Reuters — Canadian fertilizer and ag retail company Agrium is not looking to broadly cut costs and staffing levels, but its drive to become more efficient could lead to some job losses, CEO Chuck Magro said. As profits fall sharply, Agrium’s peers Mosaic Co. and PotashCorp have already announced major cuts to their respective workforces. […] Read more
Agrium CEO not aiming solely at job cuts to pare costs
Mosaic to cut over 500 jobs as profit tumbles
Reuters — U.S. fertilizer company Mosaic Co. said Tuesday it will eliminate more than 500 jobs in the next year as it reported a larger-than-expected 43 per cent drop in quarterly profit. The fertilizer sector has been under pressure since last summer’s breakup of one of the world’s biggest potash traders, Belarusian Potash Co., led […] Read more
Commons’ speaker rejects grain bill amendment on railway payment
Reuters — The speaker of Canada’s House of Commons rejected on Thursday a bill amendment that would allow the government to force railway companies to compensate shippers for expenses incurred because of railways’ failure to deliver service. The amendment was part of Bill C-30, a broader Conservative legislative package by which the government would set […] Read more
Boosting West Coast exports seen key for moving bigger crops
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada needs to invest in shipping more grains and oilseeds off the West Coast as harvests get larger, to avoid the massive transportation backlogs that followed last year’s record crops, industry officials said on Wednesday. Last year, 19.3 million tonnes of grain moved in bulk and containers combined through Port Metro […] Read more
Cargill expects flour merger with ConAgra finalized in six to eight weeks
Winnipeg | Reuters — U.S. agribusiness Cargill expects the merger of its flour mill operations with those of ConAgra Foods to be finalized in six to eight weeks after it clears a longstanding regulatory hurdle, Cargill executive chairman Greg Page said Tuesday. The combined entity, to be called Ardent Mills, would join ConAgra’s milling operations […] Read more
Bill to force railways to pay for poor service bound for Commons
Reuters — Federal legislators on Monday amended a bill designed to ensure grain moves smoothly by rail by allowing the government to order railways to compensate shippers for poor service. The Canadian Transportation Agency currently has authority only to arbitrate matters on which the parties mutually agree. Railways can avoid paying compensation simply by refusing […] Read more
Prairie farmers load U.S.-bound grain trucks to beat backlog
Winnipeg | Reuters — Truckloads of Canadian canola and wheat are flowing briskly into U.S. crushing plants and elevators, as Canada’s farmers seek to get round an unprecedented backlog of crops destined for ports. A record-smashing Canadian harvest and brutal winter have overwhelmed Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways (CN, CP), the key links in […] Read more
Mosaic lays off 51 Sask. staff on industry woes
Winnipeg | Reuters — U.S.-based fertilizer company Mosaic Co. said Tuesday it has laid off 51 workers at its Canadian potash operations, as the industry struggles to recover from low prices and weak demand. Spokesman Rob Litt said the layoffs are spread out among Mosaic’s operations in Saskatchewan, which include three potash mines and an […] Read more
China to resume Canadian canola meal imports, first in a year
Winnipeg | Reuters — China has agreed to resume imports of Canadian canola meal from Richardson International, the first from Canada in about a year, a Richardson official said Friday. The Chinese government agreed several weeks ago to resume imports of canola meal and canola meal pellets from privately-held Richardson, said Adrian Man, assistant vice-president […] Read more
Eastern ice latest obstacle to clearing Prairie grain backlog
Winnipeg | Reuters — Thick ice on Eastern Canada’s waterways will hamper efforts to clear a massive crop backlog, with the Port of Thunder Bay likely to open at least a week later than usual this spring, its chief executive said Thursday. Ice in the port’s harbour on Lake Superior is about four feet thick, […] Read more
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