File photo of a grain terminal on the Dnieper River in Ukraine. (Konoplytska/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine’s ports to stay closed until Russian invasion ends

London | Reuters — Ukrainian ports will remain closed until Russia’s invasion ends, the head of Ukraine’s Maritime Administration said on Monday, adding that the port of Mariupol has sustained damage from Russian shelling. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling its actions a “special operation.” “The ports will be shut until the end of […] Read more

A file photo of cargo ships and harbour cranes in the Ukrainian port of Kherson on the Dnieper River. (Ioanna_alexa/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine shuts ports as conflict threatens grain supplies

Moscow/Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s military has suspended commercial shipping at its ports after Russian forces invaded the country, an adviser to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said, stoking fear of supply disruption from leading grain and oilseeds exporters. Russia earlier ordered the Azov Sea closed to the movement of commercial vessels until further […] Read more

unloading corn at elevator

Rain helps alleviate grain storage space crunch

Perceived storage crisis less severe than initially expected

Elevators and grain buyers have wet weather to thank for some relief when it comes to grain storage availability. Despite a variety of storage and transportation challenges, elevator operators say they have not had to turn farmers away as wasfeared in late summer. Why it matters: Though space is still tight, elevator operators say the […] Read more

Floodwaters cover the Trans Canada Highway near Abbotsford, B.C. in an aerial view taken Nov. 16, 2021. (Photo courtesy BC Hydro via Reuters)

Grain flow uncertain as floods halt B.C. rail, road traffic

MarketsFarm — It’s too early yet to determine the effect of massive floods in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland on grain movement, according to the company monitoring Canada’s grain handling and transportation system. Up to 200 millimetres of rain earlier this week have triggered mudslides and cut access to rail lines and highways east of Vancouver. […] Read more

File photo of wheat being loaded onto a bulk vessel at port in Russia. (YGrek/iStock/Getty Images)

‘Containergeddon’ drives sugar, rice shippers back to bulk vessels

New York | Reuters — Food traders are switching from containers back to dry bulk vessels to transport refined sugar and rice, hoping to avoid shipping delays caused by container shortages and port congestion the industry is calling “containergeddon,” according to traders. Container-based transportation has been hit by sky-high costs and delays amid booming shipping […] Read more


File photo of the Port of Montreal. (Guy Banville/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada concerned about supply chain issues, watching ports ‘closely’

Reuters –– Canada is concerned about the challenges facing global supply chains and is watching the country’s ports very closely, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday. Freeland, speaking to reporters in Washington after meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said she was broadly optimistic about the strength of Canada’s economic recovery […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Port of Los Angeles)

‘Containergeddon’: Supply crisis drives Walmart, rivals to hire own ships

Bulk grain ships pressed into container service

Los Angeles | Reuters — The Flying Buttress once glided across the oceans carrying vital commodities such as grain to all corners of the world. Now it bears a different treasure: Paw Patrol Movie Towers, Batmobile Transformers and Baby Alive Lulu Achoo dolls. The dry bulk cargo ship has been drafted into the service of […] Read more

CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat sag as Ida damage spurs export concerns

Traders adjust positions on last day of month

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures touched their lowest prices in weeks on Tuesday as power outages and damage to export facilities from Hurricane Ida stoked concerns about the potential for extended disruptions to shipments, analysts said. Uncertainty over the length of facility closures at the Gulf Coast, which accounts for about […] Read more


Grain is loaded onto ships for export at a port on the Parana River near Rosario, Argentina on Jan. 31, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Marcos Brindicci)

Argentina forms agency to manage cargo river, grain exporters worry

Added bureaucracy in grain shipping feared

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina said on Wednesday it had formed a new government agency to manage dredging operations needed to ensure navigation of the Parana River, which carries about 80 per cent of the country’s grains exports from the Pampas farm belt out to sea. For decades, cargo ships have paid tolls directly […] Read more

WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Allan Dawson)

Railways to blame for terminal shortages, WGEA says

Grain handlers take issue with MarketsFarm report

MarketsFarm — The association representing the Prairies’ main grain handling companies says recent delays in loading vessels have less to do with the availability of grain and more to do with the railways hauling it to port. The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), which represents major handlers such as Viterra, Richardson, Cargill and others, raised […] Read more