There is no drought at the CME

Despite a devastating drought in Australia, a severe drought in Eastern Europe and crop issues in Argentina the average daily volume of CME agricultural futures and options are on the rise.

David Nealis President of Ceres Ltd

Add in the trade war with China which has stunted soybean sales to China many outside observers would believe that anything related to agricultural would be less then exciting but the futures market is acting as it should helping firms to manage their risk making 2018 an exciting year for agricultural futures and options.

So the question many of us are thinking about is will growers plant as many soybeans and corn in 2019 as they did in the previous season?

Paraguay approves 10 percent soybean export tax!

David Nealis President of Ceres with soybeans

Paraguay approves 10 percent soybean export tax!  

Last week Paraguay the world’s 4^th largest soybean exporter gave final approval to a 10 percent tax on soybeans which is expected to raise $300 million per year their government – unless soybean prices go down and demand drops and buyers are able to go elsewhere for their bean purchases. 

To Trade Global and Chinese Futures Contact Us info@ceres888.com

China, the world’s 2nd largest economy, continues to be the most important market for companies looking for growth and Chinese companies continue to globalize by investing and selling their products in new markets; what is your company’s strategy for engaging China?

Futures and Options Risk Disclosure
Trading futures and options involves the risk of loss. You should consider carefully whether futures or options are appropriate to your financial situation. You must review the customer account agreement and risk disclosure prior to establishing an account. Only risk capital should be used when trading futures or options. Investors could lose more than their initial investment. Past results are not necessarily indicative of futures results. The risk of loss in trading futures or options can be substantial, carefully consider the inherent risks of such an investment in light of your financial condition

Midwest Farmland Values See Biggest Rise in 35 Years



Jim Rogers and David Nealis in Singapore

This is good news for the Midwest of the USA. It will be interesting to see how this affects the price of corn and soybeans in the coming years. And I have to give credit were credit is due, Jim Rogers suggested that I should  buy a farm more than 18 months ago and he gave multiple reasons for it. I didn’t buy a farm but I did make investments into agriculture that have been very fruitful. Thanks Jim for the great guidance!

Please read the article below from Reuters on Midwest Farmland Values.

Thanks for reading my blog.

David Nealis  

Midwest Farmland Values See Biggest Rise in 35 Years

Published: Thursday, 16 Feb 2012 | 5:41 PM ET

By: Reuters

 Prices of farmland in the U.S. Midwest Corn Belt rose 22 percent in 2011, the biggest annual gain since 1976, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said on Thursday in its quarterly survey of agricultural bankers.

"The year 2011 may go down in the annals of U.S. agriculture as a once-in-a-generation phenomenon," the bank said in summarizing its survey results of 205 bankers in Iowa, northern Illinois and Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan.

"Undergirding the huge upward movement in farmland values was an unusual shift up in agricultural prices across the board. Not only did major crop prices move higher, but key livestock and dairy prices were higher as well," it said.

The Fed said that although gains in farmland sales prices were lower in the October-December 2011 quarter compared with the preceding one, more than 40 percent of the bankers surveyed expected continued price gains in the first quarter of 2012.

Chongqing Grain Group Co CGG is setting up a soybean base in Brazil

Chongqing Grain Group Co Ltd (CGG), one of China's largest SOE (State Owned Enterprise) grain corporations, said it will invest 500 million USD to build a soybean industrial base in Brazil.

 The planned industrial base is to be built in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia, which will require a series of infrastructure projects focusing on the processing, warehousing and logistics of soybeans.

"Establishing a high-quality soybean base with Brazilian farmers, to whom we gladly offer financial support and services, including storage and logistics, is our main goal in the Brazilian market. With the establishment of a comprehensive industrial chain, our purchasing cost for soybeans will be greatly reduced," Hu Junlie, CGG president, told the China Daily News.

"As our first step, $100 million will be devoted to setting up a soybean pressing plant, which will be completed by the end of next year," Hu said.

The plant, which will start production in 2013, will have an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons of cooking oil, to be sold in the Chinese and Brazilian markets.

After the pressing plant, CGG will set up a soy refinery and processing plants for bio-diesel fuel and soy lecithin products within a few years according to Hu.

China Radio International Online reported that the Chongqing-based group plans to invest 5.8 billion yuan ($914 million) to plant 600,000 tons of soybeans on 200,000 hectares in Brazil annually.

The project will be the biggest overseas investment made by a Chinese agricultural enterprise and China's largest overseas production base for cooking oil.

Currently, nearly 80 percent of agricultural oil producing crops in China are imported, mostly from the US and Brazil. Last year, China imported 54.8 million tons of soybeans, and the volume this year will hit 60 million tons, according to the China Nation Association of Grain.

"Most Chinese companies import soybeans through the four largest international grain dealers - ADM Co, Cargill Inc, Bunge Ltd and Louis Dreyfus SAS. However, if importers can purchase from the producers, 18 to 24 percent of the profit could be saved," Hu of CGG said.

Brazil is the second-largest soybean-producing and processing country after the United States. And I am sure they will continue to see Chinese Direct Investment into their nation as China moves to secure food sources for their growing sophisticate demand.