Reuters News Service

PARIS (Reuters) — Global trading group Louis Dreyfus Commodities B.V. reported a sharp fall in full-year net profit on Wednesday as an improved second-half performance failed to offset a first half hit by a severe U.S. drought. Louis Dreyfus is the “D” of the so-called ABCD majors that dominate trade in agricultural products, alongside Archer […] Read more

MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russia has imposed temporary limits on Australian beef imports from a subsidiary of Brazil’s JBS SA, the world’s biggest meat producer, after detecting a growth hormone it prohibits, its veterinary and phytosanitary service (VPSS) said. Russia is considering temporary limits on all beef imports from Australia, the world’s third-largest beef exporter after […] Read more

CHICAGO (Reuters) — Syngenta AG said on Tuesday that grain prices have played a role in China’s rejection of U.S. corn shipments containing an unauthorized, genetically modified trait developed by the company. China, the world’s third-biggest corn buyer, has turned away since November more than 900,000 tonnes of U.S. corn containing Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera trait. […] Read more

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) — Expectations of a record soy crop will likely push grain export companies with operations in Argentina to work toward a quick wage deal with port workers, setting the stage for smooth export of the country’s April-May soy harvest, union officials say. Despite inflation expected by private analysts to reach more than […] Read more

KIEV (Reuters) — Ukraine’s grain harvest is likely to fall to 57.3 million tonnes this year from around 63 million tonnes in 2013, an analyst said on Tuesday. Lower lending from banks and their refusal to provide forward funding has led to a smaller sowing area, which will be the main reason for a fall […] Read more

CHICAGO (Reuters) — Private analytics firm Informa Economics cut its 2014 forecast for U.S. corn plantings to 93.029 million acres from 93.319 million, trade sources said on Tuesday. Informa also trimmed its soybean plantings estimate to 81.204 million acres from 81.264 million. Acreage for spring wheat other than durum was seen at 12.298 million acres, […] Read more

(Reuters) — U.S. pork production is expected to fall six to seven percent in 2014 as a deadly pig virus sweeps across the country, reducing the supply of market-ready hogs, according to Rabobank agribusiness analysts. The tightest period for hog supply is projected to come during the August-to-October period when slaughter could decline by 15 […] Read more

BEIJING (Reuters) — China has turned away more U.S. corn after detecting an unapproved genetically-modified strain in shipments, with buyers waiting for sales from the country’s huge state reserves or shifting to cheap grain from Ukraine. China’s quality watchdog in the northern city of Tianjin turned away 21,800 tonnes of U.S. corn after detecting MIR […] Read more