Corn prices fell after USDA’s August WASDE projected record-breaking U.S. corn yields. Cash corn was down from last week to $3.1318/bushel, and FOB ethanol plant DDGS values fell as well to $132.02/MT. The DDGS/cash corn value is 12 percent higher than its two-year average. Ethanol production was lower by 6 percent this week, which should tighten near-term DDGS supplies. Additionally, falling prices are expected to boost DDGS consumption in the near-term.
DDGS prices were generally down across the board; FOB Gulf indications fell $3/MT while container rates to Southeast Asia fell $4/MT on average. Prices fell for 40-foot containers to Vietnam (-$5/MT), Thailand (-$3/MT) and Indonesia (-$3/MT); in turn, merchandisers report a flurry of buying activity in those markets.
Finally, USDA reported that exports of U.S. DDGS are up 2.2 percent year-over year in 2017/2018 to 10.5 MMT.