Global Maize Market Weekly Summary
- Sri Lanka's government is considering higher import duties on feed maize to boost budget revenues. While the country's global market footprint is limited, the local poultry sector faces the most direct consequences, with rising tariffs and escalating feed additive costs squeezing margins against a backdrop of only minimal chicken meat price increases.
- Brazil's safrinha (second crop) planting is nearly complete, with current rainfall supporting favorable conditions. Rising domestic ethanol production is absorbing a growing share of supply, which is curtailing available export volumes. Potential water shortages later in the season remain a watch point for yield forecasts. Brazil continues to serve as a key supplier to North African and Asian markets.
- In the United States, the 2026/27 planting season is seeing a shift toward soybeans in some states, driven by prohibitive nitrogen fertilizer costs. Severe soil moisture deficits as of mid-April are adding further operational pressure, though robust carryover stocks from the previous harvest provide a near-term buffer against supply disruption.
- Ukraine's maize export program is facing significant logistical bottlenecks at port terminals, delaying shipment schedules and risking prolonged inventory carryovers. With a large share of exports directed toward non-EU Mediterranean and Middle Eastern markets, these delays carry the potential to tighten global supply availability and exert upward pressure on international maize prices.
