World: Grain crops, consumption, ending stocks up sharply over the past years

World crops, consumption, and ending stocks have increased sharply over the past years. Markets crashed, the IGC Grains & Oilseeds Price Index dropped by 20% from a year ago, H. M. Gauger GmbH analysts reported earlier in March.

Markets were heavily influenced by currency fluctuations. The U.S. lost market shares, especially to the EU and Black Sea countries. It would take major crop failures to change the weak market trends, but at present it rather looks like another good crop year, experts point out.

Argentina and Brazil are harvesting very good corn and soybeans crops right now, and winter in the northern hemisphere did only limited damage to grain crops, mainly in the USA, Russia and Ukraine.

19 March, 2015