Durum wheat took advantage of the firmness of soft wheat of last days, to regain a little height.
Limited Canadian stocks and declining growing conditions in France are supporting this trend.
However, business is still very limited for the next harvest.
Operators also remain cautious in the face of many uncertainties regarding the upcoming campaign.
The dry climatic conditions that accompanied the beginning of spring have indeed eroded the potential for yield and quality in France, although rains have significantly improved the situation in the southern half in recent days.
Over the past two weeks, FranceAgriMer has cut its ratings from “good to very good” by eight additional points, to 69%, against 65% last year and 71% on average for five years.
Also across the Atlantic, availability to come in 2021 could be lower than initially anticipated.
According to StatCan, the country’s stocks as of March 31 have indeed fallen to 2.8 M, the lowest since March 2016, and down 550 kt compared to last year!
At the same time, Canadian exports again accelerated on the last.
Since the start of the campaign, Canada has accumulated 4.9 Mt of exports, compared to barely 3.8 Mt a year earlier!
In the USA, about 40 percent of the durum crop has been planted in North Dakota, up from 22 percent last week and ahead of both last year and the five-year average.
Durum producers in the southwest part of the state received beneficial moisture, but in the northwest durum producing regions, only isolated areas received precipitation.
Emergence has been slow due to dry conditions and cool temperatures.
About six percent of the durum has emerged, similar to average.
Producers are reporting uneven emergence for durum as well.
Meantime, in Montana 30 percent of the durum crop has been planted.
