International

Egypt’s GASC has purchased 360kt of Russian wheat at US$278.43/t to $279.60/t c&f and 60kt of Romanian at $279.30/t. The Russian fob price was $255/t and the Romanian was $259.50/t. The last GASC tender in mid-April saw Russian fob at $230/t. 

Black Sea market analyst SovEcon reports that as of 1 April, Russian wheat stocks are estimated at 27.5Mt, matching last year’s levels and exceeding the average by 65pc amid record-high on-farm wheat stocks in the south. Stocks in the south amount to 4.1Mt, up 8pc from last year. In the central Russia stocks, at 4Mt, are down 14pc, and in the Volga region, 3.2Mt (up 1pc). 

The impact of frost damage in Russia is being closely watched after reports that three wheat growing regions have declared a state of emergency due to crop damage. 

Heavy flooding in southern Brazil has hit food storage facilities in lower areas and is impacting the movement of grains to port. Rio Grande port authority said it continued to operate normally despite rising water levels in Laguna dos Patos lagoon. Grain exporter association, ANEC, said road and rail links to the port have been adversely impacted by floods. With problems exacerbated by road blockades in certain areas, some trucks are forced to use alternative routes, sometimes adding an extra 400km to their journey.  Rio Grande do Sul farm lobby Fecoagro reported that floods had impacted large grain silos in low-lying areas, but with losses currently difficult to quantify. 

The oilseed crushers union in Argentina will join a national strike today, joining other unions protesting against proposed labour reforms. 

China’s Ag Ministry has approved gene-edited wheat for the first time. It also approved a new variety of genetically modified corn with herbicide and insect-resistant traits, and a gene-edited corn variety that is higher yielding. The safety certificates have been approved for five years from 5 May. 

Bloomberg reported that China is flooding the US with used cooking oil the biofuels industry says may be tainted. US imports of used cooking oil have more than tripled in 2023, with more than 50pc coming from China, according to the US International Trade Commission. US industry groups and biofuels executives are becoming increasingly worried that a significant amount of those supplies is fraudulent and are urging the government to tighten scrutiny on the imports. One of the biggest concerns is that Chinese exporters are adding used cooking oil to fresh palm oil. The European biofuels industry expressed similar concerns about cooking oil from China last year.