Today (Oct 26), the market for grains in China is shown as follows:

Corn:

Corn prices in China stay stable with slight adjustment today. And the average price is 2,450 CNY/tonne nationwide, up 5 CNY/tonne from last Friday. The price among deep-processing enterprises in Shandong prevails at 2,430-2,580 CNY/tonne with an adjustment of 10-20 CNY/tonne compared to yesterday and 10-76 CNY/tonne from last Friday. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, the purchasing price of 2020 new corn remains at 2,520 CNY/tonne, up 10 CNY/tonne from yesterday. At Bayuquan port, Liaoning, new corn of 2020 with volume weight of 720 g/L (moisture within 15%, impurity with 1%, mildew with 2%) is priced at 2,500 CNY/tonne, up 20 CNY/tonne from last Friday. At Guangdong port, Grade-II old corn is priced at 2,580-2,600 CNY/tonne, flat from last Friday. The purchasing price of Grade-III new corn offered by Longfeng company in Suihua Qinggang, Heilongjiang is 2,200 CNY/tonne, unchanged from last Friday.

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. Besides, corn futures continue rising on Dalian Commodity Exchange today, shoring up market confidence. However, market participants are in a wait-and-see mood as spot corn price consecutively records new high. On Oct 26, there are around 600 trucks waiting to get unloaded in earlier morning in Shandong Province. Most of manufacturers adjust the purchasing price in accordance with different volume and some enterprises fractionally adjust the price. In recent two days, corn prices may keep steady with little fluctuations in the cash market. But the overall corn prices will stay strong at the high level, and participant can pay attention to new corn sales and sales mentality.

Sorghum:

New domestic sorghum prices are sharply higher 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. Markets in main producing provinces of Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Jilin have strong sentiment for higher prices. Moreover, distillery owners have to make purchases for daily requirements. These combine to drive sorghum prices to continue rises.

Imported sorghum prices go up 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 274,000 tonnes as of Oct 23. 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 23, imported barley stocks totaled 648,000 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 ¥6.67)