Country News
Argentina: The truck drivers’ union is threatening to mimic their counterpart’s strike in Brazil. They will impose a wide-spread strike and disruptions if transport companies do not concede to a 27 percent salary increase. (AgriCensus)
Brazil: As a result of its crop tour, the advisory firm Agroconsult says the second corn crop will be 57 MMT, a 3 MMT cut from the firm’s earlier estimate. Grain sales stalled during a week-long truck driver strike over diesel prices. (FarmLead)
China: Corn imports surged in April, hitting 380 KMT and totaling 940 KMT year to date. That is a 200 percent increase over a year earlier. Sorghum imports were up 87 percent in April, hitting 640 KMT, but are down 1.6 percent on the year. (Ecns.cn Reuters)
East Africa: Last year the region suffered from drought and this year rainfall has been twice the seasonal average. The result is severe flooding that has destroyed 21,000 acres of crops in Kenya and 12,355 acres in Rwanda. Kenya’s corn production has been cut and the strategic reserve is down to one day’s supply. Meanwhile, storage and drying facilities have been flooded. Separately, the National Assembly was told this week that the National Cereals and Produce Board may be short 6 million bags of maize as the weighbridges that measure grain moving into the silos could have been tampered. (Bloomberg; Daily Nation)
Nigeria: Nigeria is the world’s second largest producer of sorghum after the United States but violence in production areas have caused fields to be abandoned. (Bloomberg)
South Africa: Stocks fell 20 percent as the country exported 213 KMT of maize in April. (AgriCensus)