World grain utilization to go up in 2018/19, FAO forecast

World grain utilization in 2018/19 is currently forecast at 2 657 million tons, up 45 million tons (1.7 pct) from 2017/18 and 8 million tons above the December forecast, FAO informs.

The increase from December reflects upward adjustments made to the feed use of wheat (mostly in Australia) and the industrial use of coarse grains, predominantly corn and barley.

Global wheat utilization in 2018/19 is forecast to reach almost 743 million tons, up 3 million tons from December and 5.6 million tons (0.8 pct) above the 2017/18 estimated level.

FAO’s forecast for total utilization of coarse grains in 2018/19 has been raised to 1 405 million tons, 4.7 million higher than in December. At this level, world utilization of coarse grains would be some 34 million tons (2.5 pct) above the 2017/18 estimated level, with feed use reaching an all-time high of almost 786 million tons, up 2.7 pct from the 2017/18 estimated level, with the largest yearly increases projected for China, Mexico and the United States.