Canada’s seven-year-old free trade pact with South Korea already provides for reduced tariffs on cherries from British Columbia — a commodity that’s just been approved for export to Korea for the first time starting this month. Canadian agriculture and food safety officials announced Aug. 10 that talks with Seoul on import rules and certifications had […] Read more

B.C. cherries cleared for export to Korea
Canada-Korea free trade pact a step ahead on lower tariffs

Korea suspends Canadian beef imports after BSE case
No other countries yet considering suspensions, CFIA says
Winnipeg | Reuters — South Korea has suspended beef imports from Canada, which last week reported its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in six years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Wednesday. South Korea, the fourth-largest beef importer in the world, is seeking more information about the case before lifting its suspension, the […] Read more

South Korea confirms new cases of African swine fever
Seoul | Reuters — South Korea has confirmed new cases of African swine fever at hog farms in cities near the capital Seoul after the country’s first outbreak of the deadly virus last week, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. The new case occurred at a pig farm with about 1,800 pigs in the city […] Read more

Japan still trusts Canadian wheat system, say officials
Country is a top wheat customer and will continue to be despite GM wheat incident, they say
Reading Time: 5 minutes Relationships still matter when it comes to trade, and Alberta officials say those will be key in re-establishing wheat sales with one of the country’s biggest buyers. No sooner had news broken that a small number of genetically modified wheat plants had been found in Alberta than industry reps were arranging to meet with officials […] Read more

South Korea lifts suspension on Canadian wheat sales
Seoul | Reuters — South Korea’s food ministry on Tuesday said it had lifted a temporary suspension on sales of Canadian wheat as it had not discovered any unapproved genetically modified strains during tests on imports. South Korea suspended sales of Canadian wheat last week after Canada announced the discovery in mid-2017 of an unapproved […] Read more

South Korea halts sale of Canadian wheat, flour
Seoul | Reuters — South Korea has suspended the sale of wheat and flour from Canada after Canadian officials announced last week the discovery in mid-2017 of an unapproved genetically modified trait in southern Alberta. “We will only allow sale of wheat products that are confirmed not to contain unapproved genetically modified wheat,” South Korea’s […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn hits seven-month high on exports
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures climbed to a seven-month high on Tuesday, buoyed by robust export demand amid drought conditions in No. 3 global shipper Argentina, traders said. Soybeans also rose as rains forecast this week in Argentina were likely to provide only limited relief for soy and corn plants damaged by months […] Read more

Cargill expects grain glut to last long time
Seoul | Reuters –– Commodity firm Cargill expects international grain markets to remain oversupplied for a long time due to bountiful harvests and a rise in storage, the head of the global commodity trader said on Friday. Bumper crops have flooded many markets, dragging on prices for grains and hitting profits at agribusiness giants including […] Read more

Bird flu redirects trade flow of U.S. chicken, eggs, grains
Chicago | Reuters –– Global outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have altered the flow of U.S. chicken meat, eggs and grain around the world, adding to challenges faced by domestic exporters and giving a leg up to Brazil, which has so far escaped the disease. Different strains of avian flu have been detected across […] Read more

Brazilian meatpackers slump on import curbs
Sao Paulo/Beijing | Reuters — Fallout from a meatpacking industry scandal in Brazil, the world’s biggest exporter of beef and poultry, widened on Monday as China, the EU, South Korea and Chile curtailed meat imports from the country after inspectors were accused of taking bribes to allow sales of tainted food. With other import curbs […] Read more