Author: Darin Friedrichs

Piglet prices were down another 3.1% this week and are down 27.8% year on year. Since the start of Q3, prices are down 17.5%. Private tracking of live hog prices continued to fall this week and are approaching the yearly lows set in April. Beijing’s Xinfadi Wholesale Market notes that farmers’ expectations are for lower… Continue reading Hog and piglet prices continue to fall, with signs of farmer capitulation

Harvest is over 90% complete as of November 4, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry said the harvested area is expected to increase slightly. Winter wheat planting continues to advance, with weather in major regions remaining positive. However, from a data perspective, this year has seen unusually few updates. Based on my records,… Continue reading Autumn harvest progress over 90% complete

On Monday, Reuters published a piece China’s slow buying of US farm goods tests $17 billion trade pledge which I was quoted in. “Much of this seems to depend on how much China will use state-owned enterprises to do purchases,” said Darin Friedrichs, co-founder of Sitonia Consulting, a China-focused agricultural market intelligence firm. “It’s difficult… Continue reading Sitonia Consulting in the news

Last week saw Brazil soybean shipments to China fall slightly to 927k tons. YTD shipments based on lineup data are 79.2 million tons, down 0.3% year on year. US shipments were also down slightly, but remained strong at 1.5 million tons, with 950k tons from the PNW and 574k tons from the Gulf. On grains,… Continue reading US soybean shipments to China remain firm

Sinograin cancelled its latest round of auctions of imported corn scheduled for Tuesday. Auctions have been relatively small, with only 530k tons listed since mid-September, and only 201k tons purchased. Tuesday’s auction was going to see the largest amount listed at 151.1k tons.

New Zealand has used 50% of its beef import quota as of November 2, according to the Ministry of Commerce. New Zealand was given a relatively large import quota of 206k tons, compared to its 2025 trade with China of just 110k tons. At 187% of 2025 imports, that’s the highest ratio outside of the… Continue reading New Zealand hits 50% of beef import quota

The latest round of auctions of imported soybeans saw 402k tons of soybeans listed, with 338k tons, or 84%, purchased by the market. The average price continued to fall, with the average price at 4,001 yuan per ton, down 104 yuan per ton compared to last week. This is the highest percentage purchased since August… Continue reading Soybean auctions see higher purchases on lower prices