Maize prices across key spot markets continued to rise due to firm purchases by feed manufacturers amid fear of a severe supply crunch in the coming days. A rise in arrivals, however, limited the gains in spot markets.

Demand is seen firm in the coming weeks, as purchases by bulk buyers will increase, anticipating a tight supply.

In Nizamabad, Telangana, maize arrivals were pegged at 1,500-1,700 bags (1 bag = 100 kg), up 200-300 bags. In Davangere, arrivals rose by about 200 bags to 1,100-1,300 bags.

On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, however, the most active May maize contract ended 9 rupees lower at 1,770 rupees per 100 kg, as traders booked profits after it a fresh high.

Corn futures posted fractional to 4 1/4 cent gains in most contracts. The USDA reported 371,981 MT for old crop weekly export sales, just half of estimates and well below this time last year.

New crop sales were a supportive 474,577 MT. Mexico purchased 269,600 MT, as 202,000 MT was sold to Japan. Those export results were being treated as old news but show you why a price break was needed to attract more business.

Total export commitments are down 6.3% from a year ago, when importers were buying in anticipation of a smaller South American crop. In a tender on Wednesday a South Korean importer purchased 60,000 MT of US corn.

Analysts with ProAgro estimate Ukraine’s 2019 corn crop at 31.2 MMT, down 4.4 MMT from the year prior.