On the whole, a slightly bearish WASDE for corn and wheat with a cautious approach to South American production, said CRM Agri. “However, the cuts to soybean production estimates, in our view, represent a bullish report from a normally conservative USDA.”
Wheat
Changes to global wheat supply and demand were fairly minimal in the USDA’s outlook, Peter Collier, senior analyst/advisor, CRM Agri, told us. They consisted of slight trims to US consumption estimates, alongside a reduction in Russian export projections.
“In summary, not a very exciting WASDE for wheat.”
Corn
Changes to corn supply and demand were mostly bearish with an easing of US supply and a cautious approach to South American corn production, he noted.
US production estimates were increased from 382.59Mt to 383.94Mt, alongside reduced export projections. Ending stocks were increased from 37.94Mt to 39.11Mt.
Chinese estimates were left unchanged, with import projections maintained at 26Mt, but with Ukraine corn production estimates upped to 42Mt, up 2Mt from December, reducing the burden on US supplies, said Collier.
Changes to South American production estimates were limited, with estimates for Argentina at 54Mt only down 0.5Mt from December.
In Brazil, production estimates were trimmed to 115Mt, down from 118Mt in December, falling short of CONAB’s view of 112.9Mt. Further cuts could come next month, according to Collier.
Soybeans
The soy adjustments were more aggressive than for corn, with deeper cuts to South American production estimates, he said.
Overall, US supply eased slightly in the January WASDE, production estimates were raised slightly to 120.71Mt, up from 120.43Mt in December. With export projections unchanged, ending stocks were raised slightly.
In Argentina, production estimates were lowered to 46.5Mt, down from 49.5Mt in December, while in Brazil production estimates were trimmed to 139Mt, down 5Mt from December. The USDA cut production estimates for Brazil further than CONAB, estimating 140.5Mt.