TRT Market Reports

Rice millers that were forced out of business in Africa’s most populous nation are gradually reopening their factories as it becomes affordable to source critical inputs. The millers have the lifting of sanctions on the Niger military junta by the Nigerian government to thank for their renewed ability to import paddy- a key input for their operations.

Lack of rain due to the El Niño weather phenomenon is damaging southern Africa’s cereal grains production outlook and threatening already fragile food security in the region, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The foreseen shortfall in production, especially for maize (corn), is expected to intensify households’ food insecurity…

In many countries in West Africa, agriculture remains one of the main economic drivers, ensuring the livelihoods of millions of people as a primary source of employment. According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the African agrifood sector is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2030.

An African Development Bank (AfDB) funded project, implemented by the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) in Nigeria and Benin Republic, has trained farmers in Nasarawa State on new technologies to improve rice production and maintain soil fertility.

As Nigerians grapple with the prolonged spectre of the prohibitive cost of food, analysts believe focusing on the normalisation of the exchange rate and the taming of the rising inflationary rates alone without addressing other issues like insecurity and smuggling of food items across borders will only prolong the Nigerian food crisis, writes  Festus Akanbi

The President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kabir Ibrahim, has disclosed that imported rice from India comes at a landing cost of $58 per bag. Ibrahim, in a recent chat with The PUNCH in Lagos, said local rice was cheaper because of the country’s high exchange rate. “It is not competitive for you to use forex to buy anything and bring it to Nigeria. 

In a bid to address Kenya’s significant rice production shortfall and enhance farmers’ income, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) is pushing for the adoption of high yielding hybrid varieties to reduce the government’s annual rice import bill.

The price of paddy rice in Africa’s most populous nation has declined by a third over the past two months after the reopening of the Nigeria-Niger land border, a significant boost for struggling millers. Millers are importing cheaper paddies from neighbouring countries to run their mills, thereby driving prices down, according to industry sources who expect a further decline when the harvest season kicks off in two months.

In an effort to ensure fair pricing and protect consumers, the Ministry of Trade in Cameroon has initiated a price control operation on rice, a staple food in the country. The operation, led by control teams from the Ministry of Trade, targeted markets in the city of Bafoussam on April 19, 2024. The primary objective of the operation was to verify whether rice vendors were adhering to the new price regulations set by the Minister of Trade.

Following the recent rebound of the naira against the dollar, the price of a 50 kilogramme bag of rice has dropped to an average of N67,000 in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun, and others, from about N90,000 in February 2024. In communities close to the borders, our correspondents gathered that the staple was selling at a much lower rate compared to what was obtained in the cities.

PEAK sheep and cattle producer bodies have welcomed an $8.6 million support package for Western Australia’s agricultural industries and rural communities impacted by the current drought conditions.

THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has voiced concerns around a possible container levy or further increases to the Full Import Declaration, proposed by agricultural and freight groups as alternative funds streams to the controversial Biosecurity Protection Levy.

The Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC) and CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, are urging growers and advisers to be vigilant due to reports of moderate to high mouse activity in several regions across Australia.

A lingering dry, hot summer is increasing concerns for grain farmers in Australia’s top producing state as they begin planting the next crop, according to the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia. Growers are taking a cautious approach as the soil is extremely dry, the association said in a monthly report Friday.

Autumn and Winter waterlogging is relatively common in WA’s Albany and Esperance port zones, but it can severely impact grain production.

The mounting pressure on the Federal Government to scrap the proposed biosecurity tax continues to build as Grain Producers Australia and other industry groups make submissions and statements to the Senate Inquiry into the legislation. A Farm Online article has highlighted staunch opposition from GPA and misgivings from Grain Growers regarding consultation…

FIGURES released by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry reveal the grain industry will contribute $12.25 million under the proposed Biosecurity Protection Levy, the most for any commodity impacted by the legislation. This figure is out of the total revenue of $51.8M that DAFF estimates will be raised by the BPL if it comes into force on July 1.

Major supermarkets need to be held more accountable for their actions, the federal agriculture minister has declared, expressing confidence suppliers will soon secure better deals with grocery chains. After the heads of Woolworths and Coles were grilled in fiery parliamentary hearings, Murray Watt said progress was being made on farmers receiving a fair price for their produce.

Farmers have been urged to get involved in discussions about their industry to “safeguard their futures.” The CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has published the Ag2050 Scenarios Report, to try to identify what Australian farming will look like in 2050, with perhaps the most interesting development being the consolidation of what it describes as “…regional agricultural capitals.”

Australia’s farm chemicals regulator is taking too long to approve new products, leading to billions of dollars in preventable crop losses for one of the world’s biggest agricultural exporters, industry groups say. Australia is a major supplier of goods from wheat and barley to cotton and wine.

The European Commission has started explanatory meetings with Ukrainian representatives regarding the implementation of official screening within the section of negotiations on agriculture and the development of rural areas. It is noted that the meetings took place a month earlier than planned. The explanatory meetings will continue until the end of May.

Euronext wheat extended a rally on Friday to reach its highest since December as traders grappled with weather charts suggesting little rain relief for a parched crop belt in top exporter Russia. September wheat, the most active position on Paris-based Euronext, was 1.3% up at 234.50 euros ($250.28) a metric ton by 1527 GMT, putting it up 9% this week.

The first grant tranche in the amount of €6 million to support dekhkan farms has already been allocated. The European Union has allocated a grant to the government of Uzbekistan for the development of agriculture. This was reported on the website of the EU delegation in the republic.

A coalition of 15 EU countries intends to increase de minimis state aid to the agricultural sector. Euractiv writes with reference to a note circulated among member states. The EU agriculture ministers are planning to discuss this proposal in detail at a meeting on Monday, April 29, UNN reports .

It took only 40 days for the European Parliament to give its final nod to a legal package simplifying farm subsidies – a record for reforming a such major policy area. The plan was presented to EU lawmakers in mid-March by the European Commission, in a bid to cut red tape and reduce certain green conditions in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

On Tuesday, the European Parliament voted by a large majority to extend the duty-free import of Ukrainian agricultural products for another year, further complicating the situation for European farmers, Agriculture Minister István Nagy said in a statement. The Minister pointed out that Brussels continues to support Ukraine with its pro-war policy and leaves European farmers on their own.

Germany is calling for an import ban on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus. An ag policy spokesperson for The Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, argued Germany and Europe are not reliant on Russian grain and continued imports from the adversarial nation must be halted.

An Irish MEP has questioned if a proposal to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is designed to manipulate the farming vote ahead of the European elections. The European Parliament voted yesterday (Wednesday, April 24) to approve a review of the CAP as proposed by the EU Commission to cut red tape for farmers.

On Wednesday, Parliament approved a review of the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation and the CAP Horizontal Regulation with 425 votes in favour, 130 against, and 33 abstentions. MEPs adopted the draft law with technical modifications proposed by the Council and endorsed by the Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture on 15 April 2024.

The question of whether the EU can even afford all the new members currently lining up to join by the early 2030s will be probably the most debated part of the whole enlargement discussion in the next couple of years.  While enlargement used to be considered a merit-based process linked to legal reforms and economic compatibility, the Russian invasion of Ukraine fundamentally altered Brussels’ perceptions.

Brazil's grain exports will pick up in the second half as soy and corn supplies increase despite a drought in the center-west earlier, Reuters reported, citing Cargill's Brazil president Paulo Sousa. Citing a positive outlook for soy in the Matopiba region and in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southernmost state, Sousa said in an interview that soy output projections may be revised upwards.

Workers in Argentine soy-processing plants have gone on strike just as farmers are collecting the crop. The job action that began Monday threatens to paralyse output from Argentina, the world’s biggest supplier of soy meal for livestock feed and soy oil used in food and biofuels.

Argentina’s massive Rosario farming port lost its spot as the world’s No. 2 grains export hub in 2023, a report from a local exchange showed on Friday, underscoring the impact of a historic drought that hammered corn, wheat and soy last year. Rosario shipped out 42.4 million metric tons of grains last year, falling below the sprawling Santos port in Brazil, which exported 62.3 million tons.

The Rosario Board of Trade in Argentina recently projected corn yields to be down 30% due to stunt spiroplasma disease. That estimate would lower the country’s production by 7 million metric tons to 50 million metric tons. Spiroplasma disease stunts corn growth and turns leaves red. The disease was caused by three consecutive years of La Niña with severe drought and high temperatures.

Brazil leads the world in soybean production. News about the size of Brazil’s crop moves markets, but an ongoing debate about which numbers to trust is adding uncertainty to the current market situation (e.g. Braun, 2024; Siqueira, 2024; Vaclavik, 2024).

Brazilian farmers in Mato Grosso state have cut the area planted with second corn this season by 10% as low prices push them to cultivate alternative crops, a trend they say is likely to continue. Brazil’s second corn must be sowed immediately after the soybean harvest to avoid the dry and colder season.

The Argentine government said it plans to invest approximately $550 million to build a new grain port in the Rosario region. The region is considered a vital agricultural center for Argentina, accounting for more than 80% of the country’s agricultural and agro-industrial exports.

Given the record wheat yields the last two years, farmers in Uruguay are expected to plant more in the 2024-25 season, but total production is expected to drop slightly, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Mexican government has announced a postponement in the implementation of its ban on genetically modified (GMO) corn imports from the United States. Originally scheduled to take effect in March 2024, the ban has now been extended to address concerns surrounding the country’s agricultural output and food security.

Argentina's 2024 exports of soybean, corn, wheat, sunflower, and barley have been projected to reach barely US$ 29.3 billion, which would represent a US$ 5.7 billion recovery from 2023 but a US$ 1.7 billion slump compared to the last five years' average, the Grain Stock Exchange in Rosario (BCR) announced in its latest Guía Estratégica para el Agro (GEA) report.

India and Oman will sign a trade deal in the coming months, two Indian government officials said, as New Delhi seeks to expand its ties in the Middle East, where rising tensions are putting major shipping routes at risk. India and Oman have annual trade of less than $13 billion, but the relationship is important for New Delhi as the Gulf nation is a gateway to the narrow Strait of Hormuz…

Iraq faces a critical environmental crisis as desertification and land degradation continue to threaten agricultural viability, with only 14 million dunams of land remaining suitable for farming, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Environment. The alarming statistics reveal that 71 percent of arable land in Iraq has already succumbed to desertification....

The Iraqi army has imposed a ban on wheat and barley harvesting in the Sargaran border area of Kirkuk province, sparking tensions with local farmers. In a recent directive, the Iraqi army ordered the suspension of harvesting activities in the villages of Salayi in the Altun Kupri, also known as Perde…

Meyrambek Donenbayev, a deputy of the Jambil regional council in Kazakhstan, has ignited a contentious discussion by proposing a significant hike in the price of bread. Donenbayev's proposal, as reported by Jambylinfo.kz, suggests raising the price of bread by 500 tenge, which translates to $1.13 ( based on the exchange rate of April 26).

The European Union (EU) announced a financial contribution of $6.5 mn to support agricultural reforms in Uzbekistan. On April 25, the EU confirmed the provision of the funds, amounting to nearly UZS 82 bn ($6.5 mn), recognizing Uzbekistan's progress in agricultural reforms and its stable macroeconomic environment. 

With its wheat reserves continuing to decline, Egypt’s wheat imports in marketing year 2024-25 are forecast to increase by 2% over the previous year due to population growth and the availability of more foreign currency in Egyptian banks, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture.

The International Monetary Fund expects OPEC and its partners to start increasing oil production gradually from July, a transition that’s set to catapult Saudi Arabia back into the ranks of the world’s fastest-growing economies next year.

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan has published an updated list of licensed elevators, grain processing and poultry farms that have the right to import Russian wheat . The list includes 185 flour mills and 70 poultry farms interested in importing raw materials. The list also includes 201 active grain storage facilities.

“According to the seventh development plan, this year, nearly 400,000 hectares of extra-territorial cultivation should be carried out in the target countries to supply the country's strategic needs for agricultural products,” Aghareza Fotouhi said.

Brent crude futures have surged 13.4% this year so far to $87.26 per barrel, propelled by escalating tensions in the Middle East, OPEC supply cuts, attacks on energy infrastructure between Ukraine and Russia, and increased oil demand from major consuming nations, all of which have tightened the market.

Rice export prices decreased 1-3 percent as the Thai baht weakened.

The latest set of grain export inspection data from USDA, out Monday morning and covering the week through April 25, held mostly lackluster and rangebound numbers for traders to digest. Corn led the way again, staying on the higher end of analyst estimates but sliding moderately below the prior week’s tally.

Governments’ support for inputs and rice production have lifted area harvested and yields, boosting production across much of the region.

Outstanding export sales and exports by country, region and marketing year

Commodity Futures Price Quotes For US Dollar Index (ICE Futures)

Latest futures price quotes

Latest futures price quotes 

FAS/Cairo (Post) forecasts Egypt’s wheat imports in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 to increase by 2 percent from the previous marketing year, due to population growth and the availability of more foreign currency in Egyptian banks.

Dry weather concerns in the US Southern Plains and Russia, plus Black Sea supply concerns after the latter attacked Ukrainian grain infrastructure over the weekend, sent wheat futures higher to sharply higher Monday with winter wheat touching two-month highs. Spillover support from wheat, short-covering and technical trading sent corn futures to three-week highs. 

The 2024 crop season in Morocco is progressing under difficult conditions.

The other thing that happened over the weekend, was that the US House of Representatives finally agreed to a huge (US$60B) assistance package to Ukraine. That assistance will come in the form of armour, air defence systems and other munitions. It comes at a time when Russia appeared to be gaining some ascendancy and any delay in the funding was seen as assisting Russia.

U.S. soybean exports to China, which have been declining for several years as Brazil builds its dominance in the world's biggest oilseed market, face a further threat in 2024 as bumper supply from Argentina heightens competition.

Six years ago, Illinois farmer John Ackerman didn't hire any contract workers at all. Now he typically hires about 22 every year through a local coordinator that helps farmers hire crews of agriculturally skilled, often Latino workers. Those teams hand-weed the soybeans Ackerman grows alongside the pumpkin and corn crops he uses for his primarily fall-focused agrotourism outfit.

Federal policymakers and their Big Ag friends have a problem: Their hope to make corn and soybeans the feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel hit a wall when the aviation industry ruled that biofuel from either crop did not meet its “sustainable” guidelines. As such, there would be no corn- or soy-based SAF.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects to roll out an upgraded system for its weekly export sales reporting program in late 2025. Exporters are required by law to report sales of U.S. agricultural commodities to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), which reports weekly export sales each Thursday. 

Wheat futures climbed Tuesday, Chicago soft red winter wheat surging to a two-month high as a decline in US winter wheat conditions renewed focus on weather risks to Northern Hemisphere crops. Corn and soybeans also edged up slightly on US spring planting risks. Corn planting progress was slightly better than expected but heavy rain was forecast in key areas.

Who wants to pay 41 percent more for food? No one. Yet a newly enacted California law is wrecking just that kind of havoc on citizens in the state — and it threatens to cause food prices to rise dramatically nationwide. Congress must act in this year’s Farm Bill to protect farmers and consumers.

Grain traders and ingredient buyers were heading into the 2024 season with uncertainty amid questions about the corn, soybean, spring wheat and total planted area projected in the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) March 28 Prospective Plantings report. Many expect significant changes to be reflected in the June 28 Acreage report, depending on spring planting weather…

Some lawmakers say they expect movement on the farm bill next month. Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Iowa tells Brownfield a draft of the legislation is expected soon. “We’re moving forward with some compromised language in the farm bill,” she said.

While there are scores of variables, such as weather, commodity prices, crop rotations, politics and equipment malfunctions, that may hinder Arkansas’ rice farmers, there is one constant that growers can count on. The state will continue to rank first in the U.S. in rice production. California is the second-leading rice producer in the country…

There is an old saying in trading that “bull markets have long tails.” Meaning, after prices peak, they gradually move lower over an extended period. This may be especially true in commodities, where high prices tend to cure high prices through lower demand and increased production. In 2020, the corn market began a rally predicated on improving demand and tightening world inventories.

Since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic in early 2020, businesses big and small have faced significant challenges. Though the pandemic has ended, many sectors — including the agricultural industry — still are facing challenges both familiar and unfamiliar. The agricultural sector is crucial to the survival and health of billions of people across the globe.

Prices of white rice have dropped to $602 a tonne for shipments from Thailand and for consignments from Pakistan and Vietnam they are down to $575-585 a tonne | Photo Credit: antpkr Rice prices in the global market have currently dropped to levels of $600/tonne and below but they will likely gain around June-July when a clear picture emerges on production and monsoon behaviour in Asia.

The World Bank's April 2024 Commodity Outlook Report projects a significant decline in global food prices for 2024, with a forecasted 6% drop, followed by an additional 4% decrease in 2025. This anticipated decrease is primarily attributed to lower prices for grains, oils, and meals, while other food categories are expected to experience price gains in 2024.

The U.S. Agriculture Department's Commodity Credit Corporation announced the following world market prices of milled and rough rice. The data is adjusted for U.S. milling yields and location, and the resulting marketing loan gain (MLG) and loan deficiency payment (LDP) rates applicable to the 2023 crop.

Rising food prices around the world may finally be seeing a bottom this year. According to Oxford Economics, global food prices are expected to decline in 2024, offering some relief for shoppers. “Our baseline forecast is for world food commodity prices to register an annual decline this year, reducing pressure on food retail prices further downstream,”…

The Biden administration will allocate $1 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funding for emergency international food assistance. Approximately $950 million of that will be used purchase, ship and distribute American-made wheat, rice, sorghum, lentils, chickpeas, dry peas, vegetable oil, cornmeal, navy beans, pinto beans and kidney beans. 

The Economic Research Service (ERS) of the US Department of Agriculture said in its Rice Outlook Report on April 15 that “over the past month, quotes for trading prices for most grades of regular (neither parboiled nor aromatic) whole grain milled rice from Thailand decreased 6% to 7%, mostly due to the weakening of the Thai baht and the beginning of the dry-season crop entering the export market.”

On 19 April, Russian troops hit the port of Pivdennyi in Ukraine’s southern Odesa Oblast, destroying grain storage facilities and foodstuffs they contained, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials. Later, the Ministry of Restoration stated that as a result of the attack on the port of Odesa, the Russian military destroyed agricultural products intended for Asia and Africa.

While shoppers battle with the cost of food at the check-out, farmers around the world are expected to plant fewer crops this year, largely because the cost of growing some produce is higher than its potential value. Global wheat and corn prices have halved since record peaks in 2022, but the cost of essential inputs such as fertiliser remain historically high…

The federal government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan on the enhancement of the rice seeds production system and diagnostic capacity in Nigeria.

Nelson woman Yuki Fukuda has grown rice in her garden, and is now helping others to do the same. The kilo of grain her small plot yielded this summer was the first successful rice crop she knew of in Whakatū/ Nelson, and possibly Te Waipounamu/ the South Island too, the ecologist said.

While some might think that family-run farms are a thing of the past, they are in fact the dominant business model in Europe. In 2020, they accounted for slightly more than 9 in every 10 of the EU's 9.1 million farms.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important member of the family Poaceae and more than half of world population depend for their dietary nutrition on rice. Rice cultivars with higher yield, resilience to stress and wider adaptability are essential to ensure production stability and food security. 

New research published in Nature Communications sheds light on how traditional farming practices might influence cultural traits, suggesting that rice farming encourages more collectivistic behavior compared to wheat farming. 

Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdus Shahid today laid emphasis on increasing high-yielding rice cultivation across the country to boost rice production aiming to export the staple food after meeting domestic demand.

There are many myths about energy and the economy. In this post I explore the situation surrounding some of these myths. My analysis strongly suggests that the transition to a new Green Economy is not progressing as well as hoped. Green energy planners have missed the point that our physics-based economy favors low-cost producers.

When she ventured into rice farming more than ten years ago, Grace Okello was optimistic that the crop would be the game-changer to transform her economic fortunes. And like the other farmers, she focused on the local seeds that most farmers in Bunyala and its environs have always relied on.

Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is partnering with an inter-governmental, non-profit organization in identifying a potential biocontrol agent that may help stave off infestations of fall armyworm (FAW).

Rice is the most important staple food in the world, and its management is therefore of vital importance. Rice management of the people of Kasepuhan Sinarresmi, Sukabumi Regency West Java, Indonesia is symbolized in cultural practices of farming.