Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus at Istanbul on Dec. 11, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Yoruk Isik)

Russia rejects bank compromise as Black Sea grain deal expiry looms

Collapse of deal could aggravate global food crisis

Reuters — Russia on Tuesday restated a demand for its state agricultural bank to be reconnected to the global SWIFT payments system to avert the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal, and said it would not accept a reported compromise proposal. With 13 days remaining until the expiry of the deal, which has allowed […] Read more

Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

EU seen weighing concession to Russian bank over Black Sea deal

New arm of ag bank could connect to SWIFT

Reuters — The European Union is considering a proposal for the Russian Agricultural Bank to set up a subsidiary to reconnect to the global financial network as a sop to Moscow, the Financial Times said on Monday. With the bank under sanctions, the move aims to safeguard the Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine […] Read more

Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus at Istanbul on Dec. 11, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Yoruk Isik)

Ukraine ‘99.9 per cent’ certain Russia will quit Black Sea deal next month

Russia wants demands met on ammonia shipments

Kyiv | Reuters — Russia is 99.9 per cent certain to quit a U.N.-brokered deal on the safe wartime passage of Black Sea grain next month because it no longer needs Ukrainian ports to export ammonia, a senior Ukrainian diplomat said. The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Moscow and […] Read more

Farmer Serhii demonstrates that moisture is captured below the residue of his no-till fields.

From Ukraine: the living and the dead

As summer approaches, thoughts turn to harsh times yet to come

A centuries-old spring tradition has been preserved in Ukraine, through the communist occupation of the last century and the current war. Every year, a week after Easter, we go to cemeteries. Tens of millions of people dress in nice clothes and take food with them. Coloured eggs — krashanky — and special tall breads — […] Read more

Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn futures steady; wheat mixed

Large Russian exports tempered fears of Black Sea corridor agreement breakdown

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures steadied on Tuesday after the market rallied sharply at the end of last week on concerns that hot and dry weather will lead to harvest shortfalls. The market remained underpinned by the most recent forecasts, which remained unfavourable for key growing areas of the U.S. Midwest, […] Read more


Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

Black Sea grain shipments shrink amid Ukraine deal doubts, Cargill exec says

'Grey/black' fleet seen handling more Russian traffic

London | Reuters — South American grain exports are set to overshadow Black Sea shipments this year as doubts grow over a U.N.-backed Ukraine deal and international traders cut commercial activities in Russia, a top executive with major commodities group Cargill said. The Black Sea grain deal, which allows the safe passage of grains through […] Read more

The president of Nutrien told investors that potash demand continues to expand at a 2.8 per cent compound annual growth rate.

Fertilizer market stabilizing, say analysts and suppliers

After sky-high prices last year, uncertain markets contribute to lower costs for major inputs

Glacier FarmMedia – The rollercoaster ride may be over for fertilizer prices, says an industry executive. “After 18 months of incredible volatility, we believe the market is stabilizing,” Ken Seitz, president of Nutrien, told investors attending BMO’s Farm to Market Chemicals Conference. “Heading into the fall, we see this relative price stability for the balance […] Read more

File photo of barley being unloaded at a grain terminal in Ukraine on June 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Igor Tkachenko)

Ukraine’s farm output could take 20 years to recover, study suggests

Some crop sectors may recover more quickly

Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s agricultural sector could take 20 years or more in parts to recover from the ravages of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to a Kyiv-based research centre. Ukraine is a major global grower and exporter of wheat, corn, sunflower and sunflower oil, but its production has fallen sharply since the war start […] Read more


File photo of an ammonia pipe. (Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images)

Kremlin says ammonia pipeline blast negative for Black Sea grain deal

Russia had sought transit for ammonia via Ukraine

Moscow | Reuters — The Kremlin said on Thursday that there would be a “negative impact” on the fate of a Black Sea grain deal from a blast which damaged a pipeline used to export Russian ammonia via Ukraine that Moscow wants restarted. The Togliatti-Odesa pipeline, which once pumped up to 2.5 million tonnes of […] Read more

CBOT July 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average (green line, right column) and MGEX and K.C. July 2023 wheats (yellow and orange lines, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat futures snap winning streak

Corn weak, soybeans mixed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Wednesday, with the most-active Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract snapping a five-session rally that had pushed prices to their highest in nearly three weeks, traders said. But concerns about export demand for U.S. supplies pulled wheat prices lower, with high-protein offerings notching […] Read more