Global Ag News for Mar 24.2025

TOP HEADLINES

US Sounds Out Italy Egg Producers Amid Shortages in Easter Runup

US officials have asked Italian producers if they can help secure egg supplies amid shortages and upcoming holidays, including Easter and Passover.

Gian Luca Bagnara, head of the Assoavi Italian association of egg producers, said he was surprised to hear in recent days from a US embassy representative, who asked how many eggs Italian farmers could ship to the US in the next six months.

“I thought I was on Candid Camera,” Bagnara told Bloomberg News on Friday. Once he was assured the call was real, the tone changed.

“I felt really proud and started making inquiries. This could be an opportunity for building new international relations and we are eager to help,” Bagnara said. But the headroom for exports is very limited, he admitted, as only about 10% of Italian production is sold abroad.

With about 13 billion eggs a year, Italy is Europe’s fourth biggest producer, according to Unaitalia, a local association of meat and egg producers. Roughly a quarter of production comes from the northern Veneto region, according to daily Corriere della Sera, which first reported the contact between the US and the Italian association Assoavi.

Egg Prices Set to Ease as Shoppers Give Up After 60% Surge

Agriculture Powerhouse US Has Never Imported So Much Food

The request comes as the US has experienced its worst-ever bird flu outbreak, which has killed millions of hens and sent retail prices skyrocketing. US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday that egg prices are now “WAY DOWN from the Biden-inspired prices of just a few weeks ago.”

Industry groups in countries from Poland to Indonesia have reported inquiries from US embassies and the US Department of Agriculture about eggs for export.

 

FUTURES & WEATHER

Wheat prices overnight are down 5 in SRW, down 6 in HRW, down 2 3/4 in HRS; Corn is down 1 1/2; Soybeans down 1 1/2; Soymeal down $0.90; Soyoil down 0.01.

Markets finished last week with wheat prices down 14 1/2 in SRW, down 22 in HRW, down 12 1/2 in HRS; Corn is up 1 1/4; Soybeans down 8 3/4; Soymeal down $5.80; Soyoil down 0.09.

For the month to date wheat prices are down 2 1/2 in SRW, up 9 3/4 in HRW, up 4 1/2 in HRS; Corn is down 6 3/4; Soybeans down 17 1/2; Soymeal down $0.80; Soyoil down 2.12.

Year-To-Date nearby futures are up 0.5% in SRW, up 4.3% in HRW, up 1.1% in HRS; Corn is up 0.8%; Soybeans up 0.9%; Soymeal down 3.0%; Soyoil up 5.6%.

Chinese Ag futures (MAY 25) Soybeans up 1 yuan; Soymeal down 16; Soyoil down 82; Palm oil down 90; Corn down 5 — Malaysian Palm is down 70.

Malaysian palm oil prices overnight were down 70 ringgit (-1.60%) at 4305.

There were no changes in registrations. Registration total: 459 SRW Wheat contracts; 0 Oats; 223 Corn; 820 Soybeans; 1,455 Soyoil; 1,223 Soymeal; 344 HRW Wheat.

Preliminary changes in futures Open Interest as of March 21 were: SRW Wheat up 4,295 contracts, HRW Wheat up 110, Corn up 19,601, Soybeans down 936, Soymeal up 5,315, Soyoil up 8,818.

 

SOUTH AMERICA WEATHER UPDATE FOR 21 MARCH 2025

What to Watch:

• The recent forecasts confirm heavy rains across western Pampas in the coming days, also for the week after next, elevating the risks for wheat crop harvest
• The 2nd corn areas of Mato Grosso are likely to receive moderate rains in the next week and early April

 

The player sheet for 3/21 had funds: net buyers of 1,000 contracts of SRW wheat, sellers of 16,000 corn, buyers of 2,000 soybeans, buyers of 3,500 soymeal, and sellers of 4,000 soyoil.

 

TENDERS

• WHEAT TENDER: Turkey’s state grain board TMO issued an international tender to sell and export 50,000 metric tons of durum wheat.
• CORN TENDER: Taiwan’s MFIG purchasing group has issued an international tender to buy up to 65,000 metric tons of animal feed corn sourced from the United States, Argentina, Brazil or South Africa
• WHEAT TENDER: The Taiwan Flour Millers’ Association has issued an international tender to purchase an estimated 100,000 metric tons of grade 1 milling wheat to be sourced from the United States

 PENDING TENDERS

• WHEAT TENDER UPDATE: A state grains buyer in Syria was considering price offers in an international tender to buy about 100,000 tons of soft milling wheat, with no purchase yet made
• CORN, BARLEY, SOYMEAL TENDER: Iranian state-owned animal feed importer SLAL delayed the deadline for submissions of price offers in international tenders to purchase up to 120,000 tons each of animal feed corn, feed barley and soymeal to March 17
• WHEAT TENDER: Jordan’s state grain buyer issued an international tender to buy up to 120,000 tons of milling wheat that can be sourced from optional origins
• BARLEY TENDER: Jordan’s state grains buyer issued an international tender to purchase up to 120,000 tons of animal feed barley
• RICE TENDER: Bangladesh’s state grains buyer issued a new international tender to purchase 50,000 tons of rice.

 

 

 

 

TODAY

US Cattle on Feed Placements Fell to 1.55M Head in Feb.

Placements onto feedlots of capacity of 1,000 or more fell 17.8% from a year ago, according to the USDA’s monthly report.

• Analysts were expecting a drop of 14.4%
• The US feedlot herd as of March 1 were down 2.2% y/y to 11.577m head
• Cattle marketed from feedlots declined 8.9% to 1.633m head

 

Brazil Farmers Harvest 73.84% Of 2024/2025 Expected Soybean Area Versus 69.33% At This Time Last Year – Patria Agronegocios

BRAZIL FARMERS HARVEST 73.84% OF 2024/2025 EXPECTED SOYBEAN AREA VERSUS 69.33% AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR – PATRIA AGRONEGOCIOS

 

USDA attaché forecasts Brazil 2025/26 soybean crop at 173 million tons

Following are selected highlights from a report issued on Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service post in Brasilia:

“Post forecasts that Brazilian producers will expand soybean planted area to 48.2 million hectares (ha) in the 2025/26 season, up from an estimated 47.3 million ha in 2024/25. Soybean production for 2025/26 is projected to reach 173 million metric tons (MMT), an increase from the estimated 169.5 MMT harvested this season. Soybean exports are projected to reach record levels this season, with total exports estimated at 108.3 MMT for MY 2024/25 and 112 MMT for MY 2025/26. Similarly, peanut and palm oil planted area and production are expected to increase, driven by new market opportunities and the rise in demand for product derivatives. Following Brazil’s emergence as the world’s leading cotton exporter in MY 2023/24, cottonseed area and production are forecast to continue rising in the 2025/26 season, supported by domestic opportunities, strategic planting decisions (second crop), profitability, and growing global demand.”

 

USDA attaché sees Mexico corn imports down in 2025/26, wheat imports up

Following are selected highlights from a report issued on Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service post in Mexico City:

“Mexico’s grain production outlook for marketing year (MY) 2025/2026 is higher for corn, rice, and sorghum due to higher local prices driving farmer planting decisions. In contrast, wheat production is expected to drop due to low dam levels in Sonora and Sinaloa. Wheat and rice imports are expected to increase with rising consumption from population growth and reduced wheat output. Corn imports are expected to decrease based on increased production and carryover from record imports in MY 2024/2025.”

 

US talks with Russia begin in Saudi Arabia eyeing a Black Sea ceasefire

• US and Russia discuss Black Sea maritime ceasefire
• Skepticism in Europe over Putin’s willingness for concessions
• Trump has expressed broad satisfaction over the talks
• Talks include discussions over ‘line of control’

U.S. and Russian officials began talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday aimed at making progress towards a broad ceasefire in Ukraine with Washington eyeing a separate Black Sea maritime ceasefire deal before securing a wider agreement.

The talks, which followed U.S. negotiations with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, come as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his drive to end the three-year-old conflict after he last week spoke to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A source briefed on the planning for the talks said the U.S. side was being led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official.

The White House says the aim of the talks is to reach a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, allowing the free flow of shipping, though the area has not been the location of intense military operations in recent months.

Russia will be represented by Grigory Karasin, a former diplomat who is now chair of the Russian upper house of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and by Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the director of the Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB.

The talks are taking place amid deep scepticism in some European countries and in Britain about whether Putin is ready to make meaningful concessions or will stick to what they see as his maximalist demands that do not appear to have changed since he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022.

Trump, who has expressed broad satisfaction over the way talks have been going and who has been complimentary about Putin’s engagement in the process so far, said on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict were “somewhat under control”.

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations were assembled in the same facility in Riyadh.

Beyond a Black Sea ceasefire, he said, the teams will discuss “the line of control” between the two countries, which he described as “verification measures, peacekeeping, freezing the lines where they are.”

He said “confidence-building measures” are being discussed, including the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia.

Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, said on Facebook that the U.S.-Ukraine talks included proposals to protect energy facilities and critical infrastructure.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who met Putin in Moscow in early March, played down concerns among Washington’s NATO allies that Moscow could be emboldened by a deal and invade other neighbours.

“I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War Two, Witkoff told Fox News.

“I feel that he wants peace,” Witkoff said of Putin.

 

Ukraine’s Spring-Grain Sowing Advances 18% Y/y: Ministry

Ukrainian farmers have planted spring grains across 250,400 hectares, or 18% more than year ago, according to a statement on the Agriculture Ministry’s website.

The total includes:

• 133,500 hectares under spring barley; up 14% y/y
• 36,700 hectares under spring wheat; up 27% y/y
• Steady demand for wheat helped drive the 2025 spring wheat sowing forecast 28% higher to 222,800 hectares

 

Export duty on Russian wheat to fall 23% from March 26 to 1,800 rubles per tonne

The export duty on Russian wheat will decrease 23% starting from March 26 to 1,846.7 rubles per tonne, down from 2,403 rubles per tonne the previous week, the Agriculture Ministry said.

The duty on barley will decrease to 206.8 rubles per tonne from 761.9 rubles per tonne and on corn to 1,202.5 rubles per tonne from 1,803.6 rubles per tonne.

The rates were calculated based on indicative prices of $245.2 per tonne for wheat ($243.4 in the previous period), $204 for barley ($204) and $220.9 for corn ($220.9).

The new rates will be in effect until April 1, inclusive.

 

CORN/CEPEA: Progress of crop activities limits price rises

Both the summer crop harvest and the second crop planting are moving at a good pace in Brazil.

As for the summer crop, the progress of activities has been increasing the supply, limiting price rises in some regions surveyed by Cepea. This scenario has led to price drops in other areas, especially in those who produce the summer crop. In general, however, price increases prevail, since many sellers are away from closing deals, preferring to focus on crop activities.

The ESALQ/BM&FBovespa Index (Campinas, SP) upped only 0.2% between March 13 and 20, closing at BRL 90.08 per 60-kilo bag on March 20. On the average of the regions surveyed by Cepea, from March 13-20, corn values moved up 0.9% in the over-the-counter market (paid to farmers) and 1.8% in the wholesale market (deals between processors).

EXPORTS – In eight producing days of March, corn shipments totaled 612.92 thousand tons, 43% more than that verified in the entire month of March last year.

CROPS – Up to March 16, the harvesting of the summer crop had reached 40.1% of the area in Brazil, more than the 38.5% verified in the average from 2020-2024 – data from Conab. As for sowing activities of the second crop, the total reached 89.6% until March 16, similar to the average over the last five years (90.4%), also according to Conab.

 

SOYBEAN/CEPEA: Export premiums continue on the rise and limit price drops in the spot market

Soy trades are moving at a good pace this week, influenced by the firm demand in the domestic demand and from abroad. This scenario boosted export premiums in Brazil, which increased FOB prices at ports. Thus, price drops were limited in the national spot market – in some regions, values were firm. In general, however, the high supply and the dollar devaluation have been pressing soy quotations down.

The CEPEA/ESALQ Index (Paranaguá) decreased 1.2% from March 13-20, to close at BRL 133.32 per 60-kg bag on March 20. The CEPEA/ESALQ Index (Paraná) dropped only 0.1% between March 13 and 20, closing at BRL 127.99 per 60-kg bag on March 20. On the average of the regions by Cepea, soybean prices moved down 0.1% in the over-the-counter market (paid to farmers) and in the wholesale market (deals between processors) in the same comparison.

BYPRODUCTS – Quotations are moving down in the domestic market, influenced by the low demand. On the average of the regions surveyed by Cepea, soymeal prices dropped 1.2% between March 13-20. The Brazilian value of soy oil moved down 1.3%, at 6,724.43 BRL per ton (in São Paulo city with 12% ICMS) on March 13.

CROPS – Conab indicated that 69.8% of the area had been harvested up to March 16, surpassing the 61.6% verified in the same period of last year and the 64.9% registered in the average over the last five years.

 

China’s Sinograin to auction imported soybeans amid supply shortage

China’s state stockpiler Sinograin is set to auction 160,000 metric tons of imported soybeans on Tuesday, its first such sale in two months after supply tightness prompted several processors to halt production.

The auction, of soybeans produced between 2022 and 2023, will begin on March 25, with deliveries scheduled between April 1 and May 15, according to a statement released by the National Grain Trade Centre on Friday.

Sinograin previously sold 79,000 metric tons of soybeans in January. The lack of auctions since, combined with delayed Brazilian shipments and slow customs clearances, has caused supply tightness that forced several processors to halt operations this month.

Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said while the auction will help address supply concerns, the timing may be suboptimal.

“The auctioned soybeans will arrive at mills in May, around the same time as a large shipment of Brazilian soybeans,” Xiang said.

China, the world’s largest soybean buyer, is expected to import a record 31.3 million metric tons between April and June, mostly from Brazil.

The surge follows Beijing’s decision to raise tariffs on $21 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans, in response to new U.S. duties on Chinese exports.

With Brazil experiencing a bumper harvest, its soybeans are expected to significantly boost China’s imports in the second quarter.

 

Parts of India to See Intense Thunderstorms March 22: IMD

Intense thunderstorms with the possibility of hailstorms are expected to continue in many parts of eastern and central India on March 22, potentially causing damage to standing crops and vulnerable structures, according to the country’s weather department.

• States of Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and Telangana are among states that could be impacted, India Meteorological Department said Saturday
• Wind intensity likely to reduce thereafter, IMD said
• NOTE: Harvest of winter-sown wheat crop is underway in India

 

US Milk Production Fell 2.6% Y/y in February, USDA Says

Agency releases report on website.

• Output for the 24 major-producing states was 16.99b lbs, 447m less than in February of last year
• Milk per cow averaged 1,895 lbs, a 3.4% decline from last year
• Estimated output for all the US fell 2.5% y/y to 17.725b lbs

 

 

 

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