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Peanuts: new taxes drive up prices in Argentina

March 4, 2020 at 12:01 PM , Der AUDITOR
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BUENOS AIRES/PEKING. While China is slowly returning to normality, Brazil is fighting against the poor quality of the last crop. Significant price increases are expected in Argentina.

Transport problems in China

As Calconut reports, the situation in China has calmed down in recent weeks and some factories have been able to resume work. Although the production and processing of peanuts can continue, trade still faces major transport problems. Means of transport such as containers and trucks are lacking, and the workers are also hardly able to keep up with the work due to the huge delay. How things will continue in the country largely depends on the further development and spread of the coronavirus.

New crop in Brazil must cover existing contracts

In Brazil, the poor quality of the old crop continues to have an impact on the market. Not all contracts were concluded satisfactorily and the producers hope that they will be able to make up for the shortcomings with the new crop. So far there are no estimates of how large and of what quality the new crop will be, but market players reckon that a large part of it will flow into existing contracts and that new contracts will probably not be concluded until around July. As domestic consumption is also generally quite high, relatively few export supplies are expected.

Taxes cause price increases in Argentina

The crop in Argentina is estimated to be satisfactory, although the area under cultivation has been reduced by 13%. Thanks to good growth conditions, producers also expect a good quality of the new crop, which should arrive on the markets between May and June. However, due to newly introduced taxes, market players expect prices to be much higher than in previous years. Currently, blanched peanuts, 38/42, of Argentinian origin are traded at around EUR 1.50 per kg FCA Spain.

German imports decline

In 2019, imports of peanuts without shell to Germany have declined by more than 12% compared to 2018. Imports from Poland rose by 24%, while deliveries from the Netherlands (-38%) and the USA (-20%) declined sharply. Experts at Calconut reckon that the USA will hardly be competitive on the export market this season due to an extremely high domestic consumption and poor quality of their goods.

Peanuts without shell, imports to Germany, in mt

Country

2018

2019

diff.

Argentina

79,587

70,891

-10.9%

Netherlands

14,743

9,229

-37.4%

South Africa

4,794

5,046

5.3%

USA

5,618

4,509

-19.7%

Poland

2,369

2,930

23.7%

Others

9,938

10,254

3.2%

Total

117,049

102,859

-12.1%

Federal Statistical Office of Germany

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price chart, peanuts, with skin, 40/50, Bold, India
price chart peanuts, with skin, 50/60, Java, India
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