Asian buyers flock to feed wheat market, prices may fall marginally

On 22 January, regional feed buyers in Southeast Asia and North Asia placed four import tenders for feed wheat, with market experts believing that trading prices would not significantly drop as the market's bearish trend might have peaked. Due to large low protein wheat production in the 2024-25 marketing year, especially in Western Australia, Australia is expected to be the most competitive supplier for the shipping periods demanded by South Korea and the Philippines. The lack of competition from other suppliers and weak producer sales in most Australian states will limit the downside potential for Australian feed wheat prices in the short term. Australian feed wheat cargoes for 2025 delivery to the Philippines and Thailand have traded between $250/t and $260/t CFR, while in South Korea, US PNW feed wheat has priced more competitively for March delivery due to higher freight costs, although prices for April delivery will increase. The TFMA feed wheat tender is seen as a good opportunity for price discovery, but market participants caution that the tender could result in more limited figures than expected due to the early stage of the new European wheat crop profile and yields.