US harvest delays send soy processors scrambling for supplies
BG•Persistent rains delayed the early US soybean harvest, prompting processors to offer large premiums for prompt deliveries and leading some plants to slow crushing. One Iowa processor offered an 85-cent-per-bushel premium, while Cargill bid $1 over November futures for immediate delivery.
1. Harvest delays tighten supplies
Persistent rains have slowed the early soybean harvest in the western US Midwest, leaving processors short of supplies and prompting some plants to scale back crushing. The USDA has projected processors will crush a record 2.78 billion bushels in the current crop year.
2. Processors raise bids
An Iowa processor offered an 85-cent-per-bushel premium for soybeans delivered through Saturday. Cargill bid $1 per bushel over November futures for immediate delivery to its Sioux City, Iowa, plant, translating to $14.17½ per bushel; its bid for Saturday deliveries was 15 cents below futures.
3. Crush cuts affect soymeal
Two grain merchandisers said some plants had cut crushing because they could not secure enough soybeans. Cargill plants in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Falls and Sioux City did not post soymeal offers because of a lack of supplies. Forecasts called for more showers through the following week.
