Grain Prices Update: Corn Up, Wheat Down - Commodity Markets Review on 10.01.25

New restrictions from KTZH: from January 11 to January 20, grain cargoes are not accepted and empty wagons are not processed through Altynkol station. Penalties for failure to meet the transportation plan are waived.

Ukraine exported 22.442 million tons of grain in the 2024/25 season. In January, they shipped 705 thousand tons. A year earlier, 19.422 million tons were exported, with 1.03 million tons in January.

Of the total, wheat accounted for 9.977 million tons, barley - 1.976 million tons, rye - 10.8 thousand tons, corn - 10.162 million tons. Flour exports reached 38.1 thousand tons, including 35 thousand tons of wheat flour.

The Penza region ranks third in Russia for gasification. More than 9,000 agreements have been concluded, gas is connected to 79% of houses. The average cost of work is 98,000 rubles, citizens can receive subsidies of up to 130,000 rubles. By 2025, it is planned to gasify 639 houses.

In Volgograd, botanical walks with unique plant species have become popular. There are exhibitions and flower festivals organized. Environmental events are held, participation in scientific projects is encouraged. The plan is to increase the garden's attendance and develop tourism to 5 million people by 2034. The governor has outlined tasks for infrastructure development and personnel provision for tourism.

It is unclear what the harvest will be in the spring of 2025 due to the climate. Farmers are forced to borrow money to pay for agronomic needs. The crop in the south of Russia is currently stable, but there may be problems with competition from exporters due to logistical difficulties. A critical crop failure is unlikely.

Two poultry farms are planned to be opened in the Aktobe region, with total investments exceeding 20 billion tenge. This year, a mini-factory producing 7.5 tons of meat for 1.5 billion tenge will be launched. Additionally, by the end of 2026, the launch of a large enterprise worth 20 billion tenge is planned.

The country will open 29 poultry farms producing 220,000 tons in 12 regions, with investments totaling 440 billion tenge, of which 262 billion tenge will be borrowed.

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.

8 contracts for white sugar were sold on the National Commodity Exchange and 1 contract on SPbMTSB. The maximum trading price was 57000 rubles/ton on SPbMTSB and 56800 rubles/ton on NCE.

Starting from January 1, 2025, Russia has introduced a 5% export duty on peas, chickpeas, and lentils. Previously, until the end of 2024, duties ranged from 4 to 7%. The new rules will be permanent. This decision aims to balance exports and domestic demand.

Prices for palm oil have dropped due to low exports from Malaysia and competition with soybean oil. Exports to India have decreased, which has led to a decline in demand. However, prices are still higher than those for soybean oil. Some traders are taking profits ahead of the holidays.

State crop quality monitoring of the 2024 harvest in the Orenburg branch of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "TSOK APK" has been successfully completed. A total of 2.9 million tons of grain were examined, with over 64,000 tests conducted.

Results:

• Soft wheat - 37.6% third grade, 32.2% fourth grade, 27.7% fifth grade;
• Hard wheat - 29.6% third grade, 44.2% fourth grade, 24.8% fifth grade.

At the beginning of the current season, Kazakhstan increased exports of lentils to Turkey, sending 107.1 thousand tons in September-October 2024. The volume of exports in October reached a record 45.5 thousand tons.

Additionally, imports of lentils to Afghanistan have also increased.

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.

Sales of grain from the State Intervention Fund at the Exchange decreased by 5.7 times - to 945 tons for 14.241 million rubles. The trades were conducted in 12 mini-sessions, with the next ones scheduled for December 26-28. The Fund has accumulated 4 million tons of grain since the beginning of purchases in 2023 and successfully sold 113,940 tons of wheat.