Reuters Daily Agriculture Brief 200409

Financial Crisis - 1030 GMT
- Stimulus packages are starting to show results but governments need to be prepared to do more, the head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
- The German economy fell deeper into recession in the first quarter of 2009, the Bundesbank said in a monthly report.
- China's economy will grow by 8.3 percent this year, slightly faster than the government's target of 8 percent, despite uncertainties about export demand, the government's top think-tank said.
- President Obama says US economy remains under strain. Paul Volcker, Obama's economic adviser, says U.S. recovery will be a "long slog" but rate of decline "is going to slow"
- ECB's Trichet says euro zone econ should start recovering in 2010 after tough 2009
- Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said Japan's financial conditions remain severe.
- Worst of British recession is over, to return to modest growth in second half of 2010 - Confederation of British Industry

GRAINS:

Soy firm on steady Chinese demand, corn lower
SINGAPORE, April 20 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures rose on Monday as steady Chinese demand and concerns over South American supplies continued to buoy the market. Corn fell nearly 1 percent on better planting weather in the United States and weakening oil prices.

Australia grains trade seeks efficient port handling
SYDNEY, April 20 (Reuters) - Australia's wheat export industry on Monday called for a more transparent shipping allocation system to remove bottlenecks that have delayed vessels loading grain at Australian ports in recent months.
The Australian Grain Exporters Association, which represents grain traders such as Cargill Inc, Bunge and Glencore International, said it was willing to work with other stake holders to find a solution.

Russia grain export activity high, home prices low
MOSCOW, April 20 (Reuters) - Russian grain exporters activity remained high last week with some cereal export prices stable and others rising slightly, while domestic prices continued to fall, analysts said on Monday.
Exporters have reportedly switched part of their activities from ordinary soft food wheat to higher protein wheat and feed barley, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said.

EDIBLE OIL/OILSEEDS:

Palm firmer but off high of rally on supply
JAKARTA, April 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm futures closed slightly firmer, giving up most of the day's gains, as the market consolidated after last week's supply tightness-inspired rally, traders said.
"The market is trying to consolidate waiting for more fresh bullish news to push it up further," a trader at a Kaula Lumpur-based brokerage said.

China looks at Indonesia to boost palm oil stocks
KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Reuters) - China, the world's top vegetable oil consumer, is looking to boost its palm oil inventories as stocks have slipped below the usual 400,000 tonne level, traders said on Monday.
China, however, would be buying more palm oil products from Indonesia, the world's top producer as regular supplier Malaysia is facing a supply squeeze.

BIOFUELS:

More Brazil ethanol to enter U.S. via Caribbean
SAO PAULO, April 17 (Reuters) - Greater quantities of Brazil's U.S.-bound ethanol exports will be routed through the Caribbean for processing to exempt it from a U.S. import tariff, a Brazilian agricultural analyst said on Friday.
The United States has ended a loophole that enabled oil companies to import some ethanol tariff-free with credits they earned by fueling aircraft headed abroad, closing a window through which Brazil was able to export its biofuel fuel more competitively.

FINANCIAL MARKETS:

World stocks slip; earnings jitters dominate
LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - World stocks slipped from last week's three-month highs on Monday while government bonds rose as a big increase in troubled loans at Bank of America and this week's key corporate results made investors nervous.
Bank of America's first-quarter results topped analysts' forecast but non-performing assets more than tripled to $25.74 billion from a year earlier. Its shares fell more than 7 percent in pre-market trade.
"While the reporting season has been better than expected, the results are still very poor indeed, " said Henk Potts, strategist at Barclays Wealth.