(Bhofack2/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. food companies go deal hunting as pandemic growth fades

Twinkies maker Hostess exploring a sale

Reuters — U.S. packaged food companies are set for a flurry of deals in a push to revamp their brand portfolios as their pandemic-era fortunes fade and benefits of price hikes start to taper off. Last month, Campbell Soup struck a $2.7 billion deal for Rao’s sauce maker Sovos Brands (all figures US$). Unilever bought […] Read more

swine fever virus research USDA

Vet Advice: Trust in science, technology needed to fight future pandemics

We ignore the zoonotic aspects of pandemics at our peril

COVID is just over three years old. Based on a World Health Organization (WHO) dashboard, as of June 28, there had been 767,518,723 confirmed COVID cases, including 6,947,192 deaths, worldwide. And it’s not finished. COVID drags on as the mother virus spawns new mutant strains. The scientific community at all levels worries about the next […] Read more


File photo of the Prince Rupert Grain Terminal. (Dan_prat/iStock/Getty Images)

West Coast longshore workers set to strike Saturday

Grain handling exempt from port work stoppage

Other than those who handle grains and oilseeds at port terminals and elevators, longshore workers at Canada’s West Coast ports are poised to walk off the job starting Saturday morning. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada) on Wednesday morning served the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) with 72 hours’ strike notice, which […] Read more

(Sollio Co-operative Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Olymel to shut one Quebec hog slaughter plant

New provincial hog supply agreement in works as Vallee-Jonction facility set to close

Quebec-based meat packer Olymel’s bid to stem losses in its fresh pork business now includes closing down one of its five Canadian hog slaughter plants. Olymel, the protein arm of Sollio Co-operative, announced Friday it will wind down operations at its hog slaughter, cutting and deboning plant at Vallee-Jonction, Que. and permanently close the facility […] Read more


File photo of signage outside Maple Leaf Foods’ Lagimodiere Boulevard plant in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Maple Leaf sees ‘inflection point’ beyond red ink of 2022

Packer books net losses in Q4, full-year

Another of Canada’s major pork and poultry packers has reported significant net losses in its 2022 ledger, but sees “green shoots” suggesting a return to normal pork markets and stable supply chains this year. Maple Leaf Foods on Thursday reported a net loss of $311.89 million on $4.739 billion in gross sales for its fiscal […] Read more

(Olymel video screengrab via YouTube)

Sollio books deeper loss for 2022

Olymel's fresh pork business takes biggest hit

Domestic and international market-moving events have dragged hard on the year-end bottom line for Sollio Cooperative Group, particularly in its fresh pork business. Quebec-based Sollio — which operates the ag input and farm service business Sollio Agriculture, meat packer Olymel and hardware retailer BMR — on Thursday reported full-year revenues of $8.876 billion for its […] Read more


Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA’s logo on a tower in Jundiai, northwest of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, on June 1, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)

Beef consumption to rise in China, JBS predicts

China seen as more competitive in domestic chicken, pork markets

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Demand for beef in China is expected to rise as the country still has relatively low per capita consumption, Gilberto Tomazoni, chief executive of JBS SA, said on Wednesday during a business conference. He said Brazil and the U.S., where JBS has meat facilities, are well positioned to meet China’s […] Read more

NYMEX March 2023 West Texas Intermediate crude oil (candlesticks) with 100-day moving average (black line) and ICE March 2023 Brent crude oil (blue open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

China driving crude oil price increases

Bulls on crude oil expect a 'very shallow' recession

MarketsFarm — China has largely been behind the current upticks in global crude oil prices, according to Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for Oil Price Information Services in Lakewood, NJ. He suggested that China’s economy will begin to pick up steam in 2023 after the government loosened its super-tight COVID-19 restrictions. “You can […] Read more


Piglets at a hog operation in China. (KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images)

China’s 2022 pork output highest in eight years

Average hog weights remain relatively high

Reuters — China’s pork output increased 4.6 per cent in 2022 from 2021 to reach its highest level since 2014, official data showed on Tuesday, confounding some expectations for a smaller rise. Pork output in the world’s top producer of the meat reached 55.41 million tonnes, the highest since 56.71 million tonnes recorded eight years […] Read more

Undated image of a participant at the fall ag fair at Rocklyn, Ont., about 40 km southeast of Owen Sound. (Ontario Visited video screengrab via YouTube)

Ontario trims minimum memberships for ag, hort societies

Eligibility thresholds for provincial operating grants lowered

Rules taking effect with the new year are expected to make it easier for Ontario agricultural and horticultural societies to qualify for provincial grants in the face of a membership crunch. The province on Friday confirmed amendments to regulation 16, attached to its Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations Act, kick in effective Sunday (Jan. 1, 2023). […] Read more