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Ag market analyst says coronavirus concern is growing

A market analyst says there is growing concern over the coronavirus and its impact on commodity markets.

Arlan Suderman with global market consulting firm INTL FCStone says it’s becoming a bigger story than he originally expected it to be.

“In China, they’re basically shut down. The ports are shut down, feed processors are shut down—and so we actually have the risk of many animals simply not being able to get feed,” Suderman says. “I talked to our Shanghai office this morning and they confirmed this is a legitimate risk and a problem.”

In another market development, INTL FCStone has raised its estimate of Brazil’s soybean crop to 124 million metric tons, up more than two million tons from January.

“It continues to show how we’re increasing production on both sides of the equator at a time when demand has really been squashed by African swine fever—and, now, the coronavirus is having some impact as well.”

INTL FCStone also increased its Brazilian summer corn estimate by about 150 thousand metric tons, pushing the total corn production estimate over 99 million tons.