Sugar
- According to cash traders, bulk sugar offers for 2025-26 remained steady for both beet and cane sugar over the last week, with minimal new crop bookings
- In its weekly Crop Progress report, the USDA said 3% of the sugar beet crop in the four major growing states was planted as of April 5, compared with 2% a year earlier and 3% as the five-year average for the date
- According to the USDA’s Prospective Plantings report released on March 31, U.S. farmers intend to plant 1,063,000 acres of sugar beets in 2026, down 16,000 acres, or 1.5%, from 1,079,000 acres in 2025. If realized, it would be the lowest sugar beet-planted area since 1969
Dry Beans
- Domestic dry bean end users have recently completed their Q3 coverage needs, according to this week’s updates from cash dealers
- According to the USDA’s Prospective Plantings Report released on March 31, dry bean acreage is estimated to decline by 10% for the 2026 crop year, to 1.24 million acres, in order to reduce oversupply
- The last round of USDA-posted weekly cash offers was 10%-12% lower than last year’s levels for the spot position delivered to the warehouse for most dry bean varieties
Rice
- U.S. cash dealers report that domestic bookings of milled and industrial rice are currently complete through Q3
- According to the USDA’s Prospective Plantings Report released on March 31, planted area for rice is estimated to be 2.319 million acres in 2026, falling 18% year-over-year due to lower demand, with a 22% drop in long grain, a 3% dip in medium grain, and a 14% fall in short grain
- Spot rough rice futures remain near the upper end of their recent trading range, and have rallied 17% since the beginning of March
Flour
- The wheat markets were lower this week
- According to the USDA’s first national winter wheat crop ratings of the spring, released April 6, 35% of the crop was rated good-to-excellent, which was solidly below trade expectations of 42%. This is the lowest rating in three years for early April, and compares to 48% good-to-excellent last year at this time
- The USDA is scheduled to release its April Supply/Demand report on April 10, with the average trade estimate for 2025/2026 all-wheat ending stocks at 920 million bushels, down from 931 million in March
- Wheat market participants will remain focused on rainfall totals for the U.S. Southern Plains through April and May, the two most critical months for winter wheat crop moisture needs, according to analysts