Global Ag News for July 7th

Manitoba Region Declares Disaster as Heat Wave Hurts Crops

Wheat prices overnight are up 6 in SRW, up 8 1/2 in HRW, up 13 3/4 in HRS; Corn is up 3 1/4; Soybeans up 38; Soymeal up $0.83; Soyoil up 0.76.

For the week so far wheat prices are down 21 in SRW, down 27 in HRW, down 31 3/4 in HRS; Corn is down 36 3/4; Soybeans down 56; Soymeal down $1.76; Soyoil down 2.74. For the month to date wheat prices are down 47 1/2 in SRW, down 66 3/4 in HRW, down 42 3/4 in HRS; Corn is down 45 1/2; Soybeans down 56; Soymeal down $11.00; Soyoil down 3.22.

Chinese Ag futures (SEP 21) Soybeans down 13 yuan ; Soymeal down 73; Soyoil down 148; Palm oil down 114; Corn down 10 — Malasyian Palm is down 59. Malaysian palm oil prices overnight were down 59 ringgit (-1.53%) at 3792 heading amid a broader slump in farm commodities and higher stockpiles of vegetable oils in India, which may curb demand from the world’s biggest buyer.

Midwest corn, soybean and winter wheat forecasts: West: Scattered showers through Saturday. Temperatures below to near normal through Saturday. East: Scattered showers through Saturday. Temperatures above to near normal Wednesday, near normal Thursday-Saturday. 6 to 10 day outlook: Scattered showers Sunday-Thursday. Temperatures below to near normal Sunday-Tuesday, near to above normal Wednesday-Thursday.

The player sheet for 7/6 had funds: net sellers of 14,500 contracts of  SRW wheat, sellers of 35,000 corn, sellers of 24,000 soybeans, sellers of 13,500 soymeal, and  sellers of 12,000 soyoil.

Preliminary changes in futures Open Interest as of July 6 were: SRW Wheat down 1,667 contracts, HRW Wheat up 4,402, Corn up 1,875, Soybeans down 430, Soymeal down 2,574, Soyoil down 2,250.

There were no changes in registrations -3 Oats. Registration total: 20 SRW Wheat contracts; 1 Oats; 0 Corn; 13 Soybeans; 388 Soyoil; 407 Soymeal; 1,249 HRW Wheat.

TENDERS

• WHEAT SALE: Egypt’s state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC,) said it had bought 240,000 tonnes of wheat in an international purchasing tender for shipment Sept. 1-15. GASC said its purchase comprised 180,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat and 60,000 tonnes of Russian wheat.
• WHEAT SALE: Jordan’s state grains buyer purchased 60,000 tonnes of hard milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins in a tender which closed on Tuesday
• WHEAT SALE: Iranian state agency, the Government Trading Corporation (GTC), purchased an unknown volume of milling wheat in an international seeking about 60,000 tonnes of milling wheat which closed last week
• CORN, BARLEY, SOYMEAL SALE: Iranian state-owned animal feed importer SLAL has purchased an unknown volume of animal feed corn, feed barley and soymeal in an international tender which closed last week
• SOYBEAN SALE: South Korea’s state-backed Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. has bought around 15,600 tonnes of soybeans free of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) for food use in an international tender for the same volume
• WHEAT TENDER: Turkey’s state grain board TMO has issued an international tender to purchase a total of about 395,000 tonnes of milling wheat
• WHEAT TENDER: Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture sought 108,175 tonnes of food-quality wheat from the United States, Canada and Australia in a regular tender.
• WHEAT TENDER: Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC has issued an international tender to buy milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins
• FEED WHEAT TENDER: A group of importers in Thailand has issued an international tender to purchase up to 230,700 tonnes of animal feed wheat
• FEED WHEAT TENDER: South Korea’s Major Feedmill Group (MFG) purchased about 65,000 tonnes of animal feed wheat to be sourced from optional origins in a private deal late on Tuesday without issuing an international tender

PENDING TENDERS

• WHEAT TENDER: Bangladesh’s state grains buyer issued an international tender to purchase 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat
• WHEAT TENDER: Bangladesh’s state grains buyer issued another international tender to purchase 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat
• WHEAT TENDER: The Ethiopian government issued an international tender to buy about 400,000 tonnes of optional-origin milling wheat

USDA CROP PROGRESS: Corn Conditions 64% G/E, Soybeans 59%

Highlights from the report:

• Corn 64% G/E vs 64% last week, and 71% a year ago
• Corn silking 10% vs 4% last week, and 9% a year ago
• Soybeans 59% G/E vs 60% last week, and 71% a year ago
• Soybeans blooming 29% G/E vs 14% last week, and 29% a year ago
• Spring wheat 16% G/E vs 20% last week, and 70% a year ago
• Winter wheat 47% G/E vs 48% last week, and 51% a year ago
• Winter wheat harvest 45% vs 33% last week, and 54% a year ago
• Cotton 52% G/E vs 52% last week, and 43% a year ago
• Sorghum 72% G/E vs 70% last week, and 48% a year ago

U.S. Inspected 1.236m Tons of Corn for Export, 206k of Soybean

In week ending July 1, according to the USDA’s weekly inspections report.

• Soybeans: 206k tons vs 111k the previous wk, 562k a yr ago
• Corn: 1,236k tons vs 1,034k the previous wk, 1,035k a yr ago
• Wheat: 258k tons vs 289k the previous wk, 414k a yr ago

China’s farmers dump other crops for corn on bumper profit pull – Reuters News

• Nationwide corn output may jump over 6% this season – JCI
• Corn area in top grain hub could jump 27% – Huatai Futures
• Soybeans, sorghum, small grains lose area to corn
• China corn imports seen dropping on more local supplies

Chinese farmers have sharply increased corn planting this year to cash in on demand-fuelled record prices, a trend that is likely to cool the country’s recent rampant appetite for imports heading into 2022.

The expansion, which comes mainly at the expense of soybeans and other crops including sorghum and edible beans, would boost China’s maize output in 2021/22 by at least 6%, according to market participants.

That will likely ease a repeat of last year when strong feed demand from the hog sector propelled China’s corn use beyond local production and sparked a 26-million tonne import spree that turned the world’s largest grain producer into the top corn buyer

Manitoba Region Declares Disaster as Heat Wave Hurts Crops

Crop conditions and moisture reserves deteriorated rapidly in the past week across Manitoba, a key Canadian agricultural producer, amid record-high temperatures, the provincial government said Tuesday.

• Rural Municipality of St. Laurent declared an agricultural disaster, weekly crop report says
  • More municipalities in the Interlake region are expected to do the same due to persistent growing challenges such as insects and lack of rainfall
• Many crops are maturing faster than normal, with grains and pods filling early on cereals
  • Canola and peas will be affected by heat and lack of moisture this week
• Fungicide applications on cereals and canola are unlikely to occur on many fields
• Grasshopper feeding has become more widespread
  • Insecticide applications are occurring in all regions

German Grains Harvest Seen up 5% Y/y at 45.4 Million Tons: DBV

Germany’s total grains harvest in 2021 is seen at about 45.4m tons, up from 43.2m tons in the previous year, German farmers union DBV said in a statement.

• That’s slightly below the 2015-2019 average of 45.6 million tons
• Rainfall in the last few days has been good for crops, DBV President Joachim Rukwied said
• Winter-wheat crop seen at 22.8m tons, up 5% y/y
• Winter-barley crop seen at 9.35m tons, up 6% y/y
• Spring-barley crop seen at 1.76m tons, down 12% y/y
• Rapeseed crop seen at 3.72m tons, up 6% y/y

Agritel Sees Russia 2021 Wheat Crop at 82.3m Tons, Down 3% Y/Y

That would still be the country’s third-best harvest on record, agricultural advisory Agritel said in an emailed report.

• Agritel’s estimate follows a crop tour conducted June 21-25 and is up from its previous forecast of 78.1m tons made in April
• Good conditions in southern Russia since April improved winter-wheat yield potential
  • Winter-wheat yields seen at 3.87 tons/hectare, above 3.77 tons last year
• Rains in the Central and Volga region came too late for winter wheat, but are beneficial for spring crops
• Heat and dryness in the Urals and South Siberia hampered emergence of spring-wheat crops
  • Spring-wheat yields seen at 1.8 tons/hectare, below record 1.88 tons last year
• Crops are expected to have good quality, but some farms have faced waterlogged fields and protein levels should be lower y/y

EU Soft-Wheat Exports Close 2020-21 Season at 25.5m Tons: Govt

Soft-wheat shipments in the July-June season came to 25.5m tons, the European Commission said on its website.

• That compares to 34.8m tons for the same period a year earlier
  • NOTE: Data for the 2020-21 season include trade for the U.K. until Dec. 31, when the country departed the EU customs union
  • Figures for the entire prior year include U.K. trade
  • France was the biggest exporter, followed by Germany
  • Top destinations were Algeria (5.71m tons), Morocco (2.25m tons) and Nigeria (2.23m tons)
• BARLEY
  • EU barley exports totaled 7.2m tons, versus 7.62m tons last year
  • Top destinations were China and Saudi Arabia
• OTHER CROPS
  • EU corn imports were 14.6m tons, versus 19.7m tons last year

Argentine farmers have sold 23.7 mln tonnes of 2020/21 soybeans -agriculture ministry

Argentine farmers have sold 23.7 million tonnes of soybeans from the 2020/21 season, after transactions were registered over the last week for 788,800 tonnes, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday in a report with data through June 30.

• Argentine soybean sales have been slower than during the previous year, when 26.3 million tonnes of the oilseed had been sold by this point in the season, according to official data.
• Argentina’s 2020/21 soy harvest is expected at 43.5 million tonnes, according to the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange, versus an estimated 49 million tonnes in the 2019/20 crop year.
• Argentine growers are also harvesting 2020/21 corn. Sales of 32.2 million tonnes of this season’s corn crop have been registered so far, the ministry said in the report, 3 million tonnes more than at this point last season.

China to Widen Insurance for Grain Farmers in Food Security Push

• Country seeks ways to boost food output with limited farmland
• Corn imports have more than tripled to record on hog feed use

China plans to broaden its agriculture insurance policies to protect more farmers and bolster production of crops including rice, wheat and corn in a bid to improve the security of food supplies.

Central and local governments will subsidize insurance costs for farmers to cover planting expenses and harvest revenue in the event of natural disasters, pest damage and other losses, according to Zou Jiayi, vice finance minister.

China, the biggest consumer of farm commodities, strives for basic self-sufficiency in the essential cereals of rice and wheat, and seeks to restrain imports of corn as much as possible. Still, overseas wheat purchases may surge this year to the highest since the mid-1990s and corn imports have more than tripled to a record because of an expanding hog herd and crop woes.

The insurance subsidies will be expanded to 500 major grain-growing counties in 13 provinces this year and cover all grain producers in these provinces by 2022, Zou said. A trial operation in six provinces from 2018 was welcomed by farmers who continued to grow their crops because the insurance policy covered their losses, she said.

The central government will subsidize as much as 45% of the insurance costs, while local governments are offering subsidies of not less than 25%, Zou said. Agricultural insurance in China has evolved rapidly in the past few years, with premium income rising to the highest in the world, but the insurance covers only about 70% of the production of the three crops of rice, wheat and corn, compared with 85% in some developed countries, like the U.S., she said.