The monitoring period for this report is January-March 2026. Based on multi-source satellite remote sensing data, ground observations, and meteorological data, and supported by the CropWatch Cloud platform, the global production situation of staple grain and oil crops was assessed, with a particular focus on the current production status of staple crops in the Southern Hemisphere and  winter wheat in Northern Hemisphere. The impacts of extreme weather events significantly affecting agricultural production were also analyzed. High-resolution remote sensing monitoring and verification of planting area, yield per unit area, and total production for staple crops were carried out for 20 major producing countries, which rank among the top 20 in global food production and the top 15 in population. The main conclusions of the report are as follows:

During January-March 2026, which corresponds to the grain-filling, maturation, and harvest stage of soybean and maize in Southern Hemisphere main producing areas and the critical overwintering-to-greening stage of winter wheat in the Northern Hemisphere, global croplands remained generally drier than average. Severe precipitation deficits were observed in the central-southern part of North America, northern and Huang-Huai regions of China, South Asia, and the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia, whereas significant precipitation surpluses occurred in Western Europe, Eastern Africa, and the Malay-Archipelago in Southeast Asia. In March 2026, elevated sea-surface temperatures contributed to above-average air temperatures in many agricultural areas worldwide.

The global Crop Production Index (CroPI-11) for the monitoring period stood at 1.00, exactly at the baseline, representing a relatively low level compared with the past five years. The Northern Hemisphere value of 0.98 touched the lower limit of the normal range, while the Southern Hemisphere (1.03) and tropical region (1.02) were both in the upper half of the normal range. Cropping conditions came under some pressure in central-western Brazil, southern Africa, the Indochina Peninsula, and the central-southern part of North America, and these areas require continued monitoring.

Total global production of staple grain and oil crops in 2026 is estimated to reach 3,341.06 million metric tons, an increase of 27.74 million tons compared with the previous year, representing growth of about 0.8%. Specifically: Global maize production is estimated to reach 1,212.28 million tons, up 15.99 million tons (+1.3%) year-on-year. Global rice production is estimated at 864.08 million tons, generally stable overall, rising by 5.85 million tons (+0.7%) compared with the previous year. The production situation for rice in equatorial regions was close to or slightly better than the recent average, though with significant intra-regional variations. Core rice-growing zones with favorable water conditions—such as deltas, alluvial plains, and major islands—maintained relatively high CroPI levels, which were the main factor supporting stable rice production in this period. In contrast, rainfed inland areas of the Indochina Peninsula, some marginal inland rice-growing belts in South Asia, and scattered rice‑producing areas in equatorial Africa continued to face pressure from water deficits or insufficient solar radiation. Global wheat production is estimated at 819.16 million tons, down 3.50 million tons (−0.4%) year-on-year. Main winter-wheat producing countries in the Northern Hemisphere generally showed a pattern of “increased area, decreased yield per unit area, and a slight decline in total production”.Global soybean production is estimated to reach 445.54 million tons, continuing the upward trend, with an increase of 9.40 million tons (+2.2%) compared with the previous year, indicating sustained growth in soybean supply from South America.

The next monitoring period (April-June) is a critical growth season for the world’s main season crops. During this stage, close attention should be paid to changes in soil moisture in key Northern Hemisphere grain-producing regions such as the United States and Russia, as well as to spring-summer precipitation, reservoir storage, river‑network replenishment, and soil moisture recovery in major rice-producing countries, in order to assess their potential impacts on crop development and yield prospects.