Black Sea Grains Newcomer Gemcorp Has Big Ambitions to Expand
Bloomberg- 09/02/2019
The riches on offer by supplying Black Sea grains around the world is proving too hard to ignore for Gemcorp Capital LLP, a financial and trading company in London. The company won contracts in Ethiopian tenders in April to supply 900,000 tons of wheat, and will mainly source supplies from Russia, Ukraine and Romania. That’s about as much as Louis Dreyfus Co. and Olam International exported from Russia last season, according to estimates from Russian consultant ProZerno. Gemcorp says it wants to ship more in the coming years. While Gemcorp has handled agricultural commodities since 2016, the Ethiopian tenders have brought the first large-scale deals for the company and would mark its emergence as a big operator in the Black Sea.
EU Wheat Exports Gather Pace in Latest Week, Romania Continues to Lead
S&P Global – 09/03/2019
Wheat exports from the EU continued to gather pace in the latest week of the 2019-20 marketing year (July-June) taking the total for July 1-September 2 to 3.9 million mt, up 20% on the year, the EU Crops Market Observatory data showed. The EU shipped 397,455 mt of wheat in the week ended September 2 compared with 360,959 mt shipped a week earlier, according to the data released Monday. Romania remains the bloc’s top exporter, with wheat shipments hitting 1.4 million mt in the marketing year-to-date period. France, which is the agriculture powerhouse of the EU, and is expected to account for 41% of total EU wheat exports in 2019-20, has been trailing Romania since the new marketing season that began in July. French total wheat exports reached 765,260 mt in the July 1-September 2 period, according to the European Commission data.
Russia’s VTB Plans to Enter Grain Markets in Africa, Middle East and Asia
Reuters– 09/03/2019
Russian state-controlled VTB bank , which has been expanding its grain business, plans to enter grain markets in Africa, the Middle East and Asia to increase Russian grain exports, a senior official told reporters. VTB, Russia’s second largest lender, has recently become the largest operator of the country’s grain export infrastructure and is building its own export arm after buying large local grain trader Mirogroup in August. The goal of VTB’s grain project is to gain a significant market share in Russia and abroad, Vitaly Sergeichuk, deputy head of VTB’s client relations department in market regions, said in remarks ready for publication on Tuesday. Sergeichuk said many intermediaries and trading companies, including international firms, are currently playing a key role in the Russian wheat trade.
Australia ‘Irrelevant’ on Global Wheat Market, Needs to Explore New Niche Market Opportunities Says Analyst
Australian Broadcasting Corporation – 09/03/2019
Grain market analyst Malcolm Bartholomaeus said it was not that long ago that Australia was ranked third behind the United States and Canada on the list of global exporters. He said Australia occasionally vied for the number two spot when Canada had a poor crop but now Australia had slumped to number six. “On those global figures, we produce 2.7 per cent of the global crop and account for 6.8 per cent of the global trade,” Mr Bartholomaeus said. “We are almost irrelevant at this particular point in time in terms of that global wheat market.” The drought, particularly on the east coast, has increased the domestic demand for grain and reduced Australia’s exportable surplus. At the same time, Australia’s major competitors — the Black Sea region and increasingly, Argentina — have stepped in to fill the void and claim a large slice of the key market share in Asia.
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation: Farm Groups Applaud Tentative U.S.- Japan Trade Agreement
Market Screener – 08/30/2019
National and Idaho farm groups quickly applauded the Aug. 25 announcement that the U.S. and Japan have reached a trade agreement in principle. The agreement is expected to be a win for several U.S. farm commodities, including beef, wheat, dairy, potatoes, pork and wine. All of those commodities except for pork are produced in significant amounts in Idaho. Together, dairy, beef, potatoes and wheat brought in $5.4 billion in farm cash receipts in Idaho last year and, according to an Idaho Wine Commission study, that industry has a $170 million economic impact on the state annually. Response from groups representing U.S. farmers and ranchers was swift and positive. ‘This trade agreement will benefit growers in Idaho by ensuring that the Japanese market remains open to wheat grown in the U.S.,’ Idaho Wheat Commission Chairman Ned Moon stated in a news release.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates