Today (Aug 17), the market for grains in China is shown as follows:

Corn:

Corn prices in China mostly keep steady with slight adjustment in some regions. And the average price is 2,277 CNY/tonne nationwide, up by 4 CNY/tonne from last Friday. The price among deep-processing enterprises in Shandong prevails at 2,420-2,496 CNY/tonne, which slightly adjusts by 10-20 CNY/tonne from yesterday and down by 6-30 CNY/tonne from last Friday. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, the old corn with moisture 14.5% and volume weight 690-700 g/L is priced at 2,230-2,240 CNY/tonne and 2,250 CNY/tonne (better quality), up by 40 CNY/tonne from last Friday. And old corn with moisture 14.5% and volume weight 720 g/L is priced at 2,270 CNY/tonne, an increase of 50 CNY/tonne compared to last Friday. And the new corn is priced at 2,300 CNY/tonne. At Shekou port, Guangdong, the offer for Grade-II new corn remains at 2,430-2,440 CNY/tonne, flat from last Friday. The price of old corn is 2,390-2,410 CNY/tonne, unchanged with last Friday.

Corn stocks are mainly in middle and large traders’ hands, and traders are still reluctant to sell stocks considering high cost. Moreover, corn futures on Dalian Commodity Exchange sharply rose on last Friday and continued climbing up today, giving confidence to market. Corn price at Northern ports surged by 50 CNY/tonne today. Meanwhile, corn arrival in Shandong today decreased again, which was less than 400 trucks versus nearly 1,500 trucks in the same period last week. Corn prices among Northern businesses mainly stop falling and turn to be stable. Hence, short-term corn market is supported from bottoms, and will likely fluctuate slightly at high levels. Buyers can keep eyes on the ex-warehouse of corn in Northern area.

Sorghum:

Domestic sorghum prices are stable today, of which dried sorghum prices prevail at around 2,840-2,900 CNY/tonne. Domestic sorghum supplies are reducing and margins are growing, so that farmers and traders both tend to prop up prices. However, Chinese importers have bought relatively huge amount of sorghum, which will be at relatively low prices. Moreover, it become more difficult to stock up sorghum as the weather gets warmer and warmer, and distilleries have also suspended purchases and production entering the hottest period of summer. These together weigh down domestic sorghum market to some extent. Overall, domestic sorghum prices are predicted to maintain its stable trend.

Imported sorghum prices are stable with a partial rise in China today, as market participants are concerned that escalating U.S.-China tensions could affect future imports of sorghum. Moreover, the cost of importing sorghum is also strengthening due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, imported sorghum stocks at Guangdong ports still total 338,000 tonnes as of Aug 14. And an expected rise in sorghum arrivals will probably weigh down US sorghum prices in China. Participants can focus on the development of US-China relations.

Barley:

Imported barley prices are stable with a partial decline today. As of Aug 14th, imported barley stocks totaled 72,000 tonnes at Guangdong ports, with some vessels expected to arrive in the coming months. Downstream buyers have weak demand for barley now, which slows down shipments. However, starting May 19, China has begun to impose 80.5% of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on barley originating in Australia for five years, according to announcements by China’s Ministry of Commerce on May 18th. Chinese importers now are scarcely interested in Australian grains. Overall, imported barley prices are predicted to keep steady with a strengthening trend.

(USD $1=CNY ¥6.94)