Kyiv | Reuters — The Black Sea grain shipment deal must continue and could operate without Russian participation after Moscow’s withdrawal on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, was a food source for 400 million people. “Africa has the right to stability. Asia has the right to […] Read more

Grain shipping deal can operate without Russia, Zelenskyy says
'Blackmail is not allowed for anyone'

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn fall as Black Sea grain deal expires
Grain traders hope pact may still be renewed
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain futures fell on Monday as Russia’s exit from the Black Sea export deal failed to shock traders. Wheat and corn futures slumped after earlier rising to two-week highs when Russia announced it was leaving the agreement that lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea. Russia had long threatened […] Read more

UN waits for Russian answer as Black Sea deal deadline looms
U.S. says Russia using grain deal 'as a weapon'
United Nations | Reuters — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is still waiting for a response from Russian President Vladimir Putin on a proposal to extend a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain beyond Monday, a U.N. spokesperson said on Friday. Guterres wrote to Putin on Tuesday asking him to extend the […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn rise as Ukraine shipping deal set to end
Soybeans mixed on profit-taking, supply questions
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Friday as drought conditions in Canada and the northern Plains continue to weigh on the market, as does uncertainty over the future of Ukraine’s wartime grain export shipping deal that is set to expire on Monday. Corn followed wheat up on yield concerns and technical trading. […] Read more

Weather outlook not great for Prairie crops
U.S. northern Plains in a similar boat
MarketsFarm — Just when crops across the Canadian Prairies need rain, the outlook to the end of July according to Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. pointed to conditions getting hotter and drier. “It does not look really good at the moment. We are going to see below normal rainfall and warmer than normal temperatures […] Read more

Preview: Railways, grain shippers at loggerheads over interswitching
Pilot to test expanded radius deemed unnecessary by both sides
Recent legislation has raised the stakes in a decade-long battle between the railways and Canadian grain shippers over the interswitching radius. Interswitching refers to a regulation to ensure shippers located where only a single railway operates can access points that are not served by that railway. The issue is especially concerning for Canadian grain shippers […] Read more

UN scrambles to save Black Sea deal ahead of Monday deadline
Russia says has not yet taken final decision
United Nations | Reuters — The European Commission is helping the United Nations and Turkey try to extend a deal allowing the Black Sea export of Ukraine grain and is open to “explore all solutions,” a European Union spokesperson said on Thursday, ahead of the deal’s possible expiration on Monday. The U.N. and Turkey brokered […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn, soy rally as focus returns to weather, dollar
Wheat traders keep one eye on Black Sea deal
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures bounced on Thursday on bargain buying after hitting a 2-1/2-year low early in the session while soybeans rose three per cent as traders shifted their focus back to uncertain crop weather and worries about supplies, analysts said. A slump in the U.S. dollar lifted wheat as well as […] Read more

B.C. waterfront work to resume ‘as soon as possible’
BCMEA, ILWU reach tentative four-year deal
Striking longshore workers and their management are “finalizing details” for work to resume at Canada’s West Coast ports after a tentative deal was reached Thursday. The B.C. Maritime Employers Association said in a release Thursday morning it had reached a tentative pact with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada) on a new four-year […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn hits 2-1/2-year low, soybeans tumble over USDA data
WASDE also pressures CBOT wheat
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell to their lowest price since early 2021 on Wednesday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture projected a larger-than-expected domestic crop and rising supplies, analysts said. Soybean futures tumbled after USDA’s forecast of 2023-24 soy ending stocks fell above a range of trade estimates, and wheat futures were […] Read more