New Zealand – milk production off to strong start

New Zealand milk production for June, the quietest month of its milk production season, stood at 218m litres, 14% ahead of the same month last year. Once the calving season gets under way in August, New Zealand milk production will start to ramp up.

EU – crop production forecast to rise

EU production of all major crops is set to rise this year. EU wheat production is set to recover sharply from last year’s failed harvest (129m tonnes) to hit more normal production levels of 141.3m tonnes. Barley and maize production is forecast at 60m tonnes and 70m tonnes respectively.

Argentina – beef exports soar

Beef exports from Argentina for June grew by more than 50% year on year to just over 43,800t. This brings exports for the first half of 2019 to 225,726t, with almost three quarters (72%) of all beef shipped to China in the period.

US – corn crop very late

As a result of heavy rains and flooding in June, the US corn (maize) crop is very late, with just 58% at the silking stage compared with 90% last year and 83% for the five-year average. Just 58% of the crop is reported to be in good/excellent condition, compared to 72% last year.