September 28, 2007 

 

Israel buys 120,000 tonnes of US corn

 

 

A group of Israeli private buyers has purchased around 120,000 tonnes of corn from the US in a tender which closed earlier this week, European traders said on Thursday (September 27).

 

The price was unavailable.

 

The consortium also bought an uncertain volume of US-origin corn products, including distillers' grain dried soluble (DDGS), a byproduct of biofuel production, and corn gluten feed, European traders said.

 

Shipment for the corn was said to be in January 2008.

 

The shipment indicates US corn will continue to make heavy sales in the Middle East over the coming months, one European trader said.

 

US corn is much more competitive than Argentine or Brazilian supplies in export markets because of price and high shipping costs.

 

The Baltic Exchange's dry freight Index which charts the cost of bulk carrier charters, hit a record high this month although it fell slightly this week.

 

This makes shipping corn to the Middle East from South America more expensive than the shorter distance from the US

 

The latest shipment continues a series of large purchases of US corn by Israeli buyers in recent weeks.

 

On September 6, a consortium bought 60,000 tonnes from the US, on August 15 a group bought 100,000 tonnes.

 

Traders said US corn was benefiting from Ukraine's virtual ban on wheat exports this summer, which had turned some Middle Eastern feed producers towards corn and sorghum.

 

On Wednesday (September 26), Ukraine announced it would continue grain export restrictions until March 31, 2008.