Ottawa | Reuters — Canada and the United States have agreed to extend a ban on non-essential travel between the two nations by another 30 days as part of the fight against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. U.S. and Canadian officials had said last week it was likely that the measure […] Read more
Canada, U.S. agree on extension for ban on non-essential travel
China hits Australia with barley tariff
Duty to last for five years; China may turn to Canada, other exporters
Beijing/Sydney | Reuters — China added to tensions with Australia on Monday by announcing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties totalling 80.5 per cent on Australian barley imports from Tuesday (May 19), which is expected to all but halt a billion-dollar trade between them. China’s ministry of commerce said it had confirmed dumping by Australia and significant […] Read more
More Mexican beef headed to U.S. dinner tables as supply crunch bites
"I think we're going to leap past Canada this year"
Mexico City/Chicago | Reuters — More Mexican steaks and other beef cuts are headed north of the border after the coronavirus outbreak has hobbled U.S. meat processing plants, potentially offsetting fears of shortages affecting businesses from fast-food chains to grocery stores but angering U.S. ranchers. The Mexican industry chalks up the export growth to new […] Read more
Global wheat, corn, soy production expected to increase
MarketsFarm — Global crop production in the latest monthly supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to increase for wheat, corn and soybeans. USDA released its world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) on Tuesday. The expectation is that global wheat production will be bumped up by 0.56 per […] Read more
Canada’s growers look to reopening garden centres to salvage dire year
Ottawa | Reuters — Hard-hit Canadian flower and nursery growers hope a surge in demand from budding gardeners in Ontario, the country’s biggest market, can help the industry avert disaster caused by the coronavirus with retailers reopening on Friday in the populous province. Most non-essential businesses in Canada were shut in mid-March as officials urged […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea acreage expected lower
MarketsFarm — High global prices in the 2017-18 marketing year caused a global spike in chickpea production in 2018. It’s since taken a while for consumers to “chew through supplies,” which has put pressure on prices, according to Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodities. In a kabuli chickpea global outlook webinar hosted by the Global Pulse […] Read more
CUSMA pact to take effect July 1, USTR says
Washington | Reuters — U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Friday said he has notified Congress that the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will take effect on July 1, a month later than initially proposed. In a statement, Lighthizer said both Mexico and Canada had taken measures necessary to comply with their commitments under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada […] Read more
Pig farmers seek aid of $20 per hog against market crash
Losses of $675 million expected from COVID-19-related causes
Canada’s hog producers seek an immediate federal cash injection equivalent to $20 per hog against a market crash that’s expected to cost their sector about $675 million overall. Officials with the Canadian Pork Council on Thursday called for Ottawa to provide further aid to hog farmers who are now expecting to lose $30 to more […] Read more
AgriStability deadline extended for 2020
Income stabilization plan's latest enrolment date stretched nine weeks
The federal government and provinces have agreed to spot farmers nine extra weeks to enroll in AgriStability for the 2020 program year. The governments on Friday announced the AgriStability enrolment deadline for 2020, previously April 30, has been extended without penalty to July 3. The decision by Ottawa, the provinces and territories “will enable the […] Read more
Joint U.S.-Canada border approach to pandemic seen as well-managed
Ottawa — The compromise between Canada and the U.S. to maintain the flow of goods between the two countries while limiting the trans-border flow of people during the COVID-19 crisis is a collaborative approach that serves as a global example, trade observers say. Alan Bersin, a global fellow at the Wilson Centre, said the border […] Read more
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