There’s lots to look at in international grain markets this week. We have a USDA World Ag Supply and Demand report due out on the 12th, US time, so we’ll see that data here on Sunday morning.
There are reports of wheat heads going moldy around the NW of France and the Normandy region. The north of France, west Germany and western Poland have seen 75 to 100mm of rain over the last 14 days, a lot of that falling last week. This appears to have done considerable damage to what milling wheat that was yet to be harvested in these regions. German wheat is 20% harvested, 87% complete in France. Rapeseed could also have issues.
Combine these weather issues in Europe with the lack of rain in Saskatchewan and the flooding in the North China plain and it appears milling wheat may be heading towards the perfect storm. The drought across NNSW and QLD in Australia isn’t helping either. High quality milling wheat may become difficult to buy come Q2 2024.
A wheat dust explosion has occurred at a major TMO terminal at Derince in western Turkey, a port on the eastern side of the Sea of Marmara. The 8mt facility had been utilised to it’s full potential since the Ukraine / Russian war started.

USDA weekly crop progress report out today. Week on week summer crop condition ratings were better bar cotton which was unchanged. Corn, sorghum and soybeans all seeing a 2 point increase in the G/E rating after rainfall of 25-100mm pushed across much of the Midwest. Falls were heaviest across Missouri which had been dry. 70% of the Texas sorghum crop is now colouring up. Winter wheat was estimated at 87% harvested, just the northern states now lagging behind. 11% of the spring wheat crop was harvested, the G/E rating for spring wheat fell 1 point to just 41%.