Sydney | Reuters — Australia’s wine industry faces severe oversupply problems that will need years to resolve, experts say, pointing to Chinese tariffs, high production and export bottlenecks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vineyards nationwide have enough wine in domestic storage to fill 859 Olympic swimming pools, Rabobank said this week in its third-quarter wine report. […] Read more

Australian wine industry faces hangover from China’s tariffs
Over two billion litres of wine in storage

Feed weekly outlook: Crop conditions, barley demand lower
Prices expected steady to lower for now
MarketsFarm — As combining operations begin, dryness continues to plague crops in many parts of Saskatchewan. But while crop conditions aren’t as bad as they were during the drought of 2021, according to trader Evan Peterson from JGL Commodities in Saskatoon, crops are still very parched. “Southern and western parts are very, very poor. But […] Read more

At Ag in Motion: Herbicide resistance fight needs integrated seed management
'Those seedlings we don’t manage to kill (are) probably the most herbicide-resistant'
Harvest weed-seed control takes aim at reducing herbicide-resistant weeds that western Canadian farmers find more and more every year. At the Ag in Motion outdoor farm show this week, field residue management manufacturer Redekop won the Innovations Award for Environmental Sustainability for its harvest Seed Control Unit, which destroys more than 95 per cent of […] Read more

Australia disappointed with China move to extend barley tariffs review
Tariff wall in place since 2020
Sydney | Reuters — Australia said on Wednesday it was disappointed that China has asked for another month to complete a review needed to lift tariffs on barley and warned it would resume a case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) if there was further delay. Australia on April 11 agreed to temporarily suspend a […] Read more

Australia expects ‘favourable decision’ from China on barley
Heavy tariffs in place since 2020
Sydney | Reuters — Australia is expecting a positive decision over the next two weeks from China to fully settle a dispute over barley tariffs, Trade Minister Don Farrell said Thursday. “We are expecting in the next couple of weeks a favourable decision on the tariffs that has prevented Australian barley going into China,” Farrell […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: Canola finds support from funds, weather
Crude oil markets also a factor
MarketsFarm — After being in a steady decline over the past month, the ICE Futures canola market was on the rise for the week ended Wednesday. The July canola contract closed Wednesday at $670.30 per tonne, an increase of $20.70 from the week before. Meanwhile, the November canola contract rose $22.60 per tonne over the […] Read more

Repeat of record Australian wheat, canola crops unlikely
ABARES expects 2023-24 crop down on year
MarketsFarm — After growing record-large wheat and canola crops in 2022-23, Australia is expected to see a significant drop in production in 2023-24 as developing El Nino weather patterns will likely cut rainfall through the growing season, according to the latest crop report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Dryness to cut into Australian production
MarketsFarm — Dry conditions and low soil moisture reserves in key Australian growing regions, along with expectations for developing El Nino weather patterns, are expected to cut into the country’s pulse production in 2023-24, despite steady to higher seeding intentions for several crops, according to the latest crop report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural […] Read more

Bunge, Viterra merger would create global ag trading giant
Companies have some overlap in Canadian crushing
Reuters — A merger of U.S. grains merchant Bunge Ltd. with rival Viterra would grow the combined entity’s businesses in the U.S., Brazil and Australia and may raise competition concerns in parts of Canada and Argentina, where key oilseed processing assets overlap, analysts said. Sources last week said Bunge and Viterra were in talks for […] Read more

Australia reaches deal with China in barley dispute
Trade shift may be 'bad news' for Canada and other exporters
Sydney/Beijing | Reuters — Australia has reached an agreement with China to resolve their dispute over barley imports, the two countries said on Tuesday, a latest sign of improving ties between the major commodity trade partners. Relations between the two had been strained for years, and worsened after Australia called for an inquiry into the […] Read more