Today (Jun. 17th), the market for grains in China is shown as follows:
Corn: Domestic corn prices stay stable with some declines today. The price prevails at 2,044-2,090 yuan/tonne in Shandong today, with some declines of 10-50 yuan/tonne from last Friday. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, corn with 14.5% moisture, volume weight over 700 g/L, mildew within 2%, 1% heat damage and 6%-8% unsound grain is priced lower by 20-30 yuan at 1,850-1,870 yuan/tonne. At Bayuquan port, 2018 new corn goes down by 10 yuan at 1,840-1,860 yuan/tonne (volume weight 690 g/L and moisture 14.5%). At Shekou port, Guangdong, second-class corn can be traded at around 1,960-1,970 yuan/tonne and some at 1,950 yuan/tonne.
The fourth round auction has come packaged with lower trading rates. Corn from the auction has come into the market from last week, and traders tend to cut down their stockpiles for lower prices; thus, the increase in corn supply is also keep sentiment?weak. Besides, there is still not an effective control against the African swine fever which has resulted in constant declines in breeding hog amount especially in South China, so that feed enterprises show little enthusiasm in purchase. The stockpiles have been huge at ports amid decreasing shipments, sending the price to fall by 10-20 yuan/tonne today. Therefore, the market is now weighed down by negative fundamentals. In the near term, the price may extend its weak trend. Participants can pay attention to trading rate and delivery on the auction and the market demand.
Sorghum:
Imported sorghum prices are flat today. (U.S. raw sorghum is priced steadily at 2,160 yuan/tonne in Shanghai, 2,160 in Nantong and not offered for out of stock in Zhangjiagang and Guangdong; Australian sorghum: raw sorghum is 2,220 yuan/tonne in Tianjin, 2,200 in Qingdao and 2,320 yuan/tonne in Nantong, and dried sorghum is 2,320 yuan/tonne in Tianjin and remains unchanged at 2,300 in Qingdao).
Domestic sorghum prices keep steady today. In Inner Mongolia, raw sorghum is 2,140 and dried sorghum 2,200 yuan/tonne in Hinggan League; raw sorghum is not offered and dried sorghum 2,300 yuan/tonne in Chifeng; and raw sorghum is not offered in Tongliao. In Jilin Province, dried sorghum is 2,300 yuan/tonne in Changchun; raw sorghum sacks and dried sorghum with loading are both 2,100 yuan/tonne in Songyuan, sorghum is out of stock in Baicheng; and raw sorghum and dried sorghum sacks are 1,900 and 1,980 yuan/tonne in Taonan. In Heilongjiang Province, dried sorghum with loading is 2,060 yuan/tonne in Qiqihar; dried sorghum with loading is 2,200 yuan/tonne in Daqing, and raw sorghum is 1,900 yuan/tonne and dried sorghum is 2,040 in Heihe. In Shanxi Province, raw sorghum is 2,100 yuan/tonne in Yuncheng, bulk dried sorghum with freight is 2,360 yuan/tonne in Jinzhong, and raw sorghum with freight and dried sorghum with freight are 1,960 and 2,160 yuan/tonne in Xinzhou.
Barley: Barley prices remain unchanged today. (Australian barley: raw sorghum is out of stock in Qingdao and bulk raw sorghum 2,200 in Nantong; Canadian barley: raw barley is 2,070 yuan/tonne and for brewing is 2,180 yuan/tonne in Nantong, and raw sorghum is 2,070 yuan/tonne in Qingdao; French barley: raw barley is not offered in Nantong; Ukrainian barley: not offered in Guangdong).
Sorghum price is now dragged down by weak demand due to continued drops in corn prices. And importers with storage in hand tend to prop up prices in view of low barley inventories at ports and stubbornly high cost of Australian barley. Merely, port sorghum and barley have lost their price advantage against corn as its energy feed substitutes. According to statistics from China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, hog in breeding in May has declined by 4.2% from April and by 22.9% from the corresponding period last year, and reproductive sow has declined by 4.1% from last month and by 23.9% from a year earlier. The African swine fever has roiled the original trend of hog cycle in China, as middle and small farmers withdrew from the market and geared up the elimination of breeding sow stocks since the first outbreak last August, and it has been fiercely cutting the pig number in those provinces reported with more outbreaks. Thus, it will be hard for farmers to rebuild confidence in short time as a fall in live pig and sow stocks has stricken a serious blow at the sector. Given this, grain market will be curbed by its later consumption. Generally, port sorghum and barley markets are predicted to keep steady with some fluctuations in the short term, and port sorghum market may be buoyed again by concerns over trade disputes, so participants and focus on the outcome of trade talks.
(USD $1=CNY 6.92)
