Country News
Argentina: Argentine farmers have planted 55.5 percent of this season’s corn crop, which is up 7.8 percentage points for the week, reports Reuters. Farmers are expected to plant 3.3 million hectares this year.
Brazil: The Brazilian office of Archer Daniels Midland Co. anticipates that in 2014 it will move 1 MMT of grain through its new port terminal in Barcarena at the mouth of the Amazon, according to Reuters. ADM eventually hopes to expand the capacity at this facility in order to move 6 MMT of grain annually and relieve some of the immense congestion that plagues Brazil’s southern ports. Currently, the grains slated for export from Barcarena come from Para and Mato Grosso via truck and barge, but there are plans for a rail line that would link the port to the landlocked grain regions in the center and west of Brazil.
China: Chinese stringency in evaluating U.S.-sourced corn for unapproved GMO strains is likely to continue into early 2014, according to Reuters. China is currently trying to curb cheap imports in order to support domestic corn prices as it stockpiles the grain in the northeastern corn belt. While the amount of imports rejected remains small at four bulk cargoes, the action has been enough to disrupt the flow of corn importation as traders scramble to redirect corn shipments to countries that will accept them.
Russia: Russia could export as much as 3 MMT of barley and 2.6 MMT of corn for the July-December 2013 time period, reports WPI. Should these totals bear out, then the export quantity for this time period will exceed that of the entire 2012/13 season.
South Africa: 86 percent of the corn planted in South Africa is now genetically modified, reports WPI. The development and planting of GM corn in South Africa has earned the country $933 million since 1998 and benefits the economy by some $100 million annually. South Africa’s success has spurred a new discussion on the safety and validity of GM crops in Africa as repeated crop failures in countries, notably Kenya, have placed South Africa in a prime position to export its surplus to the rest of the continent.