Markets
SASKATOON — Canada’s economic growth will remain constrained in 2024, according to Export Development Canada. Gross Domestic Product is expected to expand by a paltry 0.9 percent. Sizeable debt-servicing requirements have forced the Canadian consumer to focus on saving over spending. Related stories: “We see an extremely weak consumer, a heavily indebted consumer here in […] Read more
Markets
Canfax report
This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattle Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca. Fed market rallies Alberta’s fed market traded at a premium over Ontario last week for the first […] Read more
WP livestock report
Hogs The U.S. national live price average for barrows and gilts April 5 was not available. It was $60.14 on March 28. U.S. hogs averaged was $86.70 on a carcass basis April 5, up from $81.47 on March 28. The U.S. pork cutout was $97.75 per hundredweight April 5, up from $94.52 on March 28. […] Read more
Flax acres down amid hope for renewed EU interest
SASKATOON — Canadian flax growers could regain some of the market share they have lost in the European Union in 2024-25, says a commodity broker. The European Commission has proposed higher tariffs on imports of cereals and oilseeds from Russia and Belarus. In nearly all cases, duties would rise to either $139 per tonne or […] Read more
U.S. wheat intentions exceed expectations
SASKATOON — Growers in the United States intend to plant slightly more spring wheat and a lot more durum than last year. They plan to seed 11.34 million acres of spring wheat, a 1.2 percent increase over last year and 2.03 million acres of durum, a 21 percent bump, according to the U.S. Department of […] Read more
India extends exemption on pea import restrictions
The southwest monsoon is expected to deliver good rainfall this year
SASKATOON — India is extending its exemption on pea import restrictions to June 30. It had been set to expire on April 30. Farmers in that country are in the midst of harvesting their winter or rabi crop of pulses and it looks like another disappointing crop. The government estimates that growers will harvest 12.2 […] Read more
Concerns raised that U.S. soy crush capacity is overbuilt
SASKATOON — Bankers in the United States are wondering if soybean crush capacity will be overbuilt in that country. They are leery that the sector may be following in the wobbly footsteps of the ethanol industry, which ended up with massive amounts of excess capacity in the 2000s. Related stories: “There is some concern that […] Read more
EV adoption may force ethanol makers to find new uses
Ethanol is a critical slice of the demand pie for corn, so American corn growers and ethanol producers are keen to ensure there is good demand for the fuel into the future, even if a large percentage of road vehicles eventually run on electricity from batteries. So, in addition to the usual lobbying of government […] Read more
Consumers need to know that farm costs can hurt them
Dumping costs on somebody else is no big deal if it doesn’t cost the dumper anything. That attitude is a problem for farmers, the rest of agriculture and the food industry as the latest iteration of inflation-promoting measures makes life harder and profits thinner for everybody except the consumer. Or so the consumer thinks. Genetically […] Read more
Chinese grain imports seen near record high
Crop output and quality expected to determine volume of the country’s wheat and soybean imports for the upcoming year
SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) — Cereal and oilseed imports to China, the world’s biggest buyer of farm goods, will remain near record highs this year despite a recent spate of cancellations as lower global prices and a domestic output shortfall prompt purchases. China’s wheat imports from Australia in January and February have nearly quadrupled from the same […] Read more
