Chicago | Reuters — The United States said on Thursday it is seeking to avoid disruptions to pork exports if the territories of Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands detect the fatal pig disease African swine fever. The risk for infections in the territories is higher after the Dominican Republic last month confirmed the […] Read more

U.S. seeks to protect pork exports if swine fever hits territories
Policy would distinguish Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands from mainland

Maersk signs first green methanol deal toward dropping fossil fuels
Copenhagen | Reuters — A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Wednesday it had signed a contract securing green methanol as the world’s largest shipping firm gears up to operate its first carbon-neutral ship in 2023. With about 90 per cent of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly three per cent of the world’s […] Read more

Russia’s agriculture ministry pauses grain harvesting data
Moscow | Reuters — Russia’s agriculture ministry has paused its daily publication of grain harvesting data while it refines the reporting format used by the country’s growing regions, the ministry said Wednesday. Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter, supplying it mainly to Africa and the Middle East. It competes with the European Union and […] Read more

Bayer takes battle over Roundup cancer claims to U.S. Supreme Court
Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer, trying to contain billions of dollars in legal costs, filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court verdict that upheld damages to a customer blaming his cancer on the German group’s glyphosate-based herbicides. Bayer last week lost a third appeal against verdicts that sided with […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures gain
Medium-, long-term supplies tighten
Chicago | Reuters — CME feeder cattle futures firmed on Friday, bolstered by lower corn and wheat markets that may translate into eased feed costs, traders said. CME live cattle also gained and are expected to firm next week as the trade digests the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly cattle on feed report released after […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle up on export demand
CME lean hog futures mixed
Chicago | Reuters — CME cattle futures firmed on Thursday, supported by strong export demand for U.S. supplies, traders said. Hog futures were narrowly mixed, with the nearby contract firm on good weekly exports while deferreds eased on technical selling. CME August lean hog futures gained 0.075 cents to 106.65 cents/lb., while most-active October dipped […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hog contracts end firm
Chicago | Reuters — CME cattle and hog futures rose on Wednesday, supported by concerns about near-term supplies, traders said. Analysts were expecting a U.S. Agriculture Department report on Friday to show that the number of cattle on feed as of July 1 was 99 per cent of the year-earlier amount. Placements during June were […] Read more

U.S. FTC votes to make ‘right to repair’ a priority
Commission also drops 1995 merger policy
Washington | Reuters — The U.S Federal Trade Commission voted Wednesday to make it a priority to address the issue of manufacturers pushing consumers to use licensed dealers to repair items ranging from smartphones to farm equipment, a practice that critics call anti-competitive. The five commissioners, three Democrats and two Republicans, voted unanimously to approve […] Read more

German hog market shrugs off swine fever discovery on farms
Hamburg | Reuters — German pig prices were unchanged this week despite the discovery of the disease African swine fever in farm animals, German animal farmers’ association VEZG said on Wednesday. German pig prices were the same as last week at 1.42 euros (C$2.10) per kilogram slaughter weight, the VEZG said. A third case of […] Read more

World Food Programme starts distributing food in Venezuela
Reuters — The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday it had begun distributing school meals to children in Venezuela, where some seven million people require humanitarian assistance after years of economic collapse in the once-prosperous OPEC nation. The WFP’s first take-home rations were distributed for children under six years old at some 277 schools […] Read more