MarketsFarm — There has continued to be a strong demand for peas, as demonstrated by data from the Canadian Grain Commission. And that has been supporting price increases, according to Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Consulting Venture Inc. in Winnipeg. “The overall demand has been very, very good,” she said. In the most recent export data […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Strong demand supporting pea prices
High food prices hurting India’s poor
Inflation pain expected to persist for months yet
New Delhi | Reuters — India’s retail inflation may stay elevated for at least three more months after hitting a six-year high in October, as excess rain has damaged standing crops and seedlings, while edible oils that the country imports have become expensive. The high prices are a particular cause of concern for India’s hundreds […] Read more
Louis Dreyfus to gain first outside investor
Abu Dhabi's ADQ fund to acquire indirect 45 per cent stake
Paris | Reuters — Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) has agreed to sell a 45 per cent stake to Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, the companies said on Wednesday, the first outside investment in the family-owned commodity merchant’s 169-year-old history. The deal comes after a search by chairwoman Margarita Louis-Dreyfus for an investor to relieve debt built up […] Read more
New rail speed limits to be based on temperatures
Railways wanting to run under new limits must develop winter operation plans
Given the odds of weird temperature swings happening somewhere in Canada at any time of year, railways will now instead be required to slow their trains’ speeds based on how cold it is outside at the time, rather than a date range. Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau on Friday announced a new ministerial order meant […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Export demand supports lentils
India set to extend current tariff reductions
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
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