Barley south of Ethelton, Sask. in early August 2017. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Barley trade routes redrawn as China tariff hits Australian farmers

China's barley purchases from Canada more than double last year's

Sydney/Paris | Reuters — Out in Australia’s grain fields, farmers have started harvesting one of their biggest-ever barley crops, after drought-relieving rains convinced many to plant to the edges of their paddocks. Yet the tractors are working under the cloud of a new tariff imposed by China — seen widely as retaliation for Australia’s push […] Read more

Nelson Fagan Jr. greets 10 Charolais cows at his ranch near Conception Bay South in October. (N. Fagan Meats video screengrab via Facebook)

Newfoundland beef producers backed to develop abattoirs

Three proposals get six figures each; breeding cows also provided

A provincial call for proposals to boost beef slaughter capacity in Newfoundland and Labrador has yielded three successful applicants. The provincial government on Nov. 5 announced its Beef Industry Enhancement Initiative will provide just over $1.8 million in total to its three successful proposals: $719,750 for Troy Humber of Northern Arm, about 40 km northeast […] Read more



Canadian ginseng, whose shipments to Hong Kong have plummeted since COVID-19 infections peaked in Canada this spring and travel restrictions took effect, is seen in southwestern Ontario’s Norfolk County in this undated photograph. (Handout photo courtesy Helen Mels via Reuters)

Ginseng piling up in Canada despite Chinese demand

Travel restrictions depress new-crop sales

Winnipeg/Hong Kong | Reuters — The pandemic’s crushing effect on international travel has grounded Canadian exports of ginseng, a root widely used in Asia to treat everything from the common cold to impotency, at a time when health is top of consumers’ minds. Canada is the world’s second-largest ginseng exporter after China, with most of […] Read more



CBOT November 2020 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans touch two-year top on China buying spree

Wheat up on technical buying, cash prices

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures extended their rally on Thursday, rising 1.7 per cent to set a two-year high as brisk demand from China continued to support the oilseed market. Corn rose as the strength in soybeans overshadowed pressure from a smaller-than-expected Chinese corn import quota. Wheat futures jumped on technical buying and […] Read more





File photo of a cooking oil bottling line in Spain. (Sabor de España/iStock/Getty Images)

Canadian canola prices spike as shippers find back door to China

'Profits are extravagant... It is like gold oil now'

Winnipeg/Beijing | Reuters — Canadian canola prices have soared to the highest in nearly two years, despite a diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing, as exporters find roundabout ways to reach top oilseed buyer China. Chinese authorities have since March 2019 blocked canola shipments by two Canadian exporters, an action they took after Canadian police […] Read more

(Zevei-Wenhui/iStock/Getty Images)

China’s slower meat imports seen worsening its protein shortage

Beijing | Reuters — China’s dwindling pace of meat imports, thanks to its tough measures against coronavirus contamination, will provide further support for prices already buoyed by a severe shortage of pork, analysts said. Purchases of pork and other meats have soared this year after domestic production shrank 30 per cent following an outbreak of […] Read more