File photo of a wheat harvest in Kazakhstan. (Yerbolat Shadrakhov/iStock/Getty Images)

Less wheat expected in Kazakhstan in 2023-24, despite same acres

Soil moisture loss expected in wheat-growing regions

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — As the 2022-23 crop year in Kazakhstan begins to wind down, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) attaché in the country’s capital of Astana estimated its wheat production at 16.4 million tonnes. Should that forecast hold, the attaché’s report noted it would be the largest wheat harvest since 2017-18. However, going into the […] Read more

File photo of a flax field in Russia. (Ukususha/iStock/Getty Images)

Price drop not enough to lift demand for Canadian flax

Russia, Kazakhstan competitive in export markets

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — While flax prices in Western Canada have fallen by at least half from what they were one year ago, they are still too high to be competitive on a global level, according to one flax processor. Mike Popowich, owner and vice-president of TA Foods Ltd. at Yorkton, Sask., said demand for the crop […] Read more


Close-up of a McDonald’s double Quarter Pounder with bacon. (Corporate.mcdonalds.com)

McDonald’s reported set to exit Kazakhstan on Russia war spillover

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. is set to abandon Kazakhstan as disruptions triggered by the Ukraine crisis have left the nation without a substitute for Russian meat supplies, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The fast-food giant, which exited Russia in May, banned its local franchisee from procuring meat patties from Russian […] Read more

(Flax Council of Canada photo)

Highs may be in on flax as attention turns to new crop

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The highs may be in for flaxseed bids in Western Canada, with end-users covered for the time being as attention turns to the 2022 crop. “(Canadian flax) is expensive relative to other markets,” said analyst Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Consulting, speaking via Zoom in Winnipeg on Tuesday to the annual Crop Production Week […] Read more


Grain storage at a Russian seaport. (Pridannikov/iStock/Getty Images)

Tax, competition expected to prolong Russian wheat export season

Tax complicates forward sales for exporters

Reading Time: 2 minutes Moscow | Reuters — Exports of Russian wheat will stretch well into the second half of the season as Moscow’s export tax and tough competition with Ukraine and Romania slow sales until the end of 2021, traders and analysts said. Russia, the world’s largest exporter of wheat, generally sells most of its crop during the […] Read more

CBOT September 2021 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (black line) and K.C. September 2021 wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat climbs on deteriorating crop conditions

Corn rises as U.S. crop rating misses consensus

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures climbed on Tuesday to a two-month peak after official data underscored poor conditions for drought-hit U.S. spring wheat. Chicago corn gained, as a lower-than-expected weekly crop rating focused attention back to dry conditions in parts of the Midwest. Soybeans rebounded after being pressured by falling crude oil prices […] Read more


(Serts/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Turkey’s record-level lentil imports expected to decrease

Country's domestic acreage expected up in 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian lentil exports to Turkey reached unprecedented numbers in 2020. According to Statistics Canada data, Turkey imported 534,160 tonnes worth $355 million during the calendar year, making it the second-largest buyer of Canadian lentils behind India. Last year’s total nearly equalled the amount of lentils Canada exported to Turkey over the previous three […] Read more

File photo of a rye field in Kazakhstan. (Stsmhn/iStock/Getty Images)

Kazakhstan’s president orders ban on foreign ownership of farmland

Reading Time: < 1 minute Almaty | Reuters — Kazakhstan will permanently ban foreigners from owning or renting farmland in the vast central Asian nation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Thursday, ending a lengthy dispute that once prompted anti-government protests. Kazakhstan is a major producer of grains, oilseeds and meat in the former Soviet region sandwiched between China and Russia […] Read more