Sorghum is steamed, fermented and distilled to produce baijiu, a popular 中国精神. 图片由翁玉熙提供.
2019年，随着美国的经济增长.S.中美贸易争端继续展开, grain traders across America were busy looking for new market opportunities to offset export losses to China and find buyers for U.S. 作物. Southeast Asia proved to be a viable option, particularly for containerized and specialty grains. 这些新的关系，再加上与中国贸易的改善，使美国经济更加繁荣.S. 种植者和贸易商对未来一年持乐观态度.
“I know producers who are planning to plant milo for the first time or expand their acres this year,内森·雅各布斯说, 谁种高粱?, 玉米, 他和父亲一起在史密斯中心附近种大豆和小麦, 菅直人.
“Milo typically trades at 20 to 30 cents per bushel less than 玉米, but today it’s trading at a $1.50到2美元的溢价.”
Much of the higher demand and related price strength is due to China’s growing alcohol market, 翁玉喜说, 他是CHS全球谷物皇冠hga010安卓二维码的谷物采购员 & 处理.
“白酒是中国最受欢迎的烈酒之一. 这是一种由高粱制成的清澈、高酒精的酒，”她说. 为了满足需求，中国严重依赖美国.年代高粱.中国近90%的高粱进口来自美国.S.根据美国农业部的数据.
在美国.S., sorghum usually goes to a handful of ethanol plants that process sorghum in place of 玉米, 但集装箱提供了额外的市场,雅各布斯说。, 在林肯和CHS谷物营销团队一起工作的人, 内., 把高粱运到200英里外的爱荷华州西部, where it’s loaded into containers and transported to Los Angeles by rail for export.
“CHS是高粱的顶级集装箱出口商和处理商. We’re part of the entire supply chain from 菅直人sas to China, which is appealing to buyers,翁说。. “粮食 loaded via container better preserves crop identity during transit overseas. 而且集装箱可以很容易地用较小的船只运到内陆, 铁路或卡车, 接触更多的客户和市场. Buyers are willing to pay a premium for identity-preserved grain and shipping flexibility.”
高粱的交易溢价很高, 雅可布, who worked as a grain trader before turning his attention to his family farm full-time, expects to see an uptick in sorghum acres this year in the top sorghum-producing states of 菅直人sas and Texas.
“需求是存在的，而且天气一直很干燥，”他说. “Sorghum is drought-tolerant and needs fewer inputs than soybeans or 玉米. 而高粱的产量并不总是像玉米那么高, 你几乎总是在季末有收成.”
从颗粒到玻璃
中国对麦芽大麦的需求也在增长. In May 2020, China announced a five-year anti-dumping duty of about 80% on Australian 大麦. 大约在同一时间，中国批准了美国的进口.S. 大麦.
“中国主要的大麦供应商基本上已经退出了, 我们可以看到美国有更多的选择.S. CHS全球谷物的大麦采购员Matt Kadrlik说 & 处理.
Maintaining specific quality characteristics of malt 大麦 is key to producing consistent, 高质量的啤酒. 为了保持这些特征, 集装箱很可能会成为中国买家的热门选择, 翁说. 中国每年进口500万到1000万吨大麦, with 1 million to 2 million tons destined for the beer and malting industry and the rest for livestock feed, 根据….S. 谷物协会数据.
出口质量措施
The USDA sets commodity standards and grades to measure levels of quality and value for agricultural commodities. Maintaining markets — and happy customers — requires meeting quality expectations. 最常见的质量测量方法是:
无异物:含量应小于1%.
最小的毒素
- 呕吐毒素，在小麦和大麦中很常见，低于百万分之一
- 玉米中常见的黄曲霉毒素含量低于十亿分之一
- 麦角，小麦和大麦中常见的麦角，没有痕迹
Limited moisture: Optimum moisture content for most grain is between 10% and 12%.
营养:因为这表示谷物的营养价值, 蛋白质和脂肪的比例越高, 更好的.
在美国.S., nearly all malt 大麦 produced is contracted by malting companies,” says Kadrlik. “Any overrun is usually sold to domestic feed companies at a lower price, 而是把中国作为出口选择, producers have an avenue to sell excess 大麦 for a similar or better price than they would receive from domestic malting and brewing companies.”
不仅是对中国的粮食出口呈上升趋势, but more containerized grain and specialty 作物 are making their way to Southeast Asia. 台湾、印尼和越南是美国学生出国留学的前三大目的地.S. 2020年集装箱粮食出口, 占所有集装箱运输谷物的近一半根据美国农业部的数据.
Further alignment between CHS grain marketers and processing experts has helped expand the CHS container program.
“Our specialty grain trading group is working hand-in-hand with our container group to export food and animal feed ingredients produced at CHS processing facilities using our farmer-owners’ 作物,戴夫·麦克说。, 风险澳门皇冠赌场平台总监, CHS全球谷物 & 处理. Some of those ingredients include flax, sunflower seed, soy flour and specialty oils.
“Containers have become a popular option among customers looking for specialty grains, 特定等级的谷物或食品原料,翁说。. “在过去的一年, we’ve worked with producers and cooperatives to ship club wheat to Taiwan, 小米出口到印尼，黄豌豆出口到中国, 举几个例子.”
U.S. 棉籽是韩国奶牛的饲料. “We import a lot of containers filled with consumer goods in the Charleston, S.C.,面积. 当我们可以用棉籽或其他谷物和油籽填充它们时, 而不是空手运回, 它帮助农民以更高的价格出售他们的农作物,亨特·卡森说, 谁种植棉花?, 花生, 孤星附近的玉米和牛, S.C.他的父亲、哥哥、叔祖父和堂兄.
Weng and Carson have worked together to partner with cotton gins in South Carolina and Georgia to load cottonseed-filled containers and transport them to ports in Charleston and Savannah, Ga.
“出口市场为国内市场带来了竞争,卡森说。, “which results in better prices for farmers and provides gins another option.”
合作的好处
而集装箱粮食出口继续增长, COVID-19大流行引发了集装箱的严重短缺.
“你.S. saw a record year in imports for consumer goods, most of which are shipped via container,翁说。. 海运皇冠hga010安卓二维码取消了许多美国航班.S. export bookings to return empty containers to China so they could be refilled faster.“从中国到美国的运费.S. 由于需求激增而比反向旅行高得多吗, incentivizing carriers to return containers to China quicker for a greater financial return.
“The shortage affected grain exporters and elevators that rely on containers for export,翁说。. “Many trading houses use forwarders and shipping agencies to manage ocean freight, 但CHS直接与主要航运皇冠hga010安卓二维码签约, so we’ve had access to allocated containers and vessel space during the shortage.”
作为主要出口国, CHS利用规模, 规模和专业知识，连接种植者和粮食客户, 翁说. “We can negotiate better freight rates because we ship large volumes of DDGS [distillers dried grains with solubles] and soybeans.”
CHS also has the ability to speed up the export documentation process, she says. “Exports require specific documentation from the USDA and ocean carrier, 但CHS可以通过电子方式提交, 使过程更快更容易.
“在过去几年里, 我们已经集中精力提升CHS容器项目,翁说。. “It has provided access to a larger mix of buyers and is creating more opportunities for our farmer-owners.”
