U.S. DDGS prices are weaker again with end users sticking to a “hand to mouth” procurement strategy despite this week’s corn and soybean meal futures rallies. Ethanol production continues to increase and expectations for improved margins this fall offer buyers confidence that supplies will not run short in the near-term. The DDGS/cash corn ratio is 0.71 this week, down from the prior week and below the three-year average of 1.13. The DDGS/Kansas City soymeal ratio is down from last week at 0.48 and above the three-year average of 0.46.
DDGS values on the export market are higher this week with Barge CIF NOLA and FOB NOLA offers up $20/MT for spot shipment. U.S. rail rates are steady/$2 higher this week. Despite the rally in FOB offers, prices for 40-foot containers to Southeast Asia are mostly lower this week, falling $11 to $309/MT, on average. Exporters report steady interest from Asian buyers but only small volumes being traded.