Center-South Brazil H1 June sugar production decreases 3.4pc
Sugar production in the key Center-South Brazil region is expected to total 2.472 million mt in the first half of June, down 3.4 percent year on year, an S&P Global Platts survey of 11 analysts showed June 22. Of the analysts surveyed, the cane crush estimate ranged from 36.4 million mt to 44 million mt. The average estimate was for a total cane crush of 40 million mt, a 4.4 percent drop year on year. Weather in the Center-South region was favorable for crushing during H1 June, with an estimated 2.2 days lost to rain and about 250-255 mills active as of June 16. The proportion of cane used for sugar production is expected to be 46.6 percent, down from 47.1 percent a year earlier. Although Brazilian producers were taking advantage of the recent high prices of hydrous and anhydrous ethanol, long-term expectations are for mills to continue to maximize their sugar production, given the increased profitability of sugar production over ethanol production.
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How much oil can Saudi Arabia really produce?
For decades, the true numbers relating to Saudi Arabia’s level of crude oil reserves and production have been a subject of much debate and confusion, not helped by the obfuscation from the Saudis over precisely what these numbers are. The reason for obfuscation is that Saudi Arabia’s only source of real power in the world begins and ends with its oil reserves and production, so the higher these numbers, the more the power, and the lower the number the less the power. In recent weeks this debate has become even more pronounced in the run-up to Saudi Arabia’s latest bond offering and in the debate oversupply and demand in the oil market over the remainder of this year and beyond. As detailed below, much of what Saudi Arabia has said about its oil reserves, current production, and likely future production is an exaggeration made for the purposes of self-aggrandizement but despite that, the numbers have increased somewhat compared to where they were 10 years ago.
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U.S. natural gas exports and non-power sector demand
In June 2021 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), experts forecast U.S. natural gas prices to increase during 2021 and 2022 from 2020 prices as a result of expected growth in natural gas consumption and natural gas exports that outpace expected growth in production and imports. They also forecast the 2021 Henry Hub natural gas spot price to average $3.07 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), an increase of $1.04/MMBtu from the record lows of 2020. Increases in both U.S. natural gas exports and consumption from all other natural gas-consuming sectors but electricity generation are driving the high Henry Hub spot prices reflected in the STEO. The high natural gas prices set in February 2021 set the annual average 2021 price path higher, making 2021 the peak in their forecast. The February 2021 cold snap that affected much of the central part of the country, including Texas, reduced supply and increased demand for natural gas, resulting in near-record storage withdrawals that drove the extremely high natural gas prices.
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Boosting tea plant diversity, quality and resilience in Sri Lanka
It is said that Sri Lanka is known for its tea. Introduced in the nineteenth century, Ceylon tea is a multi-billion-dollar industry that brings in wealth and tourism. The country has plans to expand tea production and improve its quality but faces serious challenges from climate change and increasing global market competition. Scientists in Sri Lanka, through the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme, are now looking to a nuclear technique to overcome these obstacles by enhancing tea plant productivity through increased genetic diversity. Furthermore, because tea is not native to Sri Lanka there isn’t much genetic diversity, and despite enormous tea output, experts only have seven different types of regional tea.
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Mielke: milk production continues to grow
U.S. milk output shot sharply higher in May, hitting a record 19.85 billion pounds, according to the USDA’s preliminary data. That’s up 4.6 percent from May 2020, and the biggest month-to-month increase since March 2006, thanks to good weather, increased cow numbers, and increased milk per cow.
It was the 12th month in a row to top year ago output and up a hefty 4.1 percent from May 2019. May output in the top 24 producing states hit 18.9 billion pounds, up 4.9 percent. Keep in mind a year ago the nation was coping with the COVID pandemic, which had caused dairy product prices to plunge due to shuttered restaurants and a drop in foodservice demand, creating havoc throughout the entire food chain. In addition, many dairy farmers faced milk production restrictions mandated by their cooperatives.
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Russian wheat crop in for a scare this week
The Russian word “sukhovey” caught the attention of global grain markets last week, with the possibility of it striking Black Sea crops in the coming weeks popping up in numerous market and weather wires. The word itself means dry or drought, but its usage these days has a far more specific meaning, implying a certain set of associated phenomena. Sukhovey refers to a wind with high temperatures and low relative humidity that has its origins in the steppes, semi-desert and desert regions of Kazakhstan. It emanates from the periphery of anticyclones, predominantly over the summer months, and generally blows in a westerly direction. The speed of the winds is usually quite moderate at less than 20 kilometres per hour (kph). However, in extreme cases, the wind speed can be more than 50kph and, on rare occasions, as high as 80kph.