WINNIPEG (Reuters) — Three Canadian grain handlers said this week that they will expand facilities to handle the country’s crops, after a record-smashing harvest overwhelmed the transportation system. Viterra, owned by Glencore Xstrata PLC, said on Thursday it will spend $100 million to boost grain shipping through Port Metro Vancouver, while CWB, formerly known as […] Read more
Stories by Reuters News Service
Uralkali 2013 profit down, predicts rising potash demand
MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russia’s Uralkali expects global demand for potash to rise by up to seven percent in 2014 partly due to an upturn in the world economy, the company said on Thursday, after reporting a 58-percent drop in its 2013 net profit. Uralkali, the world’s largest potash producer, quit a powerful trading alliance with […] Read more
Japan may cut U.S. beef tariffs in crucial trade talks
TOKYO (Reuters) — Japan is considering slashing tariffs on U.S. beef imports to less than 10 percent from the current 38.5 percent in negotiations aimed at laying the ground for a broad Pacific trade pact, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday. The proposed cut would be much deeper than one negotiated with Australia, which […] Read more
GrainCorp wins bid to cut oversight as competition grows
SYDNEY (Reuters) — Australia’s regulatory watchdog will reduce regulation at one of GrainCorp’s grain terminals after competition was boosted by new rivals, likely fuelling speculation of a renewed bid for the company. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said on Thursday that new rivals meant GrainCorp’s terminal at Newcastle in New South Wales state, one […] Read more
El Nino more than 50 percent likely by summer: U.S. weather forecaster
NEW YORK (Reuters) — The chances have increased over the past month that the much-feared El Nino phenomenon, which has the potential to wreak havoc on global crops, would strike by summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the federal U.S. weather forecaster said Thursday. In its monthly report, the Climate Prediction Center, an agency of the […] Read more
Chinese soy imports may drop as bird flu crimps animal feed demand
SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) — Chinese soybean imports will drop as processors cannot cover their costs with a bird flu outbreak sapping demand for the animal feed ingredient they make. Imports to the country, which typically buys 60 percent of the oilseed traded in the world, could fall below 15 million tonnes in the third quarter from […] Read more
Chinese importers default on 10 U.S., Brazilian soy cargoes
SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) — Chinese importers have defaulted on at least 500,000 tonnes of U.S. and Brazilian soybean cargoes due to negative crush margins and problems in getting credit, two trade sources said on Thursday. One source in Beijing said three companies in the province of Shandong had defaulted as they were unable to open letters […] Read more
Cargill to expand Manitoba grain elevator amid crop backlog
WINNIPEG (Reuters) — Cargill Ltd., Canada’s third-largest grain handler, will increase storage and rail-car capacity at Morris, Manitoba, the latest in a series of expansions by Canadian grain companies. The move, announced on Wednesday, comes as the country’s grain handlers and railways have struggled to move a record-large harvest to port, causing a massive backlog. […] Read more
CME hogs settle higher after wild session; cattle higher
By Theopolis Waters CHICAGO, April 9 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange hogs finished higher on Wednesday with June up the 3-cent limit as fund buying and short-covering beat back early losses, traders said. Futures raced to catch up to CME’s hog index at 129.19 cents. April hogs closed up 1.725 cents per pound to 125.025 […] Read more
Scientists make ethanol without corn or other crops
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Scientists said on Wednesday they have developed a new way to make liquid ethanol efficiently without using corn or other crops needed in the conventional method for producing the biofuel. The scientists said their process turns carbon monoxide gas into liquid ethanol with the help of an electrode made of a form […] Read more
