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

Corn:

Corn prices stay stable with slight adjustment in China today. And the average price is 2,445 CNY/tonne nationwide, up 6 CNY/tonne from yesterday. The price among deep-processing enterprises in Shandong prevails at 2,480-2,580 CNY/tonne with an adjustment of 10-40 CNY/tonne compared to yesterday. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, the purchasing price of 2020 new corn remains at 2,500-2,505 CNY/tonne, up 5 CNY/tonne at the high level. At Guangdong port, Grade-II old corn is priced at 2,580-2,600 CNY/tonne, flat from yesterday. The purchasing price of Grade-III new corn offered by Longfeng company in Suihua Qinggang, Heilongjiang is 2,200 CNY/tonne, unchanged from yesterday.

China’s corn market supply tightens due to a production reduction in main producing regions, coupled with reducing corn released under policies, so traders are bullish about the market outlook and have strong sentiment to hoard corn. So far, the overall sales progress has been slow across the country. Further processing enterprises in northeast China are relying on their stocks. And feed manufacturers tend to stock up feedstocks due to continuous rises in feedstock prices and as feed production has been seeing steady growth for months with a relatively huge increase in September. Hence, domestic corn market is supported by bullish fundamentals at present. However, corn marketing volume is rapidly increasing in north China on higher prices. On Oct 23, there are around 800 trucks waiting to get unloaded in earlier morning in Shandong Province. Besides, corn futures pare gains from the high level on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange today, which is also affecting the market sentiment, so corn prices stop rising and some even fractionally drop in several areas. Moreover, corn price is trading lower at Southern and Northern ports, and will likely fluctuate slightly in the cash market. The overall corn prices will stay strong at the high level, and participant can pay attention to new corn sales and sales mentality.

Sorghum:

Domestic sorghum prices steady today. Domestic sorghum production reduces this year due to smaller planting area and typhoons, so that its starting prices stay at a historical high and farmers tend to hoard crops and prop up prices. But distillery owners are reluctant to accept the prices and remain hesitant. Moreover, new sorghum has not been harvested at full swing in northeastern China now. Overall, domestic sorghum prices are expected to slightly decline with the marketing of new sorghum.

Imported sorghum prices are flat in China today. Market participants are concerned that escalating U.S.-China tensions could affect future imports of sorghum. Moreover, new U.S. sorghum crops are still under harvests, and the cost of importing sorghum is also strengthening due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, domestic holders now have small stocks of Australian sorghum amid tensions between China and Australia. However, imported sorghum stocks at Guangdong ports still total 248,000 tonnes as of Oct 16. 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 price is at 2,002 CNY/tonne. As of Oct 16, imported barley stocks totaled 732,000 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 disrupt barley trade between these two nations. Overall, imported barley prices are predicted to stay stable in China.

(USD $1=CNY ¥6.67)