Beijing/Washington | Reuters — China quickly hit back on Wednesday at Trump administration plans to slap tariffs on US$50 billion in Chinese goods, retaliating with a list of similar duties on key U.S. imports including soybeans, planes, cars, whiskey and chemicals. The speed with which the trade struggle between Washington and Beijing is ratcheting up […] Read more

China retaliates for U.S. tariffs, slaps duties on soybeans
CBOT weekly outlook: Shocker USDA reports leave questions for traders
CNS Canada — Two much anticipated reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent markets soaring and left traders speechless in the last trading day before the Easter holiday. USDA released its quarterly grain stocks and prospective plantings reports Thursday at 11 a.m. CT. Traders had been expecting corn area to be at 80.3 […] Read more

Coffee may profit more than soy in Brazil’s new farming frontier
Luis Eduardo Magalhaes, Brazil | Reuters –– Farmers tending vast, flat soy and cotton fields that spread as far as the eye can see in northeastern Brazil are finding that coffee crops might provide higher profits in the country’s agricultural frontier. More coffee farms are being developed in the western part of Bahia state, which […] Read more

China should target U.S. soybeans, former finance minister says
Beijing | Reuters –– The response by China’s commerce ministry to the latest U.S trade measures is too weak, and should target U.S. soybeans, former Chinese finance minister Lou Jiwei said on Saturday. The commerce ministry on Friday unveiled a plan to levy additional duties on up to US$3 billion of U.S. imports including fruit […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Soy, corn market attention shifts north
CNS Canada — Soybean and corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade moved lower over the past week, but stabilized at those lows as attention shifts from weather concerns in Argentina to planting intentions in North America. Rains in Argentina over the past weekend helped ease dryness concerns there somewhat and caused soybeans and […] Read more

Brazilian grain growers explore increased use of Panama Canal
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian farmers in top soy state Mato Grosso signed a memorandum of understanding with the Panama Canal Authority to evaluate ways to cut transportation costs and boost Brazilian grain volumes using the waterway, the authority’s chief administrator said. The canal’s administration is looking to increase its participation in rising Brazilian […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: Soy running out of time for move upward
CNS Canada — Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade came off their highs during the week and could be poised for further losses, according to a trader. The most-active May contract recorded a high of $10.77 a bushel on March 7 but ended at $10.32 at Wednesday’s close (all figures US$). Jack Scoville […] Read more

Argentina’s soybean season ‘dead’
Buenos Aires | Reuters — Hope has withered for any recovery in Argentine soy yields hit by a four-month drought that shows no signs of abating, farmers and analysts said Monday, prompting China to step in to fill the gap in soymeal exports from the world’s No. 1 supplier. The dryness that has blighted the […] Read more

China says U.S. soybeans ‘prime target’ over tariffs
Chicago | Reuters –– Chinese officials have said U.S. soybeans are a prime target for retaliation against tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on steel and aluminum imports, according to the American Soybean Association. Farm groups have long feared that China, which imports more than a third of all U.S. soybeans, could slow their purchases […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: USDA report sways soy, corn
CNS Canada — Thursday’s world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture caused a stir in corn and soybean markets on the Chicago Board of Trade. “The Brazil and Argentine numbers (were) really not too terribly exciting. And the world numbers (were) basically kind of going exactly the opposite […] Read more