Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Australia’s competition regulator on Wednesday approved a planned $1 billion takeover of the country’s largest dairy processor, Murray Goulburn Co-operative, by Canada’s Saputo. The deal, which Australia’s largest dairy processor says is key to its survival, was approved after Saputo agreed to sell a milk plant in Victoria state to address concerns from […] Read more
Australia clears Saputo’s Murray Goulburn takeover
U.S. livestock: CME hogs limit down on China pork tariff hike
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Some deferred-month Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures settled down their three-cent-per-pound daily price limit on Monday after China raised tariffs on U.S. pork by another 25 per cent, said traders. Late on Sunday China announced higher duties on U.S. pork and over 100 other products that went into effect on […] Read more
China slaps tariffs on U.S. frozen pork, wine
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China has slapped extra tariffs of up to 25 per cent on 128 U.S. products including frozen pork, as well as on wine and certain fruits and nuts, in response to U.S. duties on imports of aluminum and steel, China’s finance ministry said. The tariffs, to take effect on Monday, were […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs end mixed on positioning before USDA report
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures settled mixed on Tuesday after investors adjusted positions before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) quarterly hog report on Thursday, said traders. Analysts polled by Reuters, on average, estimated the U.S. hog inventory as of March 1 at 72.902 million head or 3.1 per cent […] Read more
China should target U.S. soybeans, former finance minister says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Beijing | Reuters –– The response by China’s commerce ministry to the latest U.S trade measures is too weak, and should target U.S. soybeans, former Chinese finance minister Lou Jiwei said on Saturday. The commerce ministry on Friday unveiled a plan to levy additional duties on up to US$3 billion of U.S. imports including fruit […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs slump again on cash prices, trade war threat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs fell on Friday for a second straight day, hit by recent cash hog price weakness and mounting worries about a potential trade war between the U.S. and China, traders said. Beijing said Friday it was considering imposing an additional tariff on U.S. products including an extra […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Trade war risk slams CME hogs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs hit a four-month low on Thursday as U.S. stocks plummeted amid fears of a potential trade war between the U.S. and China, said traders. On Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cash prices extend CME live cattle losses
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle fell on Wednesday for a fifth straight session, weighed down by a burdensome supply outlook and cash prices that fell short of expectations, traders said. A few investors adjusted positions in advance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) monthly Cattle on Feed report on Friday. […] Read more
Dreyfus posts profit rise in challenging market
Reading Time: < 1 minute Paris | Reuters — French commodities trader Louis Dreyfus reported a rise of almost four per cent in annual net profit on Wednesday buoyed by higher volumes but cautioned that industry challenges persist. Like its rivals, Dreyfus has faced lower margins linked to large inventories, low prices and reduced price volatility, prompting it to spin […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle extend slide
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell on Tuesday, extending their slide to four straight sessions on declining cash prices and expectations of rising cattle supplies in the next few months. Cash cattle traded lightly in Texas and Kansas, down $1 from last week’s trade, brokers said (all figures US$). “We […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
