Bloomberg News reported yesterday that, “Moscow may retaliate if Group of Seven countries proceed with a total ban on most exports to Russia by withdrawing from the safe-transit deal that allows Ukraine to ship grains from Black Sea ports, said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council.”
Farm Policy News
Kansas City Fed: Rising Interest Rates Impacting Farm Lending
In an update last week from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (“Interest Rates Rise and Farm Lending Softens”), Nate Kauffman and Ty Kreitman indicated that, “Growth in farm lending activity at commercial banks was limited in the first quarter of 2023 as interest rates climbed higher.”
G7 Calls for Extension of Black Sea Grain Initiative
Reuters writer Michelle Nichols reported late last week that, “A deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain could start winding down next week after Russia said it will not approve any new vessels unless their operators guarantee the transits will be done by May 18 – ‘the expected date of … closure.'”
Fertilizer Prices Fall Again
DTN writer Russ Quinn reported last week that, “Average retail fertilizer prices were down again the second week of April 2023, continuing a trend that has been in place since the beginning of the year, according to sellers surveyed by DTN.”
As “Rankled Farmers” in Europe Deal with Ukraine’s Trapped Grain, Transit of Ukrainian Farm Exports Through Poland Resumes
Reuters writers Alan Charlish and Marek Strzelecki reported today that, “The first trucks carrying Ukrainian food products including corn and eggs were bound to start transit via Poland to the Netherlands on Friday morning, a Polish customs official said, as rules allowing the shipments took effect overnight.”
Despite Resumption of Black Sea Grain Exports, Ukrainian Farm Export Problems Persist
Reuters writer Pavel Polityuk reported yesterday that, “Inspections of ships carrying Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea resumed on Wednesday under a U.N.-brokered deal but Kyiv faces a struggle to secure an extension of the agreement, as well as a widening import ban in eastern Europe.”
Federal Reserve: Observations on the Ag Economy- April 2023
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its April 2023 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.
Ukrainian Black Sea Grain Exports Are Resuming, India “World’s Most Populous Nation”
Reuters writer Max Hunder reported today that, “Inspections of ships are resuming under a U.N.-brokered agreement on the safe export of grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Wednesday.”
Ukrainian Farm Export Disruptions Continue, as Drought Impacts on U.S. Wheat Persist
Bloomberg writers Daryna Krasnolutska and Aine Quinn reported today that, “Ukraine said its crop shipments through the Black Sea safe-passage corridor remained suspended for a second day, adding to uncertainty about future supplies from the key agriculture exporter.”
EU: Poland, Hungary Bans on Ukrainian Farm Imports, “Unacceptable,” as “India’s Population Surpasses China’s”
Raphael Minder, Barbara Erling, Andy Bounds and Marton Dunai reported yesterday at The Financial Times Online that, “Poland and Hungary have temporarily halted imports of Ukrainian grain despite a warning from Brussels that such unilateral action would contravene EU trade policy.”
Concerns Over Black Sea Grain Initiative Persist, as Poland, Hungary Block Ukrainian Ag Imports
Reuters writer Michelle Nichols reported late last week that, “U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to raise concerns about the implementation of a deal that allows the safe wartime export of grain from several Ukrainian Black Sea ports, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday.”
Fertilizer Prices Continue “Shift Lower”
DTN writer Russ Quinn reported last week that, “Retail fertilizer continues to shift lower, according to prices tracked by DTN for the first full week of April 2023. The trend has been in place since the beginning of the year.”
USDA Testing Bird Flu Vaccines
Nidhi Subbaraman reported in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal that, “To stop the devastating global bird-flu outbreak that has killed over 100 million poultry, the U.S. and Europe are embracing a tactic many countries have long resisted: vaccines.”
China Soybean Imports “Highest on Record For the Quarter,” as “Lula Seeks Deeper Trade Ties in China Visit”
Reuters writers Qin Ningwei and Dominique Patton reported yesterday that, “China’s soybean imports in March rose 7.9% from the same month a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, as buyers in China stocked up ahead of expected strong demand.”
Grocery Prices Declined in March, Eggs “Posted the Biggest Single-Month Drop since 1987”
Gwynn Guilford and Nick Timiraos reported on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal that, “U.S. inflation eased in March to its lowest level in nearly two years, but underlying price pressures likely keep the door open for the Federal Reserve to consider another interest-rate increase at its May meeting.”
FAS: China Becomes World’s Largest Wheat Importer; Argentina Corn, Soybean Production Estimates Fall
In its monthly Grain: World Markets and Trade report yesterday, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) indicated that, “China wheat imports are forecast up to 12.0 million tons this year—the country’s highest level of imports since 1995/96 when imports reached 12.5 million.”
U.S. Winter Wheat Condition Deteriorates; China-Australia Trade Tensions Ease; and Bird Flu Concerns Persist
DTN Managing Editor Anthony Greder reported yesterday that, “U.S. winter wheat condition, already the lowest in decades, dropped another point last week, USDA NASS reported in its weekly Crop Progress Report on Monday.”
Concerns Over Black Sea Grain Deal
Late last week, Reuters writers Huseyin Hayatsever and Guy Faulconbridge reported that, “Russia on Friday threatened to bypass the UN-brokered grain deal unless obstacles to its agricultural exports were removed, while talks in Turkey agreed removing barriers was a necessary condition to extending the agreement beyond next month.”
Fertilizer Prices Continued to Fall in March
DTN writer Russ Quinn reported last week that, “All average retail fertilizer prices were down from last month in the fourth full week of March 2023, according to sellers surveyed by DTN.”
World Food Prices Fell Again in March, Down 21% From Last Year’s Record High
Bloomberg writer Agnieszka de Sousa reported today that, “Global food costs fell for a 12th straight month to reach the lowest level since July 2021, though there is still little sign the rout is actually feeding through to grocery shelves.”