Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell 1.9 per cent on Wednesday, dropping below US$10 a bushel for the first time since April 4, on renewed fears about a trade dispute chilling demand from China, the world’s top buyer of the oilseed. Wheat futures ticked higher on short-covering, recovering from a three-week low hit […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybean, corn futures fall
U.S. grains: Soy futures rise as trade fears ease
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rose 1.5 per cent on Monday, bouncing back from their lowest in more than five weeks on a round of technical buying and signs that Chinese demand for export supplies was picking up, traders said. Wheat futures dropped, their fourth straight losing session, falling through […] Read more
Multi-storey hog hotels elevate Chinese industrial farms to new levels
Reading Time: 4 minutes Yaji Mountain, China | Reuters — On Yaji Mountain in southern China, they are checking in the sows 1,000 head per floor in high-rise “hog hotels.” Privately-owned agricultural company Guangxi Yangxiang Co. Ltd. is running two seven-floor sow breeding operations, and is putting up four more, including one with as many as 13 floors that […] Read more
China customs expanding checks on U.S. fruit imports
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing/Chicago | Reuters –– China’s major ports of entry have ramped up checks on fresh fruit imports from the U.S., five Chinese industry sources said, which could delay shipments from U.S. growers already dealing with higher tariffs as Sino-U.S. trade ties worsen. Fruits were among 128 U.S. goods that China slapped with more expensive import […] Read more
Hog prices steadying as barbecue season nears
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — With barbecue season on the horizon, prices for Canadian pork rose during the week ended April 27, breaking out of their month-long fall. The timing could be perfect, as negotiators have already begun working on improving trade relations and cancelling proposed tariffs on Chinese imports of U.S. pork and other goods. “Prices […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans stumble as U.S.-China trade talks disappoint
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Friday on disappointment that trade talks did not move Washington and Beijing closer to a deal to resolve the mounting dispute that has crimped U.S. crop sales to China. Prices retreated after a one per cent rise on Thursday that was fueled by “unfounded rumours” the […] Read more
Trade rows spell gain, and pain, for U.S. grain exporters
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Global grain marketers have seized upon trade tensions between the United States and several of its top export markets, including China, to turn around struggling trading units following one of the toughest years ever for the industry. After five years of bumper harvests worldwide that depressed crop prices, trading margins are […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Limited upside seen for U.S. soybeans
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — It’s a fluid set of circumstances for the U.S. soybean market these days as U.S. negotiators head to China in a bid to get proposed tariffs lowered on U.S. imports — but the potential for any major rally appears limited. “I would say the beans have a more limited upside than the […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans drop on bleak export view
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. soybean futures fell on Wednesday on concerns about decreased export demand from China as well as rising expectations for a bumper crop in Brazil, traders said. Wheat futures were mixed. Soft red winter wheat offerings eased after a rally on Tuesday while hard red winter wheat contracts rose due to […] Read more
U.S. ethanol makers snap up cheap sorghum after China tariffs
Reading Time: 4 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. ethanol makers have joined global livestock producers to snap up discounted American sorghum supplies after buyers in China backed out of deals due to stiff anti-dumping tariffs on the grain imposed by Beijing in a mounting trade dispute. Sorghum is used to feed animals and represents a fraction of the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
