Sao Paulo/Buenos Aires | Reuters –– Brazil on Thursday became the first country to allow imports of flour made with genetically modified wheat, though shipments of the new variety developed in Argentina are unlikely anytime soon due to opposition from Brazilian millers and global consumers. The decision may spur a broader global discussion about genetically […] Read more

Brazil clears GMO wheat flour from Argentina in global first
Sales, however, may be slow

Argentina forms agency to manage cargo river, grain exporters worry
Added bureaucracy in grain shipping feared
Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina said on Wednesday it had formed a new government agency to manage dredging operations needed to ensure navigation of the Parana River, which carries about 80 per cent of the country’s grains exports from the Pampas farm belt out to sea. For decades, cargo ships have paid tolls directly […] Read more

Argentine truckers end strike, freeing China-bound barley
Canada, France would have been buyers' Plan B
Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentine truckers ended a 20-day strike that had blocked access to ports in Buenos Aires province, agricultural industry sources said on Tuesday, following a deal struck with local officials to increase freight-hauling rates. Trucks owners grouped in the informal TUDA association (Transportistas Unidos de Argentina) began blocking highways last month, […] Read more

Argentine soy crushing operations normalize after 20-day labor strike
Buenos Aires | Reuters – Argentine soymeal and soyoil factories went back into production on Wednesday after a 20-day strike by oilseed workers was ended late the night before by a new wage contract for the coming year, union and industry sources said. The deal, following a more than 10-hour negotiation session hosted by the […] Read more

Loading of more than 140 grains ships in Argentina delayed due to strike
Buenos Aires | Reuters – Loading of more than 140 agricultural export ships in Argentina has been stalled by a port-side oilseed workers’ strike that started on Dec. 9, the head of the local chamber of soymeal manufacturers said on Monday, on the eve of talks on a new contract. The CIARA-CEC chamber of soy byproduct […] Read more

Argentina says hit by second locust swarm, farmers on alert
Buenos Aires | Reuters — Grains powerhouse Argentina is getting hit by a second swarm of locusts arriving from neighbouring Paraguay, Argentina’s Senasa agricultural health inspection agency said on Tuesday, putting farmers on notice about possible crop damage. The new swarm is concentrated in the province of Formosa in north-east Argentina, on the Paraguay border. […] Read more

Argentina plans to export major amounts of soymeal to China in 2019
Beunos Aires | Reuters – Argentina expects to export significant amounts of soymeal to China starting after the next harvest in May, a top agriculture ministry official said on Friday, as the South American grains powerhouse moves to take advantage of U.S.-China trade strife. Argentine officials were in Beijing on Friday finalizing the paperwork needed to ship […] Read more

U.S. says farmers could get cash aid by Oct. but will not be made whole
Buenos Aires | Reuters – U.S. farmers could receive cash payments from a planned $12 billion aid package as soon as late September, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Reuters on July 28, warning that the program will not make tariff-hit farmers whole. Perdue said in an interview on the sidelines of the G20 meeting […] Read more

Argentina’s soybean season ‘dead’
Buenos Aires | Reuters — Hope has withered for any recovery in Argentine soy yields hit by a four-month drought that shows no signs of abating, farmers and analysts said Monday, prompting China to step in to fill the gap in soymeal exports from the world’s No. 1 supplier. The dryness that has blighted the […] Read more

Argentina begins phasing in cuts to soybean export tax
Buenos Aires | Reuters – Argentina has cut its soybean export tax to 29.5 percent from a previous 30 percent, the first step in a plan to gradually reduce the levy to 18 percent over two years, the agriculture ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The plan will see the tax cut by one […] Read more