Ontario Grain Marketing Commentary, March 4, 2020
| COMMODITY | PERIOD | PRICE | WEEKLY MOVEMENT |
| Corn CBOT | May | 3.85 | ↑ 10 ½ cents |
| Soybeans CBOT | May | 9.07¼ | ↑ 15 ¼ cents |
| Wheat CBOT | May | 5.18¼ | ↓ 17 ½ cents |
| Wheat Minn. | May | 5.29¼ | ↓ ¾ cent |
| Wheat Kansas | May | 4.53¼ | ↓ 6 cents |
| Oats CBOT | May | 2.70¾ | ↓ 15 cents |
| Canadian $ | Mar | 0.7464 | ↓ 48 points |
Corn
Corn planting in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil was at 92% as of the end of February, 2020. This is well above the five-year average of 88 percent. It is expected that 12.6 million acres will be planted. This figure is an increase of 5% from last year. Corn production in this state is estimated to be 32.4 million tonnes.
Corn consumption is likely to increase to 5.8 million tonnes in Peru this year. Peru’s poultry industry continues to grow, which in turn increases feed usage. In order to meet this feed demand, corn imports are expected to be 3.9 million tonnes.
Soybeans
As of the end of February, 2020, Brazil has sold 1.3 million tonnes of soybeans. One million tonnes are from the 2019/2020 harvest and 300,000 tonnes are for the 2020/2021 harvest. It is expected that Brazil may export up to 10 million tonnes of soybeans throughout the month of March, with 60% of this destined for China.
Brazilian harvest is approximately 43% complete as harvest progresses in some of the drier areas of Brazil. Last year, harvest was 56% complete by this time.
In Argentina, the government has suspended any new export registrations. The government is looking to increase commodity export taxes on soybeans from 30% to 33% in an effort to increase revenue ahead of a planned sovereign bond restructuring.
Wheat
World wheat production is expected to increase to 766 million tonnes in 2020/2021. World consumption is likely to increase as well. Global production has outpaced consumption in recent years, resulting in significant inventories and lower grain prices.
The Ukraine has exported 16 million tonnes of wheat in the first half of the 2019/2020 marketing year. The main buyers were Indonesia, Turkey, and China.
During the past February, (2020) French soft wheat shipments outside of the EU totaled 1.46 million tonnes. This represents the largest February shipment volume in over a decade. Of this volume 122,000 tonnes were shipped to China. Other export destinations included Algeria and Morocco.
2019 cash prices for March 4, 2020, at the market close, are as follows:
SWW at $264.98/mt ($7.21/bu), HRW at $272.36/mt ($7.41/bu),
HRS at $245.78/mt ($6.69/bu), and SRW at $264.98/mt ($7.21/bu).
We currently offer 2020 and 2021 harvest prices as well, please call 1-800-265-0550 for more information.
