CBOT December 2019 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

CBOT weekly outlook: World wheat output seen lower than expected

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Parts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) have “caught the trade off guard,” according to one trader. In its report, released Thursday, USDA significantly cut production volumes in Canada, Australia, Russia and Ukraine. In total, global wheat production was down 9.4 million tonnes, and stocks […] Read more


EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S., Canada, 14 others slam EU farm product regulation at WTO

Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — The United States and 15 other countries launched a broadside of criticism at the European Union on Thursday, saying its “hazard-based” approach to regulating pesticides and other “critical tools” used by farmers was damaging livelihoods worldwide. Their statement, submitted to the World Trade Organization, said the EU’s approach created great uncertainty […] Read more

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr meet with Canadian beef and pork industry officials Wednesday in Montreal. (Photo courtesy Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Canada proposes China meat export solution

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada offered a plan to reassure China about the security of its meat export system, a Canadian minister said on Wednesday, as Ottawa rejected Chinese criticism of its efforts to enlist allies to resolve a diplomatic dispute between the countries. China said last week it wanted the Canadian government to stop allowing meat […] Read more


U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota meets a double-amputee rescue dog at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on May 21, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Rookie U.S. House Democrats call for COOL revival

Reading Time: 3 minutes Several new members of the U.S. House of Representatives who’ve pressed for stronger language on labour and environmental standards in the revised North American free trade deal now also want it to include country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on meat. A letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, dated Tuesday and signed by 27 freshman House Democrats, […] Read more

A building housing offices of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing. (AIIB.org)

Federal Tories critique lack of action on China

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Federal Opposition House Leader Candice Bergen has publicly ripped the federal government’s lack of action to deal with rising barriers against Canada’s substantial ag exports to China. China halted imports of Canadian meat effective Tuesday, the latest on the list of Canadian products China has blacklisted since the December arrest of Huawei executive […] Read more


Federal International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr speaks at the China-Canada economic and financial strategy dialogue in Beijing on Nov. 12, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Jason Lee/Pool)

Canada says bogus certificates being used to smuggle meat into China

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Unknown actors are using bogus certificates to smuggle Canadian meat into China, Trade Minister Jim Carr said on Wednesday, a day after Beijing halted beef and pork imports citing falsified paperwork. China, which has already blocked imports of Canadian canola seed and product from three pork plants, said on Tuesday it […] Read more



A Mexican port-of-entry sign on Highway 92 near Naco, Arizona. (Rex_Wholster/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexico becomes first country to ratify USMCA deal

Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico on Wednesday became the first country to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) agreed late last year to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump. By a vote of 114 in favour to four against, Mexico’s Senate backed the trade […] Read more