Reading Time: 3 minutes 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
Bunge, Viterra merger would create global ag trading giant
Companies have some overlap in Canadian crushing
U.S. grains: Wheat futures sink on rains, global supplies
U.S. winter wheat conditions likely improved in past week
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures tumbled to fresh lows on Monday on ample world supplies, sluggish U.S. export demand and beneficial rains in key production areas of the Plains and Midwest. Corn futures slumped on forecasts for favourable Midwest planting weather and lagging U.S. export sales, while soybeans edged higher in a technical […] Read more
U.S. farmers aim to plant more corn, soy in 2023, but delays likely
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farmers are aiming to expand plantings of corn, wheat and soybeans this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a prospective plantings report on Friday, as the ongoing war in Ukraine keeps global supplies tight. But adverse planting conditions are likely to trim back the expansion in some […] Read more
Cargill plans to halt grain export activities in Russia
Viterra also set to halt grain trading in Russia, sources say
Reading Time: 2 minutes Moscow/Chicago | Reuters — Cargill said Wednesday it would take a further step back from the Russian market by stopping handling Russian grain from its export terminal from July, although its shipping unit will continue to carry grain from Russian ports. Most international grain traders have stopped new investment in Russia since last year following […] Read more
BASF halting hybrid wheat seed development in North America
Results 'have not achieved development goals we set'
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Global chemicals and crop seeds company BASF is halting development of hybrid wheat in North America after results of seed trials failed to reach development goals, the company told Reuters on Wednesday. BASF will instead focus development of the new type of wheat in European markets, aiming to launch the technology there “toward […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle end firm on tight supplies, lower weights
Hogs mixed on weak cash prices, higher cutout
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended mostly firm on Friday, underpinned by tight supplies and as harsh winter weather in recent weeks lowered cattle slaughter weights and limited beef production, traders said. Live cattle futures prices remained bound in a recent trading range as cash cattle prices at Plains feedlot […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy, corn rise on smaller U.S. harvest, Argentina drought worries
U.S. markets closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed for a third straight day on Friday and corn scaled to a 1-1/2 week top on follow-through buying after bullish U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop data the prior day and concerns about poor South American weather. Both markets gained more than two per cent since USDA […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs end mixed, cattle mostly lower
Corn's rally put pressure on feeder cattle futures
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures ended mixed on Thursday, with actively traded nearby months down on weak pork prices and dull demand, while deferred contracts rose on expectations for tighter supplies in coming months, traders said. The February hog contract was down for the 10th time in 11 sessions and […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans surge after USDA cuts 2022 harvest view
Brazil's CONAB projects big corn crop, record soy crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rallied on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unexpectedly cut its 2022 harvest estimates for both crops, which would mean smaller-than-expected supplies. Wheat futures gained on spillover support from rising corn and soy. Traders largely shrugged off USDA’s larger-than-anticipated winter wheat crop acreage estimate […] Read more
U.S. grains: Futures firm ahead of USDA crop data
Wheat up on technicals, short covering; corn mixed, soybeans firm on Argentine drought concerns
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures firmed on Wednesday as a drop to 15-month lows in the previous session sparked technical buying and short covering, and as traders took positions ahead of key U.S. government crop reports, traders said. Corn was mixed and soybeans edged higher, underpinned by concerns about weather-reduced crops in South […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
