Thai importers have bought Argentine soyameal for shipment in March and April, but are not in a hurry to buy more because of bird flu concerns, traders said on Monday.
"Importers needed to buy after holding back for almost a month as their stocks are running out," said one trader. "But they're not in a hurry to buy more. Bird flu worries them." Argentine high-protein soyameal was offered at $229 a tonne, cost and freight for March 15-April 15 shipment.
Soyabeans, soyameal and corn are major feed ingredients. Europe's bird flu scare has already hit poultry exports from Thailand, the top exporter of cooked poultry, as importers have asked for delays of shipments and are avoiding new purchases.
Thailand has had no bird flu outbreaks for 117 days, but the market continues to be edgy about the spread of the H5N1 virus elsewhere, with new deaths and a string of new cases reported.
In the latest, a man died in southern China, the ninth death in the country from the H5N1, which is endemic in parts of Asia and has been detected in at least 20 new countries over the past month, crossing into Europe and Africa.
Thai domestic live chicken prices were still at the production cost of 23 baht, prompting several small raisers to cut the number of chicken they raise.
"I have cut the number of chickens I raise by 10 to 20 percent," said chicken raiser Veerapong Panjawattanakul. "Hopefully, the price will pick up, otherwise we will keep losing money."
The Thai Foodstuff Users Promotion Association, which represents soyabean and soyameal importers, has bought 8,000 tonnes of Argentine low-protein soyameal at $215 a tonne cost and freight from the Cargill trading house for March shipment.
Traders said the association also bought 5,000 tonnes of Argentine high-protein soyameal from Cargill at $227 a tonne cost and freight for March shipment. The Krungthai feedmills has bought 10,000 tonnes of Argentine high-protein soyameal from the Noble trading firm at $228 a tonne cost and freight for March 15-April 15 shipment.
Noble has also sold around 20,000-25,000 tonnes of Argentine soyabean to some buyers at undisclosed prices. Domestic soyameal was steady at 9,800 baht a tonne ($251) in bulk while corn was trading unchanged at 5,400 baht a tonne.
Thai corn prices are expected to hold firm in the next few days, backed by continued strong demand from Vietnam and low domestic supply.
On Monday, offers for Thai corn were up $4 a tonne at $142 a tonne free on board for April shipment.
Several deals have been done with Vietnam over the past week for shipment in March and April.
"Vietnamese buyers still need to buy more.
They are expected to continue buying through to June shipment," said Thavee Tantiponganand, a leading corn exporter. Less corn is expected to arrive onto the market in coming weeks and farmers will not start planting a new crop until next month.
Last year, the corn harvest was a month late as lack of rain in April prevented farmers from planting on time.
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