UKRAINE GRAIN EXPORTS DOWN SHARPLY FROM LAST YEAR
Ukraine’s grain exports are continuing to fall significantly behind the pace a year ago, with 13.4 million tonnes exported so far, compared to 18.3 million tonnes last year, according to data from the agriculture ministry. The exports include 5.9 million tonnes of wheat, 6.5 million tonnes of corn and 876,000 tonnes of barley. By this time last year, Ukraine had exported 6.9 million tonnes of wheat, 9.8 million tonnes of corn and 1.48 million tonnes of barley. Ukraine officials expect a harvest of 79 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds in 2023-24 with an exportable surplus of 50 million tonnes. Before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine made up 9% of global wheat exports, 15% of maize and 44% of sunflower oil.
(Link: WorldGrain)
UNFAVORABLE WEATHER SLOWS SOYBEAN PLANTING IN BRAZIL
Weather woes continued for Brazil in November, slowing planting of soybeans. In the central-west region, including the important soybean-growing state of Mato Grosso, hot and dry conditions on the whole kept soil moisture too dry for planting. Meanwhile, too much rain slowed planting progress in southern Brazil. As the calendar flips to December, this general weather theme is expected to continue: Wetter in the South and drier in the North. Temperature trends will also vary widely across Brazil with Rio Grande do Sul trending the sixth-coldest in decades while Mato Grosso is the second-hottest in 30-plus years.
With conditions either too wet or too dry in the soybean-growing regions of Brazil, planting has been slowed. The delay in planting could lead to further problems down the road as the planting for the important export safrinha crop may also be delayed. Hot and dry conditions have also extended up into Central America including the Panama Canal where drought is causing restrictions on transport through the region. This important thoroughfare for grain transport from the United States Gulf of Mexico to Asia has been forced to throttle traffic due to lower water volume in the face of an ongoing drought.
(Link: WorldGrain)
