USDA expects Romania's corn output 12% above long-term average

Romania's corn production is estimated at 13.7 mln tonnes for the marketing year 2021/22, up 0.3 mln or 2% compared to the previous forecast issued last month and 27% above the poor crop in the previous marketing year, when farmers harvested only 8 million tonnes, according to the latest forecast from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) quoted by Economica.net.

Romania's production is 12% higher than the average of the last five years of 12.2 million tonnes, while the estimated area is similar to last year, 2.6 mln hectares.

The yield is thus estimated at 5.32 tonnes per hectare, up 4% compared to the previous forecast, 26% over last year's crop and 10% above the 5-year average.

Romania (besides France) is constantly among the two largest producers of maize in the European Union (EU). For the 2021/22 harvest year, it ranked second after France.

However, with limited irrigation and frequently hot and dry summers, Romania's corn harvest fluctuates significantly.

Recently, the national production reached a record level of 14.3 mln tonnes in 2019/20, in almost ideal weather conditions, but this was followed by a minimum of the last few years of 10.8 mln tonnes in 2020/21.

(Photo: Stevanovicigor | Dreamstime.com)