File photo of wheat being loaded onto a bulk vessel at port in Russia. (YGrek/iStock/Getty Images)

Russia’s ag ministry to set up new grain exporters’ union

Reading Time: 2 minutes Moscow/Hamburg | Reuters — Russia’s agriculture ministry will set up a new grain exporters’ union to better understand the needs of the market, it said on Monday after its routine meeting with local grain traders. Traders interpreted it as a result of the close attention with which Russian officials have been monitoring how big exporters […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill’s net earnings down as trade fight bites

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Grains trader Cargill on Thursday reported a 20 per cent drop in its fiscal second-quarter 2019 net earnings, as global trade tensions hit the bottom line along with challenges in the Chinese hog sector and a struggling U.S. dairy business. Three of the company’s four business units reported results that were […] Read more



Wheat being loaded onto a cargo ship in Vancouver in 2011. (File photo: Reuters/Ben Nelms)

Canadian grain exports hit new record in 2017/18: CGC

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada – Total exports of Canada’s major grains and oilseeds hit a new record in 2017/18 (Aug/Jul), as sharp increases in wheat and barley more than made up for a decline in canola sales, according to the last weekly report from the Canadian Grain Commission for the recently finished crop year. Total exports of […] Read more


Container ships pass through locks on the Panama Canal. (CIA.gov)

Brazilian grain growers explore increased use of Panama Canal

Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian farmers in top soy state Mato Grosso signed a memorandum of understanding with the Panama Canal Authority to evaluate ways to cut transportation costs and boost Brazilian grain volumes using the waterway, the authority’s chief administrator said. The canal’s administration is looking to increase its participation in rising Brazilian […] Read more



(Commercial Port of Vladivostok, vmtp.ru)

Russia to boost grain transport subsidies in 2018

Reading Time: 2 minutes Moscow | Reuters — Russia will spend two billion roubles (C$43 million) in grain transportation subsidies to help to speed exports in 2018, the deputy agriculture minister said on Thursday. Already among the world’s largest wheat exporters, Russia is trying to step up a gear after this year’s record crop, which is keeping its grain […] Read more

(Commercial Port of Vladivostok, vmtp.ru)

Baltic Dry Index nears four-year highs

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– The Baltic Dry Index has climbed sharply over the past two weeks, rising to its highest levels in nearly four years. The BDI settled at 1,662 points on Friday, having gained 300 points since the middle of November. The index was last above 1,600 in January 2014. The BDI is compiled daily […] Read more


(Commercial Port of Vladivostok, vmtp.ru)

Baltic Dry Index hits three-year highs

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — The Baltic Dry Index has seen some strength over the past two months, rising to its highest levels in nearly three years. The BDI settled Monday at 1,355 points, having gained roughly 500 points over the past two months. The index was last this high in November 2014. The BDI is compiled […] Read more

(PortSeattle.org)

Baltic Dry Index hits two-year highs

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Ocean freight rates are trending higher, with the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) hitting its highest level of the past two years on Tuesday. The BDI, compiled daily by the London-based Baltic Exchange, provides an assessment of the price of moving major raw materials by sea, including grain. It was quoted Tuesday at […] Read more