Today (Sep 25), the market for grains in China is shown as follows:

Corn:

Corn prices adjust slightly in some regions of China today. And the average price is 2,263 CNY/tonne nationwide, flat from yesterday. The price among deep-processing enterprises in Shandong prevails at 2,280-2,410 CNY/tonne with partial adjustments of 6-20 CNY/tonne compared to yesterday. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, the new corn with volume weight of 690-700 g/L (moisture within 14.5%, impurity within 1%, mildew within 2%) is priced at 2,270 CNY/tonne, unchanged from yesterday. At Guangdong port, Grade-II old corn is offered at 2,450 CNY/tonne, which could be traded at 2,430 CNY/tonne with no change from yesterday.

New corn is entering market in North China in succession and will be generally available in a week or so, expanding corn supply in a certain stage. Corn futures on Dalian Commodity Exchange still fall back today on fears about output decline in Northeast area, and corn prices in growing area also steadily decrease. At ports, corn prices stop rising and turn to be stable, and some even move lower today. Thus, the upward momentum of corn price is limited in the near term, and it will not rule out the pressure from consecutive marketing in North China. Moreover, corn output in Northeast area is doomed to go down. But the downward space will not be too much against the backdrop of bulling the market outlook.

Sorghum:

Domestic sorghum prices are stable today, of which dried sorghum prices prevail at around 2,900-3,000 CNY/tonne. The supply of sorghum is decreasing at present and grain merchants have seen bigger margins, so that farmers and traders have strong sentiment in propping up prices. In addition, domestic sorghum will see lower production as new crops in northeastern regions have been hit by typhoons. However, imported sorghum of lower prices will be arriving at domestic ports, and distilleries have limited demand, which will undermine domestic sorghum market. Overall, domestic sorghum prices are predicted to stay stale with a strengthening trend.

Imported sorghum prices are flat in China today and the average price is at 2,367 CNY/tonne. 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, and domestic holders now have small stocks of Australian sorghum amid tensions between China and Australia. However, imported sorghum stocks at Guangdong ports still total 291,000 tonnes as of Sept 18. 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 steady today and the average is at 1,981 CNY/tonne. As of Sept 18, imported barley stocks totaled 520,000 tonnes at Guangdong ports. There will be vessels arriving gradually in coming months, while downstream buyers have weak demand now, which will be negative to the market. In addition, barley shipments from Argentina, Canada and France have been flowing toward China as a conflict between China and Australia reshapes global trade pattern, which is also undermining domestic barley market. Merely, China has halted barley imports from Australia’s largest grain exporter whose shipments were found with pests on multiple occasions. This further disrupts barley trade between these two nations. Overall, imported barley prices are predicted to stay stable in China.

(USD $1=CNY ¥6.81)