Prices of maize rose in key spot markets due to a decline in arrivals amid a steady demand. Arrivals were lower as heavy rains across parts of Karnataka limited arrivals of the crop.

In Nizamabad, arrivals were pegged at 20,000 bags (1 bag = 100 kg), compared with 30,000 bags on Saturday. At Sangli, arrivals were 750 tn, compared with 855 tn. Demand from bulk buyers was steady as the fresh crop arriving is still of poor quality due to high moisture content. Prices are seen falling further in the coming days due to a likely rise in arrivals and weak bulk demand.

Corn futures closed as much as 2 1/4 cents higher for Dec futures, but gains fade out as other contracts were only fractionally higher on Cyber Monday. The USDA released the weekly Crop Progress report, showing that corn harvest has improved to 89% completion through the week ending December 1st. The 4 year average for this time is 98% completion. Last week’s report showed a harvest percent of 84%.

Weekly corn Export Inspections revealed 428,856 MT shipped for the week ending 11/28. That is a 30.38% drop vs. last week and is less than half of the same week last year’s shipments. The accumulated MY shipments are now 6.039 MMT; as compare to last year where we were 14.230 MMT shipped at this point in the MY.

Sorghum exports continue to outpace last year, with the latest export inspection showing accumulated shipments are 65.63% above last year’s pace. The delayed CFTC report showed that as of Tuesday 11/26, managed money was still net short corn futures, with the position becoming less short by 7,458 contracts wk/wk.