Beijing | Reuters –– China has conditionally lifted an import ban on some shipments of U.S. boneless beef and beef on the bone, the country’s agriculture ministry and quality watchdog said on Thursday. The lifting of the ban applies to imports of beef from animals under 30 months old (UTMs), according to a statement posted […] Read more
China to conditionally lift ban on some U.S. beef
EU, Canada seek to win over CETA doubters with declaration
Vienna/Brussels | Reuters — Canada’s trade minister and the European Union’s trade chief sought Wednesday to overcome the doubts of Austria and other EU members over a planned EU-Canada free trade deal, with a declaration spelling out the limits of the contentious pact. Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking in Vienna, said the legally binding […] Read more
Egypt cancels zero-ergot wheat policy amid mounting pressure
Cairo | Reuters — Egypt has reversed its controversial zero-tolerance policy on the common grains fungus ergot, the government said on Wednesday, backtracking on an import regulation that had all but blocked its access to global wheat. Egypt, the world’s largest buyer of wheat, has seen its imports grind to a halt since it imposed […] Read more
Z Tags owner Datamars reportedly up for sale
Frankfurt | Reuters — Buyout group Columna Capital is preparing its Swiss animal tagging group Datamars for a sale in a potential deal that could be worth as much as over 300 million Swiss francs (C$404 million), two people close to the deal said. The private equity investor has asked investment advisory boutique Evercore to […] Read more
Austrian government split on opposition to CETA
Vienna | Reuters –– Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern’s opposition to a free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada was countered by fervent praise for the deal from his deputy at a special parliamentary session on the issue on Wednesday. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada, negotiations for which have finished, […] Read more
Chinese pesticide firm to buy Adama Agricultural
Hong Kong | Reuters — China’s Hubei Sanonda will acquire Israel’s Adama Agricultural Solutions for about 18.6 billion yuan (C$3.67 billion), Sanonda said on Tuesday. Pesticide firm Sanonda, based in China’s central Hubei province, also said it aimed to raise up to 2.5 billion yuan (C$493 million) in a private placement of shares to help […] Read more
California first state to promise overtime to farmworkers
Sacramento | Reuters — California will become the first U.S. state to require farmers to pay overtime to field workers and fruit pickers under a bill signed Monday by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown. The bill would phase in overtime pay for farmworkers from 2019 to 2022. In an industry where a workweek during the harvest […] Read more
EU regulators halt Dow, DuPont merger review to gather data
Brussels | Reuters — European Union antitrust regulators have halted their scrutiny of Dow Chemical and DuPont’s proposed merger while the companies provide more information regarding their US$130 billion deal. The European Commission opened a full investigation into the case in August, concerned that the deal to create the world’s largest integrated crop protection and […] Read more
U.S. agency reduces outlook for La Nina in 2016-17
New York | Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster reduced its outlook on Thursday for La Nina conditions to develop during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter of 2016-17, saying neutral conditions were more likely. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the National Weather Service, said in a monthly forecast there was […] Read more
U.S. activist investor Ackman leaves CP board
Bill Ackman, the U.S. activist investor who usurped the leadership of Canadian Pacific Railway in 2012, is leaving the Calgary company’s board after his hedge fund sold off its remaining stake last month. Ackman, who heads New York-based Pershing Square Capital Management, joined CP’s board in 2012 and served on its finance and corporate governance […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
