Reading Time: 2 minutes An attack on a dry bulk carrier this week in the Red Sea region is set to lead to more diversions of grain cargoes around the Cape of Good Hope but most are still willing to risk using the Suez Canal for now, shipping sources said on Tuesday.
Houthi attack on dry bulk ship to boost grain diversions
About twenty per cent of grain shipments diverting around Cape
Romanian farmers, truck drivers protest near border with Ukraine
Grievances include influx of Ukrainian goods, fuel costs, environmental measures
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bucharest | Reuters -- Hundreds of Romanian farmers and truck drivers protested near border crossings with Ukraine and near large cities across the country on Monday amid ongoing negotiations with the government over high business costs.
Brazil’s soybean harvest kicks off with low yields in Mato Grosso
Crops suffered from lack of humidity; now rains are hampering harvest in some areas
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brazilian soybean farmers have begun to reap their 2023/24 soybean crop, covering some 0.6 per cent of the national planted area as of last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday.
China to push for higher grain yields to ensure food security
Chinese corn breeders are preparing to double the amount of GMO corn planted next year
Reading Time: 2 minutes China, the world's top buyer of soy and corn, will push for higher grain yields across large areas of farmland as it seeks to ensure food security for its huge population, state media reported on Wednesday, citing an annual rural policy meeting.
Argentina’s Milei to seek 15 per cent export tax hike on some grains: source
The new president pledged "shock" measures to fix the country's economic crisis
Reading Time: < 1 minute Argentina's new government of libertarian President Javier Milei will seek to raise export taxes to 15 per cent on some grains, though that would not impact tariffs on soy, an industry source told Reuters on Wednesday.
Pulse weekly outlook: Good prices for green, yellow peas
Reduced production, increased demand from India and China bolster market
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier Farm Media – Prices for green and yellow peas across Western Canada have likely hit their peak, according to Darwin Hamilton of Kalshea Commodities Inc.
Australia says China has lifted some restrictions on meat imports
Aussie trade minister calls it a positive step in improving relations between the countries
Reading Time: < 1 minute Australia's trade ministry said on Tuesday that China had lifted restrictions on imports of meat from three Australian abattoirs, in the latest sign of improving relations between the two countries.
Panama Canal drought to delay grain ships well into 2024
Wait times more than doubled between October and late November, prompting some shippers to reroute
Reading Time: 3 minutes Bulk grain shippers hauling crops from the U.S. Gulf Coast export hub to Asia are sailing longer routes and paying higher freight costs to avoid vessel congestion and record-high transit fees in the drought-hit Panama Canal, traders and analysts said.
USDA lowers wheat carryout calls, minor adjustments elsewhere
Corn production in Argentina and Brazil left unchanged in new report
Reading Time: < 1 minute Wheat ending stocks in the United States and around the world may be tighter than earlier thought, according to the latest supply/demand estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released Dec. 8.
China accounting for bulk of Canadian canola exports so far
Chinese wheat imports roughly half of last years' at same time
Reading Time: 2 minutes China has done most of the heavy lifting when it comes to Canadian canola exports through the first three months of the 2023/24 marketing year (Aug/Jul), according to the latest international trade data released Dec. 6.
Statistics Canada reported canola exports through October at 1.566 million tonnes, with China accounting for 64 per cent of the total (1.006 million tonnes). Japan and Mexico followed at 273,300 tonnes and 196,900 tonnes respectively.
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
