World wheat prices continued to decline for the third consecutive month in August.
The European Union (France, grade 1) export prices fell by 4 percent month on month, reflecting greater seasonal availability from the ongoing harvest and increased availability from Ukraine with the re-opening of three Black Sea ports. Argentina’s (Up River, f.o.b.) and Australia’s (Eastern States, ASW) quotations also declined by 4 and 7 percent, respectively, in August. Meanwhile, the benchmark United States of America’s (US No. 2, Hard Red Winter) quotes remained stable after two consecutive months of steep declines. Nonetheless, international wheat prices remained well above their values a year earlier. Maize export prices mostly increased in August, led by 4 and 6 percent increases in quotation, respectively, for Argentina (Up River, f.o.b.) and Brazil (Paranagua, feed) as a result of strong import demand and concerns about upcoming planting conditions. Despite a slight reduction of the official 2022 maize production forecast, the benchmark United States of America’s (US No.2, Yellow, f.o.b.) maize price declined by 4 percent with the imminent start of the harvest. Maize prices from all origins averaged above last year’s values, supported by an overall tight global supply outlook due to lower production prospects in the European Union and the United States of America and higher-than-earlier anticipated demand from the European Union. Additionally, high energy and input costs continued to put pressure on maize markets. The FAO All Rice Price Index (2014-2016=100) averaged 108.5 points in August, virtually unchanged from July, but 10.9 percent above the 50-month low that the Index touched in August 2021. Sluggish demand lowered August quotations of “Indica” rice in Pakistan and Viet Nam, with additional downward pressure on Vietnamese prices exerted by a peaking early summer-autumn harvest. Prices of non-parboiled rice also eased in India, where main crop plantings made considerable inroads in narrowing the lags caused by uneven rains in previous months. Conversely, prices of Thai 100% B rice increased, influenced by currency movements and a resumption of Iraqi purchases. Prices also edged up in the United States of America, amid progressively thinning availabilities as the 2022 harvest just got underway,
