Country News
Africa: Corn loss caused by the armyworm infestation is conservatively estimated to be $3 billion according to the FAO, CIMMYT, and the Center for Agricultural and BioSciences International. (Bloomberg)
Brazil: Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi asked the government’s foreign trade chamber, Camex, to impose tariffs on ethanol imports coming from the United States. Most of the ethanol imports are flowing into the northeast and domestic ethanol makers are asking for tariff protection at 16-20 percent. However, traders expect ethanol imports to continue despite any tariffs due to the structural shortage of the fuel in the country. Sugarcane has been diverted to sugar production where it brings a higher price. (Reuters; Plats; S&P Global)
China: Up to 2.51 MMT of corn from state reserves will go on sale on May 5. Sources will include 394 KMT of 2013 corn from Inner Mongolia, 300 KMT from Liaoning Province, 700 KMT from Jilin Province, and 610 KMT from Heilongjiang Province. The government is expected to lower prices by 10 percent from last year to 1,550 yuan/MT ($224.74/MT) to account for lower quality and to compete against potential imports. Weekly auctions of 3 to 5 MMT are expected until about 30 MMT are sold.
China National Grain and Oils Information Center says the prospect of lower prices has already made buyers cautious about buying imported barley and sorghum. Feed mills in the south may need up to 20 MMT of state reserve-held corn. Still, Shengda Futures Co. says bidding may not be too active since many mills have stocks of corn they bought from farmers under government incentives.
Separately, the China Meteorological Administration reports that more rainfall and lower than normal temperatures in the main northeast corn belt are expected to adversely affect seedlings and crop growth. (Bloomberg; Reuters)
Ukraine: Since the start of the 2016/17 marketing year, Ukraine has exported 5.13 MMT of barley and 16.06 MMT of corn. Those are increases of 21.3 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. The State Statistics Service says that main storage and processing firms have 18.7 percent greater grain inventories than at this time in 2016. This is largely due to a 67 percent (3.29 MMT) increase in corn reserves, now at a total of 8.22 MMT. (ProAgro)