Today (Dec. 29th), the market for grains in China is shown as follows:
Corn: Domestic corn prices continue to stay stable to go strong today. Prices mostly stay stable at a range of 1,934-2,040 yuan/tonne among Shandong processing enterprises. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, 2018 new corn with 20% moisture levels at 1,730 yuan/tonne, and 15% moisture of volume weight over 700 g/L is unchanged at 1,850 yuan/tonne; old corn is unchanged at 1,830 yuan/tonne (volume weight 700 g/L). At Bayuquan port, 2018 new corn goes up by 10 yuan to 1,840-1,850 yuan/tonne (volume weight 700-720 g/L). At Shekou port, Guangdong, second-class old corn is unchanged at 1,950-1,960 yuan/tonne; and some second-class new corn produced in 2018 is priced steadily at 1,970-1,990 yuan/tonne.
In north regions, while the market volume of new corn is tapering off when local planters are still reluctant to sell and traders are seeing downward profits in shipment, processing enterprises have been dependent on comsuming their inventories and some have launched their stockpiles in the run up to the festivals; hence, corn prices have been raised successively?for the last few days. And the price has also reversed its declines to post slight rebounds in the northeast and at ports. However, local sale progress has just walked up to 32% together in three northeastern provinces, i.e. Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, and the eastern part of Inner Mongolia, which is 17 percentage points lower than the same period last year. With so much supply left, farmers will probably trigger an intensive sale before the Spring Festival as in previous years. Worse yet, corn feed consumption is hard to increase under the deteriorating African swine fever this year, and thus corn market is also weak to go upward. Moreover, under such a looser supply pattern, corn price will find it easier to edge down yet difficult to up before the Spring Festival. Market participants can keep monitoring the game between sale pace among planters and stockpile demand from enterprises.
Sorghum: Imported sorghum prices stay stable today. (US sorghum: raw sorghum is unchanged at 2,120 yuan/tonne in Shanghai and not offered for out of stocks in Nantong, Zhangjiagang and Guangdong. Australian sorghum: raw sorghum is unchanged at 2,220 yuan/tonne in Tianjin (some can be negotiated by a range of 20-40 yuan/tonne), 2,180 in Shanghai, 2,250 in Nantong, 2,180-2,200 yuan/tonne in Qingdao and not offered in Guangdong; dried sorghum is unchanged at 2,330 in Tianjin, 2,350-2,360 in Nantong and 2,320 yuan/tonne in Qingdao. Domestic sorghum price stays stable today: In Yuncheng, Shanxi, raw sorghum is unchanged at 2,100 yuan/tonne; in Hinggan League, inner Mongolia, raw sorghum and dried sorghum with freight remain unchanged 1,900 and 2,100 yuan/tonne; in Chifeng, inner Mongolia, raw sorghum and dried sorghum remain unchanged at 2,000 and 2,140 yuan/tonne; in Changchun, Jilin, dried sorghum with freight is unchanged at 2,240 yuan/tonne; there is no quotation in Qiqihar, Heilongjiange; in Daqing, raw sorghum and dried sorghum with freight both remain unchanged at 1,920 and 2,040 yuan/tonne; and in Heihe, dried sorghum with freight is unchanged at 2,000 yuan/tonne).
Barley: Barley price stays stable today. (Australian barley: raw sorghum is unchanged at 2,250 yuan/tonne in Qingdao and 2,200-2,210 in Nantong; Canadian barley: raw barley is unchanged at 2,130-2,140 yuan/tonne in Nantong; French barley: raw barley is unchanged at 2,080-2,090 yuan/tonne in Nantong; Ukrainian barley: raw sorghum is unchanged at 1,950 yuan/tonne in Guangdong).
Bearish sentiment still hovers upon a possible import growth for US sorghum, since there have been increasing expectations for US grain imports amid the trade detente between China and the United States. Besides, port sorghum and barley, the energy feed of corn, have lost their price advantages. Port spot shipment is thereby being cracked down. However, the market has become more willing to support the price on account of supply shortages of port sorghum and its high cost. In addition, subject to the policies of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy, port barley may see a lessened volume under markedly growing import cost. And this will give support to barley market at its bottom so that the market is confident in propping up the price. In the coexistence of the bull and the bear, port grain price remains stable today, and port sorghum and barley markets are predicted to show narrow fluctuations in the short term.
(USD $1=CNY 6.88)
