Moscow/Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s military has suspended commercial shipping at its ports after Russian forces invaded the country, an adviser to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said, stoking fear of supply disruption from leading grain and oilseeds exporters. Russia earlier ordered the Azov Sea closed to the movement of commercial vessels until further […] Read more

Ukraine shuts ports as conflict threatens grain supplies

Nutrien eyes potash production boost amid turmoil in Russia, Belarus
Idled Saskatchewan mines could be restarted
Winnipeg | Reuters — Nutrien, the world’s biggest potash miner, could boost production by up to 29 per cent in coming years, depending on any sanctions facing rival producers in Russia and Belarus, the Canadian company’s interim CEO told Reuters. Prices of granular potash fertilizer are near 10-year highs in the United States and Brazil, […] Read more

Tax, competition expected to prolong Russian wheat export season
Tax complicates forward sales for exporters
Moscow | Reuters — Exports of Russian wheat will stretch well into the second half of the season as Moscow’s export tax and tough competition with Ukraine and Romania slow sales until the end of 2021, traders and analysts said. Russia, the world’s largest exporter of wheat, generally sells most of its crop during the […] Read more

Russia will suspend grain exports for six weeks if quota runs out mid-May
Several supplies to Egypt might be affected, traders say
Moscow | Reuters — Russia, the world’s biggest wheat exporter, will suspend grain exports until July 1 once its export quota is exhausted, which is currently expected to happen in mid-May, its deputy agriculture minister Oksana Lut said on Friday. Russia last fully banned wheat exports in 2010 when drought hit its harvest, rocking global […] Read more

Russian agricultural firms raided over suspected tax evasion
Moscow | Reuters — Meat producer Cherkizovo and farming conglomerate Rusagro were among agricultural firms across Russia targeted in a sweeping investigation into suspected tax evasion on Wednesday. The Tax Service said so far five potential breaches had been uncovered in inspections carried out with the Federal Security Service (FSB) at agricultural holdings across 13 […] Read more

Russia to resume beef, pork imports from Brazil
Moscow/Sao Paulo | Reuters – Russia’s agriculture safety watchdog said on Wednesday it would allow imports of beef and pork from nine Brazilian plants beginning on Thursday, ending an 11-month ban triggered by concerns about the safety of their meat products. Russia’s Rosselkhoznadzor had placed temporary restrictions on imports of pork and beef products from […] Read more

Heatwave ravages European fields, sending wheat prices soaring
Paris | Moscow | Hamburg | Reuters – Searing heat has devastated wheat fields across northern Europe while a combination of dry conditions and extreme rain in the Black Sea have hit output estimates, with prices soaring on fears of further crop damage. Evidence of serious harm to crops is growing as harvesting heads north in […] Read more

Bayer petitions Russian antitrust watchdog for more time in Monsanto case
Frankfurt/Moscow | Reuters — Bayer has taken Russia’s competition regulator to court over the watchdog’s investigation into the company’s planned takeover of Monsanto, a further hiccup in the US$64 billion deal amid intense antitrust scrutiny. A Bayer spokesman said the German company was petitioning the court in Russia to be given more time to discuss […] Read more

Russia to restrict Brazilian pork, beef imports from Dec. 1
Moscow/Brasilia | Reuters – Russia will place temporary restrictions on imports of pork and beef products from Brazil from Dec. 1, the country’s agricultural safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said on Monday. Russia said last week it was considering a ban on all pork and beef imports from Brazil after finding the feed additive ractopamine in some […] Read more

Russia may ban Egyptian citrus amid wheat dispute
Moscow/Cairo | Reuters — Russia threatened to ban Egyptian citrus imports on Tuesday, a move that could escalate a trade dispute over exports of Russian wheat to the world’s largest importer of the grain. Moscow said this week it hopes to hold talks with Egypt, its top buyer, over Cairo’s failure to approve Russian wheat […] Read more