Articles by Naveen Thukral | Alberta Farmer Express

Cereals, Crops, Markets, Reuters, Spring Wheat

Asia’s mills eye Canada’s wheat as Australian supply slows

By Naveen Thukral November 21, 2014

Singapore | Reuters — Asian flour millers are looking at buying Canadian spring wheat for shipment early next year as supplies from drought-hit Australia are likely to remain slow, traders said. Canadian western red spring wheat is being offered at around $345 a tonne, including cost and freight, nearly unchanged from last week, while Australia […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Reuters, Spring Wheat, Weather, Winter Wheat

Australian farmers hold back wheat sales as dryness curbs yields

By Naveen Thukral November 12, 2014

Reuters — Australian farmers are holding back wheat crop sales as dryness in parts of the country’s eastern grain belt cuts yields, raising the likelihood for a boost to global prices that have dropped 13 per cent this year. Farmers in the world’s fourth biggest wheat exporter have sold only about a quarter of this […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Reuters

China’s Cofco to pay $1.5B for stake in Noble agribusiness

By Michael Flaherty, Naveen Thukral April 2, 2014

Singapore/Hong Kong | Reuters — Cofco Corp. has agreed to pay US$1.5 billion for a majority stake in Noble Group’s agribusiness, its second acquisition in less than two months, as China’s largest grain trader seeks to strengthen its market position worldwide. The two companies plan to form a joint venture, in which Cofco will own […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Weather

Frost, rains hit Australia’s wheat crop, drag on quality

By Colin Packham, Naveen Thukral November 20, 2013

Unseasonal rains in Western Australia and frost on the country’s east coast have hit wheat crops in the world’s No. 2 exporter of the grain, dragging down quality and reducing harvests. A decline in supply of high-protein wheat from Australia could force major buyers such as Indonesia and China to seek more volumes from the […] Read more

Crops, Markets, News

Asia grain mountains swell as governments fret over food security

By Naveen Thukral October 16, 2013

Reading Time: 3 minutes Towering grain mountains in Asia, already large enough to feed China for eight months, are set to grow even bigger as governments persist in shoring up their safety buffers against hard times. Haunted by a 2008 food crisis that sparked unrest and panic buying, states will keep piling grain into reserves despite the strain on […] Read more

Crops, Grain Markets, News

China’s hunger for wheat to lift prices by 10 per cent

By Naveen Thukral August 12, 2013

Frost is estimated to have hit as much as 20 million tonnes of wheat in the world’s largest producer

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – Soaring Chinese wheat purchases due to weather-related crop damage at home could lift global prices of the grain by about 10 per cent in the next few months, a survey of traders showed. The rush to secure wheat overseas by top consumer China is prompting farmers in the world’s second-biggest exporter Australia to […] Read more

Crops, Weather

Dryness threatens Australia wheat supply as seeding kicks off

By Colin Packham, Naveen Thukral April 17, 2013

A lack of soil moisture in Australia’s eastern grain belt could hit wheat production in the world’s second largest exporter as farmers start seeding the 2013-14 crop. Concerns over Australia’s wheat output come as the U.S. crop faces winter storms after being planted in dry soil last year, piling pressure on global grain supplies and […] Read more

Crops, Markets

Australia’s early wheat harvest shows lower protein

By Colin Packham, Naveen Thukral October 31, 2012

The early wheat harvest in Australia, the world’s second largest exporter, is showing lower protein scales and poor yields, analysts and traders said, heightening concerns over global grain supplies as shipments from top exporters dwindle. Farmers are finding lower-than-expected protein scales in New South Wales and Queensland, the states responsible for producing top quality hard […] Read more

News

Asian hunger for “noodle” wheat may bolster prices

By Naveen Thukral April 19, 2012

Reading Time: 2 minutes For the second straight year, Asia must rely on the U.S. and Canada for most of its top-quality wheat, as rains have cut the protein content in grain from traditional supplier Australia. Asian nations are among the world’s biggest buyers of the superior quality, protein-rich wheat that is used to make noodles, a staple food […] Read more

General, Markets

Farm private investment seen doubling in two years

By Naveen Thukral April 26, 2011

Inflows of private capital in agriculture worldwide are expected to more than double to around $5 billion to $7 billion in two years as rising food prices spur investments in farm land and production facilities. Investors from the United States and Europe are looking at South America for growing more feed grains, corn and soybeans, […] Read more

Alberta hog farmers to get set-aside via AgriRecovery

No credit expected for farmers’ past work in new carbon market

Spring road bans coming into effect across Prairies

GFM Network News