URBANA, Ill. — It now appears that consumption of U.S. corn and soybeans will be record large in the 2009-10 marketing year, and that could help corn and soybean prices, according to University of Illinois economist Darrel Good.
“The price users will be willing to pay for corn and soybeans will depend to a large degree on the extent of recovery in the U.S. and world economies. If recovery does occur, a modest increase in prices would be expected following the harvest of large crops,” Good said.
Not interchangeable
So the strength of demand and the resulting rate of consumption will be important for post-harvest price prospects, but these terms are not interchangeable.
“Consumption results from the size of the crop, the strength of demand and the resulting price level. All else equal, larger supplies result in lower prices and a higher rate of consumption. Conversely, all else equal, an increase in demand results in higher prices while consumption may or may not increase, depending on the available supply,” Good said.
Monitored frequently
For both corn and soybeans, the export sector is one that can be monitored frequently prior to and during the marketing year. The USDA provides weekly estimates of export inspections and weekly reports of export sales.
“For the upcoming marketing year, the USDA currently projects U.S. corn exports at 2.1 billion bushels. That projection is 337 million less than the record exports of the 2007-08 marketing year, but 250 million above the projection for the 2008-09 marketing year that ends Aug. 31.
“The USDA expects a year-over-year increase in corn exports due to smaller coarse-grain crops outside of the U.S. and larger imports by Mexico and Taiwan. Coarse-grain production outside the U.S. in 2009-10 is projected at 751.7 million tons, nearly 3 percent smaller than production during the 2008-09 marketing year. Smaller crops are expected in Canada, the European Union, China and Mexico. Production is expected to rebound in Argentina following the weather-reduced harvest this year,” Good said.
Sold for export
As of Aug. 20, the USDA reported that 284 million bushels of U.S. corn had been sold for export during the 2009-10 marketing year. A year ago, new-crop sales on the same date stood at 344 million bushels.
“The difference in new-crop sales so far this year is primarily to Japan. The USDA reports that only 19.5 million bushels of U.S. corn have been sold to Japan for delivery in the upcoming marketing year. A year ago, new-crop sales stood at 107 million bushels,” Good said.
Sales to all other destinations are slightly larger than those of a year earlier.
“A slower start to Japan’s buying program is not a concern. Japan is the largest and most consistent importer of U.S. corn, but the timing of their purchases varies each year. To reach the USDA’s projection of 2009-10 marketing year exports, weekly sales to all destinations need to average about 34 million bushels per week over the next 12 months,” he said.
Soybeans
For soybeans, the USDA projects 2009-10 marketing year U.S. exports at 1.265 billion bushels, equal to the record exports expected for the year ending Aug. 31.
“U.S. soybean exports are expected to be supported by increased world soybean consumption, smaller exports from Brazil and larger imports by Southeast Asian countries. A rebound in soybean production in Argentina in 2010 would provide more competition for U.S. soybeans during the last half of the marketing year,” Good said.
As of Aug. 20, the USDA reported that 477 million bushels of U.S. soybeans had been sold for export during the upcoming marketing year. That compares to new-crop sales of a year ago of 271 million bushels.
China
“The largest year-over-year increase in sales is to China. Those sales totaled 309 million bushels as of Aug. 20, 156 million larger than cumulative sales of a year ago. New crop export sales to China totaled 56 million bushels during the week ended Aug. 20,” Good said.
Good said export sales to all destinations need to average about 15 million bushels per week over the next 12 months in order to reach the USDA projection.
Because of the seasonal pattern of U.S. sales and shipments, new sales over the next five months need to average about double that rate to be on track to reach the USDA projection.
Export sales already total about 38 percent of the USDA’s projection for the year. That is double the average percentage of the previous five years.
Revealed less frequently
The rate of corn consumption in other categories, ethanol production and feed use, will be revealed less frequently and with more severe time lags.
Monthly reports of ethanol production will indicate the rate of corn use in that category. Feed use will be revealed only in the quarterly USDA Grain Stocks reports.
The first of those will not be released until the second week of January 2010.
For soybeans, the domestic crush rate will be revealed in the monthly reports by the National Oilseed Processors Association and the Census Bureau.
