Analysis of This Year's Corn Harvest Time and Price Trends

Corn has different names in different regions, such as baogu, baolu, yujiao, baomi, bangzi, sumi, yushushu, yujiao, yumai, lusu. It is an important food and feed crop. So when is corn harvested this year? What about the price? Can it still rise? These are all important questions that growers care about. Let's take a look below!

When is corn harvested this year?

Corn harvest must wait until the corn is mature and ready for market before it can be purchased, so first we need to understand the corn harvest time. China has a vast territory, and different regions have different planting times, so naturally the harvest times are also different.

1. Corn is generally harvested between August and October, but this varies across the country. In Hebei Province, summer-sown corn generally matures from mid-to-late September to mid-October, while spring-sown corn generally matures from early to mid-September. The north mainly uses spring sowing, referring mainly to Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and northern Hebei, while other places basically use summer sowing and also some spring sowing. The maturity period of northern corn is generally from September 15 — September 23, while southern corn is mostly after mid-October.

2. Northeast China, northern North China and parts of the northwest are one-crop-per-year spring corn areas; the North China Plain is mainly a two-crop-per-year summer corn area; the topography of the southwestern and southern hilly and mountainous areas is complex, with cold high-altitude mountainous areas mainly growing one-crop-per-year spring corn, hilly and mountainous areas mainly growing two-crop-per-year summer corn, and plains and shallow mountainous areas mainly growing three-crop-per-year autumn corn.

3. Hebei corn harvest time

In Hebei Province, summer-sown corn generally matures from mid-to-late September to mid-October, while spring-sown corn generally matures from early to mid-September.

4. Henan corn harvest time

In northern and western Henan, the suitable sowing period is preferably October 4 to 13, and in some hilly and mountainous areas early October is suitable for sowing;

In central and eastern Henan, the suitable sowing period is October 8 to 17; in southwestern Henan, the suitable sowing period is October 15 to 23;

In southern Henan, the suitable sowing period is October 17 to 26.

5. Shandong corn harvest time

Because spring corn in Shandong is sown early and has a long growth period, the yield is high. In Shandong, spring corn is generally planted in early April and harvested at the end of August.

6. Heilongjiang corn harvest time

The maturity period of ordinary corn in Heilongjiang is generally around October 1 every year (or the Mid-Autumn Festival, that is, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month).

Of course, due to weather or other disasters, the time may change. The above times are for reference only.

What about corn prices this year?

Corn prices can be divided into purchase prices and selling prices. The following is compiled information:

Corn purchase prices:

1. On July 27, 2018, the corn purchase price at Bayuquan Port in Liaoning, with the market mainstream at: 1690 yuan/ton, year-on-year: 3.68%, month-on-month: -1.17%.

2. On July 27, 2018, the corn purchase price at Jinzhou Port in Liaoning, with the market mainstream at: 1715 yuan/ton, year-on-year: 2.69%, month-on-month: 1.48%.

3. On July 27, 2018, the corn purchase price at Dayaowan Port in Dalian, Liaoning, with the market mainstream at: 1690 yuan/ton, year-on-year: 3.05%, month-on-month: -1.17%.

4. On July 27, 2018, the corn purchase price in Tacheng Prefecture, Xinjiang, with the market mainstream at: 1680 yuan/ton, year-on-year: -11.58%, month-on-month: 0%.

5. On July 27, 2018, the corn purchase price in Shangqiu City, Henan Province, with the market mainstream at: 1810 yuan/ton, year-on-year: 5.85%, month-on-month: 0%.

6. On July 27, 2018, the corn purchase price in Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, with the market mainstream at: 1830 yuan/ton, year-on-year: 7.02%, month-on-month: 0.55%.

Corn selling prices:

1. At present, Qingyuan Food has adjusted its northeast corn purchase price to 1.87 yuan per kg, and North China corn to 1.90 yuan per kg; Zouping Zhonghui has adjusted its North China corn purchase price to 1890 yuan/ton for small trucks (0.945 yuan/jin), and 1900 yuan/ton for large trucks (0.95 yuan/jin); Shouguang Haozheng Feed implements a North China corn price of 0.955 yuan/jin.

2. Harbin, Heilongjiang is 1560-1620 yuan/ton; Jiamusi 1480-1540 yuan/ton; Youyi 1480-1540 yuan/ton.

3. Shenyang, Liaoning 1640-1700 yuan/ton; Tieling 1630-1690.

Can corn prices still rise this year?

1. Since late July, domestic corn market prices have been running steadily but slightly stronger. Specifically, corn prices in the northeast production area have been stable, and traders' quotation mentality has been firm. At present, spring corn in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia has successively entered the silking stage. Recently, rainy and low-sunlight conditions in some production areas have limited the healthy growth of crops, and the market is relatively sensitive to related topics during the critical growth period of the new-season corn. Local corn shipments in North China are relatively concentrated, the market supply pattern is regionally loose, some enterprises have seen increased volumes at factory gates, and purchase quotations have been tentatively lowered by 4-10 yuan/ton. It is expected that local spring corn in North China will be listed around mid-August, and local traders' mentality of continuing to hold grain has already loosened. From the perspective of northern and southern ports, at present, old corn at Jinzhou in the north is gathered at the port at 1710 yuan/ton, with few natural-dried new corn arrivals at the port, while in Guangdong port, bulk-vessel old corn is quoted at 1850-1870 yuan/ton, and container new corn is quoted at 1930-1940 yuan/ton. More than 400,000 tons of imported grains at the port are pressuring downstream consumption.

2. At present, new corn from southern China is being listed. Whether in terms of scale or quality, there is still a gap between it and the high-quality natural-dried corn from the northeast. Moreover, only a small amount is currently being listed, so the price is not representative. Therefore, whether corn prices can still rise this year will depend on the follow-up situation.