Venezuela's corn harvest forecast lower

Economic uncertainty and higher input costs likely will hamper increased corn acreage and limit yields for Venezuela in marketing year 2024-25, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture. The FAS sees corn production at 1.36 million tonnes on planted area of 350,000 hectares, down slightly from 1.4 million tonnes estimated for 2023-24 on 329,000 hectares. Production will feature 975,000 tonnes of white corn and 325,000 tonnes of yellow corn. Inflation of the Bolivar and a scarcity of US dollars have increased agricultural input costs, including fertilizers and pesticides, leading to yield decreases as producers purchase lower volumes of agrochemicals, according to the report. “Although corn production has grown steadily since 2020, the lack of consistent financing remains the primary constraint on Venezuelan farmers’ ability to increase planting area,” the FAS said. Total corn consumption is likewise seen dropping to 2.3 ...