Dow Jones writer Paulo Trevisani reported yesterday that, “Initial reports from Pro Farmer’s crop tour indicate disappointing return potential.”
The Dow Jones article noted that “while yield counts from the is part of the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour is coming stronger than those of the west legscouts in the field are see smaller harvests than expected.”
Yesterday too, Bloomberg writers Tarso Veloso Ribeiro and Kim Chipman reported that “the harsh conditions shrunk the crops in the western Corn belt. Some scouts held out hope that perhaps better acres in the is half could save the national harvest. Now that optimism is fading. Instead, there is growing concern on a corn shortage.
“Data collected earlier in the week showed yields in South Dakota, Ohio, Nebraska and Indiana behind last year’s average. The bad news continued on Wednesday with figures showing the same kind of trend for many areas in Illinois, the second largest US producer. Preliminary finds in parts of Iowa was also disappointing“, says the Bloomberg article.
Ribeiro and Chipman noted that “Chicago-traded corn rose 0.3% to $6.5725 a bushel Wednesday, after hitting a two-month high. The price went up for one sixth day in a rowmarking the longest rally since February, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine first rattled global grain markets.
“A poor harvest in the United States will likely exacerbate the food inflation that is already plaguing the world. War, drought and the overall impact of climate change have reduced global grain stocks.
Reuters News reported yesterday that “bumper crops in the United States are needed to compensate for weak global grain supplies, but extreme heat and widespread drought in parts of the Midwest obstructed the fields and a series of difficult harvests around the world point to several years of tight supplies and high food costs.
Alice Hancock, Financial Times editor reported earlier this week that,
Almost half of the EU remains in drought conditions, an EU agency said, with weather expected to remain warmer and drier until November.
“This will aggravate fears over crop shortages and the energy supply of a continent already affected by a significant reduction in gas flows from Russia.
The FT article stated that “Such an extreme lack of water and heat stress for plants cut forecasts for this year’s summer harvest in Europethe crops being the most affected, in particular corn, sunflowers and soybeans. Yield forecasts for these crops are between 12 and 16% below the five-year averagethe [EU’s Joint Research Centre] the data showed.
Reuters writer Philip Blenkinsop reported earlier this week that, “Europe faces its worst drought in at least 500 yearswith two-thirds of the continent on high alert or warning, reducing inland navigation, power generation and yields of some cropsan agency of the European Union announced on Tuesday.
“The August report from the European Drought Observatory (EDO), overseen by the European Commission, said 47% of Europe is on high alert, with a marked soil moisture deficit, and 17% in a state of alert, in which the vegetation is affected.
Also this week, Bloomberg writer Jinglu Gu reported that, “Extreme weather hits China on all cardinal points comes at a pivotal moment for the to harvest in the most populous nation in the world.
“China largely escaped this year’s spike in global food prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But persistent and scorching heat in the central and southwestern regions, and flood in the northeast – all made worse by climate change – now threaten a grain harvest which amounts to hundreds of millions of tons, most of which is collected in the fall.
The Bloomberg article explained that “the broadest risk is that lost production could increase China’s already large import needs, adding to intense price pressures in the rest of the world. The global food supply has been affected by the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine, causing grocery bills to skyrocket in some countries, while scorching conditions from the US Midwest to India continue to threaten crops in the Northern Hemisphere. China is by far the first largest food importer.”
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that, “With China’s largest freshwater lake reduced to just 25% of its usual size by a severe drought, work crews are digging trenches to ensure the water supply of one of the main rice-growing regions of the country.
“The dramatic decline of Poyang Lake in the landlocked southeastern province of Jiangxi had otherwise cut off irrigation channels to nearby farmlands. The teams, using excavators to dig trenches, only work after dark due to the extreme heat of the day, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
“A strong heat wave is wreaking havoc across much of southern China.”
Brian Spegele reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that “the Chinese government has unveiled tens of billions of dollars of economic support for his power and agricultural industriesstruggling with a record heat wave and Drought which reduced industrial production.
“The State Council, which serves as China’s cabinet, has approved 200 billion yuan ($29 billion) new debts for the country’s electricity producers and a Additional 20 billion yuan to fight drought, help country’s rice harvest.”
Today’s article claimed that “the heat wave is the worst to hit China in six decades.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg writers Megan Durisin, Volodymyr Verbyany and Aine Quinn reported yesterday that “The good news is that the crucial grain of Ukraine is again leaving its ports. The bad news is it farmland lost in war and low local prices are threatening his next wheat crop.
“Ukraine is a leading producer of wheat, so the amount it produces will be key in determining whether global supplies will remain tight next year and also a major driver of global food prices.”
Bloomberg editors explained that “most of Ukraine’s wheat consists of winter varietieswhich are sown occasionally dormant in colder monthsbefore to resume spring growth. Farmers near the western border furthest from the front lines are functioning more normally, but the situation is moving east more difficult.”
The article noted that “traders must eliminate harvest delays from the 2021 crop while too sell this year’s crops, keep local prices moderate.
“This is prompting some growers to switch to more lucrative crops like oilseeds.”
“While the recently opened grain export corridor is portion Sales, the pace is not yet fast enough to significantly support wheat prices which remain below rising costs, [Agribusiness Agricom Group CEO Petro Melnyk] said.”
