U.S. Corn Sales Very Strong, Economist Says

An ag economist says strong export sales for new crop U.S. corn helped provide a bump for the commodity markets.

Jim McCormick with AgMarket.Net said recently, “We had another smashing week of export sales for corn is all I can say. I think it was the third highest ever for this week. We continue to aggressively push corn out the door, which is the one bright spot in the marketplace.”

He says South Korea, Japan, and Mexico have made significant purchases. “It makes sense when you look at what’s going on. The price of corn right now is some of the cheapest we’ve seen in the last four or five years. It’s a little bit on sale. So, you have a price on sale relatively cheap for this fall harvest grain.”

McCormick says it’s a different story for U.S. soybean sales. He says soybean exports continue to dwindle with China continuing to hold out on purchases.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Good news for corn producers! Exports are a big part of the corn market equation. This latest good news for exports, coupled with higher expectations for ethanol sales going forward, points to better times for corn markets.

Soybean producers, unfortunately, are seemingly caught in the trade war with China. Until something is resolved with China their markets will be sluggish unless new trade partners begin to pick up the slack. The later point is very possible with greater emphasis on expanding markets coming from the U.S. Soybean Export Council and from USDA. Congress also recently provided additional funding for ag export promotions.

Based on the improving markets for corn, now would be a good time to get the word out about your inventory of new and qualified used trucks and SUV’s that are eligible for AgPack®. How? By putting that inventory on AgTruckTrader.com®. It is the only ag website in the automotive industry focused solely on farmers and ranchers. So immediately you have a more qualified lead than other search engines. It can certainly help cut down your sales time and conquest more sales to those farm/ranch customers.