US winter wheats and Matif rallied 3 percent, canola and rapeseed about 2pc.
- Chicago December 2024 wheat up US20.5c/bu to 629.25c/bu
- Kansas December 2024 wheat up 20.25c/bu to 632.5c/bu
- Minneapolis December 2024 wheat up 9.75c/bu to 687.75c/bu
- MATIF wheat December 2024 up €7/t to €230/t;
- Corn December 2024 up 6.25c/bu to 472.5c/bu;
- Soybeans November 2024 up 10.75c/bu to 1171.75c/bu;
- Winnipeg canola November 2024 up C$16.40/t to $654.30/t
- MATIF rapeseed November 2024 up €11.25/t to €466.75/t
- ASX May 2024 wheat down A$0.50/t to $336/t;
- ASX January 2025 wheat down A$3/t to A$357/t
- ASX May 2024 barley unchanged at A$309.60/t;
- ASX January 2025 barley down $4.60/t to $312.90/t
- AUD dollar up 32 points to US$0.6449.
International
US winter wheat condition ratings dropped 5pc this week to 50pc good/excellent, with Kansas at 33pc G/E and 26pc of the crop rated poor/very poor.
Russian missile strikes over the weekend reportedly damaged some grain storage facilities and a terminal owned by Wilmar International at the port of Pivdennyi in the Odesa region.
Russia has introduced an additional quota of 5 million tonnes (Mt) for exports of wheat, meslin, rye, barley and corn to destinations outside the Eurasian Economic Union until June 30 to support local producers. This takes the total quota for the period 15 Feb – 30 Jun 2024 to 29Mt.
Moscow-based Institute for Agricultural Market Studies IKAR revised upward its Russian 2023-24 grain export forecast by 2Mt to 72Mt, including a 1Mt boost for wheat now seen at 53Mt.
During the first quarter of 2024, China imported 7.14Mt soybeans from the US, down 50pc from the previous year. Imports from Brazil were up 155pc at 9.99Mt. Corn imports from Brazil jumped 72pc to 1.18Mt, while arrivals from the US fell 78pc to 109,685t.
Food Corporation of India reported that as at 1 April, wheat stocks held at government warehouses totalled 7.5Mt, the lowest in 16 years. A record 10Mt wheat was sold by the government over the past year to stabilise domestic prices.
Ukraine’s Ag Ministry has forecast 2024 total grain and oil production at 74Mt, including 52.4Mt grain and 21.7Mt oilseeds. Planted areas of grain and leguminous crops are forecast at 10.6 million hectares (Mha), down 395,000ha compared to 2023. This includes 4.3Mha winter wheat (already sown) and 0.2Mha spring wheat, which is going in now. Winter barley was sown on 0.47Mha, and spring barley forecast is 0.94Mha. Corn area is forecast at 3.9Mha, soybeans 2.2Mha, sunflower 5.3Mha, and canola 1.5Mha.
South Korean Flour Millers’ Association (Kofmia) reportedly purchased 50kt of milling wheat from the US, at an estimated US$220-$270/t fob, for Jul/Aug shipment.
Australia
In local markets the week started off a touch firmer on delivered markets following some of the offshore gains. Wheat track markets were A$3-5/t firmer and delivered cereals prices were around $5/t firmer. The ASX May 24 contract ended the day down $0.50/t at $336/t.
GIWA released its first crop report for 2024 last week with total winter crop area forecast at 8.595Mha, compared with 8.290Mha at the same time last year. The report noted that with no rain on the horizon, it looks like at least a couple more weeks of dry sowing which is not unusual for Western Australia and is not necessarily a precursor to a poor year, although the extremely dry soil profiles are a concern and have put a dampener on the start to the 2024 growing season. Wheat area is pegged at 4.96Mha (4.39Mha May 2023), barley 1.46Mha (1.54Mha) and canola 1.57Mha (1.845Mha). The report noted that there could be a wide swing in variance with crop area, as growers in the northern and eastern regions of the state may opt to fallow over crop if the seasonal break is too delayed.
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