Ukraine's Odessa Port Damage Disrupts Grain Exports; US Wheat and Soybean Shipments Rise

Agriculture – Damage to Ukraine's Odessa port

Wheat prices firmed up yesterday on reports that Russia has ‘significantly damaged’ the Odesa port in Ukraine, one of the major ports for grain export. The latest attacks were reported to have damaged port infrastructure, grain storage facilities and warehouses at the ports. Ukraine’s export of grains from the port has largely stopped after Russia pulled out of the export deal. However, recently a few ships were reported to have managed shipments from the port. The latest attacks are likely to stop any residual exports from the port and also lower the possibility of export resumptions from the port in the near term.

The USDA’s weekly export inspection data for the week ending 21 September show that US soybean and wheat shipments rose while corn exports slowed over the last week. US weekly inspection of corn exports stood at 661kt, lower than the 676kt over the previous week and up from 550kt reported a year ago. For wheat, export inspections stood at 451kt, up from 423kt last week but lower than the 589kt seen for the same period last year. Soybean export inspections stood at 482kt, higher than 430kt from a week ago and 292kt from a year ago.

The USDA’s latest crop progress report shows that 53% of the US corn crop is rated in good to excellent condition, up from 51% in the previous week. Meanwhile, the harvest is progressing well with 15% of the crop harvested, up from 11% at the same stage last year and also above the five-year average of 13%. As for the US soybean crop, 50% of the crop is rated good to excellent, down from 52% the previous week. However, the harvest is progressing well, with 12% of the area harvested, up from just 7% at the same stage last year. It is also higher than the five-year average of 11%. Finally, winter wheat plantings are falling behind last year with 26% of the area planted, down from 30% at the same stage last year and also lower than the five-year average of 29%.