated its estimate of world grain supply. The results differ methodically from the USDA estimate. The basic statements remain the same.
