(FIle photo by Dave Bedard)

China’s ban on Canadian canola expands to Viterra

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing/Ottawa | Reuters — China expanded its ban on Canadian canola seed imports on Tuesday to include shipments from Viterra, the latest development in a wider trade dispute between the two countries. Viterra is the second canola exporter to have its registration cancelled, after Beijing halted shipments from top exporter Richardson International earlier this month. […] Read more

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told the Canadian Crops Convention March 6 the Canadian government is trying to restore Richardson International’s canola exports to China. (Allan Dawson photo)

Canada working to end China’s canola block, Freeland says

Reading Time: 4 minutes Montreal — The Canadian government is working hard to reopen Richardson International’s Canadian canola markets in China, says Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs. “We’re working closely with Canadian farmers and Canadian industry,” Freeland said in a brief interview after speaking at the Canadian Crops Convention (CCC) here Wednesday. “Our embassy is very focused […] Read more


A rapeseed field in southern China’s Yunnan province. (YuenWu/iStock/Getty Images)

Richardson disputes China claim of ‘hazardous pests’ in canola

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing/Chicago | Reuters — Canadian agribusiness Richardson International said on Wednesday that canola it shipped to China met regulatory requirements after a Chinese official charged that “hazardous pests” were found in samples taken recently from Canadian canola imports. Beijing this month cancelled Richardson’s registration to ship Canadian canola to China, the world’s top importer of […] Read more

File photo of a cowboy herding cattle near a Mexican roadside. (GummyBone/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexican farmers urge ‘mirror’ tariffs on Trump’s rural base

Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Leaders of Mexico’s agricultural sector are urging “mirror measures” on U.S. farm imports in politically sensitive products such as yellow corn and poultry, in an effort they argue would counter decades of subsidized imports from the United States. The three-month-old government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is currently working […] Read more


U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at the Governors’ Ball in the State Dining Room of the White House on Feb. 24, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Al Drago)

Trump delays tariff hike on Chinese goods, citing trade talk progress

Reading Time: 4 minutes Washington | Reuters — President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would delay an increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods thanks to “productive” trade talks and that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would meet to seal a deal if progress continued. The announcement was the clearest sign yet that China and the U.S. […] Read more

CBOT May 2019 wheat with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat rebounds from seven-month low

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures rebounded on Thursday after a four-day slide, while the grains market overall steadied as U.S. and China trade negotiators sketched an outline for what could be a deal to end the trade war. Thursday’s technical bounce in wheat was encouraged by optimism over the trade negotiations, which also […] Read more


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EU adopts post-Brexit import quotas for farm produce

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Union on Monday adopted quotas for farming produce it will accept from third countries after Britain leaves the bloc and acknowledged this could happen before it has concluded talks with them on the subject. The EU has in place a series of tariff rate quotas, allowing agricultural producers such […] Read more



CBOT March 2019 corn with 20-day moving average. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans down again, corn ends higher

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Friday for a second session as traders reacted to smaller-than-expected purchases this week by China coupled with ballooning global supplies, traders said. Corn futures firmed on prospects for China to start buying U.S. supplies of the yellow grain, while wheat declined, consolidating a day after reaching […] Read more