Singapore grain and pulse crop trader Agrocorp has gone into northwestern Alberta’s Peace region to add more grain processing assets to its Canadian operations. The company announced last week it has bought the Falher Co-operative Seed Cleaning Plant at Falher, about 165 km northeast of Grande Prairie, for an undisclosed sum. The co-operative’s shareholders recently […] Read more
Asian grain trader makes play in Peace region
New Dreyfus CEO leaves Agrium board
Mayo Schmidt, the former Viterra chief executive named last month to become CEO of Louis Dreyfus’ global commodities business, has stepped away from the board table at ag input firm Agrium. Calgary-based Agrium, which includes wholesale fertilizer and retail seed, fertilizer and crop protection businesses, announced last Monday (Dec. 22) that Schmidt would resign from […] Read more
Russian grain exports seen reviving as informal curbs ease
Moscow | Reuters –– Russian grain exports have picked up again after a decision to impose official export duties reduced informal curbs that had all but stopped sales abroad, SovEcon agriculture consultancy said on Saturday. Russia, the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter, introduced informal grain export controls last week to try and cool domestic wheat prices […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle contracts fall in choppy trade
Chicago / Reuters – Most Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled weaker in choppy action on Wednesday after investors squared positions on Christmas Eve, traders said. CME livestock markets will resume trading on Friday after closing early on Wednesday for Thursday’s Christmas holiday. December finished 0.650 cent per lb higher at 162.500 cents, February […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat retreats from rally fuelled by Russia export worries
Chicago / Reuters – U.S. grain and soybean futures slumped on Wednesday, with wheat dropping by 4 per cent in a setback from a rally fuelled by concerns over Russian export restrictions. The market extended a retreat from gains last week amid talk that Russia, expected to be the world’s fourth-largest exporter this year, won’t impose grain export duties until Feb. […] Read more
Canola running into chart resistance
Commodity News Service Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola contracts hit some of their best levels since August on Dec. 23, but ran into resistance to the upside to settle with small losses. The nearby trend remains pointed higher overall, but the lack of liquidity over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season could lead […] Read more
Russia’s grain exports stop: farm lobby
Moscow / Abu Dhabi / Reuters — Russia’s grain exports have stopped due to curbs brought in to protect domestic supply, putting big deals at risk, an influential farm lobby group said on Wednesday. Russia’s main wheat buyers are Turkey, Iran and, very vulnerable to supply disruption, Egypt. Moscow imposed informal grain export controls with […] Read more
DuPont, Monsanto settle seed patent lawsuits
Reuters — DuPont and Monsanto Co have agreed to dismiss patent infringement lawsuits against each other over some seed development technologies. Monsanto had alleged that DuPont infringed some of its seed chipping patents, while DuPont had claimed that Monsanto infringed some patents related to seed processing. The companies did not disclose the terms of the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs climb on short-covering before USDA report
Chicago / Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs closed higher on Tuesday on short-covering ahead of the Christmas holiday and before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly hog report at 2 p.m. CST (2000 GMT), traders said. Analysts expect the report, which will be released while Globex hog futures are trading, to show herd […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn reaches new five-month high, wheat advances
Chicago / Reuters – U.S. corn futures on Tuesday jumped to a new five-month high for the second consecutive session on increasing global demand and wheat advanced amid uncertainty about the impact of Russian export restrictions. Soybean futures also were firmer in thin volume before the Christmas holiday on Thursday. Nearby March corn futures hit a session high of […] Read more