Indonesia Miller Buys Black Sea Wheat, Ample Supplies Cap Prices
Reuters – 05/10/2019
A flour miller in Indonesia bought up to 30,000 tonnes of Black Sea-origin wheat for August shipment at around $210 a tonne, including cost and freight (C&F), two Singapore-based trade sources said. Asian buyers have largely covered for wheat supplies until July and they are now looking to buy cargoes for arrival in August. Prices of Black Sea-origin wheat being offered in Asia are being capped by expectations of bumper harvests in Russia and Ukraine. “Traders are covering short positions but crop estimates keep getting bigger,” said one of the traders. “We expect prices to remain under pressure. An importer in the Philippines bought about 110,000 tonnes of animal feed wheat in a tender which closed on Wednesday.
Trump Increases Tariffs as Trade Deal Hangs in the Balance
The New York Times – 05/10/2019
President Trump escalated his trade war with China on Friday morning, raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and taking steps to tax nearly all of China’s imports as punishment for what he said was Beijing’s attempt to “renegotiate” a trade deal. Mr. Trump’s decision to proceed with the tariff increase came after a pivotal round of trade talks in Washington on Thursday night failed to produce an agreement to forestall the higher levies. The White House said talks would resume again on Friday but it remains uncertain whether the two sides can bridge the differences that have arisen over the past week. In his comments at the White House on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Trump vacillated between threatening China and suggesting a deal could still happen. The president said he had received a “beautiful letter” from President Xi Jinping of China and would probably speak to him by phone, but said he was more than happy to keep hitting Beijing with tariffs.
Experts Lead Annual Winter Wheat Tour
AgriNews – 05/09/2019
New experts will be on hand for the Illinois Wheat Association’s annual Southern Illinois Winter Wheat Tour. Set for May 29, Illinois wheat growers will first split into teams that morning to visit one of five wheat districts and make observations that will factor in to yield estimates for the 2019 winter wheat crop. The teams will regroup at 4:30 p.m. at Southern Illinois University’s Belleville Research Center to share results and hear from experts about the wheat crop conditions, pest pressure and field variety and seed treatment trial results. Nathan Kleczewski, University of Illinois plant pathologist, will be on hand to discuss challenges from wheat diseases observed on the tour. He’ll also share information about a wheat virus study. Professors Emerson Nafziger and Gary Kolb are now retired from the university and both had been long-time fixtures on the wheat tour. “There’s been so much rain, there probably haven’t been many people out checking their fields. Although it’s been cool, everyone should be thinking about head scab with this much moisture,” Kleczewski said.
IGP Appoints Associate Director
World-Grain – 05/09/2019
Shawn Thiele, interim associate director at Kansas State University’s IGP Institute, has been promoted to associate director. He will continue to lead the grain processing and flour milling curriculum. “Shawn has served as a great ambassador for the IGP Institute and the department of Grain Science and Industry to all our constituents,” said Gordon Smith, IGP Institute director, and grain science department head. A Kansas State University milling science graduate, Thiele joined the team in 2012 as the operations manager for the Hal Ross Flour Mill and then shifted his responsibilities to serving as the grain processing and flour milling curriculum manager in 2016. In 2018, he added the responsibilities of interim associate director. Prior to his return to KSU, Thiele worked in the oat and corn milling business for eight years at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S. “I am fortunate to work with talented team of professionals at the IGP Institute,” Thiele said. “In this joint position, I hope to continue to strengthen and expand the IGP Institute’s trainings and foster new educational partnerships.” In 2018, the IGP Institute offered 72 courses for 1,512 participants representing 52 countries. These trainings focused on grain processing, flour milling, feed manufacturing, grain quality management and grain marketing and risk management. Trainings were offered both on-site and via distance.
Weather Disruptions to U.S. Rail Grain Movement Diminishing
World-Grain – 05/09/2019
Transportation has been in transition, if not outright turmoil, for the past couple of years amid controversial issues such as Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) for trains and Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) and new Hours of Service (HOS) mandates for trucks. Throw in a severe winter, spring floods and trade issues with China and other countries and it adds up to significant challenges for shippers of agricultural products.While PSR, ELD and HOS are most likely permanent changes to which both carriers and shippers have adapted to or will adapt to long term, the most significant short-term issue has been weather, and that has had the greatest impact on railroads. The worst of the spring flooding may be over, but the recovery is ongoing. BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad experienced track outages in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri in March and early April. “BNSF teams have made considerable progress in restoring service through areas of the Midwest impacted by unprecedented flooding,” the company said in an April 26 network update. Except for work on a stretch of track between Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., and St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S., which was expected to be completed in late May, BNSF service had been restored in the region, including the removal of a destroyed three-span bridge and construction of a new bridge over the Platte river in Nebraska in 29 days.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates