MCX cotton up on fall in arrival, likely high demand.

Futures contracts of cotton rose on the MCX after arrivals declined in major spot markets across the country. arrivals of cotton in spot markets stood at 67,700 tonne, lower than 69,700 tonne on previous close. Consumption of cotton by mills is seen rising 2% in 2017-18 to 5.2 million tonne, due to competitive prices for cotton yarn products. This has also supported the sentiment. The most active May contract of cotton was at 20,650 rupees per bale (1bale=170kg), up 0.6% from the previous close.

India coffee exports during Jan 1- May 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.

Egypt contracted to import 20,000 tonnes of Indian rice.

Egypt, traditionally a rice exporter, has contracted to purchase 20,000 tonnes of Indian rice as per a cabinet statement on 03 May. Egypt govt statement did not explain why it had contracted to buy the rice. But in December, govt said it would import rice after cancelling a tender to buy locally produced rice when the bidding companies all offered higher prices than the govt had asked for. Egypt rice paddy production is estimated at 5.1 million metric tonnes in 2016 versus annual consumption of about 3.95 million tonnes, said USDA.

India 2016-17 rabi maize output seen at 7.9 millon tonne, up 14.7%.

India rabi maize output in 2016-17 (Oct-Sep) is seen rising 14.7% on year to 7.9 million tonne. Acreage under the coarse grain has risen 11.7% on year to 2.1 million hactare in 2016-17, with gains in Bihar. Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra because of good water availability in these states. In Tamil Nadu, however, area under the crop declined because of prolonged drought conditions. The brokerage has pegged average yields at 3.9 tonne per ha, up 5.4% on year. Output in Bihar, the largest producer of rabi maize producer, is seen at 2.8 million tonne compared with 2.4 million tonne a year ago. Despite a rise in output, export demand for maize is expected to remain largely unchanged at 500,400 tonne. In 2015-16, India exported 500,600 tonne of maize.

Jun NCDEX maize hits 1-month low on cues from spot mkt.

The June contract of maize on the NCDEX hit a one-month low in early trade. The June contract was down 1.2% from the previous close. Subdued demand from major poultry and starch feed firms weighed on maize prices in spot markets. In the benchmark market of Nizamabad. Telangana, maize was sold down 10-15 rupees from previous close. Higher arrivals at major spot markets in Bihar also weighed on futures of the commodity. In Purnea, Bihar, the coarse grain was sold down 20 rupees from the previous day. Arrivals at the Gulabbagh mandi in Purnea were at 3,200 tonne up from 2,800 tonne on Tuesday.

Dairy body to buy 30,000 tonne maize via e-auction.

The National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India will buy 30,000 tonne of maize through a reverse electronic auction on Friday. The commodity, used as cattle feed, bought on behalf of Karnataka Milk Federation. The dairy body, which has nearly 200 dairy cooperatives as members, has developed an online trading platform to purchase feed stock and sell dairy products.

Indore wheat prices fall on weak demand from mills.

Wholesale prices of wheat in the benchmark market of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, fell due to weak demand from flour mills. In Indore, mill quality wheat was sold down 25-30 rupees from Tuesday. Low demand for flour has hit demand for wheat from flour mills. Arrivals were low in Indore at 7,000 bags, each carrying 100 kg of the grain, down from 10,000 bags on previous close. This prevented further fall in prices. Supplies have dwindled as farmers are not willing to sell the produce at low prices. Futures of wheat too were down, tracking weakness in spot markets. On NCDEX, the most active June wheat contract was down 1% from the previous close.

Govt FY18 wheat procurement up nearly 19% so far at 25 million tonne.

The government has procured 25.07 million tonne of wheat so far in the marketing year that started April. The procurement is 18.8% higher than a year ago. The purchases are higher on year largely because wheat output in 2016-17 (Jul-Jun) is seen at a record high of 96.6 million tonne. Government procurement is highest in Punjab at 11.04 million tonne, up 10.4% on year, followed by Haryana at 7.12 million tonne, up 9.2%. In Uttar Pradesh, government agencies have bought 978,206 tn of the food grain, up 141.8% from a year ago. The Uttar Pradesh government aims to procure 8 million tonne of wheat this year. In Madhya Pradesh, the government has bought 5.17 million tonne of the grain so far, up 41.3% on year. In the benchmark market of Indore, the grain sold down 25-30 rupees. The central government aims to target of 33.0 million tonne wheat to be procured in the current marketing season, up from 22.9 million tonne on year.

NCDEX May sugar up taking cues from spot mkts.

The May contract of sugar on the NCDEX rose, tracking a rise in prices of the commodity in key spot markets. In Mumbai and Kolhapur, the wholesale markets of Maharashtra, sugar prices were up 5 rupees from previous close. Prices in the wholesale markets rose as demand improved, with Stuckists replenishing their inventories at the start of the month. The most active May contract of sugar traded up 0.8% from previous close. Traders, however, are uncertain of the prices sustaining at current levels as supply of sugar is set to rise because of higher production in Uttar Pradesh and arrivals of imported stock.

ICE raw sugar down as world deficit seen easing.

Raw sugar futures contracts were down on the ICE, as the global supply deficit is expected to ease. The benchmark May raw sugar contract on the ICE was down 0.9% at $18.97 cents a pound. The world supply deficit may narrow because India may not import more sugar this year as expected, and stick to the approved import of 500,000 tonne raw sugar. The government is expected to allow import of white sugar on the likelihood of an El Nino event in 2017.