Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — After nearly a year of next-to-no dealmaking, cannabis companies are gearing up for mergers and acquisitions (M+A) as realistic stock valuations and the prospect of U.S. legalization attract buyers to a sector that has been decimated by oversupply and other issues, executives and investors say. Profitable cannabis companies want to buy their way […] Read more
Cannabis industry readies for M+A after COVID-19 boosts weed demand
Companies betting on U.S. market growth after election
North American ammonium nitrate laws best in world, Nutrien CEO says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — North America’s regulations for handling ammonium nitrate, a potentially explosive product used in fertilizer and in the mining industry, are the strictest in the world, the CEO of Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien said Tuesday. An ammonium nitrate stockpile exploded last week in Beirut killing at least 171 people, injuring 6,000 and […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans up with exports, corn up slightly on dry weather
Big expected Russian, Canadian crops weaken wheat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures rose on Monday as a spate of new-crop soybean export sales eased concerns about forecasts of huge harvests across the U.S. Midwest. Corn futures were buoyed by dryness in top corn-producing states, as weekend rainfall missed drought-stricken parts of western Iowa. Meanwhile, wheat futures slipped on estimates for […] Read more
Canadian canola prices spike as shippers find back door to China
'Profits are extravagant... It is like gold oil now'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg/Beijing | Reuters — Canadian canola prices have soared to the highest in nearly two years, despite a diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing, as exporters find roundabout ways to reach top oilseed buyer China. Chinese authorities have since March 2019 blocked canola shipments by two Canadian exporters, an action they took after Canadian police […] Read more
U.S. grains: Bearish supply outlooks spark selling in corn, soy, wheat
Wheat outlooks in Canada, Russia, Australia bearish
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell for the fourth day in a row to their lowest since June 30 as expectations kept building that growing supplies will outstrip demand even as top buyer China steps up its purchases, traders said. A bearish supply outlook also pressured wheat futures, which dropped to a one-month […] Read more
Plant-based near-chicken on KFC’s Canadian menu to stay
Maple Leaf's Lightlife arm to make 'Plant-Based KFC' sandwich
Reading Time: 2 minutes Updated, Aug. 18: Consumers’ response to a single-day test of plant-based near-chicken menu items in Mississauga last year has led KFC Canada to add the product, full time, to its menu nationwide. The Canadian arm of the Yum Brands-owned chicken chain announced Wednesday its ‘Plant-Based KFC’ sandwiches will be available permanently at its stores across […] Read more
Crop tour suggests record-large wheat harvest ahead
Reading Time: < 1 minute Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers are on track to harvest a record-large all-wheat crop, and more canola than last year, due mainly to favourable crop conditions, advisory service FarmLink Marketing Solutions estimated Wednesday. The Winnipeg-based company’s staff toured western Canadian fields during the last two weeks of July. “We expected a big crop and […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea market under pressure
Current crop up against disease issues
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Lost demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping pressure on the Canadian chickpea market, despite disease issues causing problems for nearly a third of the country’s crop, according to an industry source. After disease caused problems for chickpeas in some areas of southern Saskatchewan in 2019, the radius of the problem area […] Read more
Canada says requirements for Huawei exec’s extradition to U.S. met
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada’s attorney general says the requirements for extraditing Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou to the United States on charges of bank fraud have been met, documents submitted in a British Columbia court show. Meng, 48, was arrested in December 2018 on a warrant from the United States, which alleges that she misled […] Read more
Canada’s pace in trade talks with U.K. raising frustration
Doubts remain on potential benefits for Canadian farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) is expressing frustration over the pace at which Canada is engaging the United Kingdom toward a post-Brexit free trade deal. Steve Verheul, assistant deputy minister of trade policy and negotiations at Global Affairs Canada, told a parliamentary committee any deal between the two countries will be impacted by European […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
