Today (Oct. 23), the market for grains in China is shown as follows:

Domestic corn price stays stable with slight adjustment today. The price prevails at 1,930-1,990 yuan/tonne among deep-processing enterprises in Shandong with individual declines of 10-20 yuan/tonne from yesterday. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, the purchasing price of new corn in 2019 is 1,790-1840 yuan/tonne (test weight 690-720 g/L) unchanged with yesterday. At Bayuquan port, new corn in 2019 is priced at 1,780-1,810 yuan/tonne (moisture 14.5%-15%) down by 10 yuan/tonne at the low level from yesterday. At Shekou port, Guangdong, the second-class corn is steadily traded at 1,960-1,970 yuan/tonne from yesterday.

New corn is in the harvest period in producing areas, so new corn has not gone marketing in huge quantity yet. Meanwhile, corn at ports and in Northeastern deep-processing enterprises is in phased tight supply. Among four northern ports, corn inventory totals around 1.5 mln tonnes, which is the lowest level the same period over the past six years. And corn prices maintain a strong trend today. As the weather in North China clears up, the arrivals of corn also rise up. In addition, corn will go marketing in huge quantity after mid-November, so the market still needs to prevent supply pressure from huge sales volume in the late period, and buyers can focus on the pace of marketing of new corn.

Imported sorghum prices stay stable today. (U.S. sorghum: raw sorghum and dried sorghum are respectively at 2,140 yuan/tonne and 2,270 yuan/tonne at Tianjin port, and raw sorghum is2,200 yuan in Nantong and 2,150 yuan in Guangdong; Australian sorghum: bulk raw sorghum is2,410 yuan/tonne and dried sorghum is2,510 yuan/tonne in Tianjin).

Domestic sorghum prices keep steady with some rises today. In Inner Mongolia, raw sorghum is 2,100 yuan/tonne and dried sorghum is 2,240 yuan/tonne in Hinggan League; 2019 dried sorghum is 2,300 yuan/tonne in Chifeng; and dried sorghum goes up 100 yuan to 2,200 yuan/tonne in Tongliao. In Jilin Province, dried sorghum is 2,100 yuan/tonne in Changchun; dried sorghum with loading is 2,320 yuan/tonne in Songyuan; raw sorghum is 2,200 yuan/tonne in Taonan; and dried sorghum is 2,320 yuan/tonne in Qian’an. In Heilongjiang Province, dried sorghum with loading is 2,160 yuan/tonne in Qiqihar; dried sorghum with loading is 2,300 yuan/tonne in Daqing. In Shanxi Province, dried sorghum is 2,400 yuan/tonne in Jinzhong, dried sorghum in standard bag is 2,260 yuan/tonne in Datong, and dried sorghum is 2,340 yuan/tonne in Shuozhou. 

Imported barley prices remain unchanged today. (Nantong port: Canadian brewing barley is not offered; Qingdao port: Canadian brewing barley is 1,880 yuan/tonne and French brewing barley is 2,030 yuan/tonne. Australian barley: raw barley is out of stock in Qingdao and 2,400 yuan/tonne in Tianjin, and bulk raw barley is2,150 yuan/tonne in Nantong; Canadian barley: raw barley is 1,880 yuan/tonne in Nantong and not offered at Qingdao port; French barley: raw barley is not offered at Qingdao port and1,800 yuan/tonne in Nantong; Ukrainian barley: raw barley is 1,740 yuan/tonne in Nantong and 1,710 yuan/tonne in Guangdong; Kazakhstan barley: raw barley is not offered at Tianjin port and at Alashankou pass, Xinjiang).

Domestic barley price is not offered for out of stock in Heilongjiang today.

Sorghum is not a good substitute to corn any more in terms of prices, which in turn drags down sorghum prices. The same is true for barley, because importers with storage in hand are propping up prices on account of low barley inventories at ports and stubbornly high cost of Australian barley. Neither sorghum nor barley can be a good alternative option as the energetic feed to corn. In the meantime, the demand for them is also subdued by the African swine fever, which has roiled the hog production and cut the hog herd and sow amount in China. This will also curb the spot markets. 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.