From the beginning of the current marketing year on July 1 and until Jan 9, Ukraine exported a total of 26.3 million t of grains and legumes, falling some 30% behind the volume seen in the same period of the marketing year 2021/2022.
In early Jan, export quotes for Ukrainian grains have shown an upturn in almost all positions, which generally corresponds to world trends.
Prices for EU grains have been mainly growing due in part to a tender announced by one of the key importers in the past, Tunisian ODC. Within the tender, ODC has purchased 100,000 t of wheat at $351.86-353.89/t C&F and 75,000 t of barley at $318.05-320.05/t C&F.
Quotes for grains and oilseeds have been showing a downtrend this week. Thus, prices for US wheat have declined due to high export pace in the Black Sea region and Australia.
Export prices for Brazilian corn have fallen due to stiff competition with other origins, while the shipping volumes remain modest. According to Anec, the total corn exports amounted to 43.17 million t in 2022 compared with 20.6 million t in 2021.
In Kazakhstan, grain export quotes hold steady, although market participants note some downtrends. Amid intense competition with Russian traders, Kazakh suppliers will have to make price concessions, but relevant economic benefits remain an open issue.
Australian grain prices are sliding down under the pressure of the ongoing harvesting campaign. Lachstock estimates that 89% of wheat and 92% of barley have been harvested in Western Australia, while South Australian farmers collected 68% of wheat and 79% of barley.
Russian suppliers have raised prices for almost all grains, although the market remains full of cargo offers. Market participants doubt that the current trend will continue and expect quotes to go down as early as next week.
Prices for soybeans have sagged amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in China, a key global buyer of this commodity. From Dec 23 till Dec 29, US grain traders sold up to 1 million t of soybeans to foreign markets (including 151,000 t of soy ofthe new harvest).