With international influence on the grain markets, Farming Online took a look at the latest HGCA news from around the world and its influence on commodity prices.

First off in Brazil, drought in the North East is causing concerns for economic growth and a reliance on hydropower is hampering productivity somewhat. While there is little impact expected for the wider Brazillian soyabean and maize crops, subsistence farmers in the locality are likely to take a hit as agricultural output is expected to be down.

In Pakistan, a lucrative deal by grain exporter, Seatrade Group, which had tendered to ship one million tons of wheat to Iran, got off to a slow start with only 100,000 of the 1 million tons shipped so far. The remaining 900,000 tons is said to be under discussion.

Speculation continues in Egypt following the announcement by state wheat buyer, GASC, that it had purchased its requirements up to June 13. It is unclear whether Egypt will purchase any more grain although some reckon private importers may have purchases to make.

Wheat exports in the US still remain the cheapest global source although they were down to predicted levels of 403,000 tons compared to the 1.009 million tons exported the previous week. Also in the US, ethanol production was reported to be down 3.2% on the week according to the Energy Information Administration. This puts production at 807,000 barrels per day for the week ending December 28 2012, the biggest weekly percentage drop since the week ended July 6 2012. This is likely to ease demand on maize although this is a seasonal trend common at this time in the year.