CBOT July 2022 soyoil (candlesticks, right column) with July 2022 soybeans (yellow line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soyoil futures rally to record high

Corn hits highest since August 2012

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soyoil futures surged to a record high on Wednesday after Indonesia broadened its export ban on raw materials for cooking oil to fight food inflation, traders said. “The move dramatically tightens an already tight global supply of edible oils that saw global prices surge when the Russian invasion of Ukraine […] Read more

File photo of fresh palm fruits and palm oil. (Slpu9945/iStock/Getty Images)

Indonesia’s palm oil export ban seen short-lived on limited storage

Reading Time: 3 minutes Jakarta/Mumbai | Reuters — Indonesia’s ban on palm oil exports is unlikely to last more than a month as Jakarta has limited infrastructure to store the surplus oil and the country faces mounting pressure from buyers to resume shipments, industry officials said. The world’s top palm oil exporter announced plans to ban exports on Friday, […] Read more


File photo of fresh palm fruits and palm oil. (Slpu9945/iStock/Getty Images)

Indonesia bans palm oil exports as global food inflation spikes

Government under pressure to control cooking oil prices

Reading Time: 3 minutes Jakarta | Reuters — Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer, announced plans to ban exports of the most widely used vegetable oil on Friday, in a shock move that could further inflame surging global food inflation. The halting of shipments of the cooking oil and its raw material, widely used in products ranging from […] Read more

File photo of fresh palm fruits and palm oil. (Slpu9945/iStock/Getty Images)

Indonesia palm oil production to rise, USDA attache says

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — There’s to be a small increase in palm oil production in Indonesia in 2022-23, according the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s attaché in Jakarta. The attaché pegged palm oil output to rise by 1.1 per cent at 46 million tonnes due to favourable weather and higher prices for producers. Also, the attaché revised 2021-22 […] Read more


File photo of containers at a seaport in Jakarta. (Leolintang/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada, Indonesia launch trade pact talks

First round of negotiations expected later this year

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada has formally declared it will start negotiations this year on a trade pact with Indonesia, a move ag exporters hope will stabilize and strengthen their market access to the Asia-Pacific region. Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng and her Indonesian counterpart Muhammad Lutfi on Sunday declared the launch of negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership […] Read more

File photo of snacks, produce and assorted street food loaded on a motorbike in Bali, Indonesia. (Lina Moiseienko/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada consulting at home toward Indonesia trade deal

Possibility of broader Southeast Asian pact also looms

Reading Time: 3 minutes Continuing to seek out free trade deals in the Asia-Pacific region, Canada has launched public consultations on the merits of a potential bilateral pact with Indonesia. “Deepening trade ties with Indonesia would benefit Canadian businesses of all sizes and lead to economic growth and prosperity for years to come,” International Trade Minister Mary Ng said […] Read more


File photo of fresh palm fruits and palm oil. (Slpu9945/iStock/Getty Images)

Palm oil 101: Sought-after crop holds sway over oilseed trade

Reading Time: 3 minutes MarketsFarm — Palm oil may be grown halfway around the world in conditions much different than on the Canadian Prairies, but the outsized influence of the crop on world oilseed markets makes it an important factor to watch when considering canola prices. Indonesia and Malaysia are the world’s largest producers of the crop, with futures […] Read more




Vanilla farmer Jao Nasaina holds a spear and a handmade gun as he patrols at his plantation, to guard the crop against thieves, in Ambavala, near Andapa in the Sava region of Madagascar on July 14, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Clarel Faniry Rasoanaivo)

Spice maker seeks path to make vanilla milkshakes cheaper

Reading Time: 4 minutes Chicago/Antananarivo, Madagascar | Reuters — A kilo of vanilla beans costs more than a kilo of silver. Cultivated painstakingly over years from an orchid plant, vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world, after saffron. In less than five years, the wholesale price has risen nearly 500 per cent, partly because of growing […] Read more