Wheats and corn eased a little more than 1 percent, the oilseeds a little less.

• Chicago December 2024 wheat down US8c/bu to 600.75c/bu
• Kansas December 2024 wheat down 9.75c/bu to 605c/bu
• Minneapolis December 2024 wheat  down 10c/bu to 676.25c/bu
• MATIF wheat December 2024 down €2/t to €221/t;
• Corn December 2024 down 6.75c/bu to 468c/bu;
• Soybeans November 2024 down 7.75c/bu to 1191c/bu;
• Winnipeg canola November 2024 down C$10.40/t to $655.60/t
• MATIF rapeseed November 2024 down €3.25/t to €458/t
• ASX May 2024 wheat down A$4/t to $328/t;
• ASX January 2025 wheat down A$3/t to $347/t
• ASX May 2024 barley unchanged at A$294.50/t;
• ASX January 2025 barley unchanged at A$315/t
• AUD dollar down 7 points to US$0.6533.

Reuters reported that Houthi militants claim to have launched drone and missile attacks on six ships in the last 72 hours in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, although Maersk, which was named as one of the shipowners denied its vessel had been targeted. 

Brazil’s Conab reported that as at 24 Mar, 2023-24 soybean harvest was 66pc complete (69pc previous year). Fieldwork in Mato Grosso was nearing completion. Rainfall was beneficial for crop filling in Paraná, but delayed threshing in several parts of the state. Harvesting in Goiás has been completed. First (full-season) maize harvest 43pc complete (42pc). Heavy rainfall hampered progress in Rio Grande do Sul, where varying yields were observed. Rainfall was beneficial for crops in Piaui and Maranhão. Second (safrinha) crop plantings are 97pc done (91pc). Crop development in Mato Grosso was good, but lack of rain and hot weather was expected to adversely influence yield prospects in Paraná, predominantly in the west, north and centre-west. 

South American crop consultant Michael Cordonnier left his Brazilian crop estimates at 145Mt for soybeans and 112Mt for corn, maintaining his neutral/lower bias toward both. Dr Cordonnier also left his Argentine crop forecasts at 51Mt for soybeans and 55Mt for corn, with a neutral/slightly lower bias as he awaits damage assessments from last week’s flooding in east-central production areas of the country. 

The USDA’s good/excellent ratings for HRW wheat rose 12 points in Colorado (68pc), six points in Nebraska (66pc), 5 points in Texas (51pc) and 3 points in Montana (48pc) during March. They fell 4 points in Kansas (53pc) and 2 points in South Dakota (56pc). Conditions were unchanged in Oklahoma (70pc). 

The latest European Commission MARS report noted that 2024-25 EU winter crops have been adversely affected by unfavourable weather conditions. Overly wet conditions negatively impacted sowing, emergence and development of winter crops in western, northern and eastern Europe, while northern and eastern Europe also experienced severe frosts. Eastern parts of both Romania and Bulgaria received very little precipitation, particularly affecting winter rapeseed crops. While in the UK, conditions in southern and eastern regions were one of the wettest on record, adversely impacting winter crop development and causing yield losses. A large share of area sown to winter crops is therefore expected to be re-sown during spring. However, wetness currently prevents farmers from accessing fields. Drier conditions will be required to allow for spring crop plantings. 

Kazakhstan’s Ag Ministry has pegged 2024-25 wheat production at between 13-14Mt, up from 12.1Mt last year. 

South Korean flour millers reportedly purchased 30,200 tonnes of US milling wheat, including 9,800 tonnes of SW (9.5pc-11.0pc protein) at $213.63/t fob, 6,600 tonnes of HRW (11.5pc), at $252.22/t fob, and 13,800 tonnes of DNS (14.0pc) at $283.45/t fob, for July shipment. 

South Korea’s Nonghyup Feed Inc reportedly purchased 134kt of feed corn in two consignments at $247.99/t c&f from ADM and $247.39/t c&f from Cargill.

Australia

Local canola values were again the star of the show yesterday, with track bids in Port Kembla pushing to A$662/t. Wheat was softer with the ASX May 24 contract down $4/t to $328/t but we are seeing demand from end users gradually picking up. 

This week’s line ups data shows March is currently sitting at 3.47Mt of total grain on the stem down slightly from 3.5Mt last week. Wheat is at 2.26Mt, barley at 716kt, canola at 480kt and sorghum at 12.9kt. The stem is currently showing 680kt of wheat with China nominated as the destination and 390kt of barley. The maximum vessel wait time is less than 11 days and there are currently 11 vessels anchored and 9 loading at Australian grain ports.