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Storage Costs in U.S. Skyrocket for Grains

Elevators are Raising Pricing on Storage across the Midwest

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US Trade Representative Claims China Has Not Resolved Trade Issues, Leads To Uncertainty Between China And The US

A report released by the office of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer claims that China has not ended their use of “unfair” trade practices, including protection of intellectual property. Lighthizer’s office released this report in effort to uphold the Trump Administration’s pledge to monitor these practices used by other countries. China’s actions were further described as “unfair, unreasonable, and market-distorting”. At the end of November, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are both headed to Argentina for the G20 Summit. Both leaders have 1-on-1 time scheduled with one another.

Storage Costs Skyrocket In The US As Trade War Continues Through Harvest

As grain prices remain under pressure from the Trade War with China, elevators across the Midwest have been raising the price of storage. Its estimated that farmers in central Illinois could pay as much as 40% more for storage and some river terminals are charging as much as 60 cents per bushel to store soybeans through the end of the year. For 2018, US farmers planted the second most acres of soybeans ever at 89.1 million acres, but following retaliatory tariffs by China of 25%, demand has sputtered. In a typical year, nearly 60% of all US beans are purchased by China. Some farmers have chosen to seek new alternatives for on-farm storage. Grain bag equipment maker Neeralta has reported a 30% increase in grain bag sales from the previous year. Other farmers have decided to build their own piles or store grain in outbuildings, areas where the quality of the grain is harder to maintain.

Ukrainian National Railroad To Begin Limiting Shipments To Black Sea Ports

The national railway operator for Ukraine, Ukrzalyznytsya, has announced that they will begin to limit the volumes of grain that are shipped to ports along the Black Sea. Ukrzalyznytsya declined to give further comments on the situation. The shipping restrictions were put in place on Nov 20 and will remain in effect until Nov 22 but possibly longer, depending on the facility. Ukraine projects a record harvest of 68 MMT of all grain and expects to export 47 MMT during their crop marketing year, which runs from July 2018 to June 2019. Year-to-date grain exports are currently reported at 15.5 MMT.

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