The last month has seen a sharp decrease in activity in both the RCN and kernel prices, leading to some weakness. Shipments to the US and Europe are still up YTD, but in May there has been a marginal slowdown in Exports to these two markets.
China on the other hand saw a significant increase in exports from April to May, a sign that the market is finally opening up again, but still remains 40% down YTD. RCN imports for the year also remain down. Most of this can be attributed to the lower RCN numbers from Cambodia. Whether this is because of a short crop there, or more a reflection of the real crop (with last year’s numbers being misreported), remains to be seen.