World market - Incubator

Wheat prices on the world markets increased from December 20th to December 27th, 2024. Russian wheat prices decreased, and the CPT Novorossiysk index fell. The grain harvest in Russia decreased, while the volume of grain exports from Russia and Ukraine increased.

Kazakhstan harvested 26.7 million tons of grains.

Wildfires on sugarcane plantations in Brazil have had a negative impact on the harvest. It is expected that they have destroyed up to 5 million tons of sugarcane in the state of São Paulo.

As a result, sugar prices have risen by 4.2%, causing concern in the market. The fires will exacerbate issues with processing sugarcane due to the damages incurred.

The Lethbridge Polytechnic Institute is developing a project to combine aquaculture and canola processing. Under the leadership of Nik Savidov, the research is focusing on using by-products of canola processing as fish feed, which could potentially save the industries millions. Aquaponics, combining fish and plants in a closed-loop system, represents the future of the food industry. Canadian organizations are funding this $300,000 project.

More than half of the sunflower crop in the Altai Territory has been tested, with 58.3% of the seeds being of grades 1 and 2, and 41.2% of grade 3. In the Krasnoshchekovsky and Kurinsky districts, more than half are of the highest quality.

In 2024, the export of sunflower from the region exceeded 168,000 tons, with the main importer being Kazakhstan. 33.7 thousand tons of kernels were shipped to China and Belarus.

The volume of commercial fish production in the Rostov region is 24.2 thousand tons. The catch of aquatic bioresources has increased by 7% - 7.5 thousand tons. Fish production remains stable at 18.3 thousand tons. 116 million rubles have been allocated to support the fishing industry.

The US Department of Agriculture has reduced the forecast for wheat harvest in Russia by 5 million tons and estimated the remaining stocks at 250,000 tons. The export forecast has been reduced by 4 million tons. The corn harvest has decreased by 600,000 tons, and the production of feed grains by 1.1 million tons.

The European Union has increased the wheat export forecast, while Ukraine has reduced the forecasts for wheat and increased them for corn. The global wheat harvest forecast has decreased by 7.44 million tons.

Prices for sugar are rising due to fires and drought in Brazil. The harvest has been affected, and raw sugar futures have reached a 16-year high. The company has lowered its production forecast due to fires that have affected up to 450,000 hectares. Processing may be suspended by October. The situation also affects coffee and cocoa.

A cargo ship in Novorossiysk has loaded 25,000 tons of wheat for shipment to Africa as humanitarian aid. Customs has issued permission to import high-priority goods. Russia is preparing to send between 25,000 and 50,000 tons of grain to six African countries as per the President's statement. Deliveries will start in the coming months.

The corporate group is planning to build a grain and container terminal in Iran for grain deliveries from Russia. The costs for the project will amount to 10 billion rubles for the grain terminal and 7 billion rubles for the container terminal. The construction is planned to be completed by 2027.

The organization is also working on a similar terminal in the Trans-Baikal Territory.

The study by Dr. Faulkner and the team focuses on increasing the production of citramalate from cyanobacteria to create sustainable alternatives to plastic. Using "design of experiments," they increased production by 23 times, improving process parameters. This discovery contributes to a carbon-neutral bioeconomy, enhancing the utilization of CO2 and sunlight.

Using space technology with satellite imagery, scientists from Germany have developed a method for monitoring organic matter in soils. This will help farmers in carbon farming, obtaining CO2 certificates and carbon credits to combat climate change.

Grain prices as of December 20, 2024:

Corn on CBOT rose to 446.25 ¢/bsh, wheat SRW costs 533.00 ¢/bsh, HRW on KCBT - 544.75 ¢/bsh, HRS on MGE - 590.25 ¢/bsh, oats on CBOT - 351.25 ¢/bsh, rough rice - 14.07 usd/cwt.