Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg/Rome | Reuters — Italy has this week formally asked the European Commission to allow it to require country-of-origin labels on pasta sold there, raising alarms for Canadian durum wheat exporters who fear the move will dampen sales. Italian Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina said on Twitter on Monday that Italy had sent a decree to […] Read more
As Italy seeks pasta labels, Canada worries about durum sales
Crop chemical maker FMC aims for growth after DuPont deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Pesticide seller FMC Corp. will aim for its industry’s fastest revenue growth with the help of assets acquired from rival DuPont, even as farm markets struggle to recover, CEO Pierre Brondeau said on Monday. Philadelphia-based FMC will focus on increasing sales of crop chemicals developed internally, and avoid big acquisitions for a few […] Read more
U.S. farm groups pile on Canada as Trump eyes trade fairness
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of the protected Canadian dairy system has emboldened U.S. farm groups to tackle other longstanding agriculture irritants, as the countries move toward rewriting trade rules. U.S. poultry exporters, who include Tyson Foods and Pilgrims Pride Corp., as well as egg sellers, are expected to seek greater […] Read more
Canadian canola stocks seen dwindling to four-year low
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian stockpiles of canola dwindled to a four-year low ahead of planting season after brisk demand from crushers and exporters, but wheat supplies swelled, according to a Reuters survey of 12 traders and analysts. On Friday, Statistics Canada will estimate crop supplies as of March 31, 2017, from commercial and farm […] Read more
PotashCorp notches higher profit as sales climb
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Saskatchewan-based PotashCorp reported a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Thursday and raised its full-year outlook, citing lower costs and increased sales volumes. Shares of the Saskatoon-based fertilizer producer rose 1.6 per cent in early New York trading, touching a three-week high. Revenue was lower in the first quarter due to weaker prices […] Read more
Trump vows to back U.S. dairy farmers in Canada trade spat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to defend U.S. dairy farmers who have been hurt by Canada’s protectionist trade practices, during a visit to the cheese-making state of Wisconsin. Canada’s dairy sector is protected by high tariffs on imported products and controls on domestic production as a means of supporting prices that […] Read more
Canpotex aims for ‘material’ potash price bump from China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian potash exporter Canpotex is pressing Chinese buyers to pay a “material” price increase for the fertilizer in their annual supply contract, as spot values in other markets rise off multi-year lows, Canpotex’s chief executive said on Monday. “We’re not interested in some kind of ratcheting down. That is for sure,” […] Read more
Pulse firm AGT sees resolution of India-Canada trade snag
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada’s AGT Food and Ingredients, one of the world’s biggest exporters of peas and lentils, expects India to extend an exemption for Canada within days from a crop fumigation policy that threatened to jeopardize $1.1 billion in annual trade of the food staples, CEO Murad Al-Katib said Tuesday. India’s current exemption […] Read more
Pulse crop sales to India dry up over pest-control plan
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg/Mumbai | Reuters –– Canadian exporters are slowing sales of peas and lentils to India, threatening $1.1 billion in annual trade of the food staples, over risk that New Delhi may reject shipments under its tougher approach to pest control. India requires shippers to fumigate crops with methyl bromide, an insect-killing gas, in the country […] Read more
Cash-rich Maple Leaf sees abundant U.S. opportunities
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian meat packing company Maple Leaf Foods is hunting for acquisitions in the U.S., after years spent upgrading old factories and shedding business lines, its CEO said on Wednesday. Maple Leaf, which reported on Wednesday its profits doubled in the fourth quarter, sees growth opportunities from meat produced humanely and without antibiotics, and […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
