Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Kansas City | Reuters — The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would provide up to US$12 billion in aid for U.S. farmers to shield them from the repercussions felt by trade spats between the United States and China, the European Union and others. China has targeted U.S. agricultural exports with tariffs in retaliation to […] Read more
Trump to offer U.S. farmers billions to ease trade pain
U.S. grains: Wheat retreats after nearing six-week peak
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures pulled back on Monday after approaching a six-week high on concerns about dry weather eating into harvests in some of the world’s main exporting countries. Corn futures advanced for the sixth consecutive session to reach their highest prices in three weeks, while soybeans neared a two-week high before […] Read more
‘Hi, I’m a soybean’: China deploys cartoon legume to reach U.S. farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters –– In the tense trade war with the United States, China’s government has turned to an unlikely weapon: a cartoon bean. “Hi, everybody. I am a soybean. I may not look like much, but I’m very important,” says the animated character in a video posted on Friday on the website of China […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat up on technical buying, export hopes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures sailed to their highest prices in more than a month on Friday on technical buying and expectations for increased U.S. exports as poor crop weather hurts harvests in other countries. Corn and soybean futures each advanced for the fifth straight day. Traders focused on dry weather reducing harvest […] Read more
World’s ‘affection’ for Canada will help in trade diversification: Carr
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — There is “an awful lot of affection for Canada” around the world that will help the government’s push to diversify exports away from the United States, the country’s new trade minister said on Thursday, as ties with Washington become more strained. Winnipeg MP Jim Carr, previously the minister for natural resources, […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Barley exports could signal market strength
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Jeff Nielsen, a director with Alberta Barley, expected barley exports to make a strong showing. Numbers recently posted by the Canadian Grain Commission confirmed the good news he had been waiting for. “We kind of had an inkling they were going to be good and high and yeah, it just reaffirms it. […] Read more
U.S. grains: Markets rise on corn export demand, crop worries
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain futures rose on Thursday on strong demand for corn and worries that harvests may be smaller than expected due to unfavourable global weather. Soybean futures shook off early losses to end higher despite concerns about the ongoing trade battle with China, the world’s top buyer of the oilseed. Last […] Read more
Chinese demand boosting Canadian wheat, barley exports
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — China is making major moves to import more Canadian wheat and barley this year. Data released by the Canadian Grain Commission show China more than tripled its wheat imports, taking in 979,100 tonnes as of May, up from 295,300 tonnes in the same period of 2016-17 and an increase of 231.6 per […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Soy and corn recover, but too early to call a bottom
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Soybean and corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade recovered off of contract lows over the past week, but it’s still too early to say either commodity has found a bottom. “I’m looking for baby steps to confirm the bottom, and I haven’t seen anything of substance yet,” said Preston Zacharias, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Markets set one-week highs on export hopes, weather woes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures touched their highest prices in about a week on Wednesday, as agricultural markets stabilized following recent drops to contract lows. Hopes for increased U.S. commodity export demand helped support soy prices after the market fell to a 10-year low on Monday amid widespread concerns about the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
