Trade

Financial Times writers Andy Bounds and Ian Johnston reported yesterday that, “The EU could provide alternative routes for almost all of Ukraine’s grain exports following Russia’s decision to stop their passage through the Black Sea, the bloc’s agriculture commissioner said.”

Reuters writers Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth reported on Monday that, “Russia destroyed Ukrainian grain warehouses on the Danube River and wounded seven people in a drone attack on Monday, expanding the target area of an air campaign it launched last week after pulling out of the Black Sea grain deal, Kyiv said.”

Bloomberg writers Jasmine Ng, Megan Durisin, and Aliaksandr Kudrytski reported today that, “Wheat edged lower but is still poised for a weekly gain of more than 9%, as military drills in the Black Sea add to the risks disrupting grain trade from a vital producing region.”

Bloomberg writers Megan Durisin, and Aliaksandr Kudrytski reported yesterday that, “Wheat and corn rallied to three-week highs as another wave of Russian attacks battered southern Ukraine following the collapse of the grain-export deal.”

New York Times writer Gabriela Sá Pessoa reported yesterday that, “The United States Agency for International Development announced a total of $750 million in new assistance to Ukraine on Monday and Tuesday, with $500 million dedicated to humanitarian aid and $250 million to support the country’s farmers after Russia refused to extend a Black Sea grain deal.”

Financial Times writers Max Seddon, Henry Foy and Adam Samson reported yesterday that, “Russia has formally withdrawn from a UN-brokered deal to export Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, potentially imperilling tens of millions of tonnes of food exports around the world.”

New York Times writers Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Vivek Shankar reported on Sunday that, “The United Nations on Sunday awaited a response from Russia on renewing a deal that allows Ukraine to export its grain amid a wartime blockade, a necessity in helping keep global food prices stable.”

Bloomberg writers Baris Balci and Olesia Safronova reported on Saturday that, “Turkey wants the safe-transit deal for Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports extended for three months instead of two, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

Washington Post writers John Hudson and Lily Kuo reported in Sunday’s paper that, “Antony Blinken became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit China in five years as he arrived in the country Sunday for two days of high-stakes meetings aimed at stabilizing a relationship under historic stress.”

In its monthly Feed Outlook report yesterday, the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) indicated that, “U.S. corn exports for 2022/23 are lowered to 1.725 billion bushels, down 50 million bushels from the May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report.”

Bloomberg writer Hallie Gu reported today that, “China will feed a lot more of its domestic wheat crop to hogs and poultry this year after heavy rains reduced the quality of the harvest in the biggest growing region, boosting prospects for imports.” 

Reuters writer Dominique Patton reported yesterday that, “China imported a record 12.02 million tonnes of soybeans in May, up 24% on a year ago, Reuters calculations based on customs data showed, as cargoes delayed during last month’s strict inspections were finally unloaded at ports.”

Kristina Peterson reported in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal that, “The U.S. on Friday stepped up its efforts to get Mexico to ease its restrictions on genetically modified corn, after more than a year of high-level discussions between the two countries failed to resolve the dispute.” 

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).  

Financial Times writers Joe Leahy and James Politi reported last week that, “China’s commerce minister and his US counterpart have raised concerns about their countries’ trade and investment policies at a meeting in Washington but pledged to keep channels of communication open in the first visit by a senior Chinese official to the US capital since 2020.”

Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Gulsin Harman reported in today’s New York Times that, “Ukraine and Russia agreed Wednesday to a two-month extension of a wartime deal that allows Ukraine to ship its grain across the Black Sea, a rare example of cooperation between the two countries.”

In its monthly Grain: World Markets and Trade report late last week, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) indicated that, “Global corn production is forecast to sharply increase, driven primarily by a forecast of continued high production in Brazil and rebounds in the United States and Argentina. Supplies in Ukraine are forecast to fall as the ongoing war limits production.”

Bloomberg writer Hallie Gu reported today that, “Top corn importer China could cancel more purchases of the grain from the US because the country can buy more cheaply from Brazil and as some local producers of hog feed replace corn with wheat in their rations.”

Reuters writer Daren Butler reported yesterday that, “Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday he thought the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal could be extended for at least two more months, as officials from the parties involved held the first day of talks on an extension in Istanbul.”

Reuters writer Michelle Nichols reported yesterday that, “The United Nations said inspections resumed on Tuesday of outbound vessels under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, which Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18 over obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports.”