Commodities Focus

The EU Deforestation Regulation is moving closer to implementation as Brazil and Argentina process large soybean crops and European buyers reassess their sourcing strategies. Despite abundant South American supply, strong demand, higher futures and tight availability in the near-term helping support soybean meal prices, the traceability requirements are adding another factor to buying decisions. In this episode, Jason Spaziante, manager, price reporting, agriculture and fertilizer, Gabriel Faleiros, principal research analyst with S&P Global CERA and price reporters with the agriculture and food markets, Nanditha Kinavoor Madathil and José Gomes, discuss how EUDR is influencing soybean and soybean meal markets, whether trade flows are beginning to shift and what to watch as the industry heads into 2027.

From Australian crop prospects and India's planting season to Argentina's export potential and Black Sea shipping disruptions, global wheat markets are entering a critical period. El Niño remains a major weather risk, while ongoing export constraints in the Black Sea continue to affect global supply chains and price relationships. In this episode, Rohan Somwanshi, managing editor, Global Agriculture News, speaks with Vikneswaran Jeya Kumaran, associate analyst, Cost and Margins; Sampad Nandy, editor, Global Agriculture News; and Vivian Iroanya, senior price reporter, Agriculture & Food, about the biggest risks and opportunities that lie for wheat producers, traders and importers in the months ahead.

African swine fever is adding fresh uncertainty to Spain's pork market, reshaping trade flows and influencing feed buying decisions. As exporters navigate disease-related restrictions and changing global demand, feed buyers remain cautious and focused on short-term needs. In this episode, Agriculture Price Reporter Nanditha Kinavoor Madathil, Iara Lima, associate price reporter, agriculture, and Magdalena Michalik, principal analyst, European proteins, discuss the impact of ASF on pork and feed markets, the shifting trade landscape, and what to watch as the sector heads into 2027.

The ongoing El Niño is reshaping global seafood markets by warming Pacific waters and disrupting rainfall, currents, and nutrient flows. Shrimp producers face disease risks, salinity fluctuations, flooding, drought, and elevated feed costs, which pressure output and margins. In Peru, warmer seas can push anchovy stocks deeper or farther offshore, curbing catches and fishmeal production. Reduced fishmeal availability raises feed prices, affecting shrimp supply, trade flows, and profitability worldwide. In the second episode of a four-part podcast series on El Niño and its impact on key agricultural commodities, host Asim Anand is joined by Platts price reporters Elvis John and Mariana Farhat, alongside news editor Sayona Anna John. Together, they discuss how El Niño is affecting shrimp trade and pricing, and how markets are adjusting to the weather disruptions.

The next phase of food inflation may be determined as much by energy policy and geopolitics as by crop yields. In this episode of Platts Commodities Focus podcast, the S&P Global Energy news team explores the structural forces reshaping agricultural markets, from tightening global beef supplies and rising biofuel demand to trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and the growing threat of El Niño. Join Aditya Kondalamahanty, senior editor, agriculture and food, Sampad Nandy, editor, grains and oilseeds, Sayona anna John, editor, protein markets, and Samyak Pandey, senior editor, oilseeds and biofuels markets, as they discuss the intersection of energy policy, weather volatility, and geopolitical conflict with food supply chains, and the implications for consumers, traders and policymakers in the coming year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast high chances of El Nino developing in 2026, potentially disrupting weather patterns worldwide. Renewed weather volatility driven by a strong El Nino is spotlighting supply security, price trends, and export flows across Asian rice markets. As demand for rice stays resilient, market participants are closely monitoring the risks from erratic monsoons, reduced water availability, and rising input costs in major producing countries. In the inaugural episode of a four-part podcast series on El Nino and its impact on key agricultural commodities, host Asim Anand is joined by Platts price reporters Ayushi Baloni and Muskan Aggarwal, alongside CERA Analyst Dipanshi Agarwal. Together, they discuss how El Nino is reshaping rice production, exports, and pricing across Asia.

Asian LNG markets are facing renewed pressure as the US–Iran conflict raises concerns over supply security and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. With the initial price shock now absorbed, the focus is shifting to the next phase of the crisis: how the supply-demand balance is evolving and which market signals will drive price direction. Join Jaime Wong, commodity associate, APAC LNG pricing, Cindy Yeo, price reporter, Suyash Pande, senior price reporter, and James Taverner, executive director, global gas and LNG research, as they examine the market's initial response, the outlook for Asian LNG demand and supply, and what the evolving risk landscape could mean for spot and forward prices.

The Middle East imports the majority of the chicken it consumes, with Brazil the dominant origin and most cargo routed through the Strait of Hormuz to Gulf ports. When that route was effectively disrupted in early March 2026, the Platts CIF Middle East chicken breast assessment moved from $2,320 a tonne in early February to a peak of $3,150 by mid-April — a 36% increase over eight weeks, driven by freight and routing costs rather than any change in supply or demand. This episode traces how that shock travelled through the container freight market, through the poultry benchmark itself, and into a slower-moving story around Brazilian feed and fertilizer costs that could feed back into Middle East import prices in the seasons ahead. Karan Dadure, associate price reporter covering Middle East poultry markets at S&P Global Energy, joins Arif Islam, Platts price reporter covering shipping freight across the Europe, Middle East, Africa region, and Magdalena Michalik, principal analyst for European proteins at S&P Global Energy, to discuss how the disruption about the Strait of Hormuz repriced Middle East chicken imports, the freight cost dynamics that drove it, and the slower-moving feed and fertilizer story that could shape Brazilian poultry export prices into the 2026-27 season.

India's emerging compliance carbon market under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) is moving into its early implementation phase, with an intensity-based design that sets operational-level obligations for emission-intensive sectors. The scheme is expected to influence industrial planning, capital allocation, and trade competitiveness. The stakeholders need clarity on how the market will work in practice, what signals it will send on carbon pricing, and how credible emissions accounting will support trust and investment. Vipul Garg, Platts senior price reporter, environmental markets at S&P Global Energy, joins Prabhoda Acharya, Chief Sustainability Officer at JSW Group, one of India's largest industrial conglomerates, with its major entities -- JSW Steel and JSW Cement -- expected to participate in India's emerging carbon market framework and Anirudh Iyer, Platts senior carbon price reporter to discuss the role of strong Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and liquidity for market functioning, near-term implementation challenges, genuine emissions reduction through Europe's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and Article 6 mechanisms.

India's corporate renewable energy market is entering a new phase. While International Renewable Energy Certificates still lead the way for buyers seeking flexibility, simplicity, and cost-effective compliance, larger corporates are increasingly exploring Virtual Power Purchase Agreements, financial contracts that allow procurement of renewable energy attributes without taking physical delivery of the power. In a structurally oversupplied Indian I-REC market, rising issuance, cyclical demand, and price sensitivity continue to shape procurement strategies. Vipul Garg, Platts senior price reporter, environmental markets at S&P Global Energy, joins Utsab Sil Roy, head of operations at Climate Cred, an environmental solutions company that helps businesses measure, report and offset their greenhouse gas emissions, and Ahmad Afiq, Platts senior I-RECs price reporter, to discuss pricing trends, growing corporate demand, India's energy procurement mix and government policies.