Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, shown here visiting Cigi in Winnipeg on March 13, said a third unnamed canola exporter has run afoul of Chinese customs officials. (Dave Bedard photo)

Third canola exporter runs into trouble in China

Ottawa | Reuters –– Chinese authorities have filed a quality complaint against a third Canadian exporter of canola, Canada’s agriculture minister said on Tuesday, potentially deepening a trade and diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Ottawa. Early last month, China cited the discovery of pests as the reason for blocking shipments of canola seed from Richardson […] Read more

CBOT May 2019 corn, with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn down on disappointing export data

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell on Monday, halting a four-session rebound from contract lows set last week, as traders worried about export prospects for U.S. grains, analysts said. Soybeans and wheat futures also declined. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) May corn settled down 1-3/4 cents at $3.71-1/2 per bushel (all figures US$). […] Read more

CBOT January 2019 soybeans with 20-day moving average. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans rise as China buys U.S. supplies

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures hit a 4-1/2-month high on Wednesday as China bought U.S. soybeans for the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in early December. State-owned Chinese companies bought at least 500,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans, two U.S. traders said, in deals valued […] Read more

(USDA.gov via Flickr)

USDA keeps domestic soy stocks view steady

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Agriculture Department on Tuesday left its estimate for domestic soybean supplies unchanged but boosted its outlook for world stocks amid rising expectations for the South American crop. U.S. soybean ending stocks for the 2018-19 marketing year were pegged at 955 million bushels, the government said in its monthly supply […] Read more



(Deyana Robova photo/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. livestock: Hog, cattle contracts end mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures were mostly lower on Thursday, with deferred contracts setting back on a round of profit-taking. The front-month October hogs contract ended slightly higher, but closed below session peaks, in thin trading. Live cattle contracts followed a similar pattern to the hogs, with the front-month contract […] Read more


Goods portside at Churchill in September 2015. (CNS Canada photo by Jade Markus)

Hudson Bay rail line repairs to start ‘immediately’

Off-and-on talks toward a new ownership group for the Hudson Bay Railway have produced a deal, which it’s hoped will lead to the line’s repair before this winter, federal officials announced Friday. Federal Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr and Northern Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the Arctic Gateway Group Limited Partnership has bought the Hudson […] Read more


(VBacarin/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. grains: Soy falls to six-week low on crop prospects

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell nearly two per cent on Tuesday, with the benchmark November contract on the Chicago Board of Trade hitting a six-week low on expectations of a bumper U.S. harvest and uncertainty about demand, analysts said. Corn futures followed soybeans lower while CBOT wheat steadied after a six-session slide […] Read more