Washington Report

USDA’s March 2024 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report showed that broiler production forecasts were raised from last month due to higher broiler production.

Below are key takeaways from the report for industry-relevant sectors:

Chicken: Broiler production is raised based on placement and slaughter data for the first quarter and the expectation that lower feed costs will support higher production later in the year. The broiler export forecast is lowered based on recent data and the expectation of weakness in demand in Asia. Broiler prices are unchanged from the previous month.

Corn: This month’s corn outlook is unchanged from last month. Based on observed prices to date, the season-average corn price received by producers is lowered to $4.75 per bushel. Corn imports are lowered for the EU, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and South Korea but raised for Mexico, Venezuela, and Indonesia.

Soybean:  The outlook for U.S. soybean supply and use for 2023/24 is unchanged this month. While soybean crush is unchanged, the soybean meal extraction rate is increased slightly, and higher soybean meal exports are mostly offset by lower domestic use. The U.S. season-average soybean price and the soybean meal price forecasts are unchanged for 2023/24. The soybean oil price is reduced by two cents to 49 cents per pound. Global 2023/24 soybean supply and demand forecasts include lower beginning stocks, lower production, lower crush, higher exports, and lower ending stocks than last month. Beginning stocks are lowered by 1.4 million tons, mainly on historical crush and import revisions for China. Soybean crush for China is raised for 2020/21 to 2022/23 based on a review of in-country estimates and supplies. Soybean imports for China for 2022/23 are also raised to reflect shipping data by major exporters.

The full WASDE report can be found here.

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