The most active corn futures rose to $8.1 a bushel in Chicago on the day, the highest since August 2012.
Forecasts show “only brief windows open for planting in the Midwest” through the end of the month, said Rich Feltes, head of market outlook for broker RJ O’Brien.
Planting is already off to a slow start, with 2% of the crop planted through April 10, less than the five-year average of 3%. The US Department of Agriculture will publish a weekly report on the farmers’ progress.
“It looks like some corn will be planted before the end of April, but the war in the Ukraine continues,” said Dennis Smith, a commodity trader at Archer Financial Services.
US grain production is especially important this year because the war in Ukraine has called its plantations into question and crippled agricultural exports from the Black Sea region, one of the world’s top suppliers of corn and wheat.
About 1.25 million tons of grains and oilseeds remain on commercial ships blocked in Ukrainian seaports due to Russia’s invasion, and some of the cargo may deteriorate in the near future, Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister said on Friday.
With information from Reuters.