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Broker says China’s flooding isn’t moving markets yet
A commodity broker says China’s massive flooding has not affected corn and soybean prices. Carl Babler with Atten Babler Risk Management tells Brownfield, “I don’t think that’s hit the radar hard in the commodity market yet. It’s something people have been watching.”
Babler says China’s western and south-western area where a lot of the flooding began is not their primary row crop region. “But then when you get a little farther to the east and then a little farther north, it’s more grain production, which definitely can have some problems.”
Babler says China’s massive flooding might impact them beyond agriculture. “If this thing gets out of hand over there, they’re just going to have a lot of disruption and flood loss of economic and human toll rather than just agricultural.”
Babler says China has had to deal with several things bombarding them all at once, including flooding, locusts, a massive army worm infestation, another swine flu outbreak, and COVID-19 but so far, most dams have held including the Three Gorges Dam. He says China has been a steady and improving customer across a wide variety of commodities lately. Babler expects they will continue to buy soybeans and hogs, and he’s pleased they’ve been buying corn, which China has seldom done in the past.
