Thai grains: importers seek soymeal, bird flu eases

Thai soymeal trade was active on Wednesday with importers seeking to buy more for July shipment, dealers said. Argentine low-protein soymeal was down $4-5 a tonne at $239 a tonne cost and freight for July shipment, on Wednesday from a week. Importers were estimated to have contracted to buy around 100,000 tonnes of soymeal for July shipment so far, about half of what they usually buy for the month, dealers said. "Importers are seeking to buy more. The current price is quite acceptable for them," said one soymeal dealer. Several deals were done this week, dealers said.
The Thai Foodstuff Users Promotion Association, which represents soybean and soymeal importers, bought 20,000 tonnes of Argentine soymeal from the Noble trading house for June 20-July 20 shipment, they said.
The association bought around 10,000 tonnes of Argentine low-protein soymeal at cost and freight premiums of $25 per short ton over the Chicago July contract, they said. The association bought 6,000 tonnes of Argentine high-protein soymeal at $36.50 per short ton over the Chicago July contract, dealers said.
One large federal bought 25,000 tonnes of both Argentine and Brazilian high-protein soymeal from the Cargill trading firm for June-July shipment at around $36-37 per short ton over the Chicago July contract, dealers said.
Domestic corn, a major ingredient in poultry feed, was at 5.50 baht a kg ($139 a tonne) on Wednesday, unchanged from a week ago, backed by steady demand from feedmills, traders said. Bird flu has eased in Thailand with the last area hit declared free of the H5N1 virus on May 3, Livestock Department officials said.
Thailand could not yet declare itself free of bird flu, as it has to wait 6 months after the last outbreak, they said. "However, if there is no spread of the bird flu virus in the next three months, we will start negotiating with key buyers for them to resume imports of our raw poultry products," said Livestock Department chief Yukon Limlaemthing.
Thailand was the world's fourth largest chicken exporter before bird flu hit the country in late 2003 and crippled exports. Leading buyers, including Japan and the European Union, stopped buying Thai raw poultry products, but they are buying cooked chicken.