The outlook for rapeseed crops in Germany continues to improve, but prospects for crops elsewhere in western Europe are less promising with some low initial yields reported in France and production in Britain set to fall sharply. The rapeseed harvest in Germany, which is set to overtake France this year as the European Union’s top […] Read more
Rapeseed thrives in Germany but French yields fall
Deregulation sparks rise in grain container trade
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters / Deregulation of grain trading in Australia has led to an explosion in shipments in containers rather than bulk, a trend that may be repeated in Canada although on a less spectacular scale, industry sources said June 11. Australia, where grain markets were deregulated in 2008, now ships around two million to 2.5 million […] Read more
EU takes step back from market-driven farming
Reforms agreed by European Union negotiators on Wednesday offer subsidies to keep farms producing in regions where conditions are hard, going against the bloc’s shift towards relying on market forces in agriculture. Since 1992, the EU has been altering its common agricultural policy (CAP) to encourage farmers to grow crops in response to market prices, […] Read more
U.S.-Japan wheat trade set to resume
The discovery of unapproved genetically modified (GM) wheat in Oregon is unlikely to hit long-term U.S. wheat sales to Japan and could spark debate about whether importers should tolerate very low levels of “foreign material,” industry sources said on Tuesday. News of the unapproved wheat growing in Oregon, reported on May 29, prompted Tokyo to […] Read more
Deregulation sparks rise in grain container trade
Deregulation of grain trading in Australia has led to an explosion in shipments in containers rather than bulk — a trend that may be repeated in Canada, although on a less spectacular scale, industry sources said on Tuesday. Australia, where grain markets were deregulated in 2008, now ships around two million to 2.5 million tonnes […] Read more
EU pesticide ban may curb rapeseed production
Rapeseed production is likely to fall in the European Union, top grower of the oilseed, from the 2015 harvest after the bloc voted to protect bees by banning three of the most widely used pesticides. The EU has decided to restrict from Dec. 1 the use of a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, which […] Read more
IGC forecasts larger world wheat crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes World wheat production in 2013-14 is tentatively expected to rise by four per cent, the International Grains Council said Feb. 21, issuing its first forecast for next season’s supply-and-demand balance for the commodity. “Much (of the increase) is expected to be absorbed by higher demand and end-season stocks are likely to rise by just two […] Read more
Britain makes rare North American soft wheat buy
Reading Time: < 1 minute London/Reuters / A cargo of 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes of North American soft wheat will be shipped to Britain shortly with a poor quality domestic harvest forcing millers to look to imports, trade sources said Feb. 6. Britain’s wheat imports this year have been running at their fastest pace for nearly 20 years after the […] Read more
Poor quality and yields send British wheat imports soaring
Shortage Britain is on the hunt for high-quality bread wheat after domestic production and quality come up short
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters/Britain will be a net importer of wheat for the first time in a decade this year, turning customer to its traditional export rivals after a disease-ravaged harvest, much of which fails to meet the quality required for bread. Traders and analysts said diseases fuelled by the wettest June since records began more than a […] Read moreImporters fear grain market consolidation will raise prices
Big six Just a few firms now control 75 per cent of world grain trade. Consumers, farmers squeezed as grain giants tighten grip
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters / A global race for grain trading power is putting more of the world’s vital cereals in the hands of fewer companies, with a string of recent acquisitions raising fears that consumers will pay even more for their food, while farmers are squeezed. Archer Daniels Midland’s bid for Australia’s last independent grain handler GrainCorp, […] Read moreCyber-Savvy Farmer
