Corn drought turning China's hope for record crop into shrunken harvest

Melbourne

THE record corn crop China was counting on to sustain its huge pork habit is coming up short.

Production that was supposed to reach an all-time high this season instead will drop 5.8 per cent, the most in 15 years, after a summer drought and late-season rains stunted plants and delayed harvests, according to SGS SA, a researcher hired by Bloomberg to survey farmers in the main growing regions during September and October. As recently as Oct 9, the US Department of Agriculture forecast a 4.3 per cent gain in Chinese output.

At a time when global stockpiles are dropping for the first time in five years, a smaller Chinese harvest may boost domestic prices already inflated by subsidised government purchases and restrictions on cheaper imports. While China has expanded inventories in recent years, it grows and consum…