Country News
Brazil: Farmers are waging war with a particularly voracious species of helicoverpa armigera caterpillar that likely arrived in the country from Asia, according to Reuters. The pest is not limited to any particular crop and is consuming sorghum, vegetables and soybeans. This is Brazil’s third major pest outbreak in three decades, and could threaten the country’s claim to be the master of tropical farming.
Japan: The Ministry of Agriculture received no bids for the importation of feed barley or feed wheat in its weekly auction that closed on Wednesday, reports Reuters. The MOA had sought 120,000 MT of feed wheat and 200,000 MT of feed barley and will seek the same amounts in a tender that closes March 5. These cargoes will be required to be loaded by June 30 or arrive in Japan by August 29.
South Africa: Yellow corn prices fell by 0.9 percent to 203.74/MT, according to Bloomberg News. Additionally, South Africa is said to harvest 6 percent more corn this year over last year for a total of 12.4 MMT, which exceeds an earlier forecast of 12.1 MMT and more than the 11.7 MMT grown in 2012/13.