Corn export premiums at the US Gulf Coast rose on Tuesday in tandem with a firmer CIF barge basis as tight supplies of old-crop corn and lower futures prices supported values, traders said. Export interest for US Gulf corn remained mostly slow as lower prices in South America undercut demand.
Brazilian corn offered at $20 to $30 per tonne FOB discount to US Brazil's government raised its corn crop estimate to a record 67.79 million tonnes after a huge jump in seeding of the winter crop, which will be harvested in coming weeks. Traders said exports could begin in late July. FOB corn basis offers at the Gulf rose to 85 cents a bushel over Chicago Board of Trade July futures, up about 5 cents from the previous day, traders said.
CIF basis bids for first-half June corn barges at the Gulf were 80 over, up 4 cents on the day. Last-half June corn barges traded as high as 80 over and rebid at 81 over, up 5 cents from Monday, traders said. Argentine farmers called a one-week freeze on grain sales to protest agricultural policy. The strike caused some delays to grain loadings, traders said.
Soybean export premiums at the Gulf mostly held steady, with poor near-term crush margins at Chinese processors limiting demand for spot shipments. Analysts Oil World said US soybean exports in the first half of the 2012/13 marketing year would reach 33.5 million tonnes, up 39 percent from the prior year, due to lower South American supplies. Brazil's government trimmed its soy crop outlook due to drought, but the 66.37-million-tonne view remained above the USDA's 65 million.