Serbia: Grain and Feed Annual
Due to favorable weather conditions, the fall planting of wheat has proceeded faster than in previous years. The MY2016/17 wheat crop planted area is reported to be similar to last year or approximately 600,000 HA. With estimated wheat yields of approximately 4.2 MT/HA, total production is expected to be 2.5 million MT. This amount is more than sufficient to meet domestic consumption of 1.3 MT and still leave approximately 1.1 million MT for export. The spring planting will start the first week of April, when crops will be planted on 2.67 million HA, approximately the same area as last year. This area combined with the 750,000 HA already planted last fall makes total planted area for all crops in Serbia an estimated 3.35 million HA. For MY2015/16, corn planted area was reported as 1.05 million HA, with total corn production at 6 million MT, approximately 2 million MT less than the previous year. In MY2014/15, Serbia exported a record quantity of 3 million MT of corn. From October 2015 to February 2016, Serbia exported approximately 600,000 MT of corn, a five year record low. In the same period last year, Serbia exported 1.7 million MT of corn. Diminished export quantities are the result of uncompetitive prices and difficulties in transportation due to the low level of the Danube River.
