FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 09/01 - UNITED STATES (12 September)

UNITED STATES (12 September)

The latest USDA Crop Production report in September, put total wheat production in the United States in 2001 at 54 million tonnes, some 10 percent down from the previous year and well below average, mostly reflecting a further decline in plantings to the smallest area since 1971. As of early September the winter wheat planting for the 2002 crop was just getting underway in some southern states, while the maize harvest was just starting in the corn belt. Aggregate coarse grains output in 2001 is now forecast at 257 million tonnes, about 7 percent down from the previous year. Of the total, maize would account for 235 million tonnes, compared to 253 million tonnes a year earlier.