Grain prices eased. Canola/rapeseed firmed a little.
- Chicago December 2024 wheat down US9.25c/bu to 612.75c/bu
- Kansas December 2024 wheat down 9.5c/bu to 607.5c/bu
- Minneapolis December 2024 wheat down 3.5c/bu to 682.75c/bu
- MATIF wheat December 2024 down €1.75/t to €221.25/t;
- Corn December 2024 down 4.75c/bu to 468.25c/bu;
- Soybeans November 2024 down 6c/bu to 1178.25c/bu;
- Winnipeg canola November 2024 up C$1/t to $657.40/t
- MATIF rapeseed November 2024 up €2.75/t to €461.75/t
- ASX May 2024 wheat down A$3/t to $326/t;
- ASX January 2025 wheat down A$3/t to $346/t
- ASX May 2024 barley unchanged at A$300/t;
- ASX January 2025 barley unchanged at A$308/t
- AUD dollar up 24 points to US$0.6629.
International
The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing yesterday to reaffirm ties and strengthen economic cooperation. President Putin is expected to visit China in May.
South American crop consultant Michael Cordonnier cut his Argentine corn crop estimate by 2Mt to 53Mt, noting heavy insect and disease pressure. Dr Cordonnier kept his Argentine soybean crop forecast at 51Mt and maintained his Brazilian crop estimates at 145Mt for soybeans and 112Mt for corn. Brazilian national supply company Conab will update its crop estimates on Thursday.
Argentina’s Economy Minister announced reduced tariffs on herbicide imports in the run up to the 2024-25 planting campaign, including atrazine, glyphosate and 2-4-D to 12.6pc (from 35pc) and primary atrazine to 10.8pc (from 24pc).
The European Parliament’s committee on international trade voted yesterday to support the provisional agreement reached on a one-year extension suspending duties and quotas on Ukraine imports.
Reuters reported that Russia’s RIF has been blocked from handling agricultural goods at an Azov terminal, amid its dispute with authorities that has slowed grain exports. The owner said its operations were blocked, that it could not ship and that the terminal in Azov had stopped receiving and shipping agricultural products. Russia has also reportedly seized companies belonging to agricultural firm AgroTerra and placed them under temporary management, including some owned by Dutch investment firms.
Japan’s MAFF seeks a total of 121,485 tonnes of milling wheat from the US, Canada and Australia in a regular tender that will close late on Thursday.
Iranian state-owned animal feed importer SLAL reportedly purchased 102kt of soymeal, likely sourced from Argentina or Brazil, at around US$542/t c&f for Jun/Jul shipment.
US private exporters reported sales of 124kt of soybeans for delivery to unknown destinations during the 2023-24 marketing year.
Australia
The current crop wheat market in WA is trading at similar values to last week, with APW1 in the Kwinana port zone at A$375-380/t FIS, and other port zones currently bid at levels $5-8/t under Kwinana. Feed barley is holding at $340/t FIS and $350/t Maxi1 malt. Canola (CAN) values have improved slightly to around $690/t FIS Kwinana, Albany and Esperance. New crop values have improved, as the continued high temperatures and fairly dry forecast are becoming more of a concern as planting gets underway. New season canola (CAN) is currently $720/t FIS, and new season wheat bids at $370/t FIS Kwinana.
This weeks line ups data shows April is building with 3.46Mt of total grain on the stem up from 3.11Mt last week. Wheat increased from 1.78Mt to 2.07Mt, barley from 612kt to 665kt, canola dropped slightly from 718kt to 693kt and sorghum is showing 30kt. Vessel wait times increased this week in Adelaide, Geelong and Kwinana. Overall the maximum average wait time is less than 15 days with 7 vessels anchored and 7 loading at Australian grain ports.
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