Foreign Demand lower as Commodity Prices rise

WASHINGTON, DC – There may be some growing concern in regards to crop exports and foreign demand amid higher commodity prices. According to the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS), one of the hottest export commodities over the past year – sorghum – found no buyers in the past week. In the past year, Chinese demand has propelled domestic prices here to levels not seen in recent memory. The issue has not just affected sorghum however, as over the past few weeks China has backed off of their buying spree in other commodities as well.

Export sales of wheat eclipsed 290-thousand metric tons in the week ending July 1st, with the Philippines, Mexico and South Korea the top three buyers. Corn sales hit 173-thousand metric tons, a major increase from the previous week, but again China was not one of the top three customers (Mexico, Japan, and Columbia).

Though China was a light buyer of U.S. soybeans during the period, less than 64-thousand metric tons were purchased and both Mexico and Japan purchased more than China.

Over the past five years, Vietnam has emerged as a top customer for U.S. cotton, and sure enough purchased more during the week. However China did purchase enough, along with Pakistan to make the top three list of old crop buyers, taking more than 52-thousand running bales. New crop cotton sales were more noteworthy as Pakistan, Turkey and El Salvador spoke up for the 177-thousand bales to become available after the harvest this fall.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)