Reading Time: 3 minutes Alexandria, Egypt | Reuters — Hundreds of Egyptians protested around the country on Tuesday, blocking roads and surrounding government offices, after a change to the way bread rations are managed raised fears that the government was cutting food subsidies by the back door. Bread subsidies are an explosive issue in Egypt, where more than 70 […] Read more
Egyptians protest over fears of bread subsidy cuts
U.S. grains: Wheat, corn gain on short-covering
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat and corn futures were narrowly higher on Tuesday as traders covered short positions after prices for each crop fell to the lowest levels in more than a week. The dollar reversed lower after a nine-month high against a basket of currencies, further underpinning grain prices, as a weaker dollar […] Read more
Egypt stocks up on strategic commodities ahead of devaluation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cairo/Abu Dhabi | Reuters –– Egypt said it plans to build a six-month reserve of essential food items, adding to other recent purchases of commodities such as oil and wheat, in what traders said was a move to build up stocks ahead of a currency devaluation. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said late on Tuesday the […] Read more
U.S. grains: Harvest pressure, profit-taking pull down corn, soy
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean and corn futures fell on Thursday, pressured by profit-taking after a streak of gains and by weakness on the cash market, traders said. Wheat futures rose slightly, with short-covering supporting prices. Wheat also received support from the Egyptian government’s decision to reverse its zero-tolerance policy on the common grain […] Read more
Egypt cancels zero-ergot wheat policy amid mounting pressure
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cairo | Reuters — Egypt has reversed its controversial zero-tolerance policy on the common grains fungus ergot, the government said on Wednesday, backtracking on an import regulation that had all but blocked its access to global wheat. Egypt, the world’s largest buyer of wheat, has seen its imports grind to a halt since it imposed […] Read more
U.S. grains: Harvest delays spark soybean rally
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rose 1.7 per cent on Tuesday, hitting a nearly one-month high on strong export demand and as rains delayed harvest in key production areas of the U.S. Midwest, traders said. The delays also supported corn futures, while wheat rose on technical buying and short-covering. Both […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans rise on technical buying
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. soybeans rose on Monday for a third straight session, boosted by strength in vegetable oil markets and technical buying. Corn turned higher on chart-based buying and Chicago wheat finished mixed, held in check by an ongoing disruption in Egyptian wheat imports. Chicago November soybean futures climbed 6-1/2 cents, or 0.8 per cent, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy up on rebound after three-day slide
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose on Thursday, snapping a three-day slide on bargain buying and signs of fresh export demand, traders said. But corn and wheat futures fell, pressured by prospects for huge grain supplies as the U.S. autumn harvest got underway. At the Chicago Board of Trade, November soybeans settled up […] Read more
Russia may ban Egyptian citrus amid wheat dispute
Reading Time: 2 minutes Moscow/Cairo | Reuters — Russia threatened to ban Egyptian citrus imports on Tuesday, a move that could escalate a trade dispute over exports of Russian wheat to the world’s largest importer of the grain. Moscow said this week it hopes to hold talks with Egypt, its top buyer, over Cairo’s failure to approve Russian wheat […] Read more
Health ministry decision makes zero ergot Egypt’s new normal
Reading Time: 3 minutes Abu Dhabi/Cairo | Reuters — Egypt’s health ministry banned wheat with any ergot fungus on Monday, a decision traders said signals the zero tolerance policy that wreaked havoc on the country’s grain purchases earlier this year is back to stay. The decree, seen by Reuters, brings the ministry in line with an agriculture ministry decree […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
