CME April 2020 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle extend losses

COVID-19 coronavirus continues to rattle investors

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures fell sharply for a second consecutive day on Tuesday as fears of a coronavirus pandemic stoked concerns about demand and slower global economic growth. Commodities funds liquidated more of their sizable long holdings in cattle after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and […] Read more



CME April 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs dive as coronavirus rattles markets

April live cattle, most feeder contracts close limit-down

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle and hog futures plunged on Monday as a surge of coronavirus cases beyond China stoked fears of U.S. meat export delays and slower global economic growth. The actively-traded April live cattle contract and nearly all feeder cattle contracts closed down by their daily trading limits, triggering expanded […] Read more

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau speaks to media in Winnipeg on Feb. 13, 2020. (Dave Bedard photo)

Coronavirus stalls talks with China on canola ban

Officials 'not in position to pursue technical discussions,' Bibeau says

Ottawa | Reuters — The coronavirus outbreak has stalled talks between Canada and China about Beijing’s decision to block Canadian canola seed shipments, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Friday. China, angry at Canada’s detention of a top Huawei Technologies executive in December 2018, blocked all imports of canola seed last March on the grounds they […] Read more





(Dave Bedard photo)

Bunge profit tops estimates on South American results

Chicago | Reuters — Agricultural commodities trader Bunge reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as rising crop prices boosted farmer sales in South America and swelled margins in its large agribusiness segment, sending shares up more than three per cent in pre-market trading. But uncertainty about global trade and demand for Bunge’s food and […] Read more

(iStock/Getty Images)

North American hog markets wracked by coronavirus

MarketsFarm — Besides shutting down entire cities and killing more than 1,000 people, China’s novel coronavirus outbreak has wreaked havoc on North America’s hog futures. “It’s a dubious relationship, but it is impacting markets,” said Tyler Fulton, risk management director for Hams Marketing Services in Winnipeg. Lean hog futures moved “in concert with drops in […] Read more


A worker checks the temperature of a passenger arriving into Hong Kong International Airport with an infrared thermometer on Feb. 7, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Hannah McKay)

Coronavirus disrupts China meat imports, food supplies

Swine fever has created pork shortage

Chicago | Reuters — Coronavirus is disrupting meat shipments to China as the country faces a shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease, Tyson Foods Inc and U.S. agricultural groups said on Thursday. An outbreak of African swine fever, which infects only pigs, has decimated China’s herd, pushing Chinese pork prices to […] Read more