U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a “Global Food Security Call to Action” meeting of foreign ministers at U.N. headquarters in New York on May 18, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

U.N. chief in talks on restoring Ukraine grain exports

Contact made amid global food crisis

United Nations | Reuters — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that he is in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union in an effort to restore Ukrainian grain export as a global food crisis worsens. “I am hopeful, but there is still a way to go,” said […] Read more

(DimaSobko/iStock/Getty Images)

Canadian retailers impose limits on baby formula purchases

Canada not as hard hit by shortage as U.S.

Toronto | Reuters — Many Canadian retailers have imposed limits on the amount of baby formula customers can buy amid a shortage following Abbott Laboratories’ February production suspension in the United States, an industry spokesperson said on Wednesday. Canada has not been as hard hit by the shortage caused by the suspension at the Abbott […] Read more

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on May 8, 2022. (PMO photo by Adam Scotti via Reuters)

Trudeau pledges help for Ukraine to find options to export grain

Turkey's co-operation seen as important, Joly says

Kyiv | Reuters — Canada will help Ukraine work out options on how to export stored grain to address global food security that has been shaken by Russia’s invasion of the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said late on Sunday. Nearly 25 million tonnes of grains are stuck in Ukraine, unable to leave the country […] Read more



EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU’s oilseed yields expected to decline in 2022-23

USDA's attaches predict uptick in EU's oilseed acres

MarketsFarm — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) attachés in Europe have projected oilseed production in the 27-member European Union to increase just slightly in 2022-23. The 18 attachés involved in the report expect about 31.07 million tonnes in total, for a 0.4 per cent bump in total oilseed output from 2021-22. The oilseeds included […] Read more

File photo of fresh palm fruits and palm oil. (Slpu9945/iStock/Getty Images)

Indonesia bans palm oil exports as global food inflation spikes

Government under pressure to control cooking oil prices

Jakarta | Reuters — Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer, announced plans to ban exports of the most widely used vegetable oil on Friday, in a shock move that could further inflame surging global food inflation. The halting of shipments of the cooking oil and its raw material, widely used in products ranging from […] Read more


File photo of a bulk port facility in Ukraine. (Olivia Sabeskaya/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine grain storage shortage adds to farmers’ woes

Zurich | Reuters — Ukraine has insufficient storage capacity even for its reduced 2022 grain harvest, the United Nations’ World Food Programme said Tuesday, with the country struggling to export existing stocks during the invasion by Russia. Jakob Kern, the World Food Programme’s emergency co-ordinator in Ukraine, cited estimates that 20 per cent of planted […] Read more

File photo of a wheat field in northern Ukraine on July 14, 2016. (File photo: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)

Ukraine could lack seed for years, French producers warn

Paris | Reuters — Reduced production of crop seed in Ukraine due to war with Russia could affect the country’s grain production for several years, a French seed industry group said on Thursday. Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters, is widely expected to see its harvest shrink this year as Russia’s invasion disrupts […] Read more