Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — Agricultural commodity giant Louis Dreyfus warned on Monday that international trade tensions and a swine disease epidemic would continue to weigh on its activities in the rest of the year after pushing down first-half profit. The interim results reversed a rebound in group profits in the second half of last year […] Read more
Louis Dreyfus expects tough year on trade war, swine fever
Cargill’s quarterly profit up on beef, egg demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill reported a three per cent increase in adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday, citing strong consumer demand for meat and eggs in North America and growth in its animal nutrition businesses. Cargill, the largest privately held U.S. company, said its adjusted operating earnings rose to $908 million in […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy falls on cooler weather, China cancellation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures settled down following a choppy day of trading on Thursday, after hitting the lowest level in more than a week on forecasts for cooler weather and export data showing China had canceled soy purchases for the first time since April. U.S. Agriculture Department data showed the world’s top […] Read more
PigTrace tag price going up
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hog producers will have to pay more for traceability in the near future. Canada’s PigTrace program will be raising ear tag prices as of Aug. 1. Prices will go up 20 cents for every small ear tag and 35 cents for every large ear tag, a release from the Manitoba Pork Council said. The Manitoba […] Read more
No proof natural compound prevents swine fever, China ag ministry says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China’s ministry of agriculture said on Thursday a company which claimed a natural compound was effective in preventing African swine fever did not have government approval to research the virus and its assertions were not scientifically sound. Shopping mall operator Guangdong Highsun Group was questioned by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange earlier […] Read more
China to ramp up inspections on all Canadian meat imports
Reading Time: 2 minutes Customs agents in China now plan to open all containers of inbound Canadian meat and meat products and will inspect up to 100 per cent of their contents, Reuters reported Tuesday. The news agency quoted a notice from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada which said the Canadian embassy in Beijing had been informed of the boost […] Read more
China faces long struggle to tackle African swine fever, OIE says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — It will take years for China to contain the deadly African swine fever virus that has spread throughout the country, which is the world’s biggest pork producer, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday. China has been struggling to control the epidemic, which some analysts predict could see […] Read more
Canada, U.S. plan trade zones for whenever swine fever hits
Reading Time: 2 minutes Federal officials in Canada and the U.S. have agreed on zone defense, so to speak, to allow safe trade of hogs and pork products if African swine fever should turn up in hogs in either country. Canada’s chief veterinary officer Dr. Jaspinder Komal and U.S. CVO Dr. Jack Shere said Wednesday the two countries have […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures erode on China trade tensions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures drifted lower on Wednesday and touched a one-week low as the market was pressured by concerns that the U.S.-China trade war is far from resolution. Traders did not expect any significant Chinese buying of U.S. pork in weekly export sales data due to be […] Read more
U.S. to begin testing sick and dead pigs for African swine fever
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture within weeks will begin testing sick and dead pigs for a hog virus that has killed herds across Asia in an effort to minimize devastation if the disease enters the United States, the agency said on Thursday. Increased testing aims to help U.S. officials detect cases […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
