Browse Data and Analysis

Zimbabwe’s production of its staple crop, corn, is expected to drop by almost 60 percent in marketing year 2024/25 due to extreme drought conditions associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon.

In 2023, the Government of Ecuador continued to support floor prices for local production of corn, rice, and wheat, but has reduced subsidies for fertilizers, pesticides, and minor equipment for small producers.

Zimbabwe’s corn crop for marketing year 2023/24 is estimated at 1.5 million metric tons. This represents an increase of five percent from the previous marketing year’s crop, mainly due to a normal rainfall season in the northern parts of the country.

In 2022, the Government of Ecuador continued to support floor prices for local production of corn, rice, and wheat as well as began subsidizing the price of fertilizers for small producers.

Zimbabwe’s corn crop for marketing year (MY) 2022/23 is estimated at 1.6 million metric tons (MMT), representing a drop of 43 percent from the bumper crop of 2.7 MMT produced in MY 2021/22. Many factors contributed to the drop in production including sub-optimal weather conditions, high input costs and macro-economic challenges.

The Government of Ecuador continues defining the yearly minimum price for local production of corn, rice, and wheat. The Minister of Agriculture supports the reduction of corn area and the shift to other crops that are mainly focused on the export market.

Zimbabwe’s corn crop for the 2021/22 marketing year (MY) is estimated at 2.7 million tons, an increase of almost 200 percent from the 907,628 tons of corn produced in the 2020/21 MY.

The Government of Ecuador has fully eliminated the support program for corn production, but continues to define the yearly minimum price for producers

Zimbabwe’s corn crop for the 2020/21 MY is estimated at 907,628 tons, 17 percent higher thanthe 2019/20 MY’s corn crop of 776,635 tons.

Uncertainty of government corn policies and price support mechanisms contributed to decreased production with farmers retiring or shifting to more profitable crops.

As Ecuador’s economy stabilizes and becomes more open to trade, wheat consumption is expected to trend upward.

As Ecuador’s economy recovers and domestic corn prices remain high, consumption of wheat and rice increased in 2017/18.