Today (Sept. 16th), the market for grains in China is shown as follows:

Domestic corn price stays stable with slight adjustment in some regions today. The price prevails at 2,000-2,070 yuan/tonne among deep-processing enterprises in Shandong with some rises by 10-30 yuan/tonne from last Thursday. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, corn with 14.5% moisture and test weight over 700 g/L is steady at 1,850 yuan/tonne from last Thursday. At Bayuquan port, old corn is priced steadily at 1,820 yuan/tonne (test weight 690-700 g/L and moisture 14.5%) from last Thursday, and new corn is quoted steadily at 1,840 yuan/tonne from last Thursday. At Shekou port, Guangdong, the second-class corn is steadily traded at 1,980 yuan/tonne from last Thursday.

Rain falls in parts of North China, and the corn prices are supported by less arrival of enterprises. But the rotating grain in northeastern areas is entering market successively, and the marketing of new corn in North China will speed up after mid-September, so new corn is in adequate supply. On the other side, deep-processing enterprises mainly use their own stockpiles, and feed enterprises tend to buy on immediate demand. Therefore, the market is still curbed by fundamental contradictions. Corn prices are mostly stable with slight fluctuations today, and short-term corn prices will mainly stay stable with small adjustments. More attention could be paid to the sales quantity in new corn regions.

Imported sorghum prices keep steady today. (U.S. sorghum: raw sorghum is 2,220 yuan/tonne at Tianjin port, not offered for out of stock in Shanghai, 2,200 yuan in Nantong, not offered in Zhangjiagang, and 2,200 yuan in Guangdong, an dried sorghum is 2,340 yuan/tonne at Tianjin port; Australian sorghum: bulk raw sorghum is2,400 yuan/tonne in Tianjin and raw sorghum is out of stock in Shanghai, Qingdao and Nantong, and dried sorghum is2,500 yuan/tonne in Tianjin and out of stock in Qingdao).

Domestic sorghum prices rise today. In Inner Mongolia, raw sorghum is2,200 and dried sorghum is 2,300 yuan/tonne in Hinggan League; raw sorghum is not offered and dried sorghum goes up by 20 yuan to 2,340 in Chifeng; and dried 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 not offered in Songyuan; sorghum is out of stock in Baicheng; and raw sorghum and dried sorghum sacks are not offered in Taonan. In Heilongjiang Province, dried sorghum with loading is 2,160 yuan/tonne in Qiqihar; dried sorghum with loading is2,300 yuan/tonne in Daqing, and raw sorghumand dried sorghum are not offered in Heihe. In Shanxi Province, raw sorghum is not offered in Yuncheng, bulk dried sorghum with freight is not offered in Jinzhong, and raw sorghum with freight and dried sorghum with loading are not offered in Xinzhou. 

Imported barley prices step down today. (Australian barley: raw sorghum is out of stock in Qingdao and Tianjin and bulk raw sorghum is down 30 yuan at 2,190 yuan/tonne in Nantong; Canadian barley: raw barley is1,870 yuan/tonne and for brewing is out of stock in Nantong, and raw sorghum is 1,920 yuan/tonne at Qingdao port; French barley: raw barley is not offered at Qingdao port and down by 20 yuan at 1,820 yuan/tonne in Nantong; Ukrainian barley: raw sorghum is down by 30 yuan at 1,750 yuan/tonne in Nantong and remains unchanged at 1,760 yuan/tonne in Guangdong; Kazakhstan barley: raw barley is not offered at Tianjin port and 1,620 yuan/tonne at Alashankou pass, Xinjiang).

Domestic barley price is flat today: it is 1,850 yuan/tonne in Heilongjiang. 

Importers with storage in hand are propping up prices on account of low barley inventories at ports and stubbornly high cost of Australian barley. However, sorghum price is now dragged down by weak demand due to falling corn prices.Meanwhile, port sorghum and barley have lost their price advantage against corn as its energy feed substitutes. Besides, the African swine fever has roiled the original trend of hog breeding cycle in China. Small and medium-size farms have withdrawn from the market and quickened the elimination of breeding sow since the first outbreak last year, and the pig amount has fiercely cut in those provinces reported with more outbreaks. Thus, it will be hard for farmers to rebuild confidence in short time under the heavy blow of the ASF, so that the hog and sow amount has been decreasing. 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 market participants can focus on the outcome of trade talks.