TOP STORIES

Rising Farm Exports to China Lift Agribusiness, Farmers

Rising agricultural exports to China are helping revive the fortunes of some agribusiness companies and farmers, after the coronavirus pandemic upended the U.S. farm sector.

China's effort to boost pork production, and buy more U.S. grain and meat following this year's U.S.-China trade agreement, are driving a surge of U.S. farm goods across the Pacific in recent months, according to government estimates. Growing demand around the world for food staples like vegetable oil and starch are keeping U.S. agriculture companies' processing plants humming, industry executives said.

US Foods CFO Sees Room for More Temporary Cost Cuts -- Market Talk

15:47 ET - US Foods Holding Corp.'s finance chief Dirk Locascio sees room for more temporary cost cuts should the economy slow down again in the coming months, he says. The foodservice distributor is watching closely the recent rise in Covid-19 infections in the US and considering actions such as cutting hours if need be, Locascio says. The company in its latest quarter reported operating expenses of $896M, down 7.4% from a year ago. Locascio says US Foods currently isn't planning additional permanent cost efforts following a reduction by $180M earlier this year. Shares are up 8.5%. (Nina.Trentmann@wsj.com)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Agco Says North American Farmers Feeling Better As Commodity Prices Rise - -- Market Talk

1104 ET - Executives at Agco, the tractor and combine maker, say farmers in the US and Canada have been cautious throughout the year, despite billions in fresh government aid. Now, stronger commodity pricing and payments are boosting confidence, one Agco leader says, flowing through to the company. "We're continuing to see strong order boards and we're working our inventory down," he adds. Net sales in North America are up 3% during the first nine months, excluding currency fluctuations, helped by demand for hay equipment and high-horsepower tractors, offset by lower grain and protein products as well as sprayer sales. Agco shares up 6.8%. (micah.maidenberg@wsj.com; @MicahMaidenberg)

Agco Bumps Up Expectations for Farm-Equipment Demand -- Market Talk

0814 ET - Global demand for farm equipment should be roughly flat this year compared with 2019, Agco CEO Martin Richenhagen says in prepared remarks. Flat isn't growth, but it is better than the tractor manufacturer's expectation, discussed in June, that demand would be weaker year over year amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Global grain consumption is recovering and "soft commodity prices have risen in the third quarter, which is positive for farm economics," Richenhagen says. ( micah.maidenberg@wsj.com ; @MicahMaidenberg)

Woolworths 1Q Sales Rise Amid Pandemic

SYDNEY--Woolworths Group Ltd. reported strong sales in the fiscal first quarter as consumers spent more time at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the Australian grocery giant said growth had slowed in the last few weeks.

Woolworths said total group sales were 17.9 billion Australian dollars (US$12.8 billion) in the fiscal first quarter, which ended Oct. 4. Total sales in its largest unit, Australian food, rose 13% to A$12 billion. On a same-store basis, Australian food sales rose 11.5%.

FUTURES MARKETS

Livestock Futures Finish Lower -- Market Talk

15:00 ET - Livestock futures trading on the CME finished lower, after starting the day mixed. Live cattle futures finished down 0.7% to $1.07825 per pound, while lean hogs futures finished 0.8% lower at 65.4 cents per pound. The drop in futures comes despite an uptick in cutout prices reported by the USDA today. According to the USDA, pork carcass cutouts rose $4.44 per hundredweight to $88.58 per cwt -- making it 4.8% pork cutout prices have risen in the past five days. Boxed beef prices are also up Tuesday. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS 


 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Nov 3 
 
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Nov  2       +$ 43.17            +$ 51.00 
Oct 30       +$ 40.18            +$ 51.54 
Oct 29       +$ 48.35            +$ 59.60 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of 
production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                  Beef 
          For Today              Choice   89.2 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select   92.9 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Tuesday rose 79 cents per hundred pounds, to $209.44, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $2.83 per hundred pounds, to $195.45. The total load count was 151. Wholesale pork prices fell $1.17, to $81.62 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-03-20 1730ET