Today (Dec 30), the market for grains in China is shown as follows:

Corn:

Corn prices mainly stay stable but continue rising in some regions of China today. And the average price is 2,594 CNY/tonne nationwide, up 5 CNY/tonne from yesterday. Deep-processing enterprises in Shandong offer at 2,570-2,720 CNY/tonne, an increase of 20-40 CNY/tonne from yesterday. At Jinzhou port, Liaoning, new corn (volume weight with 720 g/L, moisture content within 15%, impurity with 1%, mildew with 2%) is priced at 2,630-2,650 CNY/tonne, flat from yesterday. At Bayuquan port, Liaoning, Grade-II new corn of 2020 (volume weight with 720 g/L, moisture content within 15%, impurity with 1%, mildew with 2%) is priced at 2,650 CNY/tonne, unchanged. Tiancheng Group in Siping, Jilin offers the price of Grade-III new corn steadily at 2,400 CNY/tonne. The purchasing price of Grade-III corn by Longfeng company in Suihua Qinggang, Heilongjiang is unchanged at 2,480 CNY/tonne compared to yesterday.

The purchase and sale of corn are impacted by massive rain and snow in North China. There are only around 200 trucks waiting to get unloaded in Shandong earlier this morning, and most of enterprises stay on the sideline and several firms adjust price by 10-30 CNY/tonne. Due to a reduction in production in main producing regions, corn market is heading for a foreseeable tight supply, offering support to market. And farmers in Northeastern have been reluctant to sell their corn inventories after the price hike. With a lack of marketing volume, some traders and deep-processing firms raise price by 20-30 CNY/tonne. Besides, corn futures rebound on Dalian Commodity Exchange today, shoring up market. Hence, the overall market will maintain the high level based on bullish fundamentals. Market participants should pay attention to sales mentality and policy guidelines.

Sorghum:

New sorghum prices are stable in China today. New sorghum planted area and production suffer a reduction under the influence of typhoons this year and an expansion in other crops, so farmers show strong sentiment in propping up prices. Moreover, large-scale well-known wineries gradually start their stocking up for the Chinese Lunar New Year. Growing downstream demand is thus support domestic sorghum prices to keep firm. But imported sorghum is in huge supply and of low prices, so some small distilleries are purchasing imported sorghum to save cost. This is weighing down domestic sorghum market.

Imported sorghum prices steady with the average price at 2,901 CNY/tonne in China today. 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. These are bullish to sorghum market. However, imported sorghum stocks are adequate at port now, with a total of 205,000 tonnes at Guangdong ports as of Dec 18. And an expected rise in sorghum arrivals will probably weigh down sorghum prices in China. Participants can focus on US-China relations.

Barley:

Imported barley prices steady in China today, with the overall price at 2,199 CNY/tonne. China has halted barley imports from Australia’s largest grain exporter whose shipments were found with pests on multiple occasions, further disrupting barley trade between these two nations. Moreover, some domestic feed manufacturers also start using barley as corn prices remain high, which also bolsters barley prices. Merely, imported barley stocks totaled 478,000 tonnes at Guangdong ports as of Dec 18. While there will be vessels arriving gradually in coming months, the overall demand remains weak, 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. Overall, imported barley prices are predicted to stay stable in China.

(USD $1=CNY ¥6.53)