Wednesday July 3, 2024

• Grain prices are still holding near lows 
• There was a flash sale of 100k tonnes of corn to Columbia for 23/24 delivery
• China continues to increase purchases of Brazilian and Argentine soybeans. This is driven by weaker currencies in South America
• Parts of the corn belt are seeing flood watches and warnings, it was raining again last night and major rivers are threatening to flood
  • Despite flood concerns Iowa corn conditions still sit at 73% g/e and soybeans are at 72% g/e these numbers are well above last years ratings (see chart below)
• Argentina is getting ready for 2 corn shipments to China, these will be their first corn cargoes to China in 15 years
  • This could be bad news for US corn growers. Brazil usually uses US corn to fill their reserves because Brazils corn drying is lax which makes it unreliable to store. Argentina dries corn similar to the US which means China can purchase corn for their reserves from Argentina instead of the US
• Russian wheat prices have declined due to better than expected yields and minimal frost damage. However Russia still offers the cheapest wheat on the global market