Global wheat market: Winter wheat is threatened with freezing death as polar storms hit the continental United States

 

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) March soft red winter wheat futures closed at about $7.
76 a bushel on Friday, up 3 percent
from a week ago.
The Kansas City Futures Exchange (KCBT) March hard red winter wheat futures closed at about $8.
7475/bu, up 3.
6%
from a week ago.
March hard red spring wheat futures on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) closed at about $9.
3175/bu, up 2.
4 percent
from a week ago.
Euronext's March 2023 futures closed at around Eur311.
75/mt, up 4.
8% from a week ago; Argentine wheat spot quotations were $387/mt, down 2.
3%
from a week ago.

 

The ICE dollar index closed at 104.
01 on Friday, down 0.
62%
from a week ago.

 

U.
S.
winter wheat suffered deep freezing weather after drought

 

Extreme cold weather in the United States this week puts recently planted wheat at risk of freezing to death, especially winter wheat crops
that lack enough snow cover.
Jack Scroville, vice president of Price Futures Group, said cold weather could cause some frost damage in U.
S.
wheat-producing areas, and wheat production could shrink
further.

 

Severe drought in the Great Plains this fall left winter wheat crops already in poor condition as they entered the
wintering period.
The USDA's last weekly crop progress report released this year showed that as of Nov.
20, U.
S.
winter wheat was 32 percent good, well below the 44 percent in the same period last year and the lowest rating
for the same period since records began in 1986.
Temperatures well below freezing in many parts of the U.
S.
plains winter wheat-producing regions this week pose a threat
to winter wheat crops that lack snow protection.
Matt Markens, an agricultural meteorologist at CattleFax, said this week's extreme cold weather could cause irreversible damage to U.
S.
winter wheat crops because parts of the central and western plains are not covered with snow, and any wheat that has emerged will be exposed to dangerous cold, and cold weather will last for many days, going until the Christmas weekend
.
Some winter wheat crops may freeze to death
.
The U.
S.
Commodity Weather Group said 20 percent of crops were prone to freeze to death this week, including 45 percent of the hard winter wheat crop
.
And the long-term weather forecast is also not optimistic, and more cold air
is expected by March.
With these cooling weather, the area of frozen ground will expand.

 

The bomb cyclone caused 250 million Americans and Canadians to experience frozen weather

 

Nearly 250 million Americans and Canadians felt threatened by the bitter cold this Christmas weekend, and at least 19 have died from the bitter cold
.
Since Thursday, more than 1.
5 million people have lost power and thousands of flights have been canceled
.
This massive polar storm stretches 3,200 kilometers
from Texas to Quebec.
A bomb cyclone meant a sharp drop in atmospheric pressure, bringing blizzard weather to the Great Lakes region of the U.
S.

-Canada border.
Blizzards occurred in Buffalo, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and New York, and the National Weather Service (NWS) reported a drop in local visibility to "Mile Zero.
"
In Canada, Ontario and Quebec bore the brunt of Arctic storms, hundreds of thousands of people were without power, and much of the rest of Canada, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, was under extreme cold and winter storm
warnings.
In Montana, USA, the temperature in Elk Park drops to minus 45 degrees Celsius
.
In South Dakota, Native Americans trapped in snow burn their clothes to keep warm
after running out of fuel.
Some areas of Pennsylvania and Michigan will see heavy snowfall
.
The National Weather Service says more than 8 million people remain under
blizzard warning.
Coastal areas in New England, New York and New Jersey also saw flooding, inundating communities and causing power line disruptions
.
In Sturgis, South Dakota, cows covered in ice after a snowstorm waddle through the snow
.
(with photos)

 

U.
S.
wheat exports remain lagging

 

Net wheat sales for 2022/23 were 334,200 tonnes in the week ended Dec.
15, down from 469,000 tonnes a week earlier, but within market expectations
, according to the USDA's weekly export sales report.
So far this year, U.
S.
wheat export sales totaled 14.
445 million mt, down 7.
6%
year-on-year.

 

India released stocks to calm record domestic wheat prices

 

The Indian government decided to supply 2 million to 3 million mt of wheat to bulk consumers such as flour millers and biscuit makers to smooth record wheat prices, even as government-held wheat stocks have fallen to their lowest levels in six years
, media reports said.
In March, India's hot and dry weather led to a reduction in wheat production, followed by a rise in domestic wheat prices, hitting record highs
one after another.
Indian wheat prices rose
even after a ban on private sector exports in May.
As the price of wheat on the open market is higher than the minimum purchase price paid by the government, farmers are selling more wheat to the free market, resulting in government purchases of only 18.
8 million mt so far this year, down 53%
year-on-year.
On Dec.
1, the Indian government's wheat stocks stood at 19 million mt, down 2 million mt from early November and well below the 37.
85 million mt in the same period last year and the lowest level in six years
.
Government officials said last week that government wheat stocks will fall to 15.
9 million mt by Jan.
1, 2023, but still above the buffer demand
of $13.
8 million.

 

Ukraine's wheat exports down 51% year-on-year

 

Ukraine's cereal exports for 2022/23 stood at 20.
601 million mt as of Dec.
21, down 31.
6 percent
from 30.
12 million mt a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Wheat exports were 7.
647 million mt, down 51%
from 15.
62 million mt in the same period last year.
Corn exports were 11.
321 million tons, an increase of 24.
9%
year-on-year.
Barley exports were 1.
551 million tons, down 69.
7%
year-on-year.