U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on 25 September 2026 that a bilateral Board of Trade agreement with China would protect selected agricultural exports from future tariff retaliation, with full details expected on 28 September. The trade truce has also been extended through January 2027, but an unresolved Section 301 overcapacity investigation could complicate the arrangement.
US on-highway diesel hit an all-time record of $6.53 per gallon in the week of 21 September 2026, coinciding with the harvest season. The Trump administration is weighing a range of targeted measures — including dyed-diesel distribution, state tax relief and voluntary refiner concessions — after setting aside a 90-day export ban that energy officials and industry warned would backfire. USDA projects 2026 farm fuel and oil spending at $21.6 billion, up 28.8% from 2025.
Corn, soybean, and wheat futures faced sharp selling pressure on 25 September 2026, with all three grain markets breaking down technically amid disappointing outcomes from the Trump-Xi summit, a potential Iran-U.S. deal that pressured crude oil, and rising U.S. Treasury yields. USDA's Hogs & Pigs report added a bearish tone to cattle markets while offering a modestly supportive signal for lean hog futures.
The U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council escorted a 19-member South Korean feed and food corn buyer delegation on a multi-state tour of the U.S. corn export chain in September 2026, covering farms, ethanol facilities, grain handling sites and Pacific Northwest export terminals, as U.S. corn holds more than 80% of South Korea's import market so far this year.
A strengthening El Niño event, combined with fertilizer shortages, geopolitical tensions, and elevated energy costs, could push global food and feed commodity prices up by 14–16%, according to procurement consultancy Beroe. Key feed ingredients including corn, vegetable oils, and sugar face varying levels of supply and price risk, with the full market impact potentially not materialising until 2028.
Grain and oilseed futures closed mostly lower on 22 September 2026, according to ADM Investor Services analyst Mark Soderberg. Corn drifted back toward session lows while managed money extended a long position that ADMIS described as a potential record high. Soybeans finished mixed, soybean meal protein value reached a seven-month high, and wheat futures fell sharply amid ongoing Black Sea conflict and softening global supply signals.
Corn futures pulled back toward technical support on September 23, 2026, erasing Monday's gains, while a USDA daily export sale to Mexico, a high-stakes Xi-Trump summit in Washington, a proposed U.S. diesel export ban, and a projected 70% surge in global biofuel output by 2030 combined to create a complex backdrop for feed-grain and oilseed markets.
A series of typhoons in the Philippines has reduced July–September 2026 corn production by an estimated 14.4%, tightening regional feed grain availability and pushing up input cost risk for Southeast Asian feed manufacturers. CBOT December 2026 corn futures are trading around 529 USc/bu, while buyers consider alternative grains including millet.
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 675 introduces mandatory producer-register verification for rapeseed exporters from 1 July 2026 and soybean exporters from 1 September 2026, replacing chamber-of-commerce certificates as the basis for export-duty exemptions. The change raises working-capital and administrative costs for traders and is already contributing to a modest convergence of Ukrainian rapeseed prices toward EU benchmarks.
Chicago corn futures rose on 21 September 2026, driven by trader positioning ahead of US–China talks that could unlock new Chinese grain purchases and by persistent Black Sea supply uncertainties. Gains were broad-based but moderate, with the market still awaiting concrete outcomes from the summit.
International corn markets are navigating a tug-of-war between a projected record 66 million tonne Argentine maize harvest for 2026/27 and near-term European Union supply tightness driven by Ukrainian logistics bottlenecks. CBOT futures softened on profit-taking ahead of a U.S.–China summit, while Euronext corn held firm on constrained Black Sea inflows and elevated EU import demand.
The Philippines is exploring a more diversified aquafeed ingredient base as El Niño, global supply disruptions, and import dependence increase pressure on conventional feed sources, according to Ateneo de Manila University associate professor Janice A. Ragaza.