Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures were mostly higher on Monday, with deferred months for both live and feeder cattle hitting contract highs on spreading and investment fund buying, traders and analysts said. Lean hog futures were largely lower, extending losses to the fourth straight session in a technical selloff. Most-active CME […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Deferred cattle hit contract highs

Brazil beef scandal leaves fewer options for global buyers
Chicago | Reuters –– Global beef buyers will likely need to cobble together supplies from several nations if a scandal persists in Brazil’s meat sector because supply constraints and politics are already limiting trade flows, market analysts said Monday. China suspended imports of all meat products from Brazil, the world’s top beef exporter, as a […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat drops on outlook for Plains rains
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Monday, led lower by a 1.9 per cent drop in K.C. hard red winter wheat amid forecasts for improving weather for crop development in key U.S. growing areas. “The U.S. Plains were dry over the weekend, but the next precip(itation) chance is on the way later […] Read more

Brazilian meatpackers slump on import curbs
Sao Paulo/Beijing | Reuters — Fallout from a meatpacking industry scandal in Brazil, the world’s biggest exporter of beef and poultry, widened on Monday as China, the EU, South Korea and Chile curtailed meat imports from the country after inspectors were accused of taking bribes to allow sales of tainted food. With other import curbs […] Read more

Brazil police raid BRF, JBS meat plants in bribery probe
Sao Paulo/Curitiba, Brazil | Reuters — Brazilian police raided the premises of global meatpacking companies JBS SA and BRF SA on Friday, as well as dozens of smaller rivals, in a crackdown on alleged bribery of health officials that could threaten US$12 billion in annual exports. The probe, known as “Operation Weak Flesh,” found evidence […] Read more

JBS sees margins up in 2017 as feed, cattle costs fall
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS SA expects profit margins to improve over the course of this year, CEO Wesley Batista said on Tuesday, as lower cattle and feed costs and healthier markets ease the pressures that hurt 2016 results. JBS shares rose two per cent in Sao Paulo despite lower-than-expected earnings […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans extend slide on Brazil crop outlook
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures fell to a two-month low on Friday as the ongoing harvest of a projected record-large Brazilian soy crop threatened U.S. export prospects, traders said. Corn and wheat followed the weak trend, despite a setback in the U.S. dollar. CBOT May soybean futures settled down 4-1/2 […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans hit two-month low on huge Brazil crop
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures hit a two-month low on Thursday, pressured by rising government forecasts for a record-large Brazilian soy harvest, traders said. Corn futures also declined on forecasts for big South American crops, and wheat followed the weak trend. The Chicago Board of Trade May soybean futures contract settled down 10-3/4 […] Read more

USDA raises U.S. stocks view as Brazil crop threatens exports
Washington | Reuters –– U.S. soybean supplies will be bigger than expected at the end of the marketing year as a record harvest in Brazil will flood the global market, cutting into demand for U.S. exports, the government said on Thursday. The U.S. Agriculture Department in its monthly supply and demand report raised its outlook […] Read more

Brazil’s female farmers occupy government offices
Rio de Janeiro | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Hundreds of female farmers in Brazil occupied rural government offices on Wednesday in protest against austerity plans which they say disproportionately impact poor women. Protesters who marched across several cities on International Women’s Day said pension reforms and other changes to social security will make it harder […] Read more