Sugar
- U.S. cash traders report that bulk sugar price offers for the 2026-27 new crop remain firm for both beet and cane sugar this week, with some processors pulling offers
- Morgan Stanley Research finds that sugar is the agricultural commodity most likely to get a price boost from El Niño. Weaker monsoon rainfall could cut sugarcane production in India, Thailand and Southeast Asia, while heavier rainfall in Brazil could reduce yields there
- According to Reuters, India is considering measures to bolster sugar supplies and rein in record prices, such as limited duty-free imports and curbs on the volume of stocks held by bulk traders, potentially allowing in overseas shipments for the first time in nearly a decade.
- Global spot sugar futures prices extended their rally this week, trading at their highest level since May 2025
Dry Beans
- Domestic dry bean end users have now completed their coverage for Q4, while Q1 offers are beginning to garner some interest, according to this week’s updates from cash dealers
- According to The Western Producer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that dry bean farmers slashed plantings by 15.6 per cent, which is expected to result in 1.06 million tons of production, a 13 per cent reduction from last year
- The latest round of USDA-posted weekly cash offers were 6%-9% lower than last year’s levels for the spot position delivered to the warehouse for most dry bean varieties
Rice
- U.S. cash dealers report that domestic bookings of milled and industrial rice are now mostly complete through the balance of the calendar year
- Per the USDA’s Rice Market Outlook report released August 14, domestic all-rice supply for 2026/27 is raised 7.1 million hundredweight (cwt.) this month, to 262.0 million, but still down 14% from the prior year, mainly on lower production
- Spot domestic rice futures have risen to their highest level since early 2025
- The FAO All Rice Price Index held broadly steady in July 2026, as a mild increase in Indica quotations was offset by demand-driven price declines for all other major traded rice varieties.
Flour
- The wheat markets were modestly higher this week
- Ongoing military strikes and logistics disruptions in the Black Sea shipping corridor continue to inject a geopolitical risk premium into the grain complex, according to analysts
- Per the USDA’s Wheat Outlook August 2026 report, U.S. all-wheat production is lowered 6 million bushels to 1,531 million bushels, the lowest since 1970/71. This year’s small crop is a product of long-term decline in U.S. wheat acreage and widespread drought impacts on Hard Red Winter Wheat production in the Great Plains States
- According to the USDA’s weekly Crop Conditions report, harvesting of the winter wheat crop is 96% complete, up from 91% the previous week and above the five-year average of 94%
- Also according to the weekly Crop Conditions report, the spring wheat crop is rated 52% good-to-excellent, compared to 51% last week, and 50% a year ago. The crop is 41% harvested, up from 24% last week and above the five-year average of 34%
- U.S. wheat prices remain very uncompetitive to non-captive destinations for export, according to analysts