Strong domestic demand, particularly from competitive pricing into hog feed rations, is supporting U.S. DDGS prices this week. Lower year-over-year ethanol/DDGS production rates are further working to keep prices firm. FOB ethanol plant DDGS are up $3/MT this week at $154/MT while Kansas City soymeal prices are up $2.75/MT. DDGS are priced at 115 percent of cash corn values, up from last week and above the five-year average ratio of 109 percent. The DDGS/soymeal price ratio is 0.41, down from the prior week and below the three-year average of 0.42.
Brokers report that international destinations are working on covering Q4 and Q1 2021 needs and are checking prices daily. With FOB Gulf soymeal and DDGS prices both moving higher this month, there end-users are reportedly nervous about further price increases, leading to more frequent price checks.
Barge CIF NOLA offers are $11-16/MT higher this week while FOB Gulf offers are up $13/MT for spot positions and $11-12/MT for deferred. U.S. rail rates are $7-8/MT higher while 40-foot containers to Southeast Asia are up $5-6/MT, averaging $258. Offers for containers to Malaysia and Vietnam have posted the largest price increases this week, up $10-12/MT.