Sunset in Egypt on the Nile River south of Luxor. (CIA.gov)

Egypt court ruling revives row over ergot in wheat

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cairo | Reuters — A court that ordered the suspension of Egypt’s food inspection system based its ruling in part on the quarantine service’s right to ban grain imports with any trace of the ergot fungus, raising the possibility the contested rule could be restored. The government’s new food inspection system simplified trade after a […] Read more

Sunset in Egypt on the Nile River south of Luxor. (CIA.gov)

Egypt’s wheat imports again uncertain as ergot ban looms

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cairo | Reuters — An Egyptian court has decided to reinstate a zero tolerance policy on common grain fungus ergot, lawyers on the case told Reuters on Tuesday, plunging trade with the world’s largest wheat importer back into uncertainty. Egypt last year scrapped a ban on ergot in grain imports after it effectively halted purchase […] Read more


Brazil police probe ag ministry for corruption

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian federal police started two separate investigations on Tuesday into suspected corruption at the Agriculture Ministry to benefit meatpacking, dairy and other food companies. The probes into whether inspection procedures were eased in favour of certain unnamed companies comes two months after the country’s meatpacking industry was rocked by a […] Read more

The Nile River at Cairo. (CIA.gov)

Health ministry decision makes zero ergot Egypt’s new normal

Reading Time: 3 minutes Abu Dhabi/Cairo | Reuters — Egypt’s health ministry banned wheat with any ergot fungus on Monday, a decision traders said signals the zero tolerance policy that wreaked havoc on the country’s grain purchases earlier this year is back to stay. The decree, seen by Reuters, brings the ministry in line with an agriculture ministry decree […] Read more


Russia not planning expanded ban on Western foods

Reading Time: < 1 minute Moscow | Reuters — Russia does not plan to expand the list of banned Western food products, Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev told reporters. Earlier on Friday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered his ministers to draft proposals to extend Moscow’s food import ban until the end of 2017. The Agriculture Ministry has already started preparing […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Egypt writes to wheat suppliers on ergot, hoping to win confidence

Reading Time: 2 minutes Abu Dhabi | Reuters — Egypt’s Agriculture Ministry sent a letter to traders saying it will allow an ergot fungus tolerance level of 0.05 per cent in wheat imports, hoping suppliers will make offers in international purchase tenders for the strategic grain. Disputes about ergot content level have disrupted top buyer Egypt’s wheat imports in […] Read more


(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Sask. to seek new animal protection agency

Reading Time: < 1 minute Saskatchewan’s agriculture ministry plans to seek other options for enforcement of animal protection laws, with three months before the current enforcer’s contract ends. The ministry confirmed Monday that the Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has decided not to renew its contract for enforcement of the provincial Animal Protection Act. The […] Read more