Reading Time: 2 minutes Sydney | Reuters — Australia’s trade minister is seeking urgent talks with his Chinese counterpart after key agriculture exports were hit with suspensions and tariff threats, but said Australia will continue to push for an inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak. Trade minister Simon Birmingham requested a telephone call with Chinese commerce minister Zhong Shan after […] Read more
Australia requests China trade talks over beef, barley
Global wheat, corn, soy production expected to increase
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Global crop production in the latest monthly supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to increase for wheat, corn and soybeans. USDA released its world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) on Tuesday. The expectation is that global wheat production will be bumped up by 0.56 per […] Read more
Grains, oilseeds, pulses hold their own amid pandemic
Reading Time: 3 minutes MarketsFarm — Prices for grains, oilseeds and pulses are not as bad off as livestock values are due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Neil Townsend, chief market analyst for FarmLink Solutions in Winnipeg. FarmLink hosted a webinar Wednesday to provide its outlook for the coming crop year. One thing Townsend stressed was there is […] Read more
Canola production paths diverge for Canada, Australia
Issues seen in Canadian crop quality, logistics
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canola production is on different paths in Canada and Australia, according to the respective attachés from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). For the world’s top two canola exporters, the attachés forecast production in Canada to remain steady and project strong gains for Australia. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) published the reports Monday, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat futures rally, pull corn higher
Chicago soybean futures weaken
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures surged 4.5 per cent on Tuesday, their biggest gain since May, as cuts to the harvest outlook in Australia bolstered prospects for U.S. exports, traders said. The rally in wheat, which closed near session highs as technical buyers entered the market after the early strength, underpinned the corn […] Read more
Strong export demand, acreage ahead for barley
Lower supplies from Australia benefit Canadian growers
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian malting barley acreage is expected to remain high in the coming year, mostly due to strong export demand. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Center in Winnipeg, said tough harvest conditions were partially to blame for lowered malt barley output in 2019. “We had a fairly lousy harvest, […] Read more
Virus concerns add more uncertainty to cattle market
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Cattle futures in Chicago dropped hard over the past few days, as mounting concerns over the new coronavirus in China triggered a broad-based selloff in global equities and commodities. While the virus adds an extra layer of uncertainty to the North American cattle market, expectations for solid beef demand should remain supportive for […] Read more
Canada, EU, China, others agree on temporary fix to WTO crisis
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels/Davos | Reuters — Canada, the European Union, China and 14 other World Trade Organization members agreed on Friday to create a temporary mechanism to settle trade disputes after U.S. action rendered the WTO incapable last month of acting as the umpire of global trade. The Canadian government and the European Commission said separately that […] Read more
Favourable growing conditions forecast for major ag regions
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian producers looking for challenging growing conditions elsewhere in the world to prop up commodity prices may be disappointed during the 2020 growing season. South America “If you’re looking for any help from South America for your canola or soybeans or corn, you’d better look somewhere else,” Drew Lerner, president of World Weather […] Read more
U.S. grains: CBOT wheat surges to five-month high
Reading Time: 2 minutes Corrected, Nov. 30 — Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures exploded to a five-month high on Friday due to threats to global production and as fund scrambled to cover their short positions in the post-holiday market, traders said. The wheat rally gave support to Chicago corn futures, which hit a three-week high on the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
