Country News
European Union: The EU is set to harvest 65.3 MMT of corn this year, according to Reuters. This total is a significant increase over the 57.3 MMT that were harvested last year. Despite this overall increase, the crop in several Western European countries is only predicted to increase by a fairly insignificant amount from 37.9 MMT in 2012 to 38 MMT in 2013. The largest increases are set to come from Eastern European member states, which will see a total of 25.3 MMT, which is up from the 17.7 MMT brought in last year. Croatia, the EU’s newest member state, is predicted to harvest 2 MMT, which is an increase from 1.6 MMT in 2012.
France: Grain exports from the French port of Rouen have risen by 2.2 percent this week. 5,700 MT of feed barley was shipped to Morocco, reports Bloomberg News. This is a decline from the 76,394 MT of barley shipped last week because Peru and Saudi Arabia did not repeat cargoes that totaled some 66,092 MT.
Japan: The Ministry of Agriculture reports that it has received no bids for feed quality barley or wheat in its most recent buy and sell auction, reports Reuters. Japan was hoping to purchase 200,000 MT of feed barley and 180,000 MT of feed wheat. It will seek these same amounts in another tender to be held on October 16.
South Africa: Corn futures fell again as the rand gained against the dollar, which made imports a cheaper alternative, according to Bloomberg News. Yellow corn for December delivery declined by 2 percent to total some $217.04/MT.
Further on South Africa, Bloomberg News reports that the country’s sorghum production will have to increase to five times its current levels in order to supply the grain necessary for the South African government’s plan of using only locally sourced biofuels. Biofuels are required to comprise at least 5 percent of diesel fuel and between 2-10 percent of gasoline. An additional 620,000 MT of sorghum would be required to meet the 2 percent inclusion rate for a total of 771,000 MT of sorghum production annually. Russia: Continued rains have delayed the completion of the harvest in Siberia, which has prompted some analysts to reduce their forecast for the 2013 grain crop, reports Reuters. The official predictions remain optimistic at some 85-90 MMT, which is a 27 percent improvement over last year’s totals.
Russia: Continued rains have delayed the completion of the harvest in Siberia, which has prompted some analysts to reduce their forecast for the 2013 grain crop, reports Reuters. The official predictions remain optimistic at some 85-90 MMT, which is a 27 percent improvement over last year’s totals.