Sorghum price Australia vs the US

[sneeky253]

Hi all,

Just trying to do a price comparison on sorghum between Australia and the US. I was told by a grain merchant here in Australia that on the world market US sorghum is some $40/t cheaper than here in Australia and as such China is not buying from Australia this year. I have found it a bit hard to find sorghum cash prices in the US.

At the moment sorghum del port here is worth A$260 (US$200) per MT

One price I could find for sorghum in the US was a "gulf price" (I am guessing here that this is similar to our port price??) of $7.60us/cwt. If my math is correct that would equate to about US$168/MT or about A$218/MT

Now, putting that into ex-farm prices.

Where I am I can get about A$220/MT ex-farm (US$154/MT)

I think I found a price somewhere in Kansas for around US$5.40/cwt (I think that is US$119/MT) and that doesn't even appear to be ex-farm.

Do the above numbers seem correct? or do I have things a bit muggled?

The other thing that throws in a bit of confusion is that all the prices I see in the US are for "no2 yellow sorghum" The prices I am quoting from Australia is for our top grade (SOR1).

Cheers,

Pete

[sw363535]

You have it right

#2 is the best price offered

There is a food grade milo that will be priced better but I have never seen any or never have had the opportunity to raise it.... It may just be local contracted crop...  Not much market for it...

your math is good....  We in US are below cost of production and in trouble at these prices...

[Hobbyfarmer]

Here is a website that costs nothing and has USA wide coverage of grain bids.

For wheat and Milo(sorghum) for you I might suggest

Liberal, Kansas

Scott City, Kansas

Norton, Kansas

As your points for quotes.

http://www.growers-edge.com/

[sneeky253]

Thank sw and Hobby,

So who are you competing with on the world market for Sorghum? Surely someone else out there is forcing your prices down? Or is it that frieght or import duties into china are a bigger cost than it is for us. What I mean by that is that while there is about a A$40/mt difference in price between Aust. and US sorghum, by the time you get it to China it may only be a A$10/mt, or something along those lines.

What sort of price have you been getting ex-farm this year sw? (that's if you dont mind me asking)

[Hobbyfarmer]

It is more of a compitition with corn than someone else in the export market.
The last year and a half milo market here was an aberration because of China and their import tax/quota system and high internal corn prices.

Milo is about 90% of the feed value of corn.