Washington/New Delhi | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump looked set to open a new front in his trade wars with a plan to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to US$5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States. Monday’s move comes as trade tensions between the […] Read more

Trump moves to scrap trade privilege for India

India to reimburse freight for some ag exports
New Delhi | Reuters — India will provide federal support for the transportation of some farm products to make Indian goods more competitive in foreign markets, the government said in a statement Tuesday. The scheme will be applicable for a year, to March 2020. The government will reimburse the freight paid by Indian exporters through […] Read more

U.S. wins WTO ruling on Chinese grains
Geneva | Reuters — The United States won a World Trade Organization ruling on China’s price support for grains, successfully challenging a calculation methodology that is also used by India. A WTO adjudication panel agreed on Thursday with the U.S. complaint that China had paid farmers too much for wheat, Indica rice and Japonica rice […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Little excitement in market
The pulse market has been largely quiet for the last couple of months, according to Adam Krieser of CanPulse Foods in Saskatoon, although rail shipments were curtailed due to weather and other issues including a fatal crash. Three Canadian Pacific Railway crew members were killed Feb. 4 when a grain train derailed on CP’s mainline […] Read more

AGT privatization gets shareholders’ approval
The privatization of Canadian pulse processor AGT Food and Ingredients is set to move another step forward as company officials take their plan to Ontario’s Superior Court on Monday. The Feb. 11 court date in Toronto comes after AGT shareholders voted Tuesday at a special shareholders’ meeting in favour of privatization, according to a company […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Nothing new in India
Very little has changed for Canadian pulses in terms of exports to India, according to an analyst. Meanwhile, Canadian stocks of dry field peas and lentils are still relatively large, according to Statistics Canada. India in 2017 imposed import duties to protect its domestic pulse industry and is rumoured to be solidifying those duties, according […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea area to drop back to ‘normal’
Canadian chickpea acres are expected to return to more normal levels in 2019, after a sizeable jump in 2018. However, while prices are off the highs that drove 2018 seeding intentions, they still could have some room to the upside over the next few months. After seeding 442,900 acres of chickpeas in 2018, Canadian farmers […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Eyes on India as North America’s prices firm
CNS Canada — From where Prairie pulse market analysts sit, India’s politics and current weather situation remain important to watch. India’s national election will be called in the next three to five months. “There’s so many hundreds of thousands of farmers in India and they have political clout,” said Allan Johnston of Johnston Grains at […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: 2018 a challenging year
CNS Canada — It’s been a year of challenges for the Canadian pulse industry, as it struggled to survive after its largest customer all but vanished overnight — but the industry has started to grow in new ways. “It was challenging for farmers who saw a real shift in pulse prices, challenging for processors and […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Market depends on India’s fortunes
CNS Canada — When it comes to Canadian pulse crops, David Newman of Commodious Trading says producers, speculators and processors are long — and that has been of great concern to him. “You have everybody wanting to sell and you better hope that there’s someone there to take all of it,” he said. The wildcard […] Read more