For a change, no harvest figures from Europe but from Russia and Ukraine. There too, the yield is lower than previously expected. In the US, grain growers have done their utmost and pushed a considerable area of spring wheat and barley through the combines. The consequences of the hot days last week in the corn belt seem to be less than expected, according to the USDA Crop Progress report.
The September contract on the Matif lost €2,25 yesterday to close at €204 per tonne. The December contract, on the other hand, was up €2,25 to €219,25 per tonne. On the CBoT, the September wheat contract rose 3,6% to $5.52 per bushel on the first trading day after a long weekend. Corn rose 2,2% to $3.86½ per bushel. Soybeans lagged slightly against grains but still rose 1,5% to close at $9.97 per bushel.
After the series of harvest figures from the EU last week, it was Russia and Ukraine's turn yesterday. SovEcon lowered the forecast for the Russian wheat harvest from 83,3 million tonnes to 82,5 million tonnes. In the central part of Russia and the Volga region, yields are lower than expected, according to the market agency. In the Urals and Siberia - where the combines are still running - the first yield figures confirm the relatively good state of the wheat, according to SovEcon.
Ukraine has harvested 28,7 million tons of grain so far, the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture reports. Last year at this time, the counter was at 29,2 million tons. This season, 21,8 million tons of wheat have been harvested, compared to 22,1 million tons last year. The barley harvest is also lower. This season, 5,5 million tons have been threshed, or 300.000 less than last season. The harvest of grain maize has started in the first regions, so no figures are available yet.
Ukrainian exports are going like hot cakes
Ukraine has no complaints about exports. Since the start of the season, Ukraine has exported 7 million tons of grain, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture. That was 4,3 million tons over the same period last season. The export figures include 3,6 million tons of wheat, 89% more than last season. Barley exports have more than doubled to 1,1 million tons. Maize exports are 13,5% ahead of last season and amount to 2,3 million tons.
The European Union is having some trouble with exports. Up to September 1, the EU exported 4,38 million tons of wheat. Last season, it was 5,66 million tons in this period. This means that EU exports are 22,6% behind last season.
Gait is everything
A day later than usual due to Labor Day, the USDA released its Crop Progress report yesterday. The USDA has not made any major adjustments to the corn status. 65% of the area is good or excellent, which is the same as last week. Soybeans have declined slightly, with 65% good or excellent compared to 67% last week. The heat wave that a large part of the corn belt had to deal with has had only a limited effect, as we can carefully conclude from the USDA figures.
With the harvest of spring wheat and barley, American farmers made a breakthrough last week. 70% of the spring wheat has been threshed compared to 51% last week. The harvest progress is now equal to the five-year average. Three-quarters of the barley area has been harvested compared to 47% last week. Last year this week, 75% was also harvested. The five-year average is slightly higher, namely 76%.
Although the combines are still running, the US has already started sowing winter wheat. According to the USDA, 2% of the planned area is now in the ground. In Washington, farmers are the furthest along with 22% sown. Incidentally, 14% of the spring wheat and 13% of the spring barley still have to be threshed in that state.