Flags in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. (Inakiantonana/E+/Getty Images)

EU cuts estimate of drought-hit maize crop, raises import outlook

Commission cuts soft wheat exports, raises imports

Paris | Reuters — The European Commission on Friday cut its estimate of this year’s drought-hit maize harvest in the European Union to a new 15-year low while again raising its projection for this season’s maize imports. European maize (corn) crops endured severe drought and several heatwaves during the crucial summer growth period. The Commission […] Read more

Grain ships carrying Ukrainian grain are seen in the Black Sea, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near Ukrainian port of Odesa, Ukraine Oct. 30, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Serhii Smolientsev)

Black Sea grain export deal extended

Deal's terms unchanged; Moscow to still seek removal of obstacles to grain, fertilizer exports

Reuters — A deal aimed at easing global food shortages by helping Ukraine export its agricultural products from Black Sea ports was extended for four months on Thursday, though Russia said its own demands were yet to be fully addressed. The agreement, initially reached in July, created a protected transit corridor and was designed to […] Read more


Cargo ship Despina V, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, Turkey on Nov. 2, 2022.  (Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas)

Reasons for optimism seen on renewal for Ukraine grain deal

Deal set to roll over on Saturday

Reuters — A United Nations source on Wednesday said they have reasons to be “cautiously optimistic” on the renewal of a Black Sea grains export agreement, which is set to roll over on Saturday unless there are objections. The U.N.-backed agreement on July 22 allowed grain shipments to resume from certain Ukrainian ports on the […] Read more






(BungeMOE.com)

Bunge to sell oilseed processing business in Russia

Grain firms scaling back Russian business

Reuters — Agricultural commodities trader Bunge said Monday it has agreed to sell its oilseed processing business in Russia to Karen Vanetsyan, the controlling shareholder of Exoil Group. The sale includes the sunflower processing plant in Voronezh. Bunge and its rivals ADM, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus — part of the so-called ABCD quartet of global […] Read more

A sunflower crop north of St. Adolphe, Man. on Sept. 19, 2021. (Dave Bedard photo)

Manitoba’s sunflower crop smaller, better

Global supply, demand outlooks remain uncertain

MarketsFarm — If Canada’s 2022 sunflower seed harvest is to be the lowest in five years, you wouldn’t know it talking to producers of the crop. In its July satellite image-based principal field crops estimates released Monday, Statistics Canada projected sunflower seed production for the 2022-23 marketing year at 61,996 tonnes, 24.2 per cent lower […] Read more



File photo of a lighthouse at the Ukrainian port of Chernomorsk on the Black Sea. (Larysa Shcherbyna/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine, Russia sign deal to reopen grain export ports

Russia says it 'won't take advantage' of de-mining of ports

Istanbul/Kyiv | Reuters — Russia and Ukraine signed a landmark deal on Friday to reopen Ukrainian Black Sea ports for grain exports, raising hopes that an international food crisis aggravated by the Russian invasion can be eased. The accord crowned two months of talks brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, a NATO member that […] Read more