• Brussels has granted another week of ¼ million mt plus wheat export certificates with the actual season total hitting 19,176,587 mt. This brings exports to 5.329 million mt more than this time last year (38.5%).

• The USDA has today released its weekly export figures as detailed below:

Wheat; 540,700 mt which is within estimates of 250,000-600,000 mt.
Corn; 258,500 mt which is below estimates of 300,000-500,000 mt.
Soybeans; 361,900 mt which is below estimates of 400,000-600,000 mt.
Soybean meal; 192,500 mt which is above estimates of zero to 180,000 mt.
Soybean oil; minus 5,200 mt which is below estimates of 5,000-15,000 mt.

• CBOT markets show diversity with the soybean complex trading in positive territory whilst the grains (wheat and corn) trade lower. Support for the bean complex may have come from the meal export data. Corn prices dipped on the potential for plantings to increase in the current weather window, albeit the window is expected to close as rains move in again further delaying sowings.

• Agritel have forecast 2013/14 Russian wheat exports lower at 10.4 million mt, which compares with the USDA’s latest figure of 18 million mt. Whilst they see the crop up from last season at 51.4 million mt, this number is some way short of the USDA’s 56 million mt. As we have previously reported, exports will be pressured by domestic restocking; additionally the final crop outturn is far from certain right now with the dry conditions in the key southern growing region.