Purchase prices for corn continue to rise in Ukraine

Ukrainian corn remains the cheapest on the world market, so traders are intensifying exports and increasing the number of chartered vessels, which supports purchase prices.

During the week, corn demand prices increased by another $5/t to $143-148/t or UAH 5,800-5,850/t with delivery to Black Sea ports and $152-157/t with delivery to Danube ports. Producers stepped up sales, which is why there were queues at terminals, as not all terminals accept grain due to congestion.

November corn exports have already reached 1.76 million tons, up from November 2022's 1.72 million tons, but total exports for the season (July 1 to November 23) are only 5.56 million tons of the USDA's forecast of 20 million tons, while last year at this time, 8.77 million tons of corn were exported.

During the month, global corn prices fell under pressure from the completion of planting in Brazil and improved weather conditions in Brazil and Argentina.

December corn futures on the Chicago Stock Exchange traded flat this week at $185/t (-4.7% on the month), while March corn futures in Paris fell 0.6% to €206 from Monday /t or $224.8/t (-2.7% for the month).

According to the monitoring data of Safras&Mercado, in Brazil on November 17, 86.3% of the planned 3.99 million hectares were sown with corn of the first harvest, compared to 87.3% last year and 87.2% on average for 5 years. Soybean planting delays are not yet critical to second-crop corn planting, and increased rainfall in central regions has eased traders' concerns and soybean and corn quotes.

According to the forecast of the Brazilian agency Agroconsult, in 2023/24 FY, the country will harvest 128.7 million tons of corn, in particular, 100 million tons of the second harvest, which will be inferior to the 2022/23 FY harvest of 137 million tons, but will correspond to the USDA forecast of 129 million tons.