Late last week, Reuters writer Karl Plume reported that, “Chinese state-owned importers bought at least eight cargo shipments of U.S. soybeans on Friday, or at least 480,000 tonnes, the country’s largest U.S. soybean purchases in 4-1/2 months, two U.S. traders familiar with the deals said.”
Keith Good
Keith Good is the Farm Policy News editor for the farmdoc project. He has previously worked for the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, and compiled the daily FarmPolicy.com News Summary from 2003-2015. He is a graduate of Purdue University (M.S.- Agricultural Economics), and Southern Illinois University School of Law.
Drought Expands in Iowa, Stressing Crops- as Soybean and Corn Prices Tumble
Donnelle Eller reported on the front page of Friday’s Des Moines Register that, “Last week, Mark Mueller watched from the porch of his northeast Iowa farm as lightning flashed and a storm dropped badly needed rain a few miles away.”
Cargill’s Sanfeliu Sees “Mini-Supercycle” for Crop Markets, as China’s Pig Herd Expands
Bloomberg writers Andy Hoffman and Vanessa Dezem reported this week that, “Two of the world’s top agricultural traders said crop markets are in a ‘mini-supercycle’ that could last half a decade, driven by increased demand for biofuels and continued grains buying from China.”
China Hog Futures Fall as Pig Farmers Urged to Maintain Production- 2020/21 U.S. Corn Exports Increased
Financial Times writers Hudson Lockett and Thomas Hale reported this week that, “Hog futures in China have fallen to record lows as mass slaughtering of pigs prompts fears that the world’s second-biggest economy faces a deluge of pork.”
Biden Administration Reportedly Considering RFS Relief for Oil Refiners
Reuters writers Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly reported late last week that, “President Joe Biden’s administration, under pressure from labor unions and U.S. senators including from his home state of Delaware, is considering ways to provide relief to U.S. oil refiners from biofuel blending mandates, three sources familiar with the matter said.”
Amid China’s Record Grain Buying, Port Delays Arise- While U.S. Corn Exports Reach New High for 2020/21
Bloomberg News reported on Friday that, “China’s embarked on a record corn-buying spree this year and some vessels have been delayed for as long as a month outside southern ports because of congestion, incurring hefty demurrage fees.”
Biden Administration Seeks to Rewrite Trump Clean Water Rule
Washington Post writer Dino Grandoni reported this week that, “The Biden administration is set to toss out President Donald Trump’s efforts to scale back the number of streams, marshes and other wetlands that fall under federal protection, kicking off a legal and regulatory scuffle over the fate of wetlands and waterways around the country, from the arid West to the swampy South.”
China Meat Imports Decline in May, as Domestic Pork Production Increases and Corn Imports from the U.S. Rise
Reuters News reported this week that, “China imported 789,000 tonnes of meat in May, down 3.3% from the same month a year earlier, customs data showed on Monday, after a plunge in domestic pork prices dented appetite for imports.”
As Commodity Prices Surge, Biden Administration Invests in the Supply Chain and Food System
Wall Street Journal writers Tom Fairless, Alistair MacDonald and Jesse Newman reported on the front page of Tuesday’s paper that, “The run-up in commodity prices is casting a cloud over the global economic recovery, slamming vulnerable businesses and households and adding to fears that inflation could become more persistent.”
China Demand Fuels U.S. Farm Economy, as Federal Support Subsides
Financial Times writer Aime Williams reported on Monday that, “Donald Trump’s trade war with China left American farmers dependent on government handouts to survive. But China is now at the heart of a reversal in farmers’ fortunes, as booming exports and soaring food prices fuel a recovery in the US agricultural economy.”
A Spike in Chinese Milk Demand
Late last week, Reuters writer Dominique Patton reported that, “China has come to crave milk. Demand that had been steadily growing has spiked further after doctors touted its health benefits amid the coronavirus pandemic and dairy firms across the country have embarked on a farm-building frenzy.”
Global Food Prices Soar in May- Highest Value Since September 2011
Financial Times writer Emiko Terazono reported this week that, “Global food prices surged by the biggest margin in a decade in May as one closely watched index jumped 40 per cent, raising fears of further food inflation later in the year.”
Federal Reserve: Observations on the Ag Economy- May 2021
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its May 2021 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations pertaining to the U.S. agricultural economy.
JBS Systems Coming Back Online After Ransomware Attack
Jacob Bunge reported on the front page of Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal that, “Meatpacker JBS SA was hit by a ransomware attack that took a big chunk of U.S. beef-and-pork processing offline, sending buyers scrambling for alternatives and raising pressure on meat supplies.”
Livestock Sector in China Looks to Wheat
Reuters writers Hallie Gu and Gavin Maguire reported on Friday that, “China’s massive livestock sector is set to snap up millions of tonnes of wheat from the country’s winter harvest that began this month, extending a run of crop-switching in animal feed and further cooling demand for corn imports.”
Surging Costs of Breakfast Staples Stirs Food Price Concerns, as the U.S. and China Talk Trade
Financial Times writers Chelsea Bruce-Lockhart and Emiko Terazono reported this week that, “The cost of raw materials that go into making breakfast staples have roared higher since the pandemic began — raising fears that a broad commodity boom could push up global food prices for consumers.”
USDA Forecasts Record Farm Exports in FY 2021
On Wednesday, the USDA released its Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade, a quarterly report from the Department’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and Economic Research Service (ERS). Today’s update includes highlights from the report, which was coordinated by Hui Jiang, Dylan Russell, and Adam Gerval.
Under USMCA, U.S. Begins Trade Dispute Process Against Canadian Dairy Quotas
Wall Street Journal writer Josh Zumbrun reported on Tuesday that, “The Biden administration initiated a dispute process against the Canadian dairy industry, triggering the formal dispute mechanism of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement for the first time.”
As Phase One Purchases Fall Short, China Cracks Down on Commodity Inflation- Sparking Reflection on Demand
Bloomberg writer Ailing Tan reported on Monday that, “China’s imports of American goods slowed in April, pulling back on the already incremental progress toward the purchase targets agreed with the U.S. in the 2020 trade deal.”
Hog Prices Climb to Seven Year High, as Food Inflation Variables Impact Protein Prices
Bloomberg writer Michael Hirtzer reported on Friday that, “America’s insatiable appetite for ribs and hot dogs pushed hog prices to the highest in nearly seven years as the summer grilling season kicks off.”