US grain exports in all forms increase 26%
Exports of US grains in all forms increased by 26% to 109.4 million tonnes in the 2023-24 marketing year, according to data released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The exports, valued at $48 billion, were bolstered by a record 1.75 billion gallons of ethanol sold internationally and a single-market record 23.4 million tonnes...
Drought stymies Brazilian grain shipments
A severe drought in northern Brazil has significantly lowered water levels on the Tapajos waterway, halting grain shipments. Brazilian port terminal group Amport, which represents firms such as Cargill and Louis Dreyfus, told Reuters that navigation of barge convoys carrying grains in the Tapajos has been halted since Oct. 4, and is expected to resume in November if...
India ends non-basmati rice export ban
The Indian government will resume non-basmati white rice exports with a minimum floor price of $490 per tonne, ending a ban that started in July 2023. The government has gradually eased restrictions on premium, aromatic basmati and parboiled varieties in the last several weeks. It eliminated the minimum floor price for basmati rice exports and...
Grains and oilseeds powerhouse
The presence of two of the world’s most important agricultural producers and exporters — Brazil and Argentina — makes South America a powerhouse of world grains and oilseeds production and trade. The two make the region the leader in world soybean production, also producing large crops of maize (corn) and a significant tonnage of wheat....
Brazil’s grain production dips in 2023-24
Grain production in Brazil is estimated at 298.41 million tonnes for the 2023-24 marketing year, a drop of 21.4 million tonnes compared to the previous year, according to Conab, the country’s food supply and statistics agency. This would still be the second largest crop in the survey’s history. In its 12th Grain Harvest Survey for 2023-24...
Dryness stressing Ukraine, Russia crops
As if the Russia/Ukraine war was not enough to deal with, the region has been enduring a very dry summer. Crop stress in the region is peaking for the third time this growing season with very warm to hot temperatures and limited rain. Soil moisture has never been much more than marginally adequate since spring. Recently, the...
Be8 breaks ground on ethanol plant
Be8, a Brazilian renewable energy company, said it has agreed with Praj, an Indian company and global leader in bio-energy, to establish its first ethanol plant in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul. The plant, which will convert wheat into ethanol, will be the first large-scale refinery in Rio Grande do Sul to produce biofuel...
Brazil corn production, exports to drop
Brazil expects to harvest 4.6 billion bushels (116.8 million tonnes) from its three corn crops in the 2023-24 season, a drop of 12% from last year’s record harvest, according to the National Supply Company (Conab), the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois said in its farmdoc daily. Despite the drop...
US wheat, corn, soybean stocks up from 2023
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on June 28 said domestic stocks of wheat, corn and soybeans on June 1 were up more than 20% from a year earlier. The USDA, in its quarterly Grain Stocks report, estimated June 1 old-crop all wheat stocks, which comprise the 2024 carryover, at 702 million bushels, up 23%...
COCERAL increases EU grain outlook
In its latest 2024 European Union/United Kingdom grain crop forecast, released on June 10, COCERAL increased its projection slightly to 296 million tonnes, about 500,000 tonnes higher than the previous projection in March. If realized, it would still be about 3.2 million tonnes higher than production in 2023, said COCERAL, a European association focusing on...