New York | Reuters — The March floods that punished the U.S. Midwest have roiled the ethanol industry, hammering prices and trapping barrels in the country’s interior while the U.S. coasts suffer from shortages of the biofuel. The historic March floods have dealt a series of blows to large swaths of an ethanol industry that […] Read more
Midwest floods hammer U.S. ethanol industry
China’s ban on Canadian canola expands to Viterra
Beijing/Ottawa | Reuters — China expanded its ban on Canadian canola seed imports on Tuesday to include shipments from Viterra, the latest development in a wider trade dispute between the two countries. Viterra is the second canola exporter to have its registration cancelled, after Beijing halted shipments from top exporter Richardson International earlier this month. […] Read more
Canada working to end China’s canola block, Freeland says
Montreal — The Canadian government is working hard to reopen Richardson International’s Canadian canola markets in China, says Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs. “We’re working closely with Canadian farmers and Canadian industry,” Freeland said in a brief interview after speaking at the Canadian Crops Convention (CCC) here Wednesday. “Our embassy is very focused […] Read more
Richardson disputes China claim of ‘hazardous pests’ in canola
Beijing/Chicago | Reuters — Canadian agribusiness Richardson International said on Wednesday that canola it shipped to China met regulatory requirements after a Chinese official charged that “hazardous pests” were found in samples taken recently from Canadian canola imports. Beijing this month cancelled Richardson’s registration to ship Canadian canola to China, the world’s top importer of […] Read more
Mexican farmers urge ‘mirror’ tariffs on Trump’s rural base
Mexico City | Reuters — Leaders of Mexico’s agricultural sector are urging “mirror measures” on U.S. farm imports in politically sensitive products such as yellow corn and poultry, in an effort they argue would counter decades of subsidized imports from the United States. The three-month-old government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is currently working […] Read more
Trump delays tariff hike on Chinese goods, citing trade talk progress
Washington | Reuters — President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would delay an increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods thanks to “productive” trade talks and that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would meet to seal a deal if progress continued. The announcement was the clearest sign yet that China and the U.S. […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat rebounds from seven-month low
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rebounded on Thursday after a four-day slide, while the grains market overall steadied as U.S. and China trade negotiators sketched an outline for what could be a deal to end the trade war. Thursday’s technical bounce in wheat was encouraged by optimism over the trade negotiations, which also […] Read more
EU adopts post-Brexit import quotas for farm produce
Brussels | Reuters — The European Union on Monday adopted quotas for farming produce it will accept from third countries after Britain leaves the bloc and acknowledged this could happen before it has concluded talks with them on the subject. The EU has in place a series of tariff rate quotas, allowing agricultural producers such […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs sink on big supplies, poor exports
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell sharply on Friday, with the most active April contract hitting its lowest in more than five months, as disappointing export demand failed to ease the supply glut in the United States. “The trade was very enthused that we were going to see all this Chinese […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans down again, corn ends higher
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Friday for a second session as traders reacted to smaller-than-expected purchases this week by China coupled with ballooning global supplies, traders said. Corn futures firmed on prospects for China to start buying U.S. supplies of the yellow grain, while wheat declined, consolidating a day after reaching […] Read more
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