Reading Time: 3 minutes It wasn’t only a bad year for growing wheat in Canada and the U.S. — poor weather in other major producers has sharply reduced the world’s exportable supplies. In a recent webinar held in conjunction with Alberta Wheat and Barley, Jade Delafraye of London-based Argus Media said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has dropped its […] Read more
Wheat supply drop sharpest in a decade
Not only are supplies tight — so are ocean vessels for delivering to customers
Baltic Dry Index hits 12-year high
Canadian grain exports slow either way
MarketsFarm — Strong demand to move cargo coupled with weather-related shipping constraints in a number of key corridors has helped take ocean freight rates to their highest levels in more than a decade. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, settled Friday at 4,275 points, marking its highest level since November […] Read more
ADM quarterly profit surges amid strong U.S. corn exports to China
Reuters – U.S. grain merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co on Tuesday reported quarterly profit leapt 52 percent due to strong exports and oilseed crushing margins. The bigger-than-expected earnings sent shares to a two-week high and extended a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which last year hurt demand for the company’s ethanol and food products. Shares were up […] Read more
Grain demand strong within Canada
Reading Time: < 1 minute Grain exports are off to a stellar start this crop year, but things are good on the home front, too, says provincial crop market analyst Neil Blue. Canadian Grain Commission data as of mid-November shows canola exports were up 34 per cent, non-durum wheat up 27 per cent, peas up 24 per cent and lentils […] Read more
Baltic Dry Index at four-month lows
Declining demand seen from China
MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have fallen off of their highs of the past year over the course of the past month, but remain well above the lows hit in the spring when global markets first started reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, has moved […] Read more
Wheat, canola exports ahead of year-ago pace
MarketsFarm — Canadian grain and oilseed exports are running well ahead of the year-ago level eight weeks into the 2020-21 marketing year, according to the latest data from the Canadian Grain Commission. Total bulk exports of the major grains and oilseeds, as of Sunday, of 7.17 million tonnes compare with the six million exported during […] Read more
Grain exports flow fast as pandemic lockdowns clear rail capacity
Traffic accelerates on lower coal, crude volumes
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian grain exporters are boosting sales in a slumping global economy, as demand for commodities like oil weakens and frees up railway space. Brisk crop movement in a country that relies heavily on rail is a bright spot during pandemic lockdowns, which have hammered most industries. “We’ve had an almost unlimited […] Read more
Russia will suspend grain exports for six weeks if quota runs out mid-May
Several supplies to Egypt might be affected, traders say
Moscow | Reuters — Russia, the world’s biggest wheat exporter, will suspend grain exports until July 1 once its export quota is exhausted, which is currently expected to happen in mid-May, its deputy agriculture minister Oksana Lut said on Friday. Russia last fully banned wheat exports in 2010 when drought hit its harvest, rocking global […] Read more
Handlers focus on keeping grain moving despite COVID-19
Grain companies, Canadian Grain Commission working but unsure of future
Canada’s grain companies are committed to keeping grain moving to domestic and export customers, but how the spread of COVID-19 might affect business is still an unknown, says Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association. “We are are going to do everything in our power to keep grain moving at this time,” […] Read more
Grains sector backed to develop export rejection insurance
Code of practice for 'sustainable' crops also in works
The organization representing Canada’s crops sector will get public funding to develop an insurance plan against the “unpredictability” of export customers. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, speaking Wednesday at the CropConnect conference in Winnipeg, announced over $430,000 for the Canada Grains Council to develop a pilot insurance product for grain exporters. Such an insurance plan […] Read more
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