Country News
Russia: Russia is set to more than double its corn exports in 2013/14, according to All About Feed. It is estimated that exports will jump to 4.15 MMT, which is a significant increase over the 1.93 MMT seen last year. Total Russian grain exports could total 24.5 MMT, which is up from last year’s 22 MMT.
South Africa: Africa’s largest corn producer announced that exports have risen 13 percent compared to last year, reports Bloomberg News. Corn shipments totaled 2.04 MMT in the marketing year ending on April 25, which compared with 1.81 MMT the year before. Japan was the largest importer of South African corn at 596,315 MT, with Zimbabwe following at 283,533 MT.
Ukraine: Ukrainian farmers are looking for assistance from the IMF as the continuing tensions with Russia have made lending conditions much more difficult, according to Reuters. This credit crunch came during the spring planting season and forced some farmers to purchase cheaper seeds and reduce their use of fertilizers. The IMF’s Board of Governors convened on April 30 to consider a Ukrainian aid package following a tentative agreement in March to provide Ukraine with a two year aid package totaling $14-18 billion.
United Kingdom: Approximately 95 percent of the UK’s spring barley crop has been planted, reports the Wall Street Journal.