January 18, 2008

 

US corn sales soar by 64 percent on mounting Asian imports

 

 

The US corn net sales hit a marketing-year high last week to 2.37 million tonnes, up 64 percent, buoyed by large exports to South Korea at 840,500 tonnes, Japan and Taiwan at over 300,000 tonnes each.

 

USDA reports indicate corn exports to intensify tremendously this week, from last week's 1.5 million tonnes which were mainly bound to South Korea, Japan and Mexico.

 

US corn futures also surged by 2 percent on Thursday boosted by heightened demand amidst soaring prices.

 

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures were up US$7 to US$11-1/4 cents per bushel, with March up at US$5.12-1/2 per bushel.

 

Traders and analysts said spillover buying of corn futures was stemming from USDA's report last Friday which indicates bullish corn stocks.

 

Weather concerns in Argentina also contributed to the strong corn futures as the country is the second largest global corn exporter after the US and the corn crop in the area is in its important pollination stage of development.

 

Meterologix said on Thursday that there was a diminished chance of significant rain for Argentina's Cordoba and Santa Fe crop areas.

 

Topsoils were also trending drier in Brazil, increasing stress on crops in Rio Grande du Sul, according to Meterologix data.

 

Meanwhile, soy exports were down 20 percent from the previous week at 755,200 tonnes. Around 415,600 tonnes were shipped to China.

 

Net sales of wheat rose at 404,800 tonnes, twice larger than the previous week. Wheat exports headed to Japan, Mexico and others, were 703,900 tonnes.