Global Ag News For June 6.2025

TOP HEADLINES

Global Food Prices Drop From Two-Year High in May, UN’s FAO Says

Global food prices declined in May, driven by lower grains, vegetable oil and sugar costs, according to an index of food-commodity prices from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.

• The FAO food index fell 0.8% from a month earlier
• Grains prices dropped 1.8%, driven by a sharp decline in corn amid ongoing harvests in Argentina and Brazil
  • Expectations of record corn harvest in the US in 2025 further put pressure on prices
  • Rainfall at the end of May cut the risk of drought in parts of Europe, US and the Black Sea region, helping bring wheat prices lower
• Vegetable oil costs dropped 3.7%, underpinned by larger supply of palm oil in Southeast Asia
• Sugar prices fell 2.6% amid concerns over weaker global demand
• Meat index climbed 1.3%, while the dairy index rose 0.8%

FUTURES & WEATHER

Wheat prices overnight are down 3 1/4 in SRW, down 4 in HRW, down 1 in HRS; Corn is down 3; Soybeans down 3; Soymeal down $1.80; Soyoil up 0.46.

For the week so far wheat prices are up 8 1/4 in SRW, up 5 1/4 in HRW, down 1 1/4 in HRS; Corn is down 7 1/2; Soybeans up 7; Soymeal down $1.00; Soyoil up 0.22.

Year-To-Date nearby futures are down 1.7% in SRW, down 3.7% in HRW, up 4.8% in HRS; Corn is down 4.8%; Soybeans up 5.1%; Soymeal down 4.0%; Soyoil up 18.4%.

Chinese Ag futures (JUL 25) Soybeans up 13 yuan; Soymeal up 37; Soyoil up 46; Palm oil up 18; Corn up 4 — Malaysian Palm is up 15.

Malaysian palm oil prices overnight were up 15 ringgit (+0.38%) at 3918.

There were no changes in registrations. Registration total: 193 SRW Wheat contracts; 0 Oats; 78 Corn; 242 Soybeans; 863 Soyoil; 823 Soymeal; 516 HRW Wheat.

Preliminary changes in futures Open Interest as of June 5 were: SRW Wheat up 190 contracts, HRW Wheat up 2,037, Corn down 14,425, Soybeans down 497, Soymeal up 1,001, Soyoil up 1,987.

 

DAILY WEATHER HEADLINES: 05 JUNE 2025

• NORTH AMERICA: The latest EC extended run depicts warmth returning to much of North America during the next 4 weeks
• SOUTH AMERICA: The latest EC extended run depicts cool weather in northern Argentina, Paraguay, and Southern Brazil during much of the next 4 weeks, while warmth will prevail in most of Brazil
• EUROPE: Warmth will prevail across most of Europe through the next 1-2 weeks, with regional dryness in parts of the south/southeast
• AFRICA: Heavy rainfall may slow maize harvest in South Africa in the coming days, though returning dry weather is likely thereafter

 

Northern Plains: Some isolated showers continue through Friday, though a batch of moderate rain should move through South Dakota on Thursday. A system should move through Canada this weekend and could bring some more showers through eastern areas as well. And we will watch for additional chances later next week and weekend from a couple of storm systems. The region needs the rain, as drought still covers a widespread area, though it has decreased in coverage over the last few weeks.

Central/Southern Plains: Another system moves through the region with more rain for Thursday and Friday and we could see showers continuing into the weekend as well, especially south. All of these disturbances are adding up to some areas of heavy rain, though there are some areas that may miss out. Overall, the rain should help filling wheat and developing corn and soybeans going into next week, but may bog down some more advanced wheat that is starting to mature.

Midwest: A front is bringing scattered showers and thunderstorms through the region, producing areas of heavy rain. Another system or two will move along the front into the weekend with more scattered showers. Another system will move into the Great Lakes this weekend with even more showers into early next week. Though Iowa and the surrounding areas received heavier rain early this week, this part of the region is expected to see less rainfall, but more rainfall is possible later next week and weekend. For wetter areas across the south and east, the rain is keeping soils wet as producers have a hard time finishing up planting.

Delta/Lower Mississippi: A front is stalled out across the north for the next few days, then will get pushed south this weekend and stall through the middle of the region for next week. That zone may shift slightly north and south with time next week, but periods of heavy rain and severe weather are forecast around the front. Overly wet conditions continue across a wide area of the region and the coming rain will not be helpful. We will also keep an eye on the Gulf for a potential tropical system next week.

Canadian Prairies: Isolated showers continue throughout the week, but will be spotty and light. A system will move through this weekend, though any significant showers are forecast for only eastern areas. Disturbances moving through behind it next week could fill in some showers though, too. With planting all but finished, rainfall is needed in several areas for proper germination and early growth. Many areas of the region are drying out quickly and in real need of rain.

Brazil: A front stalled out across southern safrinha corn areas should be active multiple times through Monday, bringing somewhat favorable rainfall to corn that is still filling. Harvest has begun though, and will increase throughout the month of June, so this rainfall will not be overly helpful for the crop. Southern wheat areas are forecast to stay drier, which could use some rain for establishment.

Argentina: With corn and soybean harvest well underway, recent frosts were not damaging. Winter wheat planting continues to ramp up through the month of June but is in need of some rain in areas that were not flooded in May. Dry conditions continue well into next week with the next chance for rain late next week.

Europe: Scattered showers will continue to favor northern areas through the weekend, but there will be areas that miss out. France may have larger sections in the north that did not see much rainfall from the busier weather pattern. Drier conditions across the south are noteworthy, but recent rainfall should stem the tide of a drier pattern there for the next two weeks and may be beneficial for wheat that is closing in on maturity.

Black Sea: Several systems continue to move across the region through next week, but they are favoring the northwest with rainfall, while leaving the south and east much drier. Long-term deficits continue in many areas, including western Russia, and the lack of soil moisture is concerning for reproductive to filling wheat and developing corn.

 

The player sheet for 6/5 had funds: net buyers of 2,000 contracts of SRW wheat, buyers of 4,000 corn, buyers of 6,000 soybeans, sellers of 2,500 soymeal, and sellers of 1,500 soyoil.

TENDERS

• CORN PURCHASE: South Korea’s Major Feedmill Group (MFG) purchased an estimated 199,000 metric tons of animal feed corn in an international tender
• CORN PURCHASE: South Korea’s Korea Corn Processing Industry Association (KOCOPIA) bought about 60,000 metric tons of corn expected to be sourced from the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast in a tender.
• CORN PURCHASE: South Korea’s Feed Leaders Committee (FLC) bought around 67,000 metric tons of animal feed corn in a private deal without issuing an international tender.

PENDING TENDERS

• RICE TENDER: The state purchasing agency in Mauritius issued an international tender to buy 8,000 metric tons of long grain white rice sourced from optional origins
• WHEAT TENDER: Bangladesh’s state grains buyer issued an international tender to purchase and import 50,000 metric tons of milling wheat.
• CORN TENDER: Algerian state agency ONAB is holding a new international tender to purchase up to 240,000 metric tons of animal feed corn sourced from optional origins for shipment during July 1-15.

 

 

 

 

TODAY

US Export Sales of Soybeans, Corn and Wheat by Country

The following shows US export sales of soybeans, corn and wheat by biggest net buyers for week ending May 29, according to data on the USDA’s website.

• Top buyer of soybeans: Bangladesh with 57k tons
• Top buyer of corn: Mexico with 368k tons
• Top buyer of wheat: Nigeria with 131k tons

 

US Export Sales of Pork and Beef by Country

The following shows US export sales of pork and beef product by biggest net buyers for week ending May 29, according to data on the USDA’s website.

• China bought 12.7k tons of the 36.4k tons of pork sold in the week
• South Korea led in beef purchases

 

Argentine Soy, Corn, Wheat Estimates June 5: Exchange

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange releases weekly report on website.

• 2024-25 production estimates maintained for soybeans and corn
• Soybean harvest advanced to 88.7% complete vs 80.7% in the previous week
• 2025-26 wheat planting advanced to 23.6% complete vs 10.5% in the previous week

 

Argentina soy yields above forecasts as wet soil slows harvest, exchange says

Argentina’s soybean yields continue to track higher than expected this season, the Rosario grains exchange said on Thursday, signaling that the process of harvesting the key agricultural export is however progressing slower than usual.

“Despite delays in the harvest, we continue to see higher yields than those initially expected, especially in the southern agricultural region and western Buenos Aires province,” the Buenos Aires exchange said in a weekly report.

Some 88.7% of this season’s soy has been harvested so far, it added.

Argentina is the world’s top supplier of soybean oil and meal, and the third-largest producer of corn.

Harvesting, which began in late March, has been hampered by heavy rainfall that has also slowed the 2024/25 corn harvest and the 2025/26 wheat planting season.

Argentine farmers have so far harvested 43.8% of their corn crop, the exchange added, and planted some 23.6% of the 6.7 million hectares they expected to plant with wheat.

The exchange expects the 2024/25 season to reap some 50 million metric tons of soy and 49 million tons of corn.

 

Global Wheat Stockpiles Seen at Four-Year Low in 2025-26: FAO

Global wheat stockpiles are expected to decline to the lowest level since the 2021-22 season, according to a report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

FAO forecasts wheat inventories will drop to 310 million tons in 2025-26, from 316.8 million tons in the previous season

• Raises 2025-26 world wheat production outlook to about 800 million tons, from 795m tons estimated last month
• Total grains stockpiles seen rising to 873.6 million tons in 2025-26, from 865.3 million tons a year earlier

 

SovEcon Increases Ukraine’s Crop Production and Export Outlooks

Ukraine’s corn production estimate for this year was raised by 1.5m tons to 28.3m tons, consultant SovEcon said by email.

• The corn-export outlook for the 2025-26 season was raised to 23.4m tons
• Wheat-crop estimate increased to 22.6m tons; exports now seen at 17.1m tons
• Favorable rainfall last month helped replenish soil moisture in most regions, improving yield prospects

 

Ukraine completes 2025 spring sowing, farm minister says

Ukraine has completed its 2025 spring sowing, its farm minister Vitaliy Koval said on Friday.

“We have actually finished the sowing at 99.9%, there are just some small pieces of land left (unsown),” Koval said on the Telegram messenger.

 

China’s Vice Premier Urges Efforts on Summer Grain Harvest

China’s Vice Premier Liu Guozhong calls for efforts to achieve a bumper summer grain harvest and ensure the completion of annual grain production targets, state-run Xinhua News Agency reports.

• Liu also calls for gauging the risks of possible disasters and making emergency plans, during his June 3-5 visit to China’s Anhui province

 

US Crops in Drought Area for Week Ending June 3: USDA

The following table shows the percent of US agricultural production within an area that experienced drought for the week ending June 3, according to the USDA’s weekly drought report.

• Drought conditions in corn-growing areas fell to 21% from 23% in the previous week
• Drought in soybean areas fell to 16% vs 17%
• Winter wheat crops in drought fell by 4 percentage points to 12%

 

US Miss. River Grain Shipments Rise, Barge Rates Decline: USDA

Barge shipments down the Mississippi river increased to 859k tons in the week ending May 31 from 735k tons the previous week, according to the USDA’s weekly grain transportation report.

• Barge shipments of corn rose 21% from the previous week
• Soybean shipments up 26.1% w/w
• St. Louis barge rates were $12.49 per short ton, a decline of $0.12 from the previous week

 

JBS-backed egg producer Matinqueira expands in the US

After selling a 50% stake to meatpacker JBS in April, Brazilian egg producer Mantiqueira Brasil is starting greenfield projects in the U.S., the company’s president said on Thursday during an industry event in Sao Paulo.

Leandro Pinto said his son is in the U.S. overseeing the projects in Colorado.

Outbreaks of avian flu, known as bird flu, which caused the death of millions of birds in the U.S. and Europe, gave Brazilian eggs suppliers the chance to increase market share in global markets.

Brazilian companies can both produce eggs locally and export, as well as set up production facilities in other continents, Pinto said.

“We have plans to go to the world,” Pinto said as he mentioned Mantiqueira’s first greenfield projects in Colorado, where JBS already operated large meat plants.

 

Cargill to Spend $90 Million for More Automation at Beef Plant

Cargill Inc. said it will invest roughly $90 million to upgrade its Fort Morgan plant in Colorado, adding to a broader push for increased automation at its US beef operations.

The move will equip the facility with computer-vision technology aimed at helping it reduce meat waste and boosting production yields, the Minneapolis-based company said in a statement. Efforts to increase beef output come as a severe supply shortage in the US has sent cattle costs to record highs, shrinking profit margins across the meatpacking industry.

“By applying smart technology to the problem, we’re getting more meat from every animal,” Jarrod Gillig, senior vice president of Cargill’s North American Beef business, said in the statement. The Fort Morgan investment is part of the company’s so-called “Factory of the Future” plan to automate some jobs at plants.

Earlier Thursday, Cargill said it agreed to buy all the shares it didn’t own at Teys Australia and Teys USA, which own beef processing and distribution assets. The company didn’t disclose the terms of the deal.

 

Brazil’s BRF confident bird flu crisis will be over soon

Brazilian food processor BRF is confident local companies will be able to circumvent chicken trade bans in a matter of days as local authorities have so far been able to control a bird flu outbreak in the world’s largest chicken-exporting nation.

Speaking at an industry event in Sao Paulo on Thursday, BRF’s vice president for quality, Fabio Stumpf, said a combination of well-trained farm workers, strict biosecurity protocols and efficient state and federal farm agencies contributed to delaying the arrival of bird flu on Brazilian poultry farms.

Brazil’s first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu on a commercial chicken farm was confirmed on May 16, triggering regional and country trade embargoes, which hurt exporters and increased chicken supplies domestically in the short-term, reducing local prices.

The disease was first detected in the country on wild birds in 2023. Since then, the Brazilian government has processed over 4,000 samples and confirmed some 171 bird flu outbreaks, mainly among wild animals.

Addressing a panel, Stumpf said he had “no doubt” countries would open up to trade over the coming few days, as almost three weeks have passed after the only bird flu case was confirmed on a commercial farm in Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul state.

Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro also said this week there were signs the outbreak had been controlled efficiently.

Still, there are 12 active investigations into potential new outbreaks, most of which are on backyard flocks or wild birds, which do not trigger trade restrictions, according to the ministry’s website.

 

 

 

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