Global Ag News For Sept 19.2025

TOP HEADLINES

China snaps up Australian canola after trade spat with Canada, sources say

Chinese state trading firm COFCO has bought up to nine 60,000-metric-ton cargoes of Australian canola, three trade sources told Reuters, after Beijing last month imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties on imports of the oilseed from traditional supplier Canada.

The purchases amount to around 540,000 tons, equivalent to about 8% of China’s total canola imports last year.

Beijing is conducting an anti-dumping probe into Canadian canola, and in August imposed preliminary duties of 75.8%, bringing shipments to a virtual standstill amid a larger diplomatic and trade dispute between the two nations.

Canada had been China’s main supplier for the past several years, and the cargoes demonstrate China can find alternate sources of the oilseed as trade talks between Ottawa and Beijing drag on. Australia is a smaller producer than Canada, however, and may struggle to match the Canadian volumes.

All shipments are scheduled to load between November and January, said an Australia-based broker for agricultural products with direct knowledge of the deals. The nine cargoes include one that was reported by Reuters last month.

“It has been a typical buying operation by a Chinese company,” said the Australia-based broker. “They just went in quietly and bought nine cargoes from several major trading companies in Australia.”

COFCO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Australia had been frozen out of the Chinese market by biosecurity rules to prevent the spread of a fungal plant disease since 2020, but Reuters reported in July that Canberra was close to an agreement with Beijing that would allow for five trial cargoes.

Canola, or rapeseed, is crushed to produce cooking oil and other products. The meal left behind in the crushing process is used as livestock feed.

China is the world’s biggest canola importer, taking in 6.4 million tons worth $3.4 billion last year, almost all of it from Canada, according to Chinese customs data.

Canada is the world’s biggest exporter of canola and Australia is the second-biggest.

Earlier this month, China extended its investigation into Canadian canola imports to March 9, 2026, buying six more months for negotiations. A final ruling could maintain the duty rate, change it or remove it.

 

FUTURES & WEATHER

Wheat prices overnight are up 3/4 in SRW, up 1/2 in HRW, up 3/4 in HRS; Corn is up 1 3/4; Soybeans up 5 3/4; Soymeal up $2.20; Soyoil down 0.12.

For the week so far wheat prices are up 2 in SRW, down 3 3/4 in HRW, up 1 in HRS; Corn is down 3 3/4; Soybeans down 3; Soymeal down $0.90; Soyoil down 1.34.

For the month to date wheat prices are down 9 1/4 in SRW, down 9 1/4 in HRW, down 7 1/2 in HRS; Corn is up 5 1/4; Soybeans down 11 1/4; Soymeal down $2.10; Soyoil down 1.13.

Year-To-Date nearby futures are down 4.7% in SRW, down 8.6% in HRW, down 3.9% in HRS; Corn is down 7.0%; Soybeans up 4.5%; Soymeal down 7.0%; Soyoil up 26.3%.

Chinese Ag futures (NOV 25) Soybeans up 14 yuan; Soymeal up 3; Soyoil up 30; Palm oil down 4; Corn up 1 — Malaysian Palm is down 6.

Malaysian palm oil prices overnight were down 6 ringgit (-0.14%) at 4429.

There were no changes in registrations. Registration total: 34 SRW Wheat contracts; 140 Oats; 91 Corn; 153 Soybeans; 707 Soyoil; 48 Soymeal; 419 HRW Wheat.

Preliminary changes in futures Open Interest as of September 18 were: SRW Wheat up 2,197 contracts, HRW Wheat down 1,675, Corn down 2,176, Soybeans up 5,042, Soymeal down 2,329, Soyoil up 2,348.

 

Wet weather delays wheat/corn harvests in Central Europe

What to Watch:

• Wet spells in Central Europe and dry in Black Sea region
• Mixed temperatures in Europe and the Black Sea region

Northern Plains: Scattered showers and areas of heavy rain have been moving through the region over the last several days. Areas of showers will continue through Friday with a few more on Monday. That will favor any immature corn and soybeans, but make it too wet for some areas that are looking to mature and get harvest going.

Central/Southern Plains: Areas of showers and some heavy rain have been moving through the region with a slow-moving system over the last several days. That is pushing back the drydown of corn and soybeans. The system should push south and east out of the area this weekend, but another system will take its place early next week with showers lingering for several more days across the east. Rainfall in the southwest is favoring planting and establishment of winter wheat.

Midwest: Isolated showers over western areas will spread eastward this weekend into early next week before leaving, but another system will take its place and continue showers for much of next week. With how slow-moving the systems and showers are, some areas could pick up heavy rain, which is most likely across the west. Those showers will largely be unfavorable for maturing crops and harvest, but could be beneficial for reducing drought, or at least its expansion, as well as getting some water into the Mississippi River system.

Delta: Only spotty showers have been falling over the last couple of days as recent dryness continues to cause drought to develop and water levels to lower on the Mississippi River. A system will be slow to move across the Midwest into next week, and another system will quickly take its place next week, which will continue showers for many days. That should bring some needed rainfall into the region, as well as the Mississippi River system. Some disruption to the ongoing harvest is likely, though.

Brazil: Spring planting is underway across the south, where soil moisture conditions are favorable in which to do so. Some isolated showers will be possible across Mato Grosso, but the consistent wet season rainfall does not look to start early. A front that moves into the country this weekend and early next week could bring that necessary rainfall, but would only be a couple of days early for those in central Brazil. Producers may still wait until the rainfall becomes more consistent in October to start soybean planting there, but the wet season rainfall is not expected to be late and producers will soon be out in full force.

Argentina: Soil moisture is favorable for early planting of corn and sunflowers, but some producers may choose to wait longer to avoid frosts. Some cold air will move in behind a stronger front early next week that may keep producers waiting. Scattered showers are likely ahead of it over the next several days, with more showers for the weekend in what continues to look like a favorable start to the planting season.

The player sheet for 9/18 had funds: net sellers of 1,000 contracts of SRW wheat, sellers of 4,000 corn, sellers of 3,000 soybeans, sellers of 500 soymeal, and sellers of 3,000 soyoil.

 

TENDERS

• CORN SALE: The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 110,000 metric tons of U.S. corn to Mexico for shipment in the 2025/26 marketing year.
• WHEAT SALE: A South Korean flour mill bought an estimated 30,000 metric tons of milling wheat to be sourced from the U.S. in an international tender on Thursday
• FEED BARLEY TENDER: Jordan’s state grains buyer issued an international tender to purchase up to 120,000 metric tons of animal feed barley
• WHEAT PURCHASE UPDATE: Iranian state agency the Government Trading Corporation (GTC) is believed to have made a large purchase of Russian-origin wheat in its international tender in August
• WHEAT TENDER UPDATE: A state grains buyer in Syria is still considering price offers in an international tender to buy about 200,000 metric tons of soft milling wheat which closed this week with no purchase yet made 

PENDING TENDERS

• WHEAT TENDER: Jordan’s state grain buyer issued an international tender to buy up to 120,000 metric tons of milling wheat, which can be sourced from optional origins.

 

 

 

 

TODAY

US Export Sales of Soybeans, Corn and Wheat by Country

The following shows US export sales of soybeans, corn and wheat by biggest net buyers for week ending Sept. 11, according to data on the USDA’s website.

• Top buyer of soybeans: Egypt with 228k tons
• Top buyer of corn: Mexico with 419k tons
• Top buyer of wheat: Philippines with 186k tons

 

US Export Sales of Pork and Beef by Country

The following shows US export sales of pork and beef product by biggest net buyers for week ending Sept. 11, according to data on the USDA’s website.

• Japan bought 6.6k tons of the 22k tons of pork sold in the week
• South Korea led in beef purchases

 

Argentine Corn Crop Estimates Sept. 18: Exchange

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange releases weekly report on website.

• 2025-26 corn planting estimate maintained at 7.8m ha
• Planting advanced to 6.2% complete from 3.8%

 

Argentina farmers rush to plant corn ahead of stormy weekend

Corn planting for Argentina’s 2025/26 season advanced rapidly this week in the country’s main agricultural areas ahead of storms forecast for this weekend, which would pause the work, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday.

Argentina is the world’s third-largest corn exporter, and for the current season, the exchange estimates an area of 7.8 million hectares (19.3 million acres) will be planted with the grain – the second largest in the South American country’s history.

“The proximity of a new storm front … has led to a faster pace of work, seeking to take advantage of the current ground conditions,” the exchange said in its weekly crop report, which noted that 6.2% of the planned area has now been planted.

Regarding the 2025/26 wheat crop, the exchange said that while some regions are reporting cases of disease from excessive soil moisture, 97.1% of the 6.7 million hectares planted with the grain are in normal-to-excellent condition.

Argentina’s wheat harvest begins in November and ends in January.

 

Brazil’s Soybean Production Seen Rising 3.6% in 2025-26: Conab

World’s top soybeans exporter Brazil is expected to produce a record 177.7 million tons in the new 2025-26 season, national crop forecasting agency Conab says in a report.

• That’s 3.6% higher compared to an estimated production of 171.5 million tons in past season
  • Soybeans acreage seen growing 3.7% YoY while crop yields are seen unchanged
  • “Even with domestic prices under pressure and profitability challenges, the crop maintains high liquidity and attractive returns for producers,” Conab says in statement
• Corn output in 2025-26 expected to fall 1%, to 138.3 million tons
  • That’s due to an expected decline in corn yields following exceptionally good weather in the prior season
  • Corn acreage to grow 3.5% on higher domestic demand and expectations of an increase in orders from Asian buyers: Conab

 

GIWA Ups West Australia Wheat Crop Est., But Holds Below ABARES

The Grain Industry Association of Western Australia raised its forecast for the region’s wheat harvest to 11.8m tons in the 2025-26 season, according to a monthly report released Friday.

• That’s up from an August estimate for 11.5m tons
• Still, the amount remains well below the 12.7m tons forecast by Australia’s Department of Agriculture in its report released earlier this month
• Michael Lamond, an agronomist and author of the GIWA report, said his outlook was more bearish than some others due to greater-than-usual weather concerns for the Western Australian crop, including an upcoming hot spell
  • “The wheat is still quite vulnerable,” Lamond said in an interview, adding that the lateness of the crop due to earlier droughts mean many plants haven’t flowered yet
  • “My gut feeling is when the heat comes on next week, which it is, it could peel off a million tons of wheat”
• NOTE: Australia is one of the world’s largest wheat exporters, and the state of Western Australia makes up about a third of the country’s total production
• Separately in the report, GIWA upgraded expectations for the barley crop to more than 7m tons, up from about 6m tons in August

 

IGC Raises 2025-26 Global Grain Stockpile Outlook to 606M Tons

Global grain stockpiles in the 2025-26 season are now seen at 606m tons, up from an August estimate of 597m tons, the International Grains Council said in a monthly report.

• The revision came due to larger than previously estimated opening stocks
• Wheat stockpile estimates were raised to 270m tons from 264m tons forecast last month
• Corn stockpiles were forecast to stay stable at 294m tons
• The outlook for soybeans stockpiles was trimmed marginally to 83m tons

 

Coceral Raises 2025 EU Soft Wheat Forecast to Decade High

Europe’s grain outlook has improved, with the EU and UK’s combined 2025 harvest now estimated at 306.8 million tons, up from the 300.7 million tons forecast in June, according to a Thursday report published by industry group Coceral.

• Soft wheat crop forecasts are the highest in 10 years
  • Figures were raised due to favorable weather conditions and better than expected yields in France, Germany, Poland and southeastern Europe
• Barley was seen as the second highest crop in the past decade
• Corn crop estimates were “revised down sharply, mainly due to adverse weather conditions in southeastern parts of the EU”
• Rapeseed crop is estimated above both the previous forecast and last season

 

French Corn Harvest Ahead of Last Year With 5% Reaped: AgriMer

Some 5% of French corn was harvested as of Sept. 15, up from 2% in the previous week, FranceAgriMer data show.

• That’s faster than the previous season, but slightly below the five-year average
• 62% of the corn crop was rated in good or very good condition, steady from the previous week but well below 80% by a similar time last season

 

Russia Has Harvested 114m Tons of Grain, Maintains Forecast: IFX

As of today, Russia has harvested 114m tons of grain, including 84m tons of wheat, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut says, according to Interfax.

• Ministry maintains 2025 grain harvest forecast of 135m tons

 

Ukraine 2025 grain harvest 62% complete, ministry says

Ukrainian farmers had threshed 29.8 million metric tons of grains from the 2025 harvest as of September 18, the economy ministry said on Friday.

While the ministry gave no comparative data, the farm ministry said last year that farmers had harvested about 31.9 million tons of grain as of September 19, 2024.

Ukraine plans to harvest around 56 million tons of grain in 2025, officials have said, the same volume as in 2024.

 

China approves 98 genetically-modified soybean, corn varieties

China’s agriculture ministry announced on Friday the approval of two genetically-modified soybean varieties and 96 corn varieties.

 

Niche soy processor CJ Selecta aims to buy more Brazil certified soy

Soy processor CJ Selecta, a unit of South Korea’s CJ CheilJedang, aims to certify twice as much genetically modified soybeans in Brazil through the RTRS certification system, said Patricia Sugui, the firm’s head of ESG.

Speaking on the sidelines of a two-day sustainable soy event that ended on Thursday in Sao Paulo, Sugui estimated the firm originates between 800,000 and 1 million metric tons of soybeans in Brazil yearly.

Some 50% of CJ’s purchases are GMO soy, she said. However, only about one-third is certified.

“We want to double that by 2027,” Sugui said.

The other half of CJ’s soy origination in Brazil, comprised of non-GMO soy, is 100% certified by the ProTerra standard, she said.

Increasing origination of certified soy is a boon to the processing industry’s reputation and can reduce soy’s carbon footprint.

Sugui said that according to CJ measurements, each kilogram of SPC produced by the company in Brazil generates between 0.388 and 0.617 kilograms of CO2 equivalent. This compares to some international calculations that, using methodologies that do not take into account the peculiarities of Brazilian tropical agriculture, place the carbon footprint of soybeans produced here between 4 and 6 kilos, Sugui said. “These figures don’t represent us.”

The RTRS standard involves production, trade and use of responsible soy involving multiple stakeholders in the supply chain.

In 2024, RTRS-certified soybean production exceeded 6.8 million tons worldwide, according to data from The Roundtable on Responsible Soy Association, a Switzerland-based non-profit outfit that provides the RTRS certification. Brazil accounted for 80% of that.

CJ exports soy by-products to 39 countries, including soy protein concentrate (SPC) used as meal to feed fish.

In January, Sugui said, CJ tested a pilot system for tracking a 16,000-ton SPC cargo destined for Europe ahead of enforcement of the continent’s new deforestation law, which requires a specially-created logistics chain.

The EU law bans imports of commodities including soy, beef, cocoa and palm oil linked to forest destruction.

 

Malaysia Keeps Crude Palm Oil Export Tax at 10% for October

The gazetted price for crude palm oil was set at 4,268.68 ringgit a ton, which incurs the maximum export tax of 10%, according to a circular from the customs department posted on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s website.

• The tax rate was 10% in September as well
• NOTE: The export-duty structure starts at 3%, when FOB prices for CPO are in a range of 2,250-2,400 ringgit/ton, to a maximum rate of 10%, which occurs when prices are above 4,050 ringgit/ton

 

About 220k Hectares of Pakistan Rice Damaged From Floods: Report

An estimated 220,000 hectares of rice were flooded from Aug. 1 to Sept. 16 in Punjab province, a key growing region, according to a joint report from agencies including Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab and NASA Harvest, which cited satellite-based analysis.

• NOTE: That equates to about 6% of the country’s total rice cultivated area, based on USDA estimates
• Overall damage is likely greater due to earlier flooding in late June and July; some replanting occurred afterward, but it may not have been possible in all affected areas
• Still, flooding in Pakistan and India may only have minor implications for the global market, report says
  • “Rice supply remains stable as strong exports from India, Thailand, and Vietnam will likely offset any losses from Pakistan and high global rice production in 2024 has weakened demand and lowered prices”
• The report was prepared in collaboration with organizations including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and University of Maryland

 

Philippines May Extend Rice Import Ban by Up to 30 Days

Philippine Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. may recommend to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the extension of a 60-day ban on the nation’s rice imports by 15 to 30 days.

• Tiu Laurel cited improvements in domestic prices of paddy rice since the temporary ban was put in place at the start of September
  • Department of Agriculture expected to submit its recommendation by the end of the month, he said in a statement
• Also said that proposed revisions to a law that liberalized rice importation would restore some regulatory functions to the state’s National Food Authority, including managing import volumes in coordination with the agriculture department

 

US generated fewer renewable blending credits in August, EPA says

The U.S. generated fewer renewable blending credits in August than July, data from the Environmental Protection Agency showed on Thursday.

About 1.22 billion ethanol (D6) blending credits were generated in August, compared with about 1.26 billion in July, the data showed.

Credits generated from biodiesel (D4) blending fell to 546 million in August from 635 million in the prior month, according to the data.

The credits are used by oil refiners and importers to show compliance with EPA-mandated renewable blending quotas for petroleum-based fuels. They are generated with every gallon of biofuel produced.

 

US Miss. River Grain Shipments Fall, Barge Rates Increase: USDA

Barge shipments down the Mississippi river declined to 252k tons in the week ending Sept. 13 from 361k tons the previous week, according to the USDA’s weekly grain transportation report.

• Barge shipments of corn fell 28% from the previous week
• Soybean shipments down 28.6% w/w
• St. Louis barge rates were $24.54 per short ton, an increase of $1.32 from the previous week

 

US Crops in Drought Area for Week Ending Sept. 16: USDA

The following shows the percent of US agricultural production within an area that experienced drought for the week ending Sept. 16, according to the USDA’s weekly drought report.

• Drought conditions in corn-growing areas increased to 25% vs 13% in the previous week
• Drought in soybean areas rose to 36% from 22%

 

 

 

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