Country News
Algeria: Government agency ONAB tendered and purchased an unknown quantity of feed corn from Argentina with shipment slated for January. (Reuters)
Argentina: As expected, the new government devalued the peso by more than 50 percent to 800 pesos against the U.S. dollar. The rate is now closer to the black-market level and will make crop exports more competitive while making imports of inputs more costly. The government reopened the grain export registry. The long-term goal is to eliminate export taxes but that may take a while and the tax on grain could be raised in the short-term. The government reduced from 50 percent to 20 percent the share of export sales that can be exchanged at the higher market currency rate. (Reuters)
Australia: Barley exports in October were the highest in 12 years. (AgriCensus)
Brazil: Anec increased its estimate for corn to be exported in December. IMEA reports that farmers are holding back from selling corn. Due to delays in the first summer crop, high production costs and unattractive futures prices, Conab reduced its estimate for total corn area by 5 percent to 52 million acres. (AgriCensus; Refinitiv)
China: Corn output hit a record 288.84 MMT, up 4 percent from a year earlier. Increased planted area offset losses caused by typhoons. Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science and Henan University genetically modified corn to double the amount of iron content. (Refinitiv; South China Morning Post)
EU: FranceAgriMer reports that the area planted to winter barley will fall sharply due to heavy rains disrupting field work. (Refinitiv)
South Korea: MFG purchased 68 KMT of corn in a private transaction. (Refinitiv)
Tunisia: Government agency ODC purchased 50 KMT of feed barley for shipment in January-February. (Reuters)
Zimbabwe: An El Niño induced drought reduced maize production by over 50 percent to just 1.1 MMT. The country needs to produce 1.8 MMT of maize to avoid famine. (Reuters)