Cairo | Reuters –– Egypt plans to launch an agricultural-focused commodities trading exchange, the first of its kind in the Middle East, by the end of 2016, Supplies Minister Khaled Hanafi said Monday. Egypt announced plans to set up a global commodities centre in 2014, but gave few details at the time. Hanafi said that […] Read more
Egypt to launch ag commodities bourse by year-end
German regulator investigates possible tractor cartel
Duesseldorf | Reuters –– Germany’s anti-trust regulator said Friday it was investigating a possible cartel of companies making agricultural machinery, particularly tractors. It did not name any targets of the probe. German agricultural trading group Baywa said the cartel office had searched its headquarters earlier this week on suspicion that some of its employees were […] Read more
Russia said considering export duties for corn, barley
Moscow | Reuters –– Russia’s agriculture ministry is considering introducing an export duty for corn and barley, Russian news agency Interfax reported Wednesday, citing First Deputy Minister Evgenii Gromyko. “We will discuss this question,” he said. Gromyko added that the question was planned to be discussed at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, […] Read more
Brazil prosecutors charge JBS board chairman
Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Prosecutors charged Joesley Batista, chairman of Brazilian meatpacker JBS’s board and president of its controlling shareholder J+F Investimentos, and eight others with crimes against the financial system, sending shares of JBS SA down more than eight per cent on Tuesday. The statement from prosecutors said J+F Investimentos and another subsidiary […] Read more
China to let market decide its corn prices
Beijing | Reuters — China will let the market decide its domestic state corn prices to help cap the country’s rising imports and record-high level of state reserves, a senior official was cited by state media as saying on Monday. “The direction of corn reform is… to let the market decide prices, and (state support) […] Read more
Russia considering export duties on fertilizers
Stavropol | Reuters –– Russia’s government is looking into introducing duties on exports of mineral fertilizers to make them more affordable for the country’s farmers, President Vladimir Putin said Monday. Meeting his loyalists from the pro-Kremlin public movement, the All-Russia People’s Front, Putin heard compalints from a farmer saying that massive exports of mineral fertilizers […] Read more
Vessel demand concerns extend Baltic index fall
Reuters — The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying industrial commodities, extended its record low run to a 14th straight session on Friday on persistent vessel glut and weak demand. The overall Baltic Dry Index, which gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk including iron ore, cement, grain, coal […] Read more
Ardent’s Illinois flour mills reopened
Chicago | Reuters –– Ardent Mills, the largest U.S. flour miller, said operations resumed on Thursday at its mill at Chester, Illinois, that had been closed since Dec. 29 due to near-record flooding on the Mississippi River. Mill staff “have gone ‘above and beyond’ to conduct extensive cleaning and sanitizing to return the mill back […] Read more
Argentine government to allow beef imports
Buenos Aires | Reuters –– Argentina will allow beef imports if the recent opening of the export market results in a domestic shortage of steaks and burgers, farm minister Ricardo Buryaile told local radio Thursday. The country lifted restrictions on beef exports after President Mauricio Macri, elected in November on an open-markets platform, was inaugurated […] Read more
Pamela Anderson causes stir in French parliament over foie gras
Paris | Reuters — Canadian actress Pamela Anderson triggered scenes of chaos in France’s parliament on Tuesday as journalists fought and shoved to hear her campaign for a ban on the force-feeding of ducks and geese for foie gras. A photographer and a cameraman came to blows as those in the media scrum struggled to […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
