Ethanol, Corn Users May Deplete US Supplies By 2008

US ethanol manufacturers, foodmakers and livestock feeders are consuming so much corn (maize) that stockpiles could be depleted by 2008, unless plantings expand sharply, analysts said on Friday…

If USDA’s forecast of this year’s crop proves true, “that postpones the corn supply crisis to next year (2007/08),” said private consultant John Schnittker. He said an additional 800 million-900 million bushels (21.6 million tonnes) of corn are needed in 2007 as a cushion against shortages.

As a result, stockpiles would plummet by 40 percent, to 1.232 billion bushels (31.3 million tonnes) by next fall. USDA said 11.815 billion bushels (245.5 million tonnes) of corn will be fed to livestock, used as a food ingredient or distilled into ethanol in the coming year.

Reuters/Planet Ark