Wheat futures in the USA  managed to break away from weakness in the soybean pit last night and close fractionally higher in all three grades. Although soybeans closed the session lower we also saw both ICE canola futures and Paris rapeseed close higher. The slightly stronger AUD will erode some of the potential gains in futures but we should see the week at least start on a more confident note come Monday.

As a slap in the face to the USA’s current efforts to influence trade with China, particularly in soybeans, Russia has suggested that China could in fact produce soybeans off around 1 million hectares of idle farm land in far east Russia if they so wished to invest in the development of that region. The soil on offer is no garden of Eden though and compares poorly to the black soil plains of the Black Sea region. All the same it’s good to see Putin poking Trump with a stick occasionally.

Canadian durum values were generally stable this week with the top grade 1CWAD13 being priced at C$210 ex farm across SW Saskatchewan. A back of the envelope conversion would see this equate to roughly AUD$350 NTP NTL. Significantly less than what local millers and feeders are bidding in Australia. Dalian corn futures closed the May contract at AUD$399 / tonne, this is indicating current new crop sorghum bids here are probably close to export parity on the track.