* Southern harvest, lack of export demand weighs on corn
By Karl Plume
Aug 8 (Reuters) - The cash premium for U.S. corn barges at the Gulf Coast fell on Wednesday to the lowest in 1-1/2 years as newly harvested grain from the southern United States flooded the slumping export market, trade sources said.
Global importers have been increasingly turning to other corn suppliers such as Brazil and Ukraine after U.S. prices surged to all-time highs as the worst drought in 56 years decimated the U.S. Midwest crop.
The Southern crop, however, was relatively unscathed by the drought. Yields in states like Louisiana and Mississippi, smaller producers which typically supply the export market almost exclusively, was were among the largest farmers there have ever seen.
"Some of the Southern corn is starting to come into the pipeline, flowing into a market that really doesn't need it right now," said Shawn McCambridge, grains analyst with Jefferies Bache.
"Export inspections have only been showing 19 or 20 million bushels on a weekly basis," McCambridge said, adding that inspections would normally be in the 25-million to 30-million-bushel range this time of year.
Basis bids for spot barge shipments of corn at the U.S. Gulf, including cost, insurance and freight (CIF), fell to 45 cents a bushel premium to Chicago Board of Trade September futures, down 3 to 4 cents from Tuesday and down 17 cents from a week ago.
It was the lowest spot CIF corn basis bid since Jan. 26, 2011, and a sharp drop from the all-time spot-basis highs posted in early July. (Graphic: link.reuters.com/qeq89s)
The Southern corn harvest is well ahead of normal after crops in many areas were planted earlier than normal last spring and as hot weather accelerated plant maturity.
Louisiana's corn crop was 38 percent harvested as of Sunday, versus 18 percent on average, while the crops in Mississippi and Arkansas were 16 percent harvested, compared with 3 percent and 1 percent on average, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/08/usa-corn-barges-idUSL2E8J8AC220120808
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