Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

UN working on guarantees for Russia to restore grain deal, Moscow skeptical

Bombing of Ukraine ports, grain facilities erodes other partners' goodwill, Guterres says

Reuters — The United Nations is “actively engaged” in trying to improve Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports in a bid to convince Moscow to again allow the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday. “We believe that it’s necessary to create a system of mutual guarantee,” Guterres told reporters on […] Read more

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (r) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin arrive at a press conference after their meeting in Sochi on Sept. 4, 2023. (Photo: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)

Turkey’s Erdogan says Black Sea grain deal can be restored soon

UN seeks to bring Russia back into deal

Moscow | Reuters — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Monday that it would soon be possible to revive the grain deal that the United Nations says helped to ease a food crisis by getting Ukrainian grain to market. Russia quit the deal in July — a year after […] Read more


Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus at Istanbul on Dec. 11, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Yoruk Isik)

Russia says will have talks with Turkey about alternative to Black Sea deal

Plan calls for Qatar's support to move Russian grain

Reuters — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan will discuss a proposal by Moscow for an alternative to the Black Sea grain deal when they meet this week, Lavrov’s ministry said Wednesday. Under the plan, Russia would send a million tons of grain to Turkey at a discounted price, with financial […] Read more

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans dip after data shows crop less damaged than feared

Ukrainian farmers not expected to cut winter wheat area

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean and corn prices retreated on Tuesday following U.S. government data showing a smaller-than-expected decline in crop conditions than what many analysts had expected. Wheat hit a two-week low as sluggish demand for U.S. supplies and competition from cheap Russian grain limited the upside in prices. The most active soybean […] Read more


File photo of a small boat flying the Lebanese flag at a marina in Tripoli as a cargo vessel sails in the distance. (Joel Carillet/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine asks Lebanon to bar Syrian ship carrying ‘stolen’ corn

Corn taken from multiple storage units, Ukraine alleges

Beirut | Reuters — Ukrainian officials on Thursday asked Lebanon to bar a Syrian state-owned cargo ship carrying allegedly stolen Ukrainian grain from docking in Lebanon’s Tripoli port, according to the Ukrainian embassy and a diplomatic note seen by Reuters. The Ukrainian mission said in comments to Reuters that the Finikia was transporting 6,000 metric […] Read more

(Omersukrugoksu/iStock/Getty Images)

Russia hits grain facilities at Ukrainian Danube River port

Some 13,000 tonnes of grain destroyed says Ukrainian deputy prime minister

Reuters – Russian drones struck Ukrainian grain facilities at the Danube River port of Izmail overnight in what a senior official said on Wednesday was a systematic attempt by Moscow to prevent Kyiv exporting grain to the world. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the port’s export capacity had been reduced by 15% and that […] Read more


Commercial vessels  –including vessels which are part of the Black Sea grain deal — wait to pass the Bosphorus strait off the shores of Yenikapi during a misty morning in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 31, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas)

U.S. says working to identify alternative paths for Ukraine grain

Danube grain facilities attacked overnight

Washington | Reuters — The United States on Wednesday condemned Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure and said it was working with partners to identify alternative options to ensure Ukrainian grain exports. “The United States … calls for Russia to immediately return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel […] Read more

File photo of sunset over port facilities at Odesa. (Mixarde/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine announces ‘humanitarian corridor’ for other stuck ships

Moscow not yet commenting on plan

Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine announced a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea on Thursday to release cargo ships trapped in its ports since the outbreak of war, a new test of Russia’s de facto blockade since Moscow abandoned a deal last month to let Kyiv export grain. At least initially, the corridor would apply […] Read more


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CBOT weekly outlook: August forecasts pulling prices down 

Wheat prices went down during the week despite Russia’s withdrawal from Black Sea deal

MarketsFarm – Recent weather forecasts for much of the United States put pressure on grain prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) during the week ended Aug. 2.  Cooler and wetter conditions are expected for the U.S. Midwest during the first half of August, which could help stabilize corn and soybean crops affected by […] Read more

(Omersukrugoksu/iStock/Getty Images)

Russia strikes Ukraine’s Danube port, sending global grain prices higher

Port hit on Danube opposite NATO-member Romania; Kyiv says aim is to intimidate shippers considering return

Kyiv | Reuters – Russia attacked Ukraine’s main inland port across the Danube River from Romania on Wednesday, sending global food prices higher as it ramps up its use of force to prevent Ukraine from exporting grain. The attacks destroyed buildings in the port of Izmail and halted ships in their tracks as they prepared […] Read more