Manila | Reuters — The Philippines has set up a crisis management team to determine if the deadly African swine fever virus has reached the country after officials detected a rise in pig deaths in some areas. The Bureau of Animal Industry had reported an increased mortality of pigs “raised by farmers in their backyards” […] Read more

Philippines checks for swine fever as pig deaths rise

U.S. CFTC says Kraft, Mondelez to pay $16M in wheat price manipulation case
Reuters — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Thursday Kraft Heinz and Mondelez International will have to pay US$16 million in penalty regarding a wheat manipulation case that dates back to 2015. Kraft Heinz, which was Kraft Foods until 2015, and snack food firm Mondelez bought $90 million of December 2011 wheat […] Read more

Cannabis firm Tilray sees growth slowing
Reuters — Pot producer Tilray Inc. reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Tuesday, as it ramped up investments to boost production and warned of muted growth in the Canadian recreational marijuana market for the second half of the year. Shares of the Nanaimo, B.C.-based company fell eight per cent after hours. Canada in October became […] Read more

Packers win dismissal of U.S. pork price-fixing suits
Reuters — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed antitrust lawsuits accusing several large U.S. pork companies of conspiring to limit the supply of pork to inflate prices and their own profits at the expense of consumers and other purchasers. Chief Judge John Tunheim of the federal court in Minneapolis said the plaintiffs failed to show […] Read more

Bayer, Elanco said aiming to reach animal health deal next week
Reuters — Germany’s Bayer and U.S. drug firm Elanco Animal Health aim to reach an agreement to combine their animal health businesses as soon as next week, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Elanco plans to pay for at least a part of the deal with its stock and any deal […] Read more

Sausage-loving Germans chew over meat tax plan
Berlin | Reuters — German lawmakers on Wednesday proposed raising the sales tax on meat to help protect the climate and improve animal welfare, kindling a debate in a country renowned for its love of sausages. Meat in Germany benefits from a reduced value added tax rate of seven per cent, and the idea is […] Read more

DuPont said considering sale of nutrition, biosciences unit
Reuters — Specialty chemicals maker DuPont is considering a sale of its nutrition and biosciences unit, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The unit, which supplies everything from soy-based food ingredients to tablet binders, could be worth at least US$20 billion as a standalone entity, Bloomberg said. DuPont declined to comment […] Read more

U.S. to move BLM headquarters to Colorado
Reuters — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will move its headquarters to Colorado from Washington, officials said on Tuesday, sparking ire from conservationists who said the decision would weaken the agency dedicated to managing the country’s vast public lands. The Department of Interior, which oversees BLM, announced the move in letters to key congressional […] Read more

USMCA dispute panel fix must be ‘across the board,’ Mexico says
Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico sees a push to close a dispute resolution loophole in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal as a way to protect its interests as well as helping satisfy demands by U.S. Democrats that the deal contain stricter labour measures, a senior official said on Thursday. Reuters reported last week that Mexico […] Read more

El Nino seen transitioning to neutral in next month or two
Reuters — The El Nino weather pattern is likely to transition into ENSO-neutral conditions in the next month or two, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday. “ENSO-neutral” refers to periods in which neither El Nino nor La Nina is present, according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC). ENSO-neutral conditions are […] Read more