After very high demand at the start of the year the market did slow down through the end of April and into May, but as expected, we have already started to see an increase in demand as we head into the busy summer months.
Raw material pricing has been relatively stable across most commodities we trade, however continued increases in logistics costs has put pressure on prices across most product sectors. The sunflower market weakened slightly due to a lack of demand but as we head closer to the end of the current crop, we expect pricing to return to levels seen earlier in the year. The new crop is progressing well with recent rains in Eastern Europe coming at the ideal time.
The Argentine peanut harvest is well underway, with about 50% dug, however there has been some recent snow, something not seen since 2006/2007. Before this we were expecting a similar quality crop to 2020, however this will change the quality of some of the remaining fields yet to be dug. Yields are already reported to be down for shelled peanuts by around 15% and along with this recent inclement weather, could provide some movement in the market prices for exported goods.