International

The Kremlin has declined to comment on the strike last Thursday on a grain vessel carrying Ukrainian grain to Egypt and was hit just after it left Ukrainian waters. Ukraine and Romania both condemned the attack, with Romania’s foreign ministry saying the attack was unprecedented escalation.  President Putin has threatened to retaliate if the US and UK were to allow Ukraine to use British-made Storm Shadow missiles and US-supplied ATACMS missiles to strike targets inside Russia. 

Record temperatures and a lack of rain across southern Russia and Ukraine in recent months have created unfavourable conditions for sowing winter wheat.

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange reported crop conditions for the week ending 11 Sept. The 2024-25 wheat crop was rated 80pc good/excellent (83pc previous week, 78pc previous year), with the weekly decline in ratings attributed to uneven and insufficient rainfall in western regions, where the crop is about to enter critical growth stages. 

The Saskatchewan Crop Report noted dry conditions have allowed harvest to make rapid progress, estimated to be 61pc complete by 9th Sept (50pc five-year avg). Variable quality and yields were noted across the province. Winter wheat harvest was 97pc complete (99pc previous year), spring wheat 60pc (75pc), barley at 73pc (83pc) and canola 28pc (42pc). 

FranceAgriMer reported that as at 9 Sep, 2024-25 maize crop condition was rated 79pc good/excellent (79pc previous week, 82pc previous year). 

According to satellite imaging analyst EarthDaily Agro soil moisture levels in Brazil’s key soybean producing states of Mato Grosso and Paraná are seen at 30-year lows, leading to challenging 2024-25 crop planting conditions, with forecasts indicating conditions are not expected to improve until the end of the month. 

The Indian government, to prevent hoarding, has cut by 33pc to 2000t the volume of wheat stocks traders and big retailers are allowed to maintain. It increased the basic import tax on crude and refined edible oils by 20pc on Friday to support local oilseed farmers.  

US private exporters reported sales of 100kt of soybeans to China during the 2024-25 marketing year.

Australia

WA canola  finished the week A$5-10/t higher than Thursday, with bids around $770/t across most port zones. Wheat managed to end a strong week with another small improvement. Wheat was bid up $3/t on Friday at around $360/t FIS, while barley was unchanged at $314/t. 

Eastern Australian canola bids were up slightly at around $708/t. Cereals bids ended the week unchanged with wheat around $350/t and barley $310/t. 

It was a cold weekend for many southern cropping regions with temperatures well below freezing. Lockhart in the NSW Riverina recorded -5°C degrees this morning. The extent of damage is unknown at this stage but will become evident over the coming week. Flowering canola crops certainly will be affected.