USDA’s attache office for Mexico put that country’s corn harvest this fall at 22.6 million metric tons, down from the 23.5 million last fall, as reduced summer rainfall or even drought may occur because of El Nino.

“Although now only projections, but if they (weather forecasts) do hold true a significant reduction in rainfall could be expected across most of central Mexico, though some areas in the southern part of the country would likely get more rainfall than normal,” the report said.

El Nino weather may trim Mexican corn harvest - attache

Based on the expected smaller harvest, the attache office raised expected corn imports for the 2016/2017 year (Oct-Sept) to 12 million from the current year’s 11.3 million. Total corn consumption was raised 1.6% from the previous year due to expected expansion in the Mexican livestock and poultry sectors and other food industries such as starch, cereal and snacks.

Mexico is one of the world’s largest importers of corn and much of it comes from the United States

Wheat harvest this summer is expected to be up 3.7% to 3.9 million metric tons as the crop has had sufficient water supplies for irrigation.

Limited foreign exchange, ergot rules to trim Egypt’s wheat imports – attache
Egypt’s wheat imports in the 2015/2016 market year (July/June) are forecast by USDA’s attache office at 10.6 million metric tons versus USDA’s current 11.5 million forecast because of limited foreign exchange capabilities and difficulty procuring foreign supplies following Cairo’s tighter limits on ergot contamination.

The attache put 2016/2017 wheat imports at 11 million tons.

Despite tight water supplies and high input costs, the office put 2016/2017 wheat production at 8.1 million metric tons, unchanged from the previous year.

Increasing feed demand by Egypt’s poultry, aquaculture, and livestock sectors should increase corn imports to 8.5 million metric tons in 2016/2017 (Oct/Sept) from USDA’s forecast of 8 million for the current year.

“The government of Egypt is determined to implement its strategy of expanding the production of yellow corn to reach 840,000 hectares (2.07 million acres) by the end of 2018,” the report said. ”It has become one of the priorities of the current government in an effort to decrease the importation of feed ingredients.”

Harvested corn acreage is currently at 750,000 hectares (1.85 million acres).

Brazil lower house starts impeachment process for Dilma Rousseff - Reuters
Brazil's lower house of Congress launched impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff on Thursday by approving a committee of 65 members that will study whether there are grounds to remove her for manipulating government accounts, a Reuters story said.

 The story said lawmakers voted 433-1 to install the committee tasked with reporting to the full lower house. Approval from two-thirds of the 513 members of the lower house would be needed to proceed to a formal trial in the Senate.

The opposition request to impeach Rousseff alleges that her government manipulated accounts in 2014 to allow her to boost public spending in the run-up to her re-election in 2014.

 The call for impeachment has become a test for Rousseff's survival in a political storm created by a widening corruption scandal and Brazil's worst recession in decades.