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 rejects bank compromise as Black Sea grain deal expiry looms

Collapse of deal could aggravate global food crisis

Reuters — Russia on Tuesday restated a demand for its state agricultural bank to be reconnected to the global SWIFT payments system to avert the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal, and said it would not accept a reported compromise proposal. With 13 days remaining until the expiry of the deal, which has allowed […] Read more

Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

EU seen weighing concession to Russian bank over Black Sea deal

New arm of ag bank could connect to SWIFT

Reuters — The European Union is considering a proposal for the Russian Agricultural Bank to set up a subsidiary to reconnect to the global financial network as a sop to Moscow, the Financial Times said on Monday. With the bank under sanctions, the move aims to safeguard the Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine […] Read more


(CanopyGrowth.com)

Canopy Growth sheds California facility amid liquidity worries

Cannabis producer aims to rein in costs

Reuters — Canadian pot producer Canopy Growth said on Thursday it has completed the sale of its facility at Modesto, California as part of its divestitures to raise funding amid liquidity concerns. The sale, the fifth such deal since April 1, is part of Canopy’s ongoing efforts to improve liquidity by reining in costs through […] Read more

File photo of barley being loaded off the combine. (Collab Media/iStock/Getty Images)

Australia expects ‘favourable decision’ from China on barley

Heavy tariffs in place since 2020

Sydney | Reuters — Australia is expecting a positive decision over the next two weeks from China to fully settle a dispute over barley tariffs, Trade Minister Don Farrell said Thursday. “We are expecting in the next couple of weeks a favourable decision on the tariffs that has prevented Australian barley going into China,” Farrell […] Read more


File photo of barley being unloaded at a grain terminal in Ukraine on June 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Igor Tkachenko)

Ukraine’s farm output could take 20 years to recover, study suggests

Some crop sectors may recover more quickly

Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s agricultural sector could take 20 years or more in parts to recover from the ravages of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to a Kyiv-based research centre. Ukraine is a major global grower and exporter of wheat, corn, sunflower and sunflower oil, but its production has fallen sharply since the war start […] Read more

File photo of an ammonia pipe. (Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images)

Kremlin says ammonia pipeline blast negative for Black Sea grain deal

Russia had sought transit for ammonia via Ukraine

Moscow | Reuters — The Kremlin said on Thursday that there would be a “negative impact” on the fate of a Black Sea grain deal from a blast which damaged a pipeline used to export Russian ammonia via Ukraine that Moscow wants restarted. The Togliatti-Odesa pipeline, which once pumped up to 2.5 million tonnes of […] Read more


Trucks wait for crossing into Poland at the Rava-Ruska border checkpoint in Ukraine’s Lviv region on April 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Roman Baluk)

EU extends restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports

Restrictions won't apply to seed for planting

Warsaw/Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission said Monday it was extending until Sept. 15 an arrangement whereby five of Ukraine’s EU neighbours can restrict imports of Ukrainian grain. The EU on May 2 allowed the five countries — Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed […] Read more

Wildlife conservation officers Devon Wadden and Tim Locke keep an eye on sheep while SPCA officers feed a flock during wildfire evacuations in Shelburne County, N.S. on June 3, 2023. (Photo: Communications Nova Scotia/Handout via Reuters)

Canada on track for worst-ever wildfire season

Unusual to see fires nationwide at one time

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada is on track for its worst-ever year of wildfire destruction as warm and dry conditions are forecast to persist through to the end of the summer after an unprecedented start to the fire season, officials said on Monday. Blazes are burning in nearly all Canadian provinces and territories, and federal […] Read more



Smoke from active wildfires in Alberta’s north and west hangs over Calgary on May 16, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Leah Hennel)

No respite expected for wildfire-hit Alberta

Forecasts call for fire conditions to worsen

Ottawa | Reuters — Abnormally hot and dry weather is set to return to Alberta on Thursday after a couple of cooler days helped calm wildfires that have forced thousands of evacuations in the province. Record-high temperatures and tinder-dry vegetation have led to an intense, early start to wildfire season in Western Canada this year. […] Read more