MCX cotton down on global cues; output seen higher.

Futures contracts of cotton fell on MCX today trackin weakness in cotton futures on ICE, and because of higher year-to-September 2018 output estimates. Progress of sowing across the country dampened the sentiment. Indian farmers had sown cotton across 1.22 mln ha as of Thursday, up 29.7% on year. On MCX, the June cotton contract was at 20,820 rupees per bale (1bale=170kg), down 0.5% from the previous close, while the most-active December contract on ICE was at 72.59 cents per pound, down 0.5%.

India coffee exports during Jan 1- Jun 2.

The Coffee Board of India has finalised its crop estimate for 2015-16 at a record-high of 348,000 tonne, up from 327,000 tonne produced a year ago, but down from previous estimate of 350,000 tn. The board has estimated the output for 2016-17 at 316,700 MT tonne, down 9% on year.

NCDEX coriander up on short covering, high demand.

Futures contracts of coriander on the NCDEX were trading higher as investors covered their short positions after prices slipped to a four-and-a-half-year low of 4,535 rupees per 100 kg in early trade. The most active June contract was at 4,650 rupees per 100 kg, up 0.8% from the previous settlement. Prices of coriander also rose because of improved demand from stockists. Arrivals in Rajasthan were pegged at 6,500 bags (1bag=40kg), up from 2,800 bags on previous close.

South Africa To Reap Bumper Maize Harvest.

Farmers are set to produce over 15 million tons of maize, a 50% excess of the expected yield. Maize is a staple food in South Africa and the BBC reports that it is the country biggest harvest in more than thirty years. The bumper harvest follows months of above average rainfall in January and February.

Usda weekly crop progress improving conditions seen as slightly bearish for corn.

Corn planting and emergence were both slightly behind the five-year average while the overall condition of the crop improved from the previous week. 96% of U.S. corn planted, down from 97% a year ago and down from the five-year average of 97%. USDA also said 86% of U.S. corn was emerged, down from 88% a year ago and down slightly from the five-year average of 87% emerged. Sixty-eight percent of the corn crop was rated in good-to-excellent condition, up 3 percentage points from the previous week’s 65% good-to-excellent rating.

CBOT Corn update.

The most active corn futures fell 0.27 percent to $3.72 a bushel, after gaining nearly 0.1 percent in the previous session. The government rated 68 percent of the U.S. corn crop as good-to-excellent, up from 65 percent a week earlier and above an average of analyst expectations of 67 percent.