Corn is very much in a demand exceeding supply situation thanks to a number of weather events across North America. "It's been a bit of a perfect storm and corn for March and April has been affected," says Daren Van Dyke of Five Crowns Marketing.
Starting in the West, there have been hot temperatures from December onward and in Mexico, those temperatures have impacted the crop in terms of sizing, lack of hydration or challenges with finishing or pollinating the corn.
© Five Crowns Marketing
"In Mexico and California, the heat also pushed the crop up. However, because of processing contracts, there is a gap because the focus is on filling those processing contracts up," says Van Dyke.
Meanwhile in the East, there's also a lack of supply due to freezes earlier this year. "So all of this really came to a head at the beginning of March," adds Van Dyke. In fact, there are reports that Florida corn was being priced at a very strong $65.
Looking back at pricing
As for Mexican corn, prices were running between $40-$50. "I've sold corn for 30 years. Before this, the highest I ever sold corn in the West was $32.95 and that was during COVID," says Van Dyke. "I could sell corn in the upper $40s if I had it. The demand is very much exceeding supply."
© Five Crowns Marketing
This supply is expected to stay tight until at least the third week of April when subsequent Florida crops could come on. However the pipeline will be completely dry so it will have to be filled first.
There is also a longer term challenge for corn. "I'm concerned about Memorial Day–corn, cherries and watermelon are all key items for that holiday," Van Dyke says, noting ramping up for the holiday generally happens at least 10 days ahead. "However, all of this corn is now coming on two weeks ahead of time."
For more information:
Daren Van Dyke
Five Crowns Marketing
Tel: +1 (760) 344-1930
www.FiveCrowns.com
