ICE March 2020 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola gives back gains at midweek

MarketsFarm — Canola was bolstered by strong trade activity and profit-taking at midweek, though values remained rangebound. As of Wednesday, 144,500 canola contracts had traded hands, with the most activity concentrated in the January/March contracts. Spreading accounted for 124,790 contracts traded, which is about 86 per cent of the activity. Keith Ferley of RBC Dominion […] Read more


(Noel Hendrickson/DigitalVision/Getty Images)

Richardson to buy Wesson cooking oil brand

A household name in U.S. cooking oils is set to become part of Canadian grain handler and oilseed processor Richardson International. Chicago-based Conagra Brands said Tuesday it will sell its Wesson oil brand and related assets — including a 280,000-square foot U.S. processing plant at Memphis — to Richardson for an undisclosed sum. Wesson-branded retail […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola awaits acreage report

CNS Canada — This week’s acreage estimates from Statistics Canada could bring an end to canola’s recent chart surge upward — or could give futures the impetus to move even higher. The dominant July contract closed Wednesday at $535 per tonne, a gain of $8 from the previous Wednesday’s close. Prairie farmers on Friday will […] Read more

(JMSmucker.com)

Smucker drops bid to buy Wesson Oil after U.S. objects

Washington | Reuters — J.M. Smucker Co. said on Tuesday it will abandon its plan to acquire Conagra Brands’ Wesson Oil brand after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission had moved to block the deal arguing it would likely lessen competition and violate anti-trust law. Mark Smucker, CEO of J.M. Smucker, said “it is not in […] Read more


(U.S. Food and Drug Administration photo via Flickr)

Partially hydrogenated oils on the way out

The federal government has served a year’s notice on partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) as ingredients in foods sold in Canada. Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor announced Friday that PHOs will be added to Canada’s List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances effective Sept. 15, 2018, giving Canadian food processors and importers “enough time to find […] Read more

(ConAgraFoods.com)

Conagra to sell Wesson oil brand to Smucker

Reuters — Packaged food maker Conagra Brands said on Tuesday it would sell its Wesson cooking oil brand to Folgers coffee maker J.M. Smucker Co. for about US$285 million. Conagra will continue to manufacture products sold under the Wesson brand for up to one year following the close, after which Wesson will be merged into […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola faces supply questions

CNS Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola contracts moved higher during the week ended Wednesday, as persistent weather problems in Western Canada and gains in world vegetable oil markets provided support. “The most important variable for the canola market is trends in the global vegetable oil markets,” said Mike Jubinville of ProFarmer Canada, noting tight […] Read more



(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Soybeans climb one per cent, led by veg oils

Chicago | Reuters — Front-month U.S. soybean futures rose more than one per cent on Monday, hitting a three-week high on export demand and renewed strength in global vegetable oil markets, analysts said. Wheat futures firmed on fund short covering while corn closed nearly unchanged. At the Chicago Board of Trade, benchmark November soybean futures […] Read more