World Farming Agriculture Commodity news - Weekly Updated -  Exclusive and very popular -

Soybean and grain futures were higher in overnight trading as more rain is expected in parts of Brazil that were already flooded. Heavy showers are forecast for next week in southern Brazil as flood concerns persist, Commodity Weather Group said in a note to clients. Flooding has killed almost 150 people and another 125 are missing, according to media reports, citing government data. Torrential rains have left cities and farm fields under water and displaced more than 500,000 people.

2. Export sales of corn, beans decline

Export sales of corn and beans declined week to week, according to data from USDA. Corn sales in the seven days through May 9 dropped to 742,200 metric tons, the agency said. That’s down 17% from the previous week and 14% from the prior four-week average. Mexico was the big buyer at 244,400 metric tons, Japan was in for 241,300 tons, Colombia purchased 188,900 tons, Taiwan purchased 78,500 tons, and China took 68,000 tons. The total would’ve been higher but an unnamed country canceled orders for 91,000 tons, South Korea nixed shipments of 31,900 tons, and the Philippines scrapped purchases of 18,000 tons, USDA said. Exports last week were reported at 952,400 tons, down 23% from the previous week. Bean sales were down 38% from the week prior and 31% from the average at 265,700 metric tons, the agency said. Egypt bought 90,400 tons, Indonesia was in for 87,900 tons, Mexico purchased 86,600 tons, Colombia was in for 23,000 tons, and Taiwan bought 18,500 tons. An unknown destination canceled cargoes of 64,800 tons. Exports totaled 443,500 tons, up 46% week to week.

Wheat sales for the 2023/2024 marketing year that ends on May 31 came in at 78,500 metric tons, up 91% from a week earlier and noticeably from the average, the government said. For the 2024/2025 marketing year, sales were reported at 304,300 tons, down from 406,000 tons a week earlier. The Philippines bought 122,000 tons, Yemen was in for 50,000 tons, Japan took 46,600 tons, Mexico was in for 31,100 tons, and an unnamed country took 20,000 tons. Exports for the week were reported at 449,100 tons, up 33% week to week, USDA said in its report.

3. Flood warnings in effect in Missouri, Illinois

Flood warnings have been issued for parts of southern Missouri and Illinois this morning as several rivers in the region have or are threatening to overrun their banks, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).  The Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois, was at 42.2 feet around midday yesterday, topping flood stage of 40 feet, the agency said. The river is forecast to fall below flood levels on Tuesday. The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was at 32.9 feet yesterday morning, above flood stage of 32 feet. The river is expected to crest at 33 feet today before receding and dropping below its capacity of 32 feet early Wednesday. Scattered rainfall is expected through tonight in the area, and chances for storms will linger through Saturday afternoon, NWS said. In western South Dakota, meanwhile, intense winds are forecast for today that could push some vehicles around and curb visibility. Winds will be sustained from 25 to 35 mph today with gusts of up to 50 mph in the forecast, the agency said. “Sudden wind gusts can cause drivers to lose control, especially in lightweight or high profile vehicles,” NWS said. “Strong winds can cause blowing dust, reduced visibility, and flying debris.”

Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) has suspended around 40 cooperatives they suspect were illegally hoarding cocoa beans in order to sell them at a higher price to exporters struggling to fulfil their contracts, two sources at the regulator said on Friday. Exporters, who have been short of supply due to cocoa disease and adverse weather, are looking for ways to buy beans to honour their contractual obligations and some suppliers were taking advantage of the situation, the sources said. Suspended cooperatives and independent buyers have stockpiled more than 60,000 metric tons of cocoa since the start of the mid-crop in early April, the sources from the CCC told Reuters. While it is not illegal to stockpile beans it is illegal to stockpile to charge higher prices.
The suspension, ordered last week to block trading by some cooperatives and this week for others, is intended to prevent overpayment by smaller exporters who are trying to compete with multinational cocoa buyers. While the farmgate price was set at 1,500 CFA francs ($2.50) per kg for the period between April to September, some cooperatives and other buyers were requesting multinationals pay between 1,600 and 1,800 CFA francs at the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro. "We were forced to react vigorously and suspend around 40 cooperatives and buyers to put an end to this practice, which is destabilizing the domestic marketing system and putting some exporters in difficulty," said one of the CCC sources. Both requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media.

The outlook for Australia's crop and beef production is turning more positive in 2024-25, with the country's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) updating its climate forecast towards a La Nina weather trend forming at the end of this year.

BoM updated its El Nino-Southern Oscillation (Enso) outlook to a La Nina Watch alert on 14 May, with indicators suggesting this phase developing in late 2024. Approximately half of all watch alerts have followed with the projected Enso event occurring.

Crop production and grazing conditions will likely benefit from increased rainfall should the weather trend eventuate. La Nina is associated with higher than average winter-spring rainfall from the northwest to southeast of Australia.

Grain yields and production in Australia's eastern cropping regions typically increase with a La Nina. Australia experienced record production during La Nina events that occurred during 2020-23. Winter crop production peaked at 69mn t and 63mn t in the 2022-23 and 2021-22 fiscal year respectively, according to Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (Abares) data.

The La Nina Watch alert comes as the US Department of Agriculture projected Australia's wheat production to increase by 3mn t from a year earlier to 29mn t in the 2024-25 marketing year, according to data released in its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates on 10 May. Coarse grain production is also projected to rise by 4pc to 14.87mn t.

But Enso weather events have limited impact on southwest Western Australia (WA). A potential La Nina is unlikely to aid WA cropping zones currently experiencing very low soil moisture levels.

Increased rainfall from a La Nina developing in late 2024 may not coincide with the growing season of east Australia's wheat crops, which are typically sown during April-June and harvested in November–January. Too much rain around the harvest can damage crops and degrade quality. Floods in late 2022 damaged harvests in New South Wales, resulting in Abares at the time downgrading the state's production projections by 2mn t.

World Farming Agriculture and Commodity news - Short update - 4th Week APRIL 2024

Twitter