Snippets
03/02/12 -- Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov is set to make an announcement on the country's grain export situation later today, according to Reuters*However, other well-sourced information coming my way via Bloomberg says that the press conference has in fact been rescheduled from today to an undetermined date in the future.
The latter makes sense. They don't want to come right out and introduce an export ban as that makes them look like an unreliable supplier. But they do want Russian exports to ease up, so keep the threat of a possible maybe hanging over the wheat market so buyers will think twice about Russian offers in any future tenders. Nice poker play Viktor.
Poor old "jack high" Kazakhstan must be spitting with all the wheat they've got to sell. The only problem is Russia has all the aces like railcars and the deep water access.
What's the alternative if you're a Kazakh farmer with wheat to shift? Sell it into government intervention. The price? Well, this is Kazakhstan you know, not Rouen.
There's overheads, and cashflow, and the yak to feed and everything. Storage, fixing the roof, feed the yak, he's a hungry yak, more overheads, wages. What? The price? Look I'm doing you a favour here mate. The price on offer is a princely one hundred euros a tonne. Delivered. And I'm doing myself at that.
Yes my little farmy folks, spare a thought for your Kazakh bretheren as that genuinely is the price of currently putting your quality milling wheat into intervention in Kazakhstan. And the doors are only open for 3 MMT even at that price, after that you need to order it a taxi for the Black Sea yourself.
Elsewhere, Brussels issued soft wheat export licences of 178 TMT this past week, bringing the year to date total to 8.1 MMT. Not a very impressive figure, in fact the fifth week in the last six that exports have been under 200 TMT.
Taiwan has bought 50,000 MT of Argy corn overnight.
There's still no agreement between slippery Greece and its private bondholders. As a side issue the Beeb are reporting that they "cooked the books" to comply with the Maastricht treaty and join the euro in the first place.
The Guardian and Telegraph are today reporting that international debt inspectors have discovered a EUR15 billion "black hole" in its public finances. Hmmmmmm.
Stats Canada are out later this afternoon with their latest Canadian stocks data and Informa are due out around 16.30 London time with their world crop production numbers.
*Reuters now concur, today's meeting is off, "shifted to another day, the source added, but declined to say when."
