Silver Spring, MD, August 14, 2018 — As the organic and non-GMO market passes the mid-year point, attention is on the growing 2018 crop which shows strong potential for improved Spring Wheat yield. These findings come from Mercaris, a market data service and online trading platform for organic, non-GMO and certified agricultural commodities.

Organic spring wheat crop shows signs of improved yield this year as key northern states have avoided the severe drought conditions that hampered last year’s crop. Montana in particular has seen the percentage of the crop rated in good to excellent condition increase to 61% as of the week ending August 4, up from just 9% last year. Mercaris estimates 2017 spring wheat yields declined 13% from the prior year, but with the improvement in this year’s crop condition, yields are likely to recover significantly.

While the industry focuses on the growing crop, Mercaris is also keeping a close eye on organic whole corn imports and warns of potential red flags. Using data sourced from the US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) Mercaris is able to provide an advanced look at foreign imports. This, coupled with the USDA data, finds that two significant organic whole corn shipments were received from Serbia via bulk shipping container ships from a Romanian port. The combined 23,723 metric tons of organic whole corn would account for roughly 18% of US 2017/18 marketing year imports.

“While it’s not unusual for buyers to turn to new foreign markets for organic corn, given the gap between US demand and its domestic production, Serbia is a surprising foreign market,” comments Ryan Koory, Senior Economist, Mercaris. “Its proximity to other countries in the region who have be found to ship fraudulent organic corn to the US immediately raises a red flag. Then we look deeper and find that the Serbian imports were shipped from a Romanian port and loaded in bulk container ships, which increases the risk of contamination with non-organic commodities. Such a significant influx of foreign organic corn could undercut domestic production.”

“It will be really interesting to see the official import data from the USDA in a few weeks,” adds Kellee James, Co-Founder and CEO, Mercaris. “The lack of reliable figures about the organic sector has been a long-standing challenge. Traditional ag have all the necessary information at their fingertips from acreage to projections on demand as well as supply, yield and price—it’s time to empower the organic and non-GMO sector to join the data revolution and at Mercaris our goal is to bridge access to that data.”

Mercaris’ market data provides up-to-date, accurate information about organic and non-GMO commodities, delivering improved visibility over market conditions and better enabling industry professionals to make critical business decisions. Learn more about Mercaris here: https://mercaris.com/

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About Mercaris

Since 2013, Mercaris has been helping its customers capitalize on growing demand for organic & non-GMO foods by providing market access and services tailored to the needs of the identity-preserved agriculture industry. Mercaris focuses its data and services on identity-preserved commodities, including organic and non-GMO corn, soybean, meal, and wheat markets across all regions of the United States and Canada, and recently launched an organic dairy initiative. Mercaris also maintains an online Auctions Platform, a pioneering tool that enables buyers and sellers to find new markets and more profitably trade organic and non-GMO commodities.

Media Contacts

Katie Ray

katie.ray@mercaris.com

480 426 8204