Aerial photo taken on Oct. 8, 2018 shows workers drying corn in Zhangye City, northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua)
BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- China's corn acreage is forecast to fall to 41.63 million hectares this year and next, a recent agricultural report said.
Corn output will likely retreat 1.2 percent year-on-year to 254 million tonnes this year, according to the report from Chinese Agriculture Outlook Committee (CAOC).
Farmers have a strong willingness to expand the growing areas of soybean, as soybean subsidies remain higher than corn subsidies, said Wang Dongjie, CAOC analyst.
Northeastern regions are China's top growing areas for both soybeans and corn, with farmers there switching between the two crops based on what will be more profitable in a given year.
Corn consumption is expected to hit 283 million tonnes, down 0.2 percent year on year.
The report also forecast that the wholesale prices of corn will keep at 1,750 yuan (about 257 U.S. dollars) to 1,850 yuan per tonne. Enditem
