File photo of cranes at the Port of Montreal. (Jean-Paul_Lejeune/iStock/Getty Images)

Montreal longshoremen to strike on weekends

Exporters again call for feds to step in

Exporters of Canadian crops and other goods have amped up calls for federal intervention after longshore workers at the Port of Montreal declared a “partial” strike affecting weekend and overtime work. The Syndicat des debardeurs du port de Montreal (SCFP/CUPE Local 375) said Saturday they had filed 72 hours’ strike notice, to take effect Tuesday […] Read more

CME June 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (pink, red lines) and CME lean hog index (purple line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs strengthen on strong demand, firm exports

Live cattle down despite beef, cash strength

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange climbed higher on Thursday as tight supply and firm export demand offered support, analysts said. “A lot of that has to do with COVID and the pent-up demand we have, with more things opening up,” said Joe Kooima, commodity broker at Kooima […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Flax area seen expanding on strongest prices ever

MarketsFarm — To MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville, there’s no doubt that flaxseed acres in Canada will increase in 2021. In Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) March supply and demand estimates, the department projected flax acres to jump 22 per cent in 2021-22 at about 1.14 million, up from nearly 931,600 seeded in the previous […] Read more

MGEX May 2021 spring wheat (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (gray line) and CBOT May 2021 wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat lifted on spring planting concerns

Near-term tightness in world supply underpins soy, corn

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures gained on Wednesday, following the Minneapolis Grain Exchange’s hard red spring wheat higher on concerns that dryness across the U.S. Great Plains could affect spring wheat plantings. Chicago corn gained ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly supply and demand report on Friday, which is expected to […] Read more


A canola field near Pincher Creek, Alta. (Laughingmango/E+/Getty Images)

Japan increases demand for canola

MarketsFarm — Japan has continued to generate an increased demand for canola, according to Daisuke Sasatani, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) attaché in Tokyo. Sasatani said approximately 98 per cent of Japan’s canola imports are from Canada, while Australia supplies the remainder. The attaché estimated Japan’s canola imports in 2020-21 are to rise by […] Read more

A man waves an Egyptian flag after the Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, is fully floated on the Suez Canal in Egypt on March 29, 2021. (Photo: Suez Canal Authority handout via Reuters)

Pulse weekly outlook: Shipping delays aggravate growers, exporters

Montreal longshoremen's strike again possible

MarketsFarm — On top of disruptions to major supply chains and shipping routes already due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recent events are causing even more headaches for pulse exporters and growers. The six-day blockage of the Suez Canal by the grounded container ship Ever Given caused a major backup of container ships, tankers and other […] Read more


Strip steak with mushrooms. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Beef trade gap seen growing as U.K. pact clears Parliament

Interim post-Brexit trade deal gets royal assent

Canada’s beef cattle producers are warning of a growing beef trade deficit, not only between Canada and the European Union but between Canada and the United Kingdom, as a new stopgap U.K. trade pact nears its launch. International Trade Minister Mary Ng on Friday announced Canada is ratifying the Canada-U.K. Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA), after […] Read more

CBOT May 2021 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn rebounds on technicals, sales to China

Soybeans also gain; wheat weak on improving U.S. crop

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rebounded on Friday in an end-of-week technical and bargain buying bounce from steep losses the previous day. Corn received an additional boost from the U.S. Agriculture Department’s (USDA) confirmation of large sales to China for a fourth straight day, lifting the market to its first weekly […] Read more


CBOT May 2021 corn (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and May 2021 WTI crude (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy slump in broad-based commodities selloff

Weekly corn export sales top estimates, China buys more

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell on Thursday as a firm U.S. dollar and tumbling energy prices, with crude oil down more than eight per cent, stoked broad selling across commodities markets. The steepest corn and soy declines in more than a week marked a further pullback from recent highs as […] Read more

CBOT May 2021 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans slide on slowing exports, Argentina rains

USDA confirms more U.S. corn sales to China

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures retreated on Wednesday on slowing export sales as global demand shifts to South American supplies and as U.S. farmers prepare to dramatically increase plantings of the oilseed this spring. Corn futures were mixed, with the nearby contract firming as strong sales to China stoked concerns about tightening supplies. […] Read more