Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have moved steadily higher over the past month, nearing some of their highest levels of the past year. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, has moved higher most of the past month, settling above 2,000 points for the first time in five months on Tuesday, […] Read more
Baltic Dry Index tops 2,000 points
Port of Churchill moves to 100 per cent local ownership
Corporate partners step out of owner group
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The Port of Churchill is undergoing an ownership transition that will see its OneNorth community and Indigenous partners assume 100 per cent ownership of the Hudson Bay port and the rail line connecting it to northwestern Manitoba. The Churchill Marine Tank Farm and associated assets are also part of the deal, according to […] Read more
Railways to blame for terminal shortages, WGEA says
Grain handlers take issue with MarketsFarm report
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The association representing the Prairies’ main grain handling companies says recent delays in loading vessels have less to do with the availability of grain and more to do with the railways hauling it to port. The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), which represents major handlers such as Viterra, Richardson, Cargill and others, raised […] Read more
Spring road bans coming into effect across Prairies
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Warming temperatures and melting snow across Western Canada may cause some disruptions to grain and livestock movement over the next few weeks as seasonal spring road restrictions come into effect across the Prairies. The annual spring road restrictions set axle weight limits for vehicles moving on certain roads in an effort to reduce […] Read more
Pulse packers’ security covers cash owed to farmers
Sales of Globeways plants in Manitoba, Saskatchewan now approved
Reading Time: 2 minutes More than 50 farmers who were owed money for deliveries to Prairie pulse and special crop processors Canpulse Foods and Global Grain Canada are expected to get what they’re owed, as both companies’ assets move to new ownership. Canpulse, Global Grain Canada and their parent company Globeways Canada went into receivership last Nov. 19, following […] Read more
Grain shortage, cold snap cause delays at West Coast ports
'...the vessels continue to arrive'
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Grain movement in Western Canada remains faced with significant difficulties, according to Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corp., which monitors rail traffic and vessel movements in Canada. February’s cold snap resulted in grain movement across the region falling below its three-year average. The most pressing issue has been a shortage of grain to […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Grain exports, prices rise
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — As more Canadian feed grains make their way overseas, especially into China, domestic buyers may need to pay more secure supplies from emptying bins over the next few months. “Anything extra we’re able to export is getting exported at this point,” Brandon Motz, owner and sales manager of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta., […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Offshore demand still lifting Prairie barley
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Solid offshore demand for Canadian barley remains the key driver in the domestic feed market, keeping prices high. “It’s certainly not driven by southern Alberta, it’s driven by Vancouver and the export business,” said Allen Pirness, of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, on the continued strength in barley bids. Typically, arbitrage opportunities would […] Read more
Port of Thunder Bay wraps up 21st-century-best year
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The last vessel of the 2020-21 shipping season left the Port of Thunder Bay on Tuesday, wrapping up the busiest year at the port since 1997. Annual cargo volumes through came in at 10.2 million tonnes, which marked the first time the tonnage topped 10 million since 1997. A total of 9.3 million […] Read more
InVivo in talks to acquire French agribusiness Soufflet
Firms see limited overlap outside grain trading
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — Co-operative group InVivo has entered exclusive talks to acquire family-controlled Soufflet in a deal that would create one of Europe’s biggest agricultural businesses with 10 billion euros (C$15.5 billion) in sales, the French firms said on Wednesday. The potential consolidation comes as France, the European Union’s largest agricultural producer, is trying […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
