U.S. data vital to global grain and soybean trading has gone dark during the country’s federal government shutdown, leaving commodity traders and farmers without crop production estimates, export sales data and market reports during the peak of the autumn harvest.
The Trump administration is expected to announce a plan as soon as Tuesday to bail out U.S. farmers stung by trade disputes and big harvests, with the initial outlay potentially totaling up to $15 billion (C$20.9 billion), according to sources familiar with the matter.
Bangladesh has approved the purchase of about 220,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat under a government-to-government deal aimed at easing trade tensions with Washington after import tariffs were imposed.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday the federal government would support American farmers in light of China’s refusal to buy U.S. soybeans amidst a trade war between the countries.
Canadian food and beverage makers have begun to feel the pinch of trade tensions with the U.S. according to a new forcast by Farm Credit Canada, which downgraded sales growth predictions from the start of the year.