Miller Magazine Issue: 112 April 2019

114 MARKET ANALYSIS APRIL 2019 higher at 48 MMT (47.3 MMT previously). This com- pares with the latest USDA estimate of 47 MMT vs last year’s drought-stricken crops of 32 MMT. US corn planting seen 5% complete. Every spring there are always questions about delayed planting resulting in lower corn yields. There were heavy rains last week, especially in western and northern Argentina. The rains slowed the harvest progress in the region, but they are not expected to result in lower yields. Ukraine exported almost 20 MMT, expectations are from 27 mmt (IGC) to 29 mmt (USDA), local AgMin is in the middle. As large crop from world’s main pro- ducers and exporters look to make competition and situation with ethanol prices will unchangeable, corn fundamentals will get weaker. TRADE WAR AFFECTS ADM announced it will seek voluntary early retirements by some North American employees and may elimina- te individual jobs as part of a restructuring of specific areas within the company. Their CEO only made $19.6 million last year (+23%) so obviously, not all are being asked to make sacrifices. China made a shockingly large purchase of the US pork despite hefty trade tariffs, the latest sign African swine fever has made a serious dent in Chinese pork supply. the USDA revealed yesterday morning that China bought 77,732 tons of U.S. pork in the week ended April 4. This is the largest weekly pork sale to China since the early 2013 and will require roughly 3,900 refrigerated containers to make the voyage across the ocean. The USA pork’s largest 1-year shipment to China was 376,137 tons in 2011.