The head of Glencore International’s recently acquired North American agriculture business is leaving his post just a month into the job, creating a potential complication in integrating the unit. Fran Malecha was Viterra’s chief operating officer until Glencore completed its acquisition of the Regina company on Dec. 17 and appointed him director of agricultural products […] Read more
Glencore’s chosen Viterra chief makes fast exit
China signs deal to buy Sask. potash at discount
Three North American potash producers have struck a six-month agreement to supply the crop nutrient to a subsidiary of China’s Sinofert Holdings — but at a steep discount of US$70 per tonne from the last contract price. Shares of the three potash companies — PotashCorp, Mosaic and Agrium — rose in Monday morning trading, even […] Read more
U.S. wheat climbs as exports soar to near two-year top
U.S. wheat rebounded on Friday from a six-month low hit a day earlier, as government data showed the biggest weekly export sales in nearly two years. Soybeans and corn rose more modestly after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s weekly export data revealed sales below trade expectations for those crops. U.S. wheat exports totaled more than […] Read more
U.S. grain futures slip as ‘fiscal cliff’ nears
U.S. grain and soybean futures lost ground on Thursday as worries about the "fiscal cliff" weighed on commodities despite signs of bullish supply and demand fundamentals for some crops. The nearby March wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) slid to a near six-month low, before recovering in part and finishing with modest […] Read more
U.S. grains rise again in thin pre-holiday trade
U.S. grains edged higher on Monday in thin trading before the Christmas holiday, notching their second straight gains in a modest recovery from the previous week’s sharp losses. Chicago soybeans were underpinned by bargain hunting after prices slid to a one-month low last week, and by technical buying. Corn futures gained on expectations of a […] Read more
U.S. grain prices rebound but finish with weekly losses
U.S. soybean prices climbed 1.6 per cent on Friday in a rebound from sharp losses the previous session, but still notched their first weekly drop in one month. Corn and wheat rose more modestly after hitting nearly six-month lows on Thursday. The market is "very, very oversold, you’re down pretty hard for the week, so […] Read more
Pork shippers to meet Russia’s new requirement
Canadian pork shippers will comply with Russia’s new zero-tolerance requirement for the feed additive ractopamine in meat shipments, Canada Pork International said Wednesday. In a letter to Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (VPSS), the industry group said that, as of Dec. 7, all Canadian pork exports destined for Russia are being tested […] Read more
Canada not changing tests for meat exports to Russia
Canada is not developing new tests for the feed additive ractopamine in beef and pork exports to Russia, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Tuesday, but is leaving shippers to take their own steps to satisfy the new Russian requirement for zero residue. The Canada Pork International marketing group said Friday that the Canadian Food […] Read more
Record-high soybean crop forging path to China
Canadian soybeans are forging a path to China, the world’s top buyer, as Canada’s relatively small production creeps across the country’s western growing belt and establishes a modest niche in global trade in the crop. Total Canadian soybean exports amounted to 868,300 tonnes from August through October — the first three months of the 2012-13 […] Read more
Cattle prices recover after XL’s reopening
Western Canadian prices for slaughter-ready cattle have recovered to hit the year’s high, after bottoming out this autumn when the discovery of tainted meat forced the temporary shutdown of the XL Foods beef-packing plant. Canadian government authorities allowed the XL plant at Brooks, Alta. to reopen in late October. It was closed for about a […] Read more
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