Corn and soybean prices extend losses on oversupply forecasts

Corn and soybean futures fell on Tuesday at the Chicago Exchange, following reports of projected high inventories for multiple years, even as farming is expected to decline in 2024.

The US Agricultural Ministry said in its quarterly report that corn inventories surged to 8.347 billion bushels as of March 1, a five-year high. A separate report by the ministry expects farmers to cut down corn farming by 5% this year. 

The US ministry’s report also showed soybean inventories surged to a two-year high at 1.845 billion bushels, while wheat inventories surged to 1.087 billion bushels, a three-year high. 

Analysts expect Ukrainian farmers to increase the farmed space for soybeans this year by 23.5% to 2.199 million hectares, while corn farming spaces will likely decline by 4.5% this year to 3.863 million hectares. 

Romania, the EU’s fourth largest wheat producer, and third largest corn producer, harvested 9.6 million tonnes of wheat in 2023, an 11% increase, and harvested 8.52 million tonnes, a 6% increase compared to 2022. 

Otherwise, Egypt, the world’s top wheat importer, announced plans to purchase 3.5 million tonnes of local wheat in the 2024 purchasing season.

The Saudi government also launched bids to purchase 595 thousand tonnes of wheat for the period between June and July. 

Otherwise, official French data showed that soft wheat harvests remained stable last week, while still at four-year lows overall, with damp weather since the fall hampering agriculture and early crop development in France, the EU’s largest grain producer. 

Corn

Corn futures due in May fell 1.8% at the end of the session to $4.26 a bushel.

Soybeans 

Soybean futures due in May fell 0.8% to $11.74 a bushel. 

Wheat 

Wheat futures due in May fell 2.1% to $5.45 a bushel.