Mature winter wheat. (Allan Dawson photo)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn climb on bargain-buying

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures closed higher Tuesday on a technical bounce a day after the spot July contract neared a two-week low, and on worries about dry weather in the Black Sea crop region, analysts said. Corn also advanced, rebounding from a two-month low, while soybeans closed mixed as nearby contracts lost […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie flax market flat, acres set to decline

CNS Canada — A flat flax market in Western Canada has buyers feeling indifferent about this year’s prospects. “There’s no big hurrahs right now on flax… I hate to say it, I’m a very optimistic type of person, but it’s kind of a flat market right now,” said Ben Friesen, senior market manager at Scoular […] Read more

G3 co-owner SALIC looking at Iraq farmland

Dubai | Reuters –– The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) is looking at more farmland investment opportunities and has its neighbour Iraq on the list. SALIC, an arm of the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), said it was also looking to expand its investments in the Black Sea region, which already includes almost […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. grains: Wheat lower on hefty global stocks

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures dipped to a one-week low on Monday as swelling harvest supplies in the Black Sea export region hung over a subdued market a day ahead of closely watched U.S. government crop forecasts. Soybean futures also declined, while corn edged higher in choppy trade. Chicago Board of Trade December […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill joint venture to build grain terminal in Ukraine

Kiev | Reuters — U.S. agriculture giant Cargill and Ukraine’s MV Cargo said they would build and operate a grain terminal at Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Yuzhny under a US$100 million joint venture agreement signed Wednesday. The terminal, near Ukraine’s biggest port city of Odessa, will have an annual loading capacity of five million […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill to stop selling seed, inputs in Black Sea region

Chicago | Reuters –– Cargill will stop selling seeds, fertilizer and crop chemicals to farmers in the Black Sea region, as the global trader continues to cut back operations in the face of sliding commodity prices. The 150-year old company, one of the world’s largest privately held corporations, is in the middle of a restructuring […] Read more

Russian harvesting technology has advanced beyond that illustrated in this Soviet-era poster.

Black Sea in it for the long haul

The Former Soviet Union, once Canada's largest wheat customer, is now its largest competitor

Black Sea wheat exports are projected at an all-time high this year, and there is good reason to have confidence in this forecast. During the 2015/16 marketing year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that the states of the former Soviet Union excluding Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia (FSU-12) will export a record 45 million […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

New Russian wheat tax puts exporters, traders on edge

Moscow | Reuters –– Russia approved the launch of a new wheat export tax from July 1, which traders say could threaten profits on advance contracts for the new crop if the rouble weakens in coming months. Russia’s government said Friday that the new tax was intended to stop exports surging if the rouble drops […] Read more

Russian wheat prices follow global benchmarks higher

Tikhoretsk | Reuters — Russian wheat export prices rose last week following an increase in global benchmarks and concerns over dry and hot weather in the European part of Russia, analysts said. Russia, one of the world’s big wheat exporters, competes with other global suppliers, including France, where Western European wheat prices hit the highest […] Read more