MarketsFarm — Lentil prices in Western Canada saw a counter-seasonal rally at the end of harvest and are likely to sustain that rally into winter. “Prices are going to keep going higher,” Darcy Barie, a commodity buyer with Verdient Foods at Vanscoy, Sask., said. Ahead of the 2020 harvest, red lentils were around 24 cents/lb. […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Export demand supports lentils
India set to extend current tariff reductions
McDonald’s to make its own ‘McPlant’ items
Beyond Meat says co-created patty
Reuters — Burger chain McDonald’s on Monday decided to debut its own plant-based meat alternatives line called “McPlant” in 2021, including a patty that Beyond Meat subsequently said it helped co-create. “Beyond Meat and McDonald’s co-created the plant-based patty which will be available as part of their McPlant platform,” a Beyond Meat spokesperson said in […] Read more
Baltic Dry Index at four-month lows
Declining demand seen from China
MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have fallen off of their highs of the past year over the course of the past month, but remain well above the lows hit in the spring when global markets first started reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, has moved […] Read more
Export demand keeps Thunder Bay grain traffic solid
MarketsFarm — Grain movement out of Thunder Bay continues to run at a very strong pace, with shipments to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa behind much of the increased movement. As of Saturday, more than two million metric tonnes of grain have been directly exported from Thunder Bay elevators by ocean-going (saltie) vessels […] Read more
Savour it: The stars have aligned for crop producers
Demand, prices and shipping are all strong, and that’s not something that happens very often
Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s a huge good news story coming out of 2020 for crop producers. Or rather, three of them — demand is up, prices are good, and shipping is going like gangbusters. “Total volumes are up about 23 per cent year over year,” said Brennan Turner, CEO of online grain-marketing company FarmLead. “We moved about 8.34 […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Pea exports up on year, China a key buyer
MarketsFarm — Canadian pea exports are running ahead of the year-ago level, with China the main buyer, according to the latest Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) data. Total pea exports tracked by the commission, at 1.12 million tonnes during the first 12 weeks of the 2020-21 crop year, are up 34 per cent compared to the […] Read more
Pulse industry watching container supply closely
One major container firm is shipping them back to Asia empty to meet a surge in demand
Pulse Canada is keeping an eye on container supplies following the recent announcement by a major supplier it would be shipping them back empty to Asia from North America to meet a surge in demand. Why it matters: Canadian pulse crop exporters rely on shipping containers to get their products to international customers. A lack […] Read more
Organic acres level off in Alberta
Reading Time: < 1 minute After a decade of strong growth, the number of organic acres dipped slightly in Alberta last year, says a new report. But that was good compared to its next door neighbour, said the report by the Canada Organic Trade Association. “Saskatchewan demonstrated the largest acreage decline, with 119,099 fewer acres, followed by Alberta at 6,214 […] Read more
IGC cuts record-large world grain production outlook slightly
MarketsFarm — World grain production for 2020-21 was revised slightly lower by the International Grains Council in its latest report Thursday, but the group is still anticipating record large supplies overall. Wheat and coarse grains are forecast to total 2.226 million tonnes, which would be down by one million tonnes from the September forecast but […] Read more
Former federal ag minister Don Mazankowski, 85
Long-time Alberta Tory MP deemed a 'minister of everything'
A private memorial is planned for long-time Alberta MP Don Mazankowski, whose work in the cabinets of prime ministers Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark included a stint as Canada’s minister of agriculture. Mazankowski, the MP for the east-central Alberta riding of Vegreville from 1968 to 1993, died late Tuesday at age 85, his family said […] Read more
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