Wheat rose for the third time this week on signs that hedge funds and other large speculators are unwinding bets that prices will fall.
Corn rose to a three-week high on speculation that China, the second-biggest producer and consumer, may import more to reduce domestic prices that reached a 20-month high last week.
Sugar rose to the highest price this month in New York on speculation that importing countries will boost purchases.
Hog futures fell from a 13-year high on signs that traders are making sales to lock in profit after prices surged 29 percent this year. Cattle also dropped.
Ukraine planted spring grains on 2.6 million hectares, or 62% of the planned total planting area, by April 12 compared with 4.38 million hectares, or 96% of the total planted area by April 12, 2009, the agriculture ministry reported Wednesday.
Russia is capable of exporting 30 million tons of grains next season but it depends on market demand, the President of Russian Grain Union said Wednesday.
Sugar futures rose for the third straight session, bolstered by increasing import demand.
Wheat rose for the second straight day as some speculators unwound bets on a market slump after futures failed to drop below a widely followed price-chart level.
Hog futures rose the most in a week on signs that the supply of animals to U.S. meatpackers is shrinking as demand for pork climbs. Cattle fell.
Corn rose, closing at the highest price in almost three weeks, on speculation that wet weather will delay planting in the southern U.S., increasing the risk of lower yields.