Reading Time: < 1 minute Paris | Reuters — British market intelligence firm Mintec announced on Tuesday the acquisition of Agribriefing in a deal it said would create a leading global provider of data on agricultural and food markets. Financial details were not disclosed. Agribriefing’s businesses include protein price-reporting agency Urner Barry and crop consultancy Strategie Grains, the latter acquired […] Read more
Mintec acquires Agribriefing to expand agrifood data offering
CBOT weekly outlook: Fears over soy scarcity now gone
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm – Soyoil prices at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) have been tumbling of late largely due to the markets no longer being afraid of already tight global supplies becoming scarcer, according to Sean Lusk of Walsh Commercial Hedging Services in Chicago, Ill. Lush explained that the South American soybean crop wasn’t as bountiful […] Read more
Hog sector to focus on margins in face of outside volatility
'Counter-cyclical' moves seen in markets
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The hog sector has found itself caught up in the general uncertainty of many commodity and financial markets — making it more difficult than normal to predict where values could be headed. “We’re seeing a ton of volatility and it feels like we’re in a bit of transition on supply versus expectations,” said […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn hits two-week low on virus worries
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell to a two-week low on Monday as traders worried that the fallout from the coronavirus epidemic could include an economic hit to China, traders said. But soybean and wheat futures ended modestly higher, rebounding from multimonth lows on light bargain buying, strength in soyoil and supportive soybean […] Read more
Canada’s ag output seen likely rising under climate change
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — A new United Nations report suggests just how climate change will reshape agriculture by 2050 — and that Canada’s production capacity stands to benefit. International trade will play an ever-larger role in helping to feed people in food-deficient regions, as warmer temperatures and less precipitation will damage yields in many tropical areas, […] Read more
Farming in a troubled economy
It looks like a weak dollar isn’t so good for agriculture after all
Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers almost universally accept the premise that a drop in the Canadian dollar is bullish for our agriculture because our commodities are priced off the U.S. This increases our prices domestically and also makes us more competitive both in the U.S. and in regions where commodity transactions are made in American dollars. But is this […] Read more
Global grain markets and the global downturn
There’s no major rebound in sight for grain markets, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still take charge of your own fate
Reading Time: 8 minutes There’s less and less doubt about it. What we’re currently facing is a global recession in commodities of all types. Right now the world has plenty of potash, copper, oil, gold and grain. Producers of all types have responded to the extremely strong price signals they’ve been receiving lately and have grown their productivity. That’s […] Read more
Loonie’s boost for commodity prices likely limited in 2016
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — The Canadian dollar has been steadily depreciating through 2015, sinking to an 11-year low relative to its U.S. counterpart as the end of the year creeps closer. Even if the loonie stays weak in 2016, however, two analysts expect the upside potential it brings to agricultural commodity markets has mostly run out. […] Read more
2016 could be a ‘battleground year’ for commodity prices
A ‘battleground year’ is how analyst Errol Anderson sees 2016. Prices will be profitable… sometimes…but success will only come to producers who rein in their emotions
Reading Time: 8 minutes It isn’t only agriculture. China has become the world’s largest market for an incredibly long list of commodities. Consider the manufacturing industry, for example, where the Chinese generate roughly half of global demand — they use 54 per cent of global aluminum production, 50 per cent of nickel, 48 per cent of copper and 46 […] Read more
Cargill Q1 profit jumps despite commodities slump
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill Inc. effectively navigated tumbling commodities markets and volatile currencies to turn in a 20 per cent gain in first-quarter profit, the privately held company said Wednesday. The Minnesota-based company’s grain and oilseed supply chain and energy businesses were standouts in the quarter ended Aug. 31, in stark […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
