Weekly Market Review and Farm Outlook - page 5* 



9 Soybean prices have behaved rather well. Weather conditions 



in the principal soybean producing areas have been unfavorable for 

 harvesting and also have doubtless caused some deterioration in 

 quality and actual loss because of rotting and shattering. In central 

 Illinois the beans have stood up fairly well in spite of the rains, 

 but it is reported that there is a tendency for the beans to shatter 

 worse after the wet pods have rotted to a certain extent and then 

 quickly dried out. In the northern part of the state it is reported 

 that the beans have not stood up as well, and for that reason more 

 of them have deteriorated in quality. Under these circumstances it 

 would not be surprising if the quantity of beans harvested would be 

 below the 110 million bushels estimated by the government in October, 

 It is possible, of course, that the deterioration in quality may force 

 farmers to market a larger fraction of beans at harvest time because 

 of possible loss if stored on the farm. This would tend to cause a 

 greater spread between early and later prices. Prices of both soy- 

 bean oil and soybean meal would appear to be low enough relative to 

 competing products and to present and future demands for such • 

 products. However, imports of flax seed from Argentina under the 

 reduced tariff rate are a price depressing factor. 



Foreiffli trade - The lease— lend program has tended to reverse 

 the situation with respect to agricultural exports. Not only were 

 July exports SO per cent larger than they were in July 1939 and 19^, 

 but a new set of commodities has been added to the list of ma.jor 

 exports. In the order of value the most important exports in July 



^1^ were: leaf tobacco; lard; canned meats; evaporated milk; cotton; 

 smoked and pickled pork; dried, frozen, and shell eggs; cheese; 

 wheat; dried beans; corn; canned tomatoes; oranges, and dried fruits. 



