Global Ag News for May 20th

TODAY—- EXPORT SALES, ARGENTINA CRUSH (Scheduled)

Wheat prices overnight are up 1 1/2 in SRW, down 2 1/2 in HRW, up 4 1/2 in HRS; Corn is up 3 1/4; Soybeans up 3 1/4; Soymeal up $0.29; Soyoil down 0.22.

For the week so far wheat prices are down 26 1/2 in SRW, down 26 1/2 in HRW, down 38 3/4 in HRS; Corn is up 17 1/2; Soybeans down 44 3/4; Soymeal down $1.24; Soyoil down 1.31.

For the month to date wheat prices are down 54 in SRW, down 72 1/4 in HRW, down 61 3/4 in HRS; Corn is down 11 3/4; Soybeans up 7 1/4; Soymeal down $20.00; Soyoil up 3.86.

Chinese Ag futures (SEP 21) Soybeans down 146 yuan ; Soymeal down 41; Soyoil down 270; Palm oil down 252; Corn down 11 — Malasyian Palm is down 198.

Malaysian palm oil prices overnight were down 156 ringgit (-3.50%) at 4301 tracking overnight losses in U.S. soy markets and a slump in Chinese commodities, although optimism for firm shipments and a drop in production underpinned the tropical oil.

Midwest corn, soybean and winter wheat forecasts: West: Scattered showers through Sunday. Temperatures above to well above normal through Sunday. East: Scattered showers west through Friday, north Saturday-Sunday. Temperatures above to well above normal through Sunday. 6-to-10-day outlook: Scattered showers Monday-Friday. Temperatures above to well above normal Monday, above normal Tuesday-Friday.

The player sheet had funds net sellers of 12,000 contracts of SRW Wheat; sellers of 15,000 corn, sellers of 17,500 soybeans, sellers of -7,500 Soymeal, and; net sellers of 11,000 lots of Soyoil.

Preliminary changes in futures Open Interest as of May 19 were: SRW Wheat down 2,064 contracts, HRW Wheat down 255, Corn up 7,721, Soybeans down 4,234, Soymeal down 4,077, Soyoil down 6,322.

There were no changes in registrations. Registration total: 20 SRW Wheat contracts; 16 Oats; 0 Corn; 165 Soybeans; 1,003 Soyoil; 442 Soymeal; 1,249 HRW Wheat.

TENDERS

• CORN SALE: USDA confirmed private sales of 1.36 million tonnes of U.S. corn to China for shipment in the 2021/22 marketing year.
• SOYBEAN SALE: USDA confirmed private sales of 142,500 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to Mexico for shipment in the 2021/22 marketing year.
• CORN SALE: Taiwan’s MFIG purchasing group bought about 65,000 tonnes of animal feed corn expected to be sourced from Argentina in an international tender which closed on Wednesday.
• WHEAT SALE: Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC has purchased optional-origin milling wheat in an international tender which closed on Wednesday. Unconfirmed estimates of volumes bought were around 300,000 tonnes to 400,000 tonnes in several shipments but it was unclear whether more would be bought.
• FAILED FEED WHEAT, BARLEY TENDER: Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) said it received no offers for feed-quality wheat or barley in a simultaneous buy and sell (SBS) auction that closed late on Wednesday.

PENDING TENDERS

• WHEAT TENDER: Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture sought 121,501 tonnes of food-quality wheat from the United States, Canada and Australia in a regular tender.
• FEED WHEAT TENDER: Indonesia’s state procurement agency Bulog issued an international tender to buy and import about 180,000 tonnes of animal feed wheat.
• WHEAT TENDER: Bangladesh’s state grains buyer has issued another international tender to purchase 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat.

Bunge Says North America to Face Deficit of Vegetable Oils

North America will go from being a surplus region to a deficit area for vegetable oils in the next few years, CEO Greg Heckman says at BMO Farm to Market conference.

Sanderson Farms Says It’s Sold Out of Chicken Wings

U.S.’s third-largest chicken producers says it can’t fill any more orders, whether that’s from retailers or the food-services industries, CEO Joe Sanderson and CFO Mike Cockrell say at BMO Farm to Market virtual conference.

 Grain Rally to Support Fertilizer Prices Into 2022, CF Says

CF Industries expects robust prices to continue in 2021 and into 2022, company executives including CEO Tony Will and Bert Frost, senior vice president of sales and market development, say at BMO Farm to Market conference. Company sees good demand in India, Brazil

 Unions Demanding Vaccines Strike at Argentina Soy Ports (1)

• Skippers, engineers and seamen among workers striking
• Covid cases and deaths are peaking amid vaccine shortage

Trade unions that are key to Argentina’s $20 billion-a-year crop export industry have gone on strike, the latest in a string of protests by workers demanding vaccination against Covid-19 as the South American nation grapples with a shortage of jabs.

Skippers, engineers and seamen, who help berth and unberth vessels, and grain inspectors at ports and processing plants will strike this week, shipping agency Nabsa said in emails to clients.

Just 18% of Argentina’s 45 million population has received at least one dose, according to data compiled by La Nacion newspaper.

Paraguay Soy Exports Drop 6% to 2.55m Tons Jan-April: Capeco

Paraguay’s soybean exports fell 6% y/y to 2.55m tons in the first four months of 2021, grain and oilseed export chamber Capeco says in emailed statement. Argentine buyers purchased 72% of those exports, followed by Brazil with 10%, and Russia 6%, among other buyers. 800k tons of soybeans were shipped in April

Palm Oil Prices May Ease in 2H as Output Rises, Sime Darby Says

Palm oil, which was driven up by record high prices of substitute oils in the first quarter, may soften in the second half of 2021 as production increases, according to Sime Darby Plantation Bhd., the world’s biggest planter by acreage. The grower expects its production to improve this year amid efforts to increase efficiency and productivity through digitalization, automation and mechanization, it said in an earnings statement Thursday.

China’s Soy Imports Set to Climb as Demand Picks Up, CNGOIC Says

• China’s soy imports in May may exceed 10m tons due to large arrivals from Brazil, its biggest supplier, the China National Grain and Oils Information Center said in a report Thursday.
• Imports are expected to reach 10.5m tons in May, which will be the highest since June 2020
• Purchases next month may hit 10m tons, center says
• Improved demand from hog breeding and fish farming may push up domestic soymeal prices
• Stockpiles of imported soybeans and meal shrank last week amid higher weekly crush
• Soymeal inventories of major crushers at 630k tons as of May 17, down 110k tons from previous week
• Inventories of imported soy at major crushers were 4.9m tons at the end of last week, down 60k tons w/w
• Weekly crush hit 1.88m tons last week, +60k tons w/w
• Weekly crush this week is set to exceed 1.9m tons

China Imports Second-Largest Amount of U.S. Corn Ever in April

China imported 1.3 million tons of corn from U.S. in April, the second-highest purchase on record, according to customs data on Thursday.

 Chinese Traders Report Record Imports of U.S Feed Grains: USDA

Chinese traders say they’re importing record volumes of U.S. feedstocks including soybeans, corn, and sorghum, according to a USDA report citing government and industry participants at a conference in the Asian nation.

Malaysia’s May 1-20 Palm Oil Exports 953,860 Tons: AmSpec

Shipments rise 16.2% m/m from 820,979 tons exported during April 1-20, according to AmSpec Agri on Thursday.

 Malaysia May 1-20 Palm Oil Exports +17.14% M/m: Intertek

Malaysia’s palm oil exports rose 17.14% m/m during May 1-20, according to Intertek Testing Services.

CROP TOUR: Muddy Wheat Fields in Kansas Boost Production Outlook

Heavy rains are giving drought-stressed winter wheat fields in Kansas a needed boost just weeks before the harvest begins, raising the odds that crop output will end up being higher than previously expected.

India exports record 20 MT of rice, wheat in FY21

Defying Covid blues, India exported a record 19.8 million tonne (MT) of rice and wheat in FY21 on the back of attractive overseas prices of the commodities and massive surplus production at home.

Brimming official inventory (mainly for welfare programmes) also ensured that no export curb was imposed by the government in a pandemic year.

Rice exports almost doubled to an all-time high of 17.7 MT last fiscal, against 9.5 MT a year ago. Similarly, wheat exports surged to 2.1 MT in FY21, the highest since FY15 and compared with just 0.2 MT in the previous year, showed the official data.

According to Food Corporation of India, the official reserves had 77.23 MT of grains as of April 1, up 4.6% from a year earlier. The stocks were almost four times of the overall buffer and strategic reserve requirements.

 Japan Apr commodity imports

The following is a table of Japan’s imports of selected agricultural and other commodities in March compiled from preliminary customs trade data released on Thursday.

U.S. appeals court vacates biofuel waivers granted by Trump administration

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday vacated three waivers exempting oil refiners from biofuel blending mandates that former President Donald Trump’s administration granted in the last hours of his term.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which granted the waivers in January to Sinclair Oil Corp refineries, did not properly analyze legal questions before granting the waivers, the ruling dated on Wednesday said.

Recent and expected rain reduces drought concerns and raise EU-27 corn production slightly

Near record high prices and fast planting pace raise 2021/22 EU-27 corn production by 3% to 64.5 [60.1- 69.0] million tons. Area models raise EU corn planted area to 9.0 million hectares. USDA estimates EU-27 corn area and production at 8.9 million hectares and 66.7 million tons.

Over the past two weeks, cool temperatures continued in major corn producing regions. Above average precipitation (10-20 mm above normal) fell across the continent, with the heaviest rain in central and southern France (30-50 mm above normal). The rain replenished low soil moisture in previously dry areas of Germany and France, lowering the probabilities of severe drought. But the cold temperatures delay the emergence and growth of corn crops.

Weather forecasts indicate that cool and wet weather will continue at least through early June. Corn yield variations will depend primarily on the forward weather during June-August. The EC seasonal weather outlooks call for relatively dry conditions across the continent during June-September. After taking into account potential dryness this summer, we lowered corn yield estimate to 7.16 tons per hectare.

 Brazil Second Corn Crop Estimate Cut 15% on Drought: Agroconsult

Nation’s farmers may harvest 66.2m tons of corn in the second crop versus 78.3m tons estimated in March, when area was still being planted, crop forecaster Agroconsult says in statement.

Brazil mills cutting some sugar production, boosting ethanol volumes -Datagro

Brazilian sugar and ethanol plants are likely to temporarily reduce sugar production volumes as a way to increase ethanol output to address increasing demand and high prices for the biofuel in the country, consultancy Datagro said on Wednesday.

Analyst Plinio Nastari said during the Santander ISO Datagro New York Sugar and Ethanol Conference that financial returns on sales of anhydrous ethanol, the type that is blended in gasoline, have surpassed those from sugar sales, leading some mills to adjust their production strategy for the moment.