Today (Dec 31), 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 2,609 CNY/tonne nationwide, up 15 CNY/tonne from yesterday. Deep-processing enterprises in Shandong offer at 2,570-2,720 CNY/tonne, a partial increase of 10 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 around 2,650 CNY/tonne, unchanged. At Guangdong port, Grade-II old corn is offered at 2,730-2,750 CNY/tonne and may be traded at 2,730-2,740 CNY/tonne. Meanwhile, Grade-II new corn is priced at 2,780-2,800 CNY/tonne, 20-30 CNY/tonne higher than yesterday. 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 2,500 CNY/tonne, up 20 CNY/tonne compared to yesterday.

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 more reluctant to sell their corn inventories. With a lack of marketing volume, some deep-processing firms raise price by 20-40 CNY/tonne. Besides, corn futures continue ramping up on Dalian Commodity Exchange today. In addition to this, the price inversion between South China and North China offers a support to price at Southern and Northern ports, with a rise of 10-30 CNY/tonne. Nevertheless, with weather getting better in North China, there are more than 700 trucks waiting to get unloaded in Shandong earlier this morning, and only several enterprises raise price by 10 CNY/tonne. 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 ¥6.52)