Today (Apr. 20), the market for grains in China is shown as follows:

Corn prices rise further in some regions of China today. The price among deep-processing enterprises in Shandong prevails at 2,060-2,130 yuan/tonne with partial rises of 10-30 yuan/tonne compared to last Friday. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, the purchasing price of corn is raised to 1,970 yuan/tonne (moisture 15% and volume weight 700 g/L), which is up 5-10 yuan/tonne from last Friday. At Bayuquan port, the purchasing price of corn (volume weight 700-720 g/L) is 1,980-2,000 yuan/tonne up by 10 yuan/tonne from last Friday. At Shekou port, Guangdong, the second-class corn price is raised to 2,100 yuan/tonne up by 20 yuan/tonne from last Friday.

The surplus corn in main producing area bottoms out and rests less than 10% nationwide, while some stocks have been transferred to traders. Moreover, markets are optimistic about the feed demand in and after the second quarter, raising traders’ confidence for later market and reluctance in selling inventories in hand. Furthermore, the inventories of businesses are still lower than the same period last year, and the arrival of corn in Shandong further increases slightly but still not many on the whole, which is around 300 trucks today. Thus, the fundamentals bull the market. Today, corn prices further rise by 10-20 yuan among some domestic enterprises and at ports. In consequence, corn price is projected to extend the strong trend before the policy-based auction. Nevertheless, recent news has it that the auction will be brought forward this year and the starting price will remain flat from last year. It has been previously expected that the first round of auction will start on April 23, but there is no clear announcement as of today. Since the expectation has faded, participants can notice that whether the auction will be held in early May. In addition, there are many rumors about policy flying around the market, like the supply of oriented-corn to deep-processing enterprises. For the moment, buyers can keep eyes on the movement of policy.

Domestic sorghum prices are stable with a partial rise today, of which dried sorghum prices prevail at around 2,800 yuan/tonne. Both farmers and traders have a strong sentiment for higher prices, as sorghum supplies are reducing and margins are growing. But imported sorghum is in huge volume and at relatively low prices, which will weigh on domestic sorghum market. Overall, domestic sorghum prices are predicted to maintain its stable trend.

Imported sorghum prices are higher today, of which US raw sorghum is quoted at 2,060-2,080 yuan/tonne. There is no goods available at both Nantong port and Shanghai port, and only some small supply at Tianjin and Guangdong ports. But according to Cofeed, 5 cargoes of US sorghum, or about 339,000 tonnes, is expected to arrive in China in April, and another 3 cargoes, or about 193,000 tonnes, which have just been inspected, will also arrive in early May. Hence, imported sorghum prices are predicted to remain stable before those vessels arriving.