Country News
China: The agriculture ministry has suggested that the state corn price be cut to counteract a spike in domestic pork prices, according to Reuters. Corn prices are set by the finance ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission. China currently has upwards of 100 MMT in its state corn reserves.
EU: The Overall EU corn crop is expected to shrink as persistent heat and drought plague the continent from France to Romania, reports Bloomberg News. The most recent EU estimate was a 3 MMT cut down to 65.5 MMT, while some traders have estimated the crop as low as 61 MMT. Last year, the EU brought in 77.8 MMT.
France, Europe’s largest corn producer, could see its harvest drop to 12-12.5 MMT this year. Irrigated corn yields could fall by 10-15 percent while unirrigated corn yields could drop by 20-50 percent, which gives this year’s crop the potential to be the worst since 2003 when 12.02 MMT were harvested. French corn production in 2014 totaled 18.32 MMT.
Romania is expected to bring in 10 MMT, which is down from the 11 MMT forecast last month and the 11.7 MMT harvested in 2014. The crop could shrink to as much as 9.3 MMT if the poor weather persists. Germany’s corn harvest is expected to fall by 7.2 percent to 4.7 MMT.
Indonesia: The Indonesian Poultry Farmers Association has stated that a recent decision to block corn imports for feed mills will cause poultry and egg prices to increase by 6 percent over the next month, according to Reuters. Indonesia generally sources its corn from Argentina and Brazil and ceased its imports in an effort to make the country more self-sufficient in its food production. Indonesian demand for corn has risen over the past few years in tandem with increased demand for poultry. The country was expected to import 430,000 MT of corn in July and August, but those shipments are now being held up in Indonesian ports. However, the government has allowed feed millers to receive some of those imports on the condition that the state logistics agency oversees the entire process from unloading to distribution.
Ukraine: Ukraine’s exportable grain surplus could total 40 MMT in 2015/16, according to Reuters. Farmers could bring in as much as 63 MMT of grain this year, which would include 28.5 MMT corn and 8 MMT of barley. Total grain ending stocks could total 74 MMT, while domestic consumption is only expected to be 24 MMT. Ukraine has exported 2.6 MMT of grain since June.