Ecuador: Grain and Feed Annual
Ecuador’s wheat production in marketing year (MY) 2016/17 (July-June) is forecast to reach 4,000 metric tons (MT), down about 1,000 MT from the MY 2015/16 estimate. Ecuador is an insignificant producer of wheat, dependent almost entirely on foreign imports. Ecuador’s wheat imports in MY 2016/17 are forecast at 800,000 MT, down 60,000 MT or seven percent compared to the MY 2015/16 estimate of 860,000 metric tons. Corn production in MY 2016/17 (May-April) is forecast at 1.16 million metric tons (MMT), down from the MY 2015/16 estimate of 1.4 MMT. We attribute the downward trend in production to phyto-sanitary issues and the economic uncertainties surrounding the market, which are discouraging farmers from planting. Milled rice production in MY 2016/17 (April-March) is forecast at 660,000 MT, down 90,000 MT or 12 percent compared to the MY 2015/16 estimate of 750,000 metric tons.
