Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn and soy futures fell to four-year lows on Monday, pressured by favourable weather for record harvests in the U.S. and a rising dollar that made the supplies less competitive in global markets. Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures also fell to a four-year low, but trimmed losses to end […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn tumble to four-year lows on record harvests
Canada/Korea trade pact’s final text signed
Now signed and sealed, a trade pact that’s expected to level the playing field for Canada’s agrifood export sectors in South Korea is waiting on implementation. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Korean President Park Geun-hye formally signed off on the free trade agreement’s final text at a ceremony Monday in Ottawa, three months after the […] Read more
U.S. wheat futures pressured by weak French market
CNS Canada — U.S. wheat futures have fallen to four-year lows, but could have more room to the downside as large global supplies and declining world prices weigh on values. In addition to the ample world supply situation, much of the recent weakness in the U.S. wheat market is tied to a “freefall” in the […] Read more
Frozen barley crops to push craft beer prices higher
Winnipeg | Reuters –– Beer prices in North America may rise next year as brewers and maltsters face higher costs after cold, wet weather damaged Canadian barley crops and left farmers and tipplers crying in their beer. Canada, the world’s second-biggest exporter of malting barley, was already harvesting its smallest crop since 1968, before a […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle close mixed, hogs higher
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle closed mixed on Monday, pressured by last week’s lower cash prices but supported by bear spreads, traders said. Bear spreads consisted of investors who bought back months and simultaneously sold nearby contracts with the view that Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly Cattle-On-Feed report confirmed tight […] Read more
Wheat bids slide with U.S. futures
Average cash bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat moved down across Western Canada during the week ended Friday, as continued losses in U.S. futures weighed on values. The highest CWRS prices were still available in Manitoba, but average bids in the province declined by $8 from the previous week, coming in at roughly […] Read more
Klassen: Tight yearling supplies support feeder complex
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were $3 to $4 per hundredweight (cwt) higher on average. Cattle buyers were scrambling to fill orders on yearlings as supply uncertainty continues to drive prices higher. Feedlot vacancy is at seasonal lows and operators want to fill pens as soon as possible. Feeding margins are narrowing with higher replacement […] Read more
Lentil prices rise with Prairie rains, Asian demand
CNS Canada — A lentil watcher says Canadian prices for the crop are surging higher right now, in response to frequent Prairie rains and international demand. “It’s more than your usual slow rally, it (the market) spiked higher; especially the greens, which are shooting up right now,” said Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodity Research in […] Read more
Three peanut firm officials guilty in deadly salmonella outbreak
Atlanta | Reuters — Three former U.S. peanut company officials were found guilty on Friday in connection with a 2009 salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and sickened hundreds, federal prosecutors said. The contamination at the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Georgia, led to one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history […] Read more
JBS delays food unit IPO amid market slide, sources say
Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meatpacker, has put off a plan to raise 4 billion reais (US$1.7 billion) from the initial public offering of its pork, poultry and food-processing operations in Brazil, two sources with direct knowledge of the decision said. JBS and banks are wary that market volatility stemming […] Read more