NIPPN Corp., which operates one of Japan’s largest flour milling businesses, announced on May 15 that it would be entering the US milling market for the first time with a $25 million investment in Utah Flour Milling, LLC. The joint venture also involves Denver, Colorado, US-based PHM Brands LLC. The $100 million mill and mix facility will be located adjacent to a Campbell Snacks baking plant in Richmond, Utah, US, and primarily will be responsible for production of Goldfish and Pepperidge Farm products.

The United States and Mexico continued their legal battle over Mexico’s decision to ban imports of genetically modified corn. Historically the largest importer of US corn, Mexico in 2020 announced a ban on GM corn for human consumption, citing health concerns. It modified that ban in February 2023 to allow GM corn to be used in feed and industrial products. In August, the US requested formation of dispute panel to address its complaint that the ban violates the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. The panel is expected to announce its decision in the first quarter of 2024.

Louis Dreyfus Company, Cargill and Viterra in April announced they would cease grain export activities in Russia beginning July 1. Most international grain traders stopped new investment in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, but several had continued shipping Russian wheat. In marketing year 2022-23, Viterra exported 3.7 million tonnes from Russia, Cargill shipped 2.3 million tonnes, and Louis Dreyfus 1.2 million tonnes. The had a combined grain export share of 16%.

The International Grains Council (IGC) in its most recent monthly Grain Market Report forecast a decline in total grains carryover stocks for the ninth straight year. It projects a 28-year low in barley inventories and wheat to have the lowest carryover since 2018-19. Wheat ending stocks for Egypt, among the world’s top consumers of wheat and the world’s top wheat importer, are projected in marketing year 2023-24 to drop to their lowest level in 20 years as the country grapples with a smaller crop, increased demand and a shift in trade flows due to the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Pivoting from its previous position on genetically modified crops, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in October approved 37 genetically modified varieties of corn 14 GM varieties of soybeans for cultivation. The approvals are part of a pilot program introduced in 2021 designed to kickstart commercial production of the crops to address mounting food security concerns. Large-scale trials of GM corn and soybeans were conducted in 20 counties in five provinces in 2023. China, which is the world’s second most populous country behind India, is the largest importer of soybeans and has increased its corn imports significantly the last four years.

On July 20, India’s government announced that it would stop exporting non-basmati white rice, effective immediately. The move was designed to help lower rice prices and secure availability in India, according to the government’s statement. A few weeks later, it added a 20% duty on parboiled rice exports. These decisions by India, which typically accounts for around 40% of world rice trade, caused global rice prices to rise by more than 20% in the latter half of 2023. The ban impacts 7 million to 8 million tonnes of Indian rice exports, or 15% of global rice trade.

A Russian export company on Oct. 18 signed a $26 billion deal to export 70 million tonnes of grain, legumes and oilseeds to China. The company, EPT, said the contract was for 12 years with a possible extension. The two countries have strengthened political ties over the last several years, with Russia increasing grain exports to China during that time. Russia is coming off a bumper grain harvest in which it exported an estimated 60 million tonnes of grain during the 2022-23 marketing season. With its invasion of Ukraine having reduced Ukrainian grain shipments, Russia has expanded its position as the world’s No. 1 wheat exporter. It exported an estimated 47 million tonnes of wheat in 2022-23 and is forecast to ship a record 50 million tonnes in the current marketing year.

In August, Ukraine launched a "humanitarian corridor" for ships bound for African and Asian markets to try to circumvent a de facto blockade in the Black Sea after Russia quit a deal that had guaranteed Kyiv's seaborne exports during the war. The route runs along Ukraine's southwest Black Sea coast into Romanian territorial waters and onwards to Turkey. Nearly 4 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain had passed through the corridor through mid-December, according to a Ukraine senior government official. However, Ukraine’s grain exports are continuing to fall significantly behind last year’s pace, with 13.4 million tonnes exported through all channels, compared to 18.3 million tonnes in December 2022, according to data from the agriculture ministry.

In a move that was a surprise to no one, Russia on July 17 pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal that for nearly a year had allowed Ukraine to export agricultural products from its southern ports despite the ongoing conflict between the two countries. Russia had for months expressed its displeasure with the terms of the deal and threatened numerous times to withdraw from it. What wasn’t anticipated was the dramatic increase in Russia’s bombing campaign of grain assets at Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and on the Danube River that followed. The attacks, which began just hours after Russia exited the deal, continued through the fall, forcing Ukraine to go to extreme measures to ship its grain to its foreign customers.