Paris | Reuters — Louis Dreyfus is seeking partners for some of its businesses to help the commodity trading group to weather a market downturn that hit full-year profits. Lower prices, plentiful supply and faltering economic growth in emerging economies have put pressure on commodity traders such as Louis Dreyfus that collect, export and process […] Read more
Louis Dreyfus reports lower profits, seeks partners
Processed meat can cause cancer, red meat probably can: WHO
Paris | Reuters — Eating processed meat can lead to bowel cancer in humans while red meat is a likely cause of the disease, World Health Organisation (WHO) experts said on Monday in findings that could sharpen debate over the merits of a meat-based diet. The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part […] Read more
EU dairy farmers get rude awakening in post-quota market
Paris | Reuters — European dairy farmers caught out by a global market decline as they emerge from a 30-year-old quota system may have little choice but to produce at full pelt, hoping for a recovery in international prices next year. Milk prices paid to EU farmers are down 20 per cent from last year […] Read more
Baking, parched fields set to trim EU wheat harvest
Paris | Reuters — A heatwave in Western Europe is adding to stress on wheat crops after a dry end to spring and reducing what had been very high yield potential only a month ago. Record temperatures for early July at around 40 C in parts of France unnerved traders in the European Union’s top […] Read more
Russia’s winter grains still at risk despite warm weather – analyst
* Warm November to help Russia’s winter grains – SovEcon * Says some farmers hold crops due to the falling rouble * SovEcon sees Nov. grain exports at 3.0-3.2 mln T Paris/Moscow / Reuters – Warm weather last week did not eliminate risks for Russia’s fragile winter grain plantings, said a Moscow-based agriculture consultancy SovEcon, warning […] Read more
Lilly eyes emerging markets in Novartis animal health deal
Paris | Reuters — The purchase of Novartis’ animal health business will strengthen Eli Lilly’s hand in emerging markets, tapping into growing demand there for protein-rich diets and household treatments for pets, a senior executive at the U.S. group said. As part of a multi-billion dollar revamp announced earlier on Tuesday, Swiss drugmaker Novartis said […] Read more
France seeks lost wheat protein; exporter ranking at stake
The lowest level of protein in French wheat for years has drawn the government into a debate on tackling a decline in crop quality that producers and traders fear will cost the European Union’s top exporter lucrative overseas sales. Protein content is a basic measure of wheat’s suitability for making bread and a key requirement […] Read more
France clears use of frozen funds to export food to Syria
France has cleared the use of frozen Syrian bank assets to fund the export of food to the country as part of a European Union system that allows such funds to be used for humanitarian ends, a spokeswoman at the French trade ministry said. The EU, U.S. and other Western countries have imposed sanctions on […] Read more
French durum exporters scale up to meet Canadian competition
French durum wheat producers aim to expand exports through a trading joint venture in a riposte to expected stiffer competition from Canada, the world’s top exporter of the pasta ingredient, the head of the French venture said. The ending last year of the Canadian Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly in Western Canada has shaken up the […] Read more
French farmers protest rules limiting nitrate pollution
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters / French farmers are protesting what they see as burdensome environmental regulations linked to European Union targets on water quality. Environmental rules have become a major grievance in recent years for French farmers, who blame such measures for eroding their competitiveness. Last week’s protests, including a pre-dawn street blockade near the Farm Ministry in […] Read more
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