Large global wheat supplies have pressured wheat and especially durum in the Canadian Wheat Board’s latest pool return outlook (PRO).
The board on Thursday announced wheat values in its January 2009-10 PRO at up to $5 per tonne below December levels, while durum values were cut by as much as $15 per tonne. PRO values for malting- and feed-grade barleys remained at December levels.
Canada Western (CW) feed wheat remained flat at $146 per tonne and No. 4 CW Red Spring (CWRS) dropped to $178 per tonne, down just $2, in the new PRO. But grades such as No. 1 CWRS, 11.5 per cent protein, dropped $5 to $211 per tonne ($5.74 per bushel). No. 1 CW Red Winter also dropped $5, to $183 per tonne.
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International wheat values have dropped since December’s PRO under the weight of large global stocks, the CWB said in its outlook. In early January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) world supply and demand estimate report increased global wheat production to 676 million tonnes.
USDA’s report also increased global corn and soybean production estimates, which added to a “bearish sentiment” in wheat, the CWB said.
The International Grains Council (IGC) forecasts world wheat area to drop 1.1 per cent in 2010, the board noted.
Low-grade No. 5 CW Amber durum (CWAD) also remained flat at $146 per tonne in the new PRO, but values for high-protein No. 1 CWAD, 14.5 per cent, dropped to $210 per tonne ($5.72 per bushel) in January, down $15 per tonne. Other posted durum values were down $8-$14 per tonne.
Large global supplies, limited import demand, “aggressive” pricing from non-traditional exporters and a weaker euro have all bitten into export price levels for durum, the CWB said.
Unchanged barleys
No. 1 CW feed barley values (Pools A and B) remained at their December levels of $152 per tonne. Select CW two-row and six-row malting barleys remained at $211 and $193 per tonne, respectively.
Feed-grade barley has come under pressure from its increased availability in the Australian and Argentinean barley crops, but feed barley prices in the Black Sea region remain “essentially unchanged.” USDA’s record estimate for world corn production at 796 million tonnes has also bit into feed barley values.
Large carryout supplies in Europe have pressured malting barley values, the CWB said, but those pressures are offset by quality problems in the Australian barley crop, and by steady demand from China.
But the CWB also noted that the economic downturn has cut into malting barley consumption in Europe and North America, with a number of maltsters and brewers reporting “disappointing” sales in the past year.
