USDA: Romania’s maize exports may drop by 2 mln tonnes this year

Maize, the main agri-food commodity exported by Romania, will be exported in much smaller amounts in the 2022/2023 commercial year, according to the projections included in the latest report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA revised the EU's exports downwards by 2 million tonnes, due to the drought in Romania.

EU maize exports could halve this commercial year due to the drought that affected Europe and especially Romania, the largest exporter of the EU. In its August report, the USDA revised the maize exports projections downwards by 2 mn tonnes.

Analysts estimate that the member states will manage to deliver across borders only 2.7 mln tonnes, compared to the 4.7 mln tonnes estimated in June, due to the "drought in Romania".

In the 2021/2022 marketing year that ended on June 30, the EU’s maize exports totalled 5.6 mln tonnes, according to the USDA. The European Commission reported for the first 11 months of the 2021/2022 commercial year, exports of approximately 6 mln tonnes (including processed products), of which 4.2 mln tonnes originated from Romania.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Cornel Putan)