Beijing | Reuters – China is culling over 1,300 pigs as authorities rush to control a fourth outbreak of African swine fever and try to trace the origins of the virus that first struck the world’s largest hog herd three weeks ago. Authorities in the eastern province of Zhejiang said they would slaughter 1,332 hogs […] Read more

China culls more pigs as authorities race to trace African swine fever source

China’s July grain imports plunge as tariffs on U.S. supplies bite
Beijing | Reuters – China’s grain imports plunged in July after Beijing imposed hefty tariffs on shipments from the United States as part of its trade conflict and as rising international prices curbed buying, customs data showed on Thursday. China brought in 220,000 tonnes of sorghum in July, down 62.5 percent from 588,364 tonnes a year ago, data from […] Read more

China reports 1st African swine fever outbreak, culls 1,000 hogs
Beijing | Reuters – China reported its first outbreak of the deadly African swine fever (ASF) on Friday, as authorities in Liaoning province in the country’s northeast culled almost 1,000 hogs and rushed to control the highly contagious disease. News of the infection will stoke concern about its spread in the world’s largest pig herd, and possibly […] Read more

China drops import tariffs on feed ingredients from Asian neighbours
Beijing | Reuters — China on Tuesday said it would remove import tariffs on animal feed ingredients including soybeans from five Asian neighbours, in a sign that Beijing wants to boost foreign supplies of the commodities as a trade dispute with the U.S. escalates. The Ministry of Finance said it would drop tariffs on soybeans, […] Read more

China retreats from U.S. sorghum probe amid global market havoc
Beijing | Reuters — China dropped its anti-dumping probe into imports of U.S. sorghum on Friday, beating a hasty retreat from a dispute that wreaked chaos across the global grain market and raised concerns about rising costs and financial damage at home. The move was seen as a goodwill concession as Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He […] Read more
U.S. seen growing one of the smallest cotton crops in decades
Reading Time: < 1 minute U.S. farmers will plant one of the smallest cotton crops in two decades in 2013 as the fibre loses a battle for acreage to the more buoyant grains market, according to a Thomson Reuters poll. Ahead of the Beltwide Cotton conference here this week, an informal survey of market participants showed that American farmers are […] Read more