CHICAGO (Dow Jones) -- Informa Economics said U.S. winter-wheat production this year will surpass a May forecast from the Department of Agriculture.
U.S. winter wheat output will total 1.448 billion bushels this year, up 21 million bushels from the USDA's May estimate, Informa said in a report on Friday.
Production of hard-red winter wheat, grown in the southern Great Plains and used to make bread, will total 882 million bushels, up 19 million from USDA's May projection, Informa said. Soft-red winter wheat production will total 353 million bushels, which is four million less than the government's latest forecast, and white winter wheat output will come in at 214 million bushels, about six million above the USDA's May outlook, the firm said.
"Rainfall during May was near normal to slightly below normal across much of the Corn Belt and Hard Red Wheat Belt with parts of Nebraska, Kansas and southern Missouri receiving above-normal rains," according to the private forecaster.
In a separate report released Friday, Informa trimmed its forecast for corn and soybean production in Brazil for the 2015-16 season. The firm said soybean output in Brazil, one of the world's biggest exporters, will total 98.5 million metric tons, which is 1.6 million tons lower than its May forecast.
Brazil's corn crop is pegged at 78.9 million metric tons, which is 2.1 million below Informa's month-ago projection.
Informa also forecast soybean production in Argentina will total 55.0 million metric tons, the same as its May estimate.