Review of Agricultural Commodity Prices - Nov 2022

Review of Agriculture Commodity Prices – August 2023
 

Corn

The price of corn was down 11.55% in the month of August and down 32% from August 31, 2022.

The largest items in the corn market in August were;

• A second vessels leaves Ukraine via a Black Sea corridor since Russia withdrew last month from a U.N.-brokered deal that allowed for grain to be safely exported.[1]
• Argentina's farmlands planted with corn should reach an estimated 7.3 million hectares for the 2023/24 cycle.  This is 2.8% larger than the area planted last year.[2]
• The International Grains Council (IGC) on Thursday raised its forecast for 2023/24 global corn production.  They put global corn production at 1.221 billion metric tons, up from a previous forecast of 1.220 billion and the prior season's 1.160 billion.[3]
• Mexico won't make any further changes their requirements of non-genetically modified (GM) corn ahead of a dispute settlement panel requested by the United States through the USMCA trade pact.[4]
• The United State corn yield estimate is lowered 2.0 bushels to 173.0 bushels per acre, still the second largest corn crop ever.[5]
• Early corn planting has started in southern Brazil with 7.3% of the first corn crop planted compared to 5.1% last year according to AgRural.[6]
• On August 29^th, the percentage of corn rated good to excellent is 56% in the United States.[7]

 

 

Soybeans

The price of soybean was down 0.43% in the month of August and down 7% from August 31, 2022.

The largest issues in the soybean market in August were;

 

• Chinese soy buyers see imports peaking at 100 million tonnes for coming years[8]
• India is heading for its driest August in more than a century, partly because of the El Niño weather pattern, August rainfall, expected to be the lowest since records began in 1901.[9]
• The United States Department of Agriculture lowered the soybean estimate by 1.0 bushels to 50.0 bushels per acre.[10]
• On August 29^th, the percentage of soybeans rated good to excellent is 58% in the United States.[11]

 

 

Wheat

The price of wheat was down 14.8% in August and down 36% from August 31, 2022.

The largest issues in the wheat market in August were;

• An unusually dry August has taken a toll on cereal and oilseed crops in Asia as El Nino intensified.  In Australia,  record-low monsoon rains are expected to reduce the volume of crops.[12]
• Heavy rainfall linked to the weather phenomenon known as El Nino likely will kick off in Argentina in October, experts said on Thursday, which could affect the corn planting season in some parts of the country.[13]
• Rain delays to the end of the soft wheat harvest in France may affect milling quality, though crop gathered before the wet spell was generally showing satisfactory readings..[14]
• India is considering cutting or even abolishing a 40% import tax on wheat and lowering a limit on the amount of wheat stocks millers and traders can holdas part of efforts to boost supplies.[15]
• Drought is expected to send global wheat stockpiles for major exporters to the lowest levels in more than a decade.[16]