Corn and soyabean prices surged on Thursday after the US government said inventories were even lower than earlier believed, suggesting that supplies will fall to critically low levels before the northern hemisphere harvest.
The declines in grain and oilseed stocks suggest that demand – from livestock farmers in developed and emerging markets, and from the ethanol industry for corn – has not yet been tempered by surging prices over recent months. Corn prices have gained nearly 52 per cent and soyabeans 34 per cent since the beginning of 2010 on strong demand for animal feed, especially from China.
The US Department of Agriculture said 6.52bn bushels of corn were stored in farmers’ bins and traders’ grain elevators at March 1, 15 per cent less than last year and some 170m bushels less than market expectations. Soyabean stocks fell to 1.25bn bushels, 2 per cent less than last year and lower than expected.