Berlin | Reuters — Germany’s federal and state governments will in future decide together whether to ban the cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that are allowed in the European Union, a draft law showed, ending a long dispute. An EU law in March 2015 cleared the way for the approval of new […] Read more
German federal, state governments to decide jointly on GM crops
Agrium, PotashCorp shareholders vote on merger next month
Reuters — Agrium and PotashCorp shareholders will hold separate meetings next month to vote on a merger agreement between the two fertilizer companies, they said in a filing on Thursday. The all-stock deal would combine Potash’s crop nutrient production capacity, the world’s largest, with Agrium’s farm retail network, North America’s biggest. Agrium shareholders will meet […] Read more
EU’s Juncker seeks to win over Austria on CETA
Strasbourg | Reuters –– European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker expressed optimism on Wednesday that EU governments would agree a contentious free trade deal this month ahead of a meeting with a skeptical Austrian chancellor. Juncker said the EU needed to ensure that a deal agreed with Canada two years ago entered into force in a […] Read more
Austria’s chancellor sees CETA on right track
Vienna | Reuters –– Austria’s government on Monday seemed to have found common ground on a free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada with Chancellor Christian Kern, who has criticized the pact in the past, saying negotiations were on the right track. Social Democrat Kern’s opposition to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement […] Read more
Farm gate prices fall in August on meat, dairy
Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian producer prices unexpectedly fell in August as meat and dairy products saw the largest decrease in nearly nine years, while lower prices for energy and petroleum products also weighed, data from Statistics Canada showed on Friday. The 0.5 per cent decline in producer prices fell well short of analysts’ expectations […] Read more
China approves corn export permits to two companies
Beijing | Reuters –– China has given approval to at least two companies to export corn, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, in a radical move by the world’s No. 2 producer to cut its ballooning surplus that could add more supply to a saturated global market. The move threatens to push U.S. […] Read more
China slaps more duties on U.S. DDGS
Beijing | Reuters –– China will impose anti-subsidy duties of between 10 and 10.7 per cent on imports of U.S. animal feed ingredient known as distillers’ dried grains (DDGS), the Commerce Ministry said in a preliminary ruling on Wednesday. The move was widely expected after the government announced a similar move on anti-dumping duties last […] Read more
U.S. farmer suits over Syngenta corn get class status
Reuters — A U.S. district court judge in Kansas this week said lawsuits brought by U.S. farmers against seed company Syngenta over sales of biotech corn seeds not approved for import by China can proceed as a class action, according to a court filing. Farmers from the largest U.S. corn-producing states sued the seed maker […] Read more
Ontario to scale back renewable energy purchases
Toronto | Reuters –– Ontario will scale back its purchase of renewable power in a move expected to result in savings of up to $3.8 billion from a 2013 forecast, the provincial government said on Tuesday. It’s not clear consumers will benefit directly, though the province’s Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault told a news conference a […] Read more
German chemical firm Lanxess to buy Chemtura
Reuters — Lanxess AG said on Sunday it would buy specialty chemical company Chemtura Corp. for about US$2.5 billion, to improve the German company’s additives business. Lanxess’s offer of US$33.50 for each Chemtura share represents a premium of about 19 per cent to the Philadelphia-based company’s close on Friday. The world’s largest synthetic rubber maker […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
