Concerns abound in US South as rice planting decisions approach

As the end of 2021 quickly approaches, the US South's rice market will start the new year with various concerns on the horizon. The most talked about and the most immediately pressing is the recent hike in fertilizer prices. Fertilizer costs have hit all-time highs in recent months, with it widely believed this will limit planting. In addition to the reduced area, sources typically anticipate that farmers who can, will switch their fields to crops that are less dependent upon fertilizers, such as soybeans, or crops with more favorable financial returns, such as corn. One exporter said that to avoid this, the CBOT Rough Rice futures September contract needs to rally substantially to encourage new crop planting, with corn and other competing crops coming off. The source said that with farmers not due to finalize planting decisions until March, there was time for this to happen. However, a major mill pointed out that farmers would need to apply for financing in early January and ...