7. Country News
China: China will use 8.9 MMT of sorghum in 2017/18, a majority (5 MMT) of which will come from imports. Most sorghum goes into animal feed, offsetting the drop in DDGS imports, but an increasing amount is being used to produce the alcoholic drink baijiu. (WorldGrain)
Black Sea: UkrAgroConsult says that Ukraine farmers managed to harvest more of their production ahead of winter this crop season, but Russian farmers only harvested 86 percent of the projected area by December 21. This means that overall corn production will be down 5-6 percent from a year earlier and exports could decline by 10 percent compared to last season. (BlackSeaGrain.net)
The Russian State Statistics Service says that all the barley has been harvested but 14 percent of the corn still remains in the field. According to the USDA, average barley yields in Russia for the 2017-18 marketing year are 19 percent higher than in 2016-17. (World Grain)
Uganda: East African grain traders are hurrying to buy Ugandan maize at about half the international price. Uganda has had a surplus crop at the same time neighboring countries are experiencing shortages due to drought. Traders pay as little as $180/MT in Uganda and flip it into the Kenyan market for up to $430/MT. The market is distorted due to the region’s common market at the same time Uganda is paying a premium for maize going into the Strategic Grain Reserve. (AllAfrica)