As we start the new year amid elevated inflation and major headwinds facing the economy, here are our top charts to help make sense of the economic environment for farm operations, agribusinesses and food processors.
FCC’s top economic charts to monitor in 2024
Downward trends for cattle, swine herds; positive bent to feed, fertilizer affordability
Bunge, Viterra confirm marriage plans
Firms to merge under Bunge banner
The grain handler built out from the foundations of the former Prairie pools is set to be absorbed into one of the world’s biggest grain trading firms in a cash-and-stock deal. After the news leaked out last month, Rotterdam-based Viterra confirmed Tuesday morning it’s “concluded an agreement” to merge into Bunge — the St. Louis-based […] 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
Louis Dreyfus expanding Yorkton canola crush plant
New expansion would more than double plant's capacity
Louis Dreyfus’ Yorkton, Sask. canola crushing plant is about to undergo another major expansion. The project, announced Tuesday, is expected to add an additional canola crushing line and more than double the plant’s annual capacity to over two million tonnes upon completion. Construction is due to begin later this year. The crush plant, built in […] Read more
They’re crushing it: Canola plants seeing big-time profits
High crush margins mean demand should stay strong, but premiums for growers are scarce
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canola crush profits are high, but that’s no reason for growers to break out the champagne, say Alberta producers. Crush plants are riding a wave of demand and processed about 794,000 tonnes of seed in September, the most in a year. And with crush margins well above $200 per tonne for futures contracts (more than […] Read more
Ceres pulls plans for Saskatchewan canola crush plant
U.S. company suspends project citing higher-than-projected costs
U.S. ag commodities firm Ceres Global Ag’s plans for a canola crush plant in southeastern Saskatchewan are now on indefinite hold. Minneapolis-based Ceres said Friday it’s suspending the crush project it announced in May last year and will terminate a related equipment design and supply contract, so as to reduce “project-related contract liabilities.” The proposed […] Read more
Co-op, AGT plan to crush canola at Regina
Crusher would feed FCL's planned renewable diesel plant
Federated Co-operatives’ plans for a renewable diesel processing plant at Regina now also include processing the canola oil needed to supply that plant. Federated Co-op (FCL) on Monday announced a memo of understanding has been signed with Regina grain and pulse crop processor AGT Foods on a joint venture that will “look to construct” a […] Read more
Canola crush margins double year-ago level
MarketsFarm — Canola crush margins have shown considerable improvement in recent weeks — a sign the commodity is looking cheap compared to its product values. As of Monday, the Canola Board Crush Margin calculated by ICE Futures U.S. was about $100 above the November contract — a figure up by $10 over the past month […] Read more
Canola crushing steady
CNS Canada — Canada’s domestic canola crushing remains steady year over year. Statistics Canada data show 742,573 tonnes of canola seed crushed in June this year, which marks a slight rise from 731,124 in June 2017 and 702,716 in the same month of 2016. Domestic crushers processed 765,216 tonnes of seed in May of this […] Read more
Richardson cranking up canola crush, throughput at Lethbridge
Agrifood firm Richardson International plans to put up $120 million to dial up the processing capacity of its canola crushing plant in southern Alberta by over 55 per cent. Privately-held, Winnipeg-based Richardson said Wednesday the new upgrades at its Lethbridge plant are expected to boost its peak annual crush to over 700,000 tonnes of canola per year, […] Read more
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