Winnipeg | CNS Canada — Since North America and Australia both produced poor-quality durum crops in 2014-15, all eyes are on Mexico, the U.S. desert, Europe and North Africa to come up with some higher-quality product. And so far, most crops in those areas look fairly good, Alan Hegemeier, a merchandiser with CHS Inc., said […] Read more
Global durum crops in good shape, for now
Prairie wheat acres seen dropping six per cent in 2015
Winnipeg | CNS Canada — Canadian wheat acreage, excluding durum, is expected to drop six per cent, to 17.9 million acres, for the 2015-16 crop year, Agri-Trend Group CEO Robert Saik told the Wild Oats Grainworld conference in Winnipeg. Wheat acres are expected to fall as current returns are at the breakeven level, and the […] Read more
Peru, Taiwan, Belarus ban Canadian beef over BSE case
Reuters — Three more countries have blocked imports of Canadian beef or beef products, following Canada’s discovery of BSE earlier this month, its first in four years. Taiwan, Peru and Belarus have imposed trade restrictions on beef and/or beef products, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Monday in an update on its website. The […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs rally on cash prices, port dispute end
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs finished higher on Monday on strong cash prices and the resumption of cargo loading following Friday’s West Coast port labour agreement, traders said. CME hogs drew more support from the dockworker deal because the U.S. exports more pork than beef and poultry. Monday morning’s average market-ready […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle market stabilizes
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged this past week after a surge in buying interest earlier in February. Certain auction markets reported values $2 to $5 higher in Alberta, but other reports from Saskatchewan and Manitoba were actually a bit softer. A smaller group of exotic steers weighing just under 500 pounds sold […] Read more
UN team investigates Saudi surge in deadly MERS virus
London | Reuters –– An international team of United Nations human and animal health experts has flown to Saudi Arabia to investigate a recent surge in cases of a deadly virus causing Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Speaking from Riyadh on Friday, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization-led team said it was worried by […] Read more
Canada demands oil trains carry more insurance, levy imposed
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will increase the insurance railways must carry when they haul crude oil and impose a levy on shippers to help cover the cost of major accidents in the burgeoning oil-by-rail industry, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said Friday. Raitt unveiled the measures in a bill which responds largely to the 2013 […] Read more
Manitoba corn acres expected to be ‘down or flat’
CNS Canada — A mixture of extremely wet conditions in 2014 and a projected dry outlook for southwestern Manitoba are leading one corn expert to predict fewer corn acres in the province in 2015. “The southwest was wet, wet, wet and now they’re expecting to be dry, dry, dry. Neither of those conditions is great […] Read more
Contract negotiators for U.S. West Coast ports reach tentative deal
Los Angeles | Reuters — A group of shipping companies and a powerful dockworkers union clinched a tentative labour deal on Friday after nine months of negotiations, settling a dispute that disrupted the flow of cargo through 29 U.S. West Coast ports and snarled trans-Pacific maritime trade with Asia. The settlement, confirmed in a joint […] Read more
Pacific trade pact negotiators to meet in March
Washington | Reuters –– Chief negotiators for a Pacific trade deal will meet in Hawaii for talks in the second week of March, the U.S. trade office said Friday, a move which could delay a final agreement on the pact. Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb said on Feb. 5 he hoped to agree on the […] Read more