Beef is on display at a Walmart in Beijing on Sept. 23, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

China’s coronavirus testing chokes beef trade

Additional inspections, disinfections costly for importers

Beijing | Reuters — In a supermarket in downtown Beijing, refrigerator shelves normally filled with steak from around the world sit empty as tougher testing for the novel coronavirus creates supply bottlenecks and raises prices for importers. Fresh supplies of beef won’t arrive for days, a salesman at the Suning.com-owned Carrefour outlet told Reuters — […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Export demand supports grain prices

MarketsFarm — There continues to be a very strong demand for feed grains with large amounts headed for export, according to Saskatoon-based trader Evan Peterson of JGL Commodities. “It’s driven the prices up and made a massive competition between feed for Alberta versus shipping it overseas,” Peterson said, noting China has been the main driver […] Read more

CBOT December 2020 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

CBOT weekly outlook: Corn, soy continue rallies

MarketsFarm — Commodities on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) have appreciated a significant rally over the past weeks. Last week’s world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) detailed lower-than-expected ending stocks for soybeans, which were bullish for soybean values. “Beans are on a mission right now,” said […] Read more

Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel. (GGC video screengrab)

Grain Growers of Canada lobby Parliament Hill

Agriculture can help restart Canada's economy and the federal government help by addressing some issues, group says

Agriculture can help revitalize Canada’s post-COVID economy, but the federal government should clear the track for it. That means updating regulations to encourage technological innovation, improving market access for agricultural exports and recognizing farm practices that help the environment, Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) says. The organization, which represents 15 regional, provincial and national grain […] Read more

An image created by Nexu Science Communication, together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus, the type of virus linked to COVID-19. (Nexu Science Communication via Reuters)

Irritated trade partners push back on China’s coronavirus food tests

Canada rips testing as 'unjustified trade restrictions'

Beijing/Geneva | Reuters — Major food-producing countries are growing increasingly frustrated with China’s scrutiny of imported products and are calling on it to stop aggressive testing for the coronavirus, which some say is tantamount to a trade restriction. China says it has found the virus on the packaging of products from 20 countries including German […] Read more


File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Strong demand supporting pea prices

MarketsFarm — There has continued to be a strong demand for peas, as demonstrated by data from the Canadian Grain Commission. And that has been supporting price increases, according to Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Consulting Venture Inc. in Winnipeg. “The overall demand has been very, very good,” she said. In the most recent export data […] Read more

CBOT January 2021 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans rise to four-year peak

Corn up on export hopes, eye on South American dryness

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures scaled a four-year high on Tuesday as soaring demand from domestic users and exporters stoked concerns that already-thin supplies are likely to tighten further. Corn futures climbed for a third straight session on strong demand and smaller global supplies, while wheat dipped after two days of gains. “Soybeans […] Read more

Barley south of Ethelton, Sask. in early August 2017. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Barley trade routes redrawn as China tariff hits Australian farmers

China's barley purchases from Canada more than double last year's

Sydney/Paris | Reuters — Out in Australia’s grain fields, farmers have started harvesting one of their biggest-ever barley crops, after drought-relieving rains convinced many to plant to the edges of their paddocks. Yet the tractors are working under the cloud of a new tariff imposed by China — seen widely as retaliation for Australia’s push […] Read more


CBOT January 2021 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans firm on export demand, record crush

Rising energy, equities markets give grains additional lift

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose for a second straight session on Monday, holding near a more than four-year high hit last week, on strong demand from top buyer China and data showing the U.S. soy crush pace hit an all-time high last month. The strong demand stoked worries about thinning supplies of […] Read more

CME December 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures sag as COVID surge threatens meat demand

Demand uncertainty also weighs on hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures slumped on Friday as soaring coronavirus cases raised expectations for lockdowns on commerce that will hurt demand for meat from restaurants, hotels and other venues, analysts said. Cities and states across the country have moved to re-impose restrictions to tame new spikes in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. Additional […] Read more