World corn production, consumption, stocks: A survey on the fiscal years1998/99 and 1999/2000

摘要

Novel evaluations concerning the world most important starch producer and consumer countries have been published by the Corn Refiners Association in "Corn Annual 2000" (Source USDA- Foreign Agricultural Service). Exact numbers are presented for 21 of the most important producer and user countries. Less important producers and/or consumers have been summarized under "Others" (together nearly 53 000 X 10~3 metric tons). In some cases the figures of, only "Production" or "Consumption" were available (Tab. 1). Totals of the annual production and consumption confirm the worldwide trend of steady increase in the last five years (as has been reported in Starch/Starke 51 (1999),183 and 52 (2000), 254, 255). The "everlasting" record number of 1996/97 (production in mt: 592047 X 10~3, Consumption 573637 X 10~3) was outrun in the last two fiscal years (Tab. 2). The order of nations with the largest production and consumption data has remained the same as in the preceeding years; (previous numbers of fiscal 1997/98 must have been slightly revised in Tab. 1): U.S.A., P.R. China, EU, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Argentina, India, Canada, South Africa, Romania, Yugoslavia. Positive tendencies in development of production and/or consumption are reported for Egypt and South Korea. However, the former corn belts in eastern Europe, Russia and Ukraine still range at the end of the list; no upward tendency is to be perceived. Again the validity of the figure given here for both countries may be questioned. Hungary, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand, show remarkable stability.