Uneasy Finish For Birdseeds

PANAMA - Jan 10/15 - SNS -- North American birdseed ingredient markets were generally easier during the past week in sympathy with grain and oilseed markets.

While white proso millet seed and confection sunflower markets in the United States were unchanged, Canadian canaryseed and oil-type sunflower posted modest declines in both grower and inter-dealer markets.

Commenting on the situation, the U.S. based National Sunflower Association noted that the "USDA will give its final estimates of all 2015 crops and stocks (on January . Most traders do not look for USDA to make big changes to the size of the US 2015 sunflower crop or carryout.

"Traders are also keeping an eye on very big crops down in South America. Good weather and frequent rain showers have helped crops in Argentina and Brazil and have kept a lid on U.S. soybean prices. Traders are thinking that beneficial South American weather plus current estimates of U.S. soybean planting intentions could pressure prices in 2016 unless the U.S. crop is significantly smaller and China's demand is much stronger than anticipated despite its sputtering economy.

"The US dollar continues to trade higher against a basket of currencies. This could lead to a slowdown in exports. The world oilseed market is expected to be more oil driven in 2016 rather than meal. Oil stocks are tighter than a year ago and there are some concerns for palm oil production this year. This scenario looks promising for high oil content seeds such as sunflower."