Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — CME Group said Thursday it plans to increase daily trading limits for its lean hog futures in April, then adjust them annually because of heightened volatility linked to the outbreak of a fatal pig disease in China. The spread of African swine fever in China, the world’s biggest pork consumer, has […] Read more
CME to raise hog futures trading limits as swine fever fuels volatility
New daily limit of 3.75 U.S. cents proposed for mid-April
Bunge profit tops estimates on South American results
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Agricultural commodities trader Bunge reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as rising crop prices boosted farmer sales in South America and swelled margins in its large agribusiness segment, sending shares up more than three per cent in pre-market trading. But uncertainty about global trade and demand for Bunge’s food and […] Read more
North American hog markets wracked by coronavirus
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Besides shutting down entire cities and killing more than 1,000 people, China’s novel coronavirus outbreak has wreaked havoc on North America’s hog futures. “It’s a dubious relationship, but it is impacting markets,” said Tyler Fulton, risk management director for Hams Marketing Services in Winnipeg. Lean hog futures moved “in concert with drops in […] Read more
Coronavirus disrupts China meat imports, food supplies
Swine fever has created pork shortage
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Coronavirus is disrupting meat shipments to China as the country faces a shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease, Tyson Foods Inc and U.S. agricultural groups said on Thursday. An outbreak of African swine fever, which infects only pigs, has decimated China’s herd, pushing Chinese pork prices to […] Read more
Trade deal will not affect China’s other ag suppliers, Liu says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China’s other suppliers of agricultural commodities will not be impacted by the Sino-U.S. trade deal since buying will be based on market principles, Vice-Premier Liu He said, according to a report from state-owned CCTV on Thursday. Liu was speaking on Wednesday at a press briefing after signing the Phase One trade […] Read more
VIDO-InterVac joins swine fever fight
Reading Time: 2 minutes The University of Saskatchewan’s vaccine research and development arm is set to become Canada’s first non-government agency to work with the African swine fever virus. Saskatoon-based Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) will start work with the virus this month at its Containment Level 3-Agriculture (CL3-Ag) facility, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said […] Read more
Vietnam’s pork imports more than double amid swine fever outbreak
Reading Time: < 1 minute Hanoi | Reuters — Vietnam’s pork imports during the first 11 months of this year more than doubled to 110,000 tonnes, the ministry of finance said on Thursday, as the country’s pig herd has been battered by an outbreak of African swine fever. Since the disease was first detected in February, it has spread to […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn rise as traders adjust positions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean and corn futures ticked higher on Friday as traders adjusted positions ahead of the year-end holidays. Lingering uncertainty over demand prospects created by a U.S.-China trade deal hung over the markets. Crop prices increased after Washington and Beijing last week struck a ‘Phase One’ trade deal that includes a […] Read more
U.S. grains: Profit-taking pressures soybeans
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Wednesday as investors took profits after six days in a row of price increases, while wheat and corn sank on technical selling. Traders shrugged off news of the largest soybean sale to China in more than eight months, in the absence of fresh signs of a […] Read more
Trump’s hailing of Chinese farm purchases seen as ‘meaningless’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China is still a long way from forking out US$50 billion for farm goods from the United States, agriculture industry analysts said on Monday, cautioning that getting there is contingent on removing substantial technical and political hurdles. Outlining the first phase of a deal to end a trade war with China, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
