Coarse cereal prices move up
The week was attributed to the harvest festivals across the country. North India celebrated Lohri, the south celebrate Pongal and east Bihu. The week also saw increased prices of all coarse cereals, possibly picking of demand from poultry and starch sectors. But arrivals are not as strong.
Corn prices moved up by 5.2% over last week to Rs.7980 per MT at the market yard. Against last year the prices are higher by 9.5%. In the futures market, the prices for jan delivry were down by about 2% against last week to Rs.8100 per MT, While for Feb and Mar delivery the prices moved up by 1% and 3.5% respectively. In the Spot markets, while prices were stable as last week in Nizamabad and Karimnagar, prices increased by 1.3% by the end of the week in Davangere to Rs.8064 per MT.
Pearl Millet (Bajra) prices moved up by 4.8% over last week, to Rs.8100 per MT. Prices were 18.3% higher than last year and against maize, the prices were higher by 1.5%.
Sorghum (Jowar) prices also were Rs.9300 per MT, moving up by 5% against last week. Prices were higher than last year by 4.7%. Against maize, the prices were higher by 14.7%.
Barley prices also moved up by 7.5%, to Rs.8980 per MT at the market yard. Prices though were lower than last year by 11%. In the Jaipur market prices moved up this week by 5.8% to Rs.9000 per MT.
On the CBOT it was a traumatic week, Prices slumped at the start of the week to $150 per MT for march delivery and as the week went by the prices were down to $144 per MT. On Friday close, corn has regained some strength as closed at $153.92 per MT for march delivery, but still 4.73% lower than last week’s close. For May and July delivery too, corn closed at $158 and 162.3 per MT, lower by about 5.65% and 4.31% respectively.
One of the reasons attributed for this dip is prices is the USDA report out on Jan 12, which projected an increase in the ending stocks to 45.46 MMT, against last month’s projection of 37.44 MMT. Food/Seed/Industrial use is also reduced from 127.88 MMT to 124,46 MMT. Use in Ethanol is down from 92.98 MMT to 91.44 MMT. As the local availability is expected to increase, putting pressure on prices.
Corn prices FOB US Gulf were indicated at $167/168 per MT for Feb – May delivery, while Sorghum FOB Gulf were lower at $153/159 per MT for Feb-may delivery.
DDGS prices in the Asian region were reported at $208/210 per MT. There are indications that the demand of DDGS will be increasing as the container freight rates are coming down and the high cost inventories accumulated earlier get reduced over a period.
Freight rates for bulk commodities have remained stable in the region, USG Gulf China is reported at $23 per Mt, while US Gulf-Egypt is reported at $13 per MT for 55,000 ton ship loads.
Use Bio-degradable PLA instead of petro plastic – Delhi enacts the law
Government of Delhi has banned the use, production and storage of plastic bags in Delhi with immediate affect. Earlier also the ban was notified, but bags of 40 microns were allowed.
The ban follows a Delhi High Court order based on the report by Chopra Committee. Erlier when the ban was implemented, 40-micron limit was applicable more to manufacturers, but now the idea is everyone using only BIO-DEGRADABLE BAGS and nothing else.
The notification can accessed using the link given below
http://environment.delhigovt.nic.in/pdf/Notification_PlasticBags.pdf
The notification dated Jan 7, 2009 is effective immediately and for this the Government of Delhi has amended the Act of 2000 to Act of 2008.
http://environment.delhigovt.nic.in/pdf/plastic%20amendment.pdf
Other cities which have banned use of bags are Chandigarh, which on October 2, imposed a complete ban on use and manufacture of polythene and plastic carry bags. Puducherry administration has decided to ban use of plastic materials in the Union Territory from July 2009 in a phased manner. A report indicated that plastic products such as carry bags and cups were responsible for choking of drains and sewage canals in and around Puducherry region, which caused the recent floods.
Another report indicates, that the plastic bag we using to carry that loaf of bread, butter, vegetables and other groceries represents 12 % of the world oil production. percent of the world oil production. The plastic bags take hundreds of years to decompose and also release toxic substances in the ground, creating more pollution.
While it may be good idea, alternatives have to be thought. Everything can not be put in cloth bag or a recycled paper bag. For food and other stuff, a container will be needed and these could be made out of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), from corn.
PLA based products have been used extensively in Taiwan and Japan. A company in Taiwan has invested for laminating paper with PLA and has named it “Pland Paper” a literal combination of PLA and paper, is the first ever 100 percent PLA coated paper made without any additives, making it 100 percent biodegradable.
As per the U.S. Grains Council office in Taiwan, the “Pland Paper” carries the same characters as traditional polyethylene coated paper, including its ability to withstand heat which makes it suitable for enduring hot coffee, hot tea, hot noodle soup, etc. Since it is a biodegradable product as opposed to petro product, it can be used without any problems in the food sector as well.
Mobile companies are not far behind and are moving in the direction of using PLA. Samsung has launched an eco-friendly phone, W510, which is claimed to be Samsung's first mobile phone with 'bio-plastic' made from natural material extracted from corn. Nokia is also planning to launch around 40 new phones made up of biodegradable components that can be easily recycled. They will also using phone covers that are bio-degradable.
The week was attributed to the harvest festivals across the country. North India celebrated Lohri, the south celebrate Pongal and east Bihu. The week also saw increased prices of all coarse cereals, possibly picking of demand from poultry and starch sectors. But arrivals are not as strong.
Corn prices moved up by 5.2% over last week to Rs.7980 per MT at the market yard. Against last year the prices are higher by 9.5%. In the futures market, the prices for jan delivry were down by about 2% against last week to Rs.8100 per MT, While for Feb and Mar delivery the prices moved up by 1% and 3.5% respectively. In the Spot markets, while prices were stable as last week in Nizamabad and Karimnagar, prices increased by 1.3% by the end of the week in Davangere to Rs.8064 per MT.
Pearl Millet (Bajra) prices moved up by 4.8% over last week, to Rs.8100 per MT. Prices were 18.3% higher than last year and against maize, the prices were higher by 1.5%.
Sorghum (Jowar) prices also were Rs.9300 per MT, moving up by 5% against last week. Prices were higher than last year by 4.7%. Against maize, the prices were higher by 14.7%.
Barley prices also moved up by 7.5%, to Rs.8980 per MT at the market yard. Prices though were lower than last year by 11%. In the Jaipur market prices moved up this week by 5.8% to Rs.9000 per MT.
On the CBOT it was a traumatic week, Prices slumped at the start of the week to $150 per MT for march delivery and as the week went by the prices were down to $144 per MT. On Friday close, corn has regained some strength as closed at $153.92 per MT for march delivery, but still 4.73% lower than last week’s close. For May and July delivery too, corn closed at $158 and 162.3 per MT, lower by about 5.65% and 4.31% respectively.
One of the reasons attributed for this dip is prices is the USDA report out on Jan 12, which projected an increase in the ending stocks to 45.46 MMT, against last month’s projection of 37.44 MMT. Food/Seed/Industrial use is also reduced from 127.88 MMT to 124,46 MMT. Use in Ethanol is down from 92.98 MMT to 91.44 MMT. As the local availability is expected to increase, putting pressure on prices.
Corn prices FOB US Gulf were indicated at $167/168 per MT for Feb – May delivery, while Sorghum FOB Gulf were lower at $153/159 per MT for Feb-may delivery.
DDGS prices in the Asian region were reported at $208/210 per MT. There are indications that the demand of DDGS will be increasing as the container freight rates are coming down and the high cost inventories accumulated earlier get reduced over a period.
Freight rates for bulk commodities have remained stable in the region, USG Gulf China is reported at $23 per Mt, while US Gulf-Egypt is reported at $13 per MT for 55,000 ton ship loads.
Use Bio-degradable PLA instead of petro plastic – Delhi enacts the law
Government of Delhi has banned the use, production and storage of plastic bags in Delhi with immediate affect. Earlier also the ban was notified, but bags of 40 microns were allowed.
The ban follows a Delhi High Court order based on the report by Chopra Committee. Erlier when the ban was implemented, 40-micron limit was applicable more to manufacturers, but now the idea is everyone using only BIO-DEGRADABLE BAGS and nothing else.
The notification can accessed using the link given below
http://environment.delhigovt.nic.in/pdf/Notification_PlasticBags.pdf
The notification dated Jan 7, 2009 is effective immediately and for this the Government of Delhi has amended the Act of 2000 to Act of 2008.
http://environment.delhigovt.nic.in/pdf/plastic%20amendment.pdf
Other cities which have banned use of bags are Chandigarh, which on October 2, imposed a complete ban on use and manufacture of polythene and plastic carry bags. Puducherry administration has decided to ban use of plastic materials in the Union Territory from July 2009 in a phased manner. A report indicated that plastic products such as carry bags and cups were responsible for choking of drains and sewage canals in and around Puducherry region, which caused the recent floods.
Another report indicates, that the plastic bag we using to carry that loaf of bread, butter, vegetables and other groceries represents 12 % of the world oil production. percent of the world oil production. The plastic bags take hundreds of years to decompose and also release toxic substances in the ground, creating more pollution.
While it may be good idea, alternatives have to be thought. Everything can not be put in cloth bag or a recycled paper bag. For food and other stuff, a container will be needed and these could be made out of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), from corn.
PLA based products have been used extensively in Taiwan and Japan. A company in Taiwan has invested for laminating paper with PLA and has named it “Pland Paper” a literal combination of PLA and paper, is the first ever 100 percent PLA coated paper made without any additives, making it 100 percent biodegradable.
As per the U.S. Grains Council office in Taiwan, the “Pland Paper” carries the same characters as traditional polyethylene coated paper, including its ability to withstand heat which makes it suitable for enduring hot coffee, hot tea, hot noodle soup, etc. Since it is a biodegradable product as opposed to petro product, it can be used without any problems in the food sector as well.
Mobile companies are not far behind and are moving in the direction of using PLA. Samsung has launched an eco-friendly phone, W510, which is claimed to be Samsung's first mobile phone with 'bio-plastic' made from natural material extracted from corn. Nokia is also planning to launch around 40 new phones made up of biodegradable components that can be easily recycled. They will also using phone covers that are bio-degradable.
Amit Sachdev
India Representative
U S Grains Council
usgcindia@gmail.com
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