Country News
Argentina: Concerns about drought in the farm belt have now shifted to worries about too much water as rains finally arrive at harvest time. (Reuters)
Brazil: IMEA reports that 83 percent of the safrinha corn crop has been planted in Mato Grosso. (AgriCensus)
China: In a buying spree to insulate against the war in Ukraine coupled with drought concerns in South America, China bought 10 cargoes of U.S. corn. (Bloomberg)
EU: Because every day that Ukraine’s exports are blocked, 100 KMT of corn is removed from the world market and this has corn buyers in the MENA region are switching their corn purchases from Ukraine to Europe. (Reuters)
Russia: The export tax on barley was cut further but increased slightly on corn. (AgriCensus)
South Africa: The Commodity Estimates Committee says 2022 corn production will be 14.52 MMT. (AgriCensus)
South Korea: NOFI tendered for 207 KMT of feed corn with the Black Sea specifically excluded. KFA purchased 134 KMT of corn with LDC and CHS providing, and it tendered for 204 KMT of corn for April-June arrival. (AgriCensus)
Taiwan: The island has 2.6 MMT of corn in stockpile and has ordered another 2.26 MMT, according to the Council of Agriculture. It bought 130 KMT of corn from the U.S. and Argentina, with the U.S. portion carrying a large basis of $4.22 over September futures on a C&F basis for May. MFIG cancelled its corn tender due to high prices. Taiwan’s dependence on Ukraine has been minimal and efforts are being made to avoid shortages due to the Russian war on Ukraine. (Taipei Times; Reuters)