OTTAWA (Reuters) — Canada and South Korea are very close to signing a long-delayed free trade deal after years of talks, sources familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday. “It’s imminent,” said one business source, who asked for anonymity because a formal announcement had not been made yet. “They are really, really close,” said another […] Read more
Stories by Reuters News Service
Egypt targets same amount of local wheat as 2013
CAIRO (Reuters) — Egypt, the world’s top wheat importer, aims to purchase the same amount of local wheat from its farmers’ 2014 crop as it did last year, supplies minister Khaled Hanafi told Reuters on Thursday, appearing to scale back a target set by his predecessor. “We are targeting the same amount we got from […] Read more
U.S. forecaster says El Nino could emerge in summer, Autumn
NEW YORK (Reuters) — U.S. weather forecaster, the Climate Prediction Center, issued on Thursday its strongest prediction so far that the infamous El Nino weather pattern could emerge in the Northern Hemisphere during summer or autumn. CPC said in its monthly report it saw neutral El Nino conditions continuing through the Northern Hemisphere in spring […] Read more
Profit-taking undercuts CME live cattle futures; hogs close off high
By Theopolis Waters CHICAGO, March 5 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures slumped on profit-taking on Wednesday after Tuesday’s rally to new highs, traders and analysts said. Some CME live cattle traders liquidated long positions in response to similar moves in the lean hog market. The hog market had set 3-cent limit gains […] Read more
CME hog futures spike 3-cent limit on PEDv fears
By Theopolis Waters CHICAGO, March 5 (Reuters) – Hog futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rallied the three-cent daily price limit on Wednesday on expectations that pork supplies will tighten as a deadly pig virus spreads through the U.S. hog industry, traders said. The market backed off its early highs as traders took profits. CME […] Read more
China could approve Syngenta’s MIR162 GMO corn in 2014
BEIJING (Reuters) — China’s process to approve Syngenta’s MIR162 genetically modified corn is underway after the firm submitted additional material to authorities in November and should go through quickly, Vice Agriculture Minister Niu Dun said. “The approval process would go through very quickly,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the opening of China’s parliament […] Read more
China says to boost agricultural subsidies, lift grain capacity
BEIJING (Reuters) — China plans to broaden the scope and increase spending on agricultural subsidies for grains and other commodities in a bid to boost food security, the country’s top economic planner said on Wednesday. Beijing also intends to speed up energy pricing reforms to reduce its reliance on coal. Maintaining food security and environmental […] Read more
WHO cuts sugar intake advice to five percent of daily energy
LONDON (Reuters) — Sugar should account for less than five percent of what people eat each day if they are to avoid health risks such as weight gain and tooth decay linked to excessively sugary diets, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday. Issuing new draft sugar guidelines, the United Nations health agency said its […] Read more
Traders still shun new grain deals in Ukraine
KIEV (Reuters) — Foreign trading houses have not resumed concluding new grain exports contracts due to continued tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Ihor Shvaika said on Wednesday. “They are still waiting and there are no new contracts,” Shvaika told Reuters. Ukraine said on Wednesday it hoped the crisis in the Crimea region, […] Read more
Informa Economics lowers soy forecasts for Argentina, Brazil
CHICAGO (Reuters) — Private analytics firm Informa Economics lowered its estimates of soybean production in Argentina and Brazil, the firm said in a note to clients on Tuesday. The firm cut its estimate of Argentina’s 2013-14 soy crop to 54 million tonnes, from 57 million previously, citing smaller planted area and reduced yield potential. For […] Read more
