China removed the import duties on U.S. sorghum last week, and that gave the corn market a real lift. It has been importing U.S. sorghum since the flap over the unapproved Syngenta corn hybrid started several years ago. While the removal of these duties was important to the market from a psychological standpoint, there should not be too much read into it from a purely fundamental standpoint for the following reasons:
The U.S. sorghum crop is very small. Production totaled 364 million bushels (9.2 MMT) in 2017 and is forecast at 343 million bushels (8.7 MMT) this year compared with corn production of 335 MMT. U.S. sorghum export sales to China for this marketing year total 4.5 MMT with 4.3 MMT of that already shipped. Nevertheless, China...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
