Fresh bread in Egypt. (Goldream/iStock/Getty Images)

Top court in Egypt permits wheat with trace ergot

Cairo | Reuters — Egypt’s top administrative court has ruled that the country should accept wheat with marginal levels of the common grain fungus ergot, a local newspapers said on Sunday, freezing a lower court order to ban the fungus entirely which had vexed traders. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, baffled grain markets when […] Read more

(Thinkstock photo)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn higher on short-covering

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat and corn futures gained on Tuesday, after earlier falls, as investors covered short positions and prepared for government crop data due on Friday. Wheat steadied after three sessions of declines and corn bounced from three-week lows. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday is expected to show smaller U.S. […] Read more


Sunset in Egypt on the Nile River south of Luxor. (CIA.gov)

Egypt court ruling seen reinstating ergot ban in wheat imports

Cairo | Reuters — An Egyptian court on Tuesday effectively reinstated a ban on wheat imports containing even trace levels of the common grain fungus ergot, a lawyer who raised the case told Reuters, potentially re-opening a longstanding row over import rules that has disrupted trade. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, issued a decree […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Wheat down on weak export demand

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell for a third straight day on Wednesday, pressured by plentiful global supplies and strong competition for export business, especially from Russia, traders said. Corn fell, following wheat, and soybeans also declined after a choppy session. Chicago Board of Trade December wheat settled down 4-3/4 cents at $4.30 […] Read more


(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn futures ease, soy firms

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures sank to contract lows on Wednesday as ample global supplies provided overseas buyers with cheaper alternatives to U.S. offerings in export deals, traders said. Corn futures also were lower, pressured by the drop in wheat as well as good weather for crop development across the […] Read more




(JBSS.infoinvest.com.br)

JBS suspends Brazil beef output amid import bans

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s JBS SA, the world’s biggest meatpacking company, announced on Thursday it had suspended beef production at 33 of its 36 Brazilian plants amid the corruption scandal that has caused some of the country’s biggest export markets to ban Brazilian meats. Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said a police investigation, which […] Read more

The Nile River at Cairo. (CIA.gov)

Speculation shrouds grain demand, rejections from Egypt

CNS Canada — Egypt, the world’s biggest buyer of wheat, rejected three cargoes of the grain last week — its first rejections since it overhauled its inspection system and relaxed its import policy last fall. Three cargoes of wheat — two Russian, one Argentinian — purchased by Egyptian grain buyer GASC were rejected last week […] Read more