Prices of agricultural commodities fall after the earthquake in Japan

• The Japanese market is the world"s second largest buyer of wheat and rice produced in the US

The price of corn, wheat, soybeans and rice fell Friday in the United States, after the earthquake in Japan, - a country which is the largest importer for those commodities from the United States. Investors expect grains prices to fall, given the current situation in Japan.

The price of corn with May delivery fell 18.5 cents (2.7%), closing at 6.6425 dollars/bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade (one bushel = 27 kilos) on Friday. Previously, the price had reached 6.5275 dollars/bushel - the lowest since January 31st. Last week, prices fell 8.8%, being the largest decline since mid-November. On February 22nd, the price of corn reached a 31 month high: 7.4425 dollars/bushel.

The price of wheat with May delivery fell an additional 21.75 cents (2.9%), to 7.1875 dollars/bushel. It had previously reached 7.0375 dollars/bushel, the lowest level since December 1st. Last week, the price fell 14% - the biggest decline since December 2008.

The price of soybeans with May delivery fell 21 cents (1.5%), to 13.345 dollars/bushel.

In the week that ended on March 11th, the price of soybeans fell 5.6%, the largest drop since October. On February 9th, the price of soybeans reached a 30-month high (14.5575 dollars/bushel), as demand from China for the soybeans grown in the US reached a record level.

The price of rice with May delivery fell an additional 4 cents (0.3%), to 13.01 dollars/hundred pounds (one pound = approximately 500 grams). On Friday, price reached 12.48 dollars, the lowest level since October 6th. Last week, rice fell 8.3%, the largest drop since January 2009.

According to the US Grains Council, the disaster of Japan will have an impact on the grain trade, after the ports of Kushiro, Hachinohe, Ishinomaki and Kashima were hit by the tsunami, and some of the feed mills were hurt.

Japan is the world"s second largest buyer of wheat and rice from the US, and the world"s third largest buyer of soybeans, respectively.

Japan imported 14.343 million tons of corn from the US in 2010, and 3.148 million tons of wheat, respectively, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). During the same period, the U.S. shipped 2.347 million tons of soybeans and 388,900 tons of rice to Japan.

Oil fell 3% last week in the US, as a result of the situation in Japan. In 2010, Japan had a daily consumption of 4.42 million barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency.

The price of crude with April delivery fell 1.54 dollars (1.5%) on Friday, to 101.16 dollars/barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange - the lowest price since March 1st. Price fell 3.1% between March 7th and March 11th, but price is still 23% higher than last year. On March 7th, price reached the highest point of the last 29 months: 106.95 dollars/barrel.

On the London ICE Futures Market, the price of Brent crude oil with April delivery fell 1.59%, (1.4%) on Friday, to 113.84 dollars/barrel. Last week, the price of Brent oil dropped 1.8%.