7. Country News
Argentina: The drought is expected to reduce corn yields in the Pampas grain belt. Consultancies Agritrend and Agripac have each dropped their estimates for production to around 39 MMT, the same amount harvested last year but down from the 42 MMT predicted earlier for this season. The Rosario Grains Exchange predicts 39.9 MMT of corn production but the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange is sticking with its 41 MMT forecast until the rains of January and February are better understood. Better yields in some areas could offset declines in the drought affected area. (Reuters)
Brazil: The official crop agency Conab slightly raised (0.5 percent) its forecast for the summer corn crop to 25.18 MMT. That is down 17 percent from a year earlier as farmers switched to planting more profitable soybeans. The summer corn crop area is down 9.2 percent. (SP Global)
Russia: Barley exports are at a record pace and could exceed 5 MMT, says UkrAgroConsult. November barley exports were nearly 500 KMT, an 87 percent increase over the same month a year earlier. Barley exports during the first five months of the 2017/18 marketing year were up 78 percent. (World-Grain)
Saudi Arabia: The state grain buying agency purchased over 1 MMT of barley at an average price of $216.73/MT. That is a slight increase (0.75 percent) over the price paid in November. Suppliers were global including Australia, North and South America, Europe and the Black Sea. (Reuters)
Ukraine: Grain exports during the first six months of this marketing year are down nearly 10 percent. Exports have thus far included 3.8 MMT of barley and 6.7 MMT of corn. (World-Grain)