CME December 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures break losing streak

CME cattle futures close firm

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed firm on Wednesday, snapping a three session losing streak as traders said that the U.S. government’s most recent bearish supply forecast had been priced into the market. Cattle futures were consolidating after posting sharp declines a day earlier, but both feeders and live cattle […] Read more

CME December 2023 live cattle with 20-, 40- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures drop on technical selling

U.S. supply outlook drags on hog futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures fell on Tuesday, pressured by technical selling and demand concerns, traders said. Hog futures notched their third straight losing session as the government’s bigger-than-expected supply report from last week continued to weigh on the market. The benchmark CME December lean hogs futures contract sank 0.425 cent […] Read more


CME December 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs extend selloff on supply view

Cattle futures book gains

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell sharply for the second day in a row, hitting a four-month low as traders adjusted their expectations for prices to reflect the U.S. government’s bigger-than-expected supply view. “We simply don’t need the sow base we currently have or need lower prices to clear the […] Read more

File photo of a bulk vessel at a port grain terminal at Constanta, Romania. (Sergii Zhmurchak/iStock/Getty Images)

Romania, Ukraine to work on grain import-export licensing system

Three other EU countries have bans in place

Bucharest | Reuters — Romania will work with Ukraine over the next 30 days on a grain export control plan that will help protect Romanian farmers, Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said on Wednesday. Romania is among five eastern European Union countries along with Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia that saw a surge of Ukrainian grain […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill agrees to sell stake in Russian grain terminal

Buyer says deal under government review

Reuters — U.S.-based commodities trader Cargill said on Thursday it had agreed to sell its stake in a Russian grain terminal to Russia’s Delo Group. “In line with Cargill’s earlier announcement to stop the export of Russian grain in July 2023, we can confirm we have reached an agreement with Delo to sell our 25 […] Read more

File photo of a wild boar crossing a road in Sweden. (Ockra/iStock/Getty Images)

Swine fever detected in Sweden for first time

Recent outbreak in Balkans spurred culls

Stockholm | Reuters — A dead wild boar in Sweden has tested positive for African swine fever, Sweden’s Veterinary Institute said on Wednesday, the first such case in the country. African swine fever is harmless to humans but is highly contagious and deadly in domestic pigs and wild boars. It has spread from Africa to […] Read more


Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (r) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin arrive at a press conference after their meeting in Sochi on Sept. 4, 2023. (Photo: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)

Turkey’s Erdogan says Black Sea grain deal can be restored soon

UN seeks to bring Russia back into deal

Moscow | Reuters — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Monday that it would soon be possible to revive the grain deal that the United Nations says helped to ease a food crisis by getting Ukrainian grain to market. Russia quit the deal in July — a year after […] Read more

Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus at Istanbul on Dec. 11, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Yoruk Isik)

Russia says will have talks with Turkey about alternative to Black Sea deal

Plan calls for Qatar's support to move Russian grain

Reuters — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan will discuss a proposal by Moscow for an alternative to the Black Sea grain deal when they meet this week, Lavrov’s ministry said Wednesday. Under the plan, Russia would send a million tons of grain to Turkey at a discounted price, with financial […] Read more


File photo of a cornfield in Mexico. (Roberto Cabrera/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada says will join as third party in U.S.-Mexico corn dispute

Mexico's measures 'not scientifically supported,' ministers say

Reuters — Canada said Friday it will participate as a third party in dispute settlement proceedings between the U.S. and Mexico regarding genetically modified (GM) corn in imported tortillas and dough, citing concerns about Mexico’s stance on the matter. The decision follows Washington’s request for a dispute settlement panel through the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which […] Read more

File photo of a small boat flying the Lebanese flag at a marina in Tripoli as a cargo vessel sails in the distance. (Joel Carillet/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine asks Lebanon to bar Syrian ship carrying ‘stolen’ corn

Corn taken from multiple storage units, Ukraine alleges

Beirut | Reuters — Ukrainian officials on Thursday asked Lebanon to bar a Syrian state-owned cargo ship carrying allegedly stolen Ukrainian grain from docking in Lebanon’s Tripoli port, according to the Ukrainian embassy and a diplomatic note seen by Reuters. The Ukrainian mission said in comments to Reuters that the Finikia was transporting 6,000 metric […] Read more