Reading Time: 4 minutes Singapore | Reuters –– In 2009, the El Nino brought the worst drought in four decades to India. It razed wheat fields in Australia and damaged crops across Asia. Food prices surged. A closely watched forecast by Japan on Tuesday confirmed its return this year. A strong El Nino will roil economies that are heavily […] Read more
El Nino has emerged, Asia braces for crop damage
China expected to boost imports of protein-rich wheat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing/Singapore | Reuters — Chinese wheat buyers are likely to step up imports of higher quality grains to meet a domestic shortfall even though total overseas purchases are forecast to tumble this year due to bumper production at home, analysts and traders said. China, the world’s biggest wheat producer and consumer, has seen output climb […] Read more
Asia’s mills eye Canada’s wheat as Australian supply slows
Reading Time: 2 minutes Singapore | Reuters — Asian flour millers are looking at buying Canadian spring wheat for shipment early next year as supplies from drought-hit Australia are likely to remain slow, traders said. Canadian western red spring wheat is being offered at around $345 a tonne, including cost and freight, nearly unchanged from last week, while Australia […] Read more
Australian farmers hold back wheat sales as dryness curbs yields
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Australian farmers are holding back wheat crop sales as dryness in parts of the country’s eastern grain belt cuts yields, raising the likelihood for a boost to global prices that have dropped 13 per cent this year. Farmers in the world’s fourth biggest wheat exporter have sold only about a quarter of this […] Read more
China’s Cofco to pay $1.5B for stake in Noble agribusiness
Reading Time: 3 minutes Singapore/Hong Kong | Reuters — Cofco Corp. has agreed to pay US$1.5 billion for a majority stake in Noble Group’s agribusiness, its second acquisition in less than two months, as China’s largest grain trader seeks to strengthen its market position worldwide. The two companies plan to form a joint venture, in which Cofco will own […] Read more
Frost, rains hit Australia’s wheat crop, drag on quality
Reading Time: 3 minutes Unseasonal rains in Western Australia and frost on the country’s east coast have hit wheat crops in the world’s No. 2 exporter of the grain, dragging down quality and reducing harvests. A decline in supply of high-protein wheat from Australia could force major buyers such as Indonesia and China to seek more volumes from the […] Read more
Dryness threatens Australia wheat supply as seeding kicks off
Reading Time: 3 minutes A lack of soil moisture in Australia’s eastern grain belt could hit wheat production in the world’s second largest exporter as farmers start seeding the 2013-14 crop. Concerns over Australia’s wheat output come as the U.S. crop faces winter storms after being planted in dry soil last year, piling pressure on global grain supplies and […] Read more
Australia’s early wheat harvest shows lower protein
Reading Time: 2 minutes The early wheat harvest in Australia, the world’s second largest exporter, is showing lower protein scales and poor yields, analysts and traders said, heightening concerns over global grain supplies as shipments from top exporters dwindle. Farmers are finding lower-than-expected protein scales in New South Wales and Queensland, the states responsible for producing top quality hard […] Read more
Farm private investment seen doubling in two years
Reading Time: 2 minutes Inflows of private capital in agriculture worldwide are expected to more than double to around $5 billion to $7 billion in two years as rising food prices spur investments in farm land and production facilities. Investors from the United States and Europe are looking at South America for growing more feed grains, corn and soybeans, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
