DDGS values are softer this week as buyers wait for the market to hit their bids. Falling soybean meal values have pressured the DDGS market and traders of the ethanol co-product are making the necessary adjustments to remain competitive. Traders in the domestic market report prices are softer in the West and slightly firmer in the East. FOB ethanol plant DDGS values are $4/MT lower than this time last week and remain $1.13/protein-unit less expensive than soybean meal.
On the export market, Barge CIF NOLA and FOB U.S. Gulf values are lower, with a larger drop in the latter squeezing netbacks to merchandisers. Rising freight rates have kept prices for containerized DDGS shipped CNF to Southeast Asia more stable this week. In sympathy with lower soybean meal values, exporters lowered asking prices for product destined for Southeast Asia approximately $7/MT.
U.S. DDGS exports increased 10 percent month-over-month in April, reaching 997 KMT. April DDGS exports were 15 percent higher than the same month in 2017, marking solid growth in demand for the ethanol co-product.