Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — The United States on Wednesday condemned Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure and said it was working with partners to identify alternative options to ensure Ukrainian grain exports. “The United States … calls for Russia to immediately return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel […] Read more
U.S. says working to identify alternative paths for Ukraine grain
Danube grain facilities attacked overnight
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea market neither bullish nor bearish
Market players awaiting harvest
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Hot and dry growing conditions earlier in the growing season cut into Canada’s chickpea yields in 2023-24, but quality should be good if the weather co-operates through the harvest. Canadian farmers planted 315,600 acres of chickpeas in 2023, which was well above the 233,800 acres seeded the previous year, according to Statistics Canada […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat down as traders shrug off Russian warning shots
CBOT soybeans close higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures set a two-month low on Monday on increasing estimates for Russia’s production and exports, analysts said, shrugging off a Russian warship firing warning shots at a cargo ship on its way to Ukraine. Corn futures finished near unchanged after matching a recent low from 2021, […] Read more
Ukraine announces ‘humanitarian corridor’ for other stuck ships
Moscow not yet commenting on plan
Reading Time: 3 minutes Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine announced a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea on Thursday to release cargo ships trapped in its ports since the outbreak of war, a new test of Russia’s de facto blockade since Moscow abandoned a deal last month to let Kyiv export grain. At least initially, the corridor would apply […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: August forecasts pulling prices down
Wheat prices went down during the week despite Russia’s withdrawal from Black Sea deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm – Recent weather forecasts for much of the United States put pressure on grain prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) during the week ended Aug. 2. Cooler and wetter conditions are expected for the U.S. Midwest during the first half of August, which could help stabilize corn and soybean crops affected by […] Read more
Russia strikes Ukraine’s Danube port, sending global grain prices higher
Port hit on Danube opposite NATO-member Romania; Kyiv says aim is to intimidate shippers considering return
Reading Time: 4 minutes Kyiv | Reuters – Russia attacked Ukraine’s main inland port across the Danube River from Romania on Wednesday, sending global food prices higher as it ramps up its use of force to prevent Ukraine from exporting grain. The attacks destroyed buildings in the port of Izmail and halted ships in their tracks as they prepared […] Read more
Russia could be ready for Black Sea grain deal talks, but no evidence yet: US
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. said Russia has to return to Black Sea deal to market fertilizer, make agriculture transactions
Reading Time: 2 minutes United Nations | Reuters – The United States has been told that Russia is prepared to return to talks on a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, but “we haven’t seen any evidence of that yet,” the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday. Russia quit the […] Read more
Ukraine says Russia threatened civilian vessels in second week without grain deal
Ukraine has harvested 11.2 million tons of its 2023 grain crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Kyiv | Reuters – A senior Ukrainian official accused Russia on Friday of threatening civilian vessels in the Black Sea, and urged the international community to condemn what he said were “the methods of terrorists”. Russia last week quit a U.N.-brokered deal allowing Ukraine, a major global grain producer, to safely export its grain via […] Read more
Prairie cash wheat: durum soars as red spring falls back
Steep increases following Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports were gone by mid-week
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm – There were sharp increases in durum across Western Canada for the week ended July 27, while spring wheat incurred small to moderate declines. There were gains in Minneapolis spring wheat, while Kansas City and Chicago winter wheat contracts slipped back. At the beginning of the week there were steep increases for wheat as […] Read more
EU looks to cover transport costs for Ukraine grain exports by land
About 60 per cent of Ukraine's exports were shipped via solidarity lanes when the Black Sea deal was in operation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters – The European Union is ready to export almost all of Ukraine’s farm produce via “solidarity lanes” and help cover costs after Russia withdrew from a U.N.-backed Black Sea grain deal, EU agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said on Tuesday. Solidarity lanes are rail and road transport connections through EU member states that […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
