Latest news with #oilseeds
Bloomberg
18 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Indian Farmers Boost Sowing of Rice and Oilseeds as of June 27
The area allocated to monsoon-sown rice crops has surged 47% from a year earlier to 3.5 million hectares (8.7 million acres) as of Friday, according to India's agriculture ministry. Farmers have planted oilseeds on 4.9 million hectares of land, climbing 20% from a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement late Monday. Pulses planting has increased to 2.1 million hectares, up 37% from a year earlier, it said.
Mail & Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Ample grain and oilseed harvest in SA bodes well for food price inflation
Agriculture in the country is experiencing a recovery season for its grain and oilseed production, although some areas may have quality problems Glimpses of positivity often arise from the agricultural data and are worth highlighting. These do not suggest that all is well with South Africa's agriculture; we continue to struggle with animal diseases in cattle farming and the poultry industry. But, if one is in horticulture or field crop production, the operating conditions are more favourable. The message I continue to receive from farmers of various fruits, vegetables, grains and oilseeds, as well as other field crops, suggests a promising agricultural season. The yields are up from last year's drought. For a moment, I was worried that the excessive rains throughout April would cause quality damage to some crops. At the start of the harvest season, particularly in some grains, some farmers also had this concern. But things seem to have changed quite significantly. I've heard that the quality of crops, especially soybeans, is not as bad as we anticipated, although there are areas with problems. Nevertheless, what is encouraging is seeing a continuous upward revision of the harvest. For example, on 27 June, the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) released its fifth production estimate for the 2024-25 season, lifting the expected harvest. While there are five more estimates to come in the following months, when we reach the fifth estimate, we generally have more confidence in the size of the crop, as well as its quality, because some areas would have delivered a sizable share of their crop to the silos. The CEC raised South Africa's 2024-25 summer grains and oilseeds production by 3% from the May 2025 estimate to 18.43 million tonnes. This represents a 19% increase from the previous season. A closer look at the data shows that the monthly upward revisions were primarily in maize (+1%), soybeans (+14%) and dry beans (+4%). The other crops were roughly unchanged from the previous month. More specifically, the maize harvest is now forecast at 14.78 million tonnes, which is 15% higher than the crop for the 2023-24 season. Of these 14.78 million tonnes, about 7.65 million tonnes is white maize, and 7.13 million tonnes is yellow maize. Importantly, these forecasts are well above South Africa's annual maize needs of about 12.00 million tonnes, implying that South Africa will have a surplus and remain a net exporter of maize. Regarding oilseeds, the soybean harvest is estimated at 2.65 million tonnes, representing a 43% year-over-year increase. The annual uptick is primarily because of improved yields resulting from favourable rainfall. A significant portion of the soybean crop has already been delivered to commercial silos, and the quality is generally encouraging. Importantly, this is the second-largest harvest on record, and it is not even finished. The record harvest of 2.77 million tonnes was recorded in the 2022-23 production season. This ample harvest also means South Africa will remain a net exporter of soybeans and products. We are far from the time when we were a net importer of soybean products for animal feed, mainly oilcake. We are now in a net exporter position. Sunflower seeds are up 15% from the previous season and are estimated at 727.800 tonnes. The groundnut harvest is estimated at 63.510 tonnes (up 22% year-on-year), sorghum production is estimated at 137.970 tonnes (up 41% year-on-year), and the dry beans harvest is at 74.299 tonnes (up 47% year-on-year). The base effects and favourable agricultural conditions boosted the yields. We see the benefit of the solid harvest in generally softening commodity prices, which are now at lower levels than last year, boding well for the moderating food price inflation for the year. The benefits of these ample harvests may be more evident in the inflation data in the second half of the year. Wandile Sihlobo is the chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa.
Zawya
09-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Funds' bearish sentiment on US grains and oilseeds hits nine-month high: Braun
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a market analyst for Reuters.) NAPERVILLE, Illinois - Speculators dug deeper into bear territory last week across U.S. grain and oilseed futures, and with this time of year known to feature plenty of uncertainties, investors must keep their eyes glued on upcoming weather forecasts for the U.S. Corn Belt. In the week ended June 3, money managers' combined net short position across U.S. grain and oilseed futures and options surpassed 400,000 contracts, up more than 90,000 on the week. That marks their most bearish collective position since early September and their most bearish open to June in eight years. Just four months ago, the combined net long topped out at 300,000 contracts. Last week's move was driven by heavier selling in corn, soybeans and soybean oil. Money managers maintained bullish CBOT soybean oil bets through the week ended June 3, but they slashed their net long futures and options contracts by 22,000 to 31,990 contracts due to negative sentiment on the U.S. biofuels front. Money managers nearly erased bullish bets in CBOT soybean futures and options, reducing their net long to 8,601 contracts from 36,697 a week earlier. Funds' bearish soymeal position remained near-record large as prices have traded sideways over the last several weeks, and they also maintained sizable net shorts across the wheat flavors. CORN FOCUS Last week's net selling in corn was primarily driven by a large wave of new gross short positions, a trend that has been present in six of the last seven weeks. As of June 3, money managers' net short in CBOT corn futures and options hit a nine-month high of 154,043 contracts, up from 100,760 a week earlier. Recent heavy speculative selling in corn comes against the backdrop of a wildly strong U.S. export program and similarly robust U.S. ethanol grind. These factors have pared 2024-25 U.S. corn ending stock predictions significantly over the last year. However, the futures market does not seem to be reflecting a terribly tight situation. Late last week, CBOT July corn opened up a discount to December corn, not suggestive of imminent concern over supplies. Funds' building bearishness in corn as well as the newly established market carry could be hinting at the expectation that last year's U.S. corn crop was larger than the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated. The agency's June 30 stocks report could potentially validate this notion. But in the meantime, traders will need to be watching the U.S. weather forecasts, which as of Friday suggested a potential dry spell for the western Corn Belt over the next two weeks. Heat risks were relatively low, though corn and soybean crop conditions are sitting at just average levels. In the week ahead, the market will be anticipating USDA's monthly supply and demand report on Thursday, and traders expect a further contraction in old-crop U.S. corn supply. All eyes will turn toward London on Monday, where top U.S. and Chinese officials will hold talks aimed at resolving trade disputes. Pending the outcome, this could have markets starting off the week with a bang. But whether that trajectory is higher or lower is anyone's guess. Karen Braun is a market analyst for Reuters. Views expressed above are her own. (Writing by Karen Braun; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
