Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian malting barley acreage is expected to remain high in the coming year, mostly due to strong export demand. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Center in Winnipeg, said tough harvest conditions were partially to blame for lowered malt barley output in 2019. “We had a fairly lousy harvest, […] Read more
Strong export demand, acreage ahead for barley
Lower supplies from Australia benefit Canadian growers
Trudeau wants CUSMA deal ratified quickly
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday urged legislators to quickly approve a new continental trade pact but the main opposition party said it wanted to study the deal, indicating the ratification process could drag on. Canada is the only one of the three signatories not to have formally blessed the […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy to one-month lows
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn and soybean futures hit one-month lows on Thursday and wheat futures followed amid doubts about whether China will make the purchases from the United States promised in a trade deal between the two countries, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade March corn futures tumbled three per cent, settling down […] Read more
U.S. Senate passes CUSMA trade deal
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a revamp of the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement that includes tougher rules on labour and automotive content but leaves US$1.2 trillion in annual U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade flows largely unchanged. The legislation for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA) passed on an 89-10 bipartisan vote, sending the […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Edible bean yields lower across North America
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — A challenging harvest season spelled trouble for dry bean yields across North America, according to one report from the Global Pulse Confederation. Mexico’s spring-summer bean crop yield was pegged at around 400,000 tonnes, which was 52 per cent lower than the previous year. The loss in production was largely due to drought conditions […] Read more
U.S. House passes CUSMA
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday backed a new trade agreement with neighbouring Mexico and Canada in a 385-41 bipartisan vote, sending the NAFTA replacement measure to the Senate for consideration early in 2020. Democrats, who control the House, approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA) more than a year after […] Read more
Canada could be last to ratify CUSMA deal, Trudeau says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Canada could be the last of the three North American countries to ratify a new trade deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday, indicating that his plan to match the U.S. timetable was set to fail. Trudeau’s Liberal government said from the start it wanted to work in tandem with […] Read more
Confluence of bullish news sends wheat futures higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — A number of factors have come together to underpin North American wheat prices, with more room to the upside after a rally in all three U.S. futures markets to start the week, according to an analyst. Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis wheat futures all started the week with double-digit gains. The Chicago and […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, wheat, soy rally on China trade hopes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn, wheat and soybean futures rose on Thursday on fresh export demand and renewed hopes for a trade agreement with China after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that a deal with Beijing was “very close,” analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade March corn futures settled up 6-1/2 cents at $3.77-3/4 […] Read more
Canada, U.S., Mexico sign agreement, again, to replace NAFTA
Reading Time: 4 minutes Washington/Mexico City | Reuters — Top officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States signed a fresh overhaul of a quarter-century-old trade pact on Tuesday that aims to improve enforcement of worker rights and hold down prices for biologic drugs by eliminating a patent provision. The signing ceremony in Mexico City launched what may be […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
