Country News
Argentina: Grain exporters are petitioning government authorities to not retroactively apply the taxes to sales completed before the official announcement. The grain export chamber CIARA-CEC says several companies are willing to provide authorities with documentation to prove the validity of their sales prior to the tax announcement. The export tax will drive profitability 50 percent lower, which in turn will drive corn production area lower during this coming season, though the falling value of the peso could erase the value of the tax on exports. (AgriCensus; Great Plains Ag; La Nación)
Australia: Official crops agency ABARES estimates the barley crop at 8.3 MMT. Low moisture levels are causing feed prices to rise and could erode crop production even lower. (ARC)
Brazil: AgriBrasil says that the new freight increase could raise farmers’ additional shipping charges from $1 billion to up $5 billion. A fifth of the crop had already been negotiated before the new freight fees. The government says that it will impose fines for undermining the new freight rates. (AgriCensus)
Canada: StatsCan issued bullish numbers for barley where stocks are down 41 percent compared to a year ago, but exports are tracking slow, down 55 percent year-over-year according to the Canadian Grain Commission. (FarmLead)
China: The corn auction sold 75 percent of the volume offered at ¥1,570 ($229.38)/MT. Heilongjiang provincial authorities sold 1.3 MMT of corn last week.
France: Adverse weather has pushed French corn production down to 14 percent below average. (AgriCensus)
Saudi Arabia: The government agency SAGO paid 15 percent more than the previous tender for 1.5 MMT of barley due to tightening global supplies. The price on 25 cargoes averaged $260.79/MT CIF for delivery in November and December, up from the $226.47/MT it paid back in a July tender. Global barley supplies are at a six-year low. Jordan is expected to next tender for a panama of feed barley. (AgriCensus)
South Korea: Corn purchasing for 2018 is completed. (AgriCensus)
Ukraine: A $14 million corn processing plant will be built in Vinnytsia, Ukraine that can process 300 MT/day or 100 KMT/year. Scheduled to be up and running in late 2019, 80 percent of its product will be exported. (FoodBev Media; Ukrinform)