Chongqing announces first direct grain port
The first port authorized to accept grain imports in Chongqing was announced on Friday.
Chongqing, in southwest China, is far removed from the major eastern seaboard grain ports but sits on the Yangtze River.
The newly certified port includes berthing, unloading, inspection, and stockpiling operations with a capacity of 100k tons.
According to customs officials, the new facility should increase access for oilseed crushers and feed millers in the region and help ensure supply for region’s aquaculture producers.
Futures recap
Agriculture futures fell sharply across the board to end the week.
Hog futures tumbled further on Friday, falling nearly 3% and traded to the lowest level in over a month. The previous low for the May 2023 contract is at 15,650 yuan per ton and the market looks set to retest that. The futures curve moved into even more of a carry with the September contract only down 1% and the January 2024 contract actually ending up on the day.
No.1 soybeans held onto their gains from yesterday but made little progress following yesterday’s government stockpiling announcement.
Soybean oil continued to sell off, ending a rough week that saw prices declining over 5%.
Rapeseed oil fell sharply and was down over 4% on the day. Prices made new contract lows on high volume and are at the lowest level since June 2021. Prices fell every day this week and traders added to their short position with open interest seeing a sharp rise. A combination of increased imports combined with weak downstream demand has led to this sharp decline.
Corn was the only product that ended up on the day, but remains in a narrow trading range as traders wait for a breakout either higher or lower.
Channel News Asia, Singapore’s national broadcaster, is doing a series of episodes about agriculture in Asia. They recently released a documentary looking at rice production in Asia and the full episode is available on Youtube.
Darin was interviewed by CNA for an upcoming episode in the series covering soybean production and imports in China and we’ll include a link when that is released