The International Grains Council (IGC) lowered its worldwide maize output prediction for 2021/22 , owing to lower expectations for Brazil and Argentina.

The intergovernmental agency decreased the prediction by 4 million tonnes to 1.203 billion tonnes in its monthly update.

Brazil’s corn crop was estimated to be 111.5 million tonnes, down from a previous estimate of 112.9 million but still significantly higher than the previous season’s 87.0 million tonnes.

The IGC also reduced Argentina’s corn crop projection from 61.0 million tonnes to 59.0 million tonnes, significantly lower than the previous season’s 60.5 million.

Argentina’s dry weather has sparked concerns about the prospects for grain and soybean production.

The IGC also mentioned “signs of diminishing yield potential in South America,” which resulted in a 15-million-tonne reduction in the IGC’s prediction for world soybean production in 2021/22 to 353 million tonnes.

The global wheat production forecast for 2021/22 was set at 781 million tonnes, unchanged from the previous month’s forecast but somewhat higher than the 774 million forecast for the previous season.