Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Iran’s government has purchased 6 MMT of local wheat on its way to a total of 11 MMT. The wheat is being bought at a government set price to help control domestic wheat prices and to build wheat safety reserves. According to the latest FAO report, Iran’s wheat production for 2020 will be down slightly to 14 MMT. Normally the government buys as much as 75 percent of the wheat production but due to a low wheat price set by the government the FAO says that farmers may prefer to sell as feed wheat for a higher local price. The government set price for wheat purchase is lower than the market price for feed barley making sales as feed wheat attractive to farmers. Iraq s...
What You Need to Know Today: Agricultural commodities were mostly lower on the day, with red-hot soyoil a notable exception. Export sales were a bit underwhelming, particularly for corn with export sales down 52 percent week-over-week. The weakness in ag markets tracked crude oil weakness wit...
With the war in Iran affecting fuel and fertilizer prices, higher tariffs, weak commodity prices, ag labor constraints, and other factors, farm bankruptcies are now at a 6-year high, a signal of growing stress. During the month of April, 62 Chapter 12 bankruptcies were filed, which is a 1...
Food Inflation The Open Markets Institute, which is notably funded by several “anonymous” donors and liberal foundations, obtained a guest editorial in the New York Times in which they blame agribusiness concentration for higher grocery prices. This is their schtick and it is politi...
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