Indonesia and Malaysia seek soymeal and corn

Indonesia and Malaysia seek soymeal and corn

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Indonesia and Malaysia are looking for several cargoes of soymeal and corn for May/July delivery, but the rest of the Southeast Asia feed market remains quiet due to high Chicago prices, dealers said yesterday.

"Forward positions are beginning to open up in both Malaysia and Indonesia. The only problem at the moment is the price," a dealer for a Singapore-based commodity trading house said.

The Indonesians, whose feedmillers are believed to have secured some 400,000 tons of mostly U.S. corn for second quarter delivery, were estimated to need about 100,000 tons of soymeal for May/July, traders said.

The Malaysians, on the other hand, may be looking for two Panamax-sized shipments of corn and probably one Handy-sized shipment of meal.

"But the chances are pretty slim the Malaysians will go for it," another trader said.

"The Malaysians and Indonesians can really afford to go hand- to-mouth for now with prices at these levels."

"Indonesia has to do something on soymeal, but they have problems with these high prices," a dealer for a European commodity company said.

U.S. corn coming into Southeast Asia was quoted by traders at around US$149-$153 a ton C&F for April/May shipment on a Panamax compared with between $147-$150 last week.

U.S. soymeal in the region was indicated from $325-$335 a ton C&F on board a Panamax against $320-$325 a ton C&F last week, dealers said.

Indian meal, on the other hand, was quoted at $317-$318 a ton C&F on a Tweendecker, up from $314-$316 a ton the previous week, they said.

"Asking for U.S. meal at this time is silly," one trader in a U.S. commodity house said, adding prices for South American origins are much, much lower.

Soymeal from Brazil was on offer for around $300-$310 a ton C&F on a Panamax, dealers said.

A senior dealer said "more and more inquiries are coming in" from regional buyers seeking to fill up open forward positions. "The people here need to bridge this gap although they are still scared by these high prices," he said.

Another factor creeping into the Southeast Asian feeds trade is the possibility of Chinese corn being exported to the region, dealers said.

"People here are looking for Chinese corn, but the offers they have received range from $152-$157 (a ton C&F). Buyers price ideas revolve around $143-$145," one trader said.

"I think people here will only be interested in Chinese corn if they can get it in the low-$140s. People are talking more about Argentine and U.S. corn," a dealer for a U.S. trading house added.

The Korea Feed Association in Pusan was reported to have bought 74,000 tons of Chinese corn last Saturday, bringing China's total corn sales for the year to an estimated 400,000 tons, regional dealers said.

The Southeast Asian oilseeds and feeds market remained subdued with little in the way of business being done. Most of the trade is keeping an eye on a series of tenders this week in Taiwan and South Korea, they added said.

"The high prices have put everybody on the sidelines," one dealer said.