Only drought or other serious disaster could change the situation. Low profits in recent years are not a consequence of market cycles, but they point to fundamental changes in the industry.

ADM reported that profitableness of own capital will decrease by 1%  to 9%  according to the forecast

Bunge reported a decrease in profits in the first quarter of 2017 by 82%, and lowered their forecasts for its oil and grain trading division.

Investors are already afraid that good times have already faded away for the grain giants ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus Corp.

ABCD supplying corn, soybean and other crops is now finding it hard to get profit from its trade activities. Given the abundance of grain around the world, there is less opportunity for profits to be made by large trading companies.

Grain markets are cyclical, but more and more analysts note that recent changes appear to be permanent.

In recent years farmers have invested considerable money in new storage facilities to reduce their dependence on trading companies. On the other hand the internet provides farmers with information that helps them better to find their way on the market. Farmers increasingly avoid intermediaries and sell to end-users. Trading companies are increasingly isolated from the market process.

It is clear that farmers are gaining strength and structurally altering the market to protect their income.