Dry weather in North Africa and parts of Europe as well as worries about the potential for delayed spring seeding in the U.S. Midwest will likely start to be issues for market discussion in the coming weeks. So far in 2019 crop prices have been lackadaisical, weighed down by ample world stocks and the ongoing […] Read more
Tag Archives Market Watch — page 2
Speculation grows about future Chinese pork imports
Hog producers might have dodged a fourth-quarter price collapse, but futures since then have cratered as American pork production exceeded expectations. But hog futures prices could rally later this year depending on what happens in China as it battles African swine fever in its herd. One Canadian analyst, Jim Long, suggests that once the unprecedented […] Read more
U.S. ethanol future tied to bumper crop of D.C. politics
Ethanol producers in the United States achieved another record year in 2018, with production climbing 1.9 percent to 16.1 billion U.S. gallons processed from about 5.6 billion bushels of corn, or about 38 percent of the 2017-18 crop. But ethanol producers are not content. They are vexed by the actions of the U.S. Environmental Protection […] Read more
Science partnership is good branding for agriculture
Success in marketing often rests on how you can differentiate your product from the other guy’s — in other words, branding. Branding is your image and the way you portray the story of your product. Tim Hortons is all about everyday Canadians, hockey and the grit needed to get through winter, while Starbucks portrays urban […] Read more
Move to meatless meals will affect livestock producers
A grocery flyer in my daily newspaper a few days after New Year’s Day caused me to raise my eyebrows. Featuring foods such as almond and coconut drinks, gluten-free pasta, and veggie protein meat replacement products, it was dedicated to vegetarian and organic foods, protein powders and vitamins. But it did not come from a […] Read more
Food costs might rise modestly but are still affordable
One challenge journalists face is to provide context to the issues and events they cover while mindful of the space and time constraints inherent in their medium. Facts by themselves might yield little meaning or the wrong meaning if they are not given context. I yearned for a little more context in the reporting on […] Read more
Big Algerian durum crop weighs down price prospects
When searching for the reason for poor durum prices this year we know Italy’s country-of-origin labelling requirement is a problem, but we must also note Algeria’s pursuit of durum self-sufficiency. Algeria is often the largest buyer of Canadian durum, so it raised eyebrows a few years ago when the government decided it would be better […] Read more
China boosts Canada’s early season wheat export pace
Canada exported 5.44 million tonnes of wheat in the first 15 weeks of the crop year, which is likely a record amount for this time of year, helping to keep Canada’s overall crop export pace ahead of last year. The Canadian Grain Commission weekly statistics report showed a very strong export performance in week 15 […] Read more
U.S. soy stocks rise while China swims in ocean of corn
There are several take-away messages from the November monthly supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If you take China’s stocks out of the totals, global corn and wheat year-end stocks should shrink this year compared to last, providing support for grain prices. The November estimate of the U.S. soybean crop is […] Read more
Brazil’s new president sure to shake up agricultural giant
Brazil’s farmers are posting a record pace of soybean seeding this season even as they paused twice to vote in the country’s national election. News accounts say farmers generally favoured the candidate who won the race in a second round run-off vote, the conservative and controversial Jair Bolsonaro. At the end of October, farmers had […] Read more
