May 15, 2009

Corn prices are expected to strengthen throughout 2009 on the back of strong global consumption and a fall in stocks.

According to a Barclays Capital analyst report released Thursday, both China and the U.S. are likely to see strong gains in corn consumption this calendar year.

Meanwhile, according to recent U.S. Department of Agriculture data, total global corn stocks are likely to fall in the 2009-10 (October-September) marketing year to 128.2 million metric tonnes from an expected 139.6 million tonnes in 2008-09.

The Barclays report said that while U.S. usage of corn will be driven by demand for ethanol, Chinese corn demand will be driven by increasing demand for animal feed.

Chinese demand is also likely to support soy prices this year.

The analyst report said China's soy imports could touch an all-time high of 38.1 million tonnes in the 2009-10 (October-September) marketing year, with the country accounting for 51% of total global soy imports.

In deals this week, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture bought a total 86,000 tonnes of wheat from the U.S. and Canada in a tender concluded Thursday.

India's federal government has said it could allow the country's private traders to export 2 million tonnes of wheat by late June, once the country's new government takes office.

India's general elections will conclude Saturday with the counting of ballots cast across the country. But the formation of the new government is expected to be a time-consuming and slow affair as dozens of small parties vie for a role.

However, a government official said there are no immediate plans to ease a ban on white rice exports, in place since early 2008.