Chinese corn farmers have reason to be worried. This year’s main summer months across the country will be dry, most likely the driest in 11 years. The out-of-sync conditions will start with a colder spring; the coldest conditions in eight years and wettest in five years are likely to delay planting. Corn is generally planted in April/May and harvested in September and October.
The last time corn farmers had a bumper harvest was in 2015 when the weather was the coolest in 13 years with average rain. Since then, it has it has either been too wet or too hot. 2019 was the wettest in two decades, followed by near-record heat in 2020.
Over 2 million farmers in China grow corn. By contrast, the United States has a little of 300,000 corn farmers but leads China by over 40 per cent when it comes to output.
