A logo is seen at the headquarters of agricultural chemical maker Syngenta in Basel, Switzerland January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Beijing nudged Syngenta to withdraw $9 billion Shanghai IPO on market weakness, sources say

China's securities watchdog's tighter scrutiny of IPOs has led some companies to scrap plans, move offshore

Chinese authorities nudged Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group Syngenta to withdraw its application for a long-delayed $9 billion IPO in Shanghai on concerns about the impact a sizeable new offering would have on a volatile market, four people said.




(FMC Corp. video screengrab via YouTube)

Ag input firm FMC’s shares tumble after lowering financial targets

Partners 'rapidly reduced inventory levels'

Reuters — Shares of FMC Corp. fell more than eight per cent on Monday after the agricultural products supplier cut its outlook for the year on volume declines in most of its major markets. “Towards the end of May, we experienced unforeseen and unprecedented volume declines in three out of our four operating regions, as […] Read more


Pea leaf weevil. (Alberta Agriculture photo)

Insects posing problems in Saskatchewan crops

Grasshopper, flea beetle damage already reported

MarketsFarm – Although it’s still early in the growing season, some insect pests have already posed a threat to crops in Saskatchewan or could do so in the near future, according to James Tansey, provincial specialist for insects/invertebrate pest management. Among the pests he cited were grasshoppers, flea beetles and pea leaf weevils.  Tansey said […] Read more

File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)

French agency drops fumigant ban on non-EU grain exports

Limit on phosphine won't apply if use required for export

Paris | Reuters — French health safety agency ANSES on Thursday cleared the use of phosphine pesticide in contact with grains exported outside the European Union when importing countries require the process, averting a halt to shipments from the EU’s top grain exporter. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine tablets used for […] Read more


File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)

France says pesticide ban will not hit grain exports

Fumigant can't be in 'direct contact' with grains

Paris | Reuters — France will ensure that a decision by health and safety agency ANSES to ban the use of a pesticide in direct contact with grains does not hamper its exports outside the European Union, its trade and agriculture ministers told Parliament on Tuesday. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine […] Read more

A farm worker unloads Ukrainian-made fertilizer from a truck on April 5, 2022 to use on a wheat field near the village of Yakovlivka, outside Kharkiv, after it was hit by an aerial bombardment. (Photo: Reuters/Thomas Peter)

Ukraine faces lack of herbicides, pesticides for spring seeding

About a third of needed chemicals reported to be at hand

Kyiv | Reuters — Ukrainian farmers, which have already started the 2023 spring sowing, have only around 35 per cent of the herbicides and pesticides they need, analyst APK-Inform quoted on Monday official data as showed. The Russian invasion has left Ukraine seriously short of finances, seeds and crop protection products, which could have a […] Read more


(Leonid Eremeychuk/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. trade commission sues pesticide makers, alleging price scheme

Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued two top pesticide manufacturers for allegedly entering into exclusive contracts with distributors that kept prices paid by farmers artificially high. The consumer watchdog agency was motivated to bring the case in part because rising costs and supply chain disruptions from Russia’s invasion of […] Read more

(File photo by Lisa Guenther)

Corteva to exit some markets, cut jobs in cost-saving push

Canada remains among company's 'core' markets

Reuters — Seeds and pesticides company Corteva on Tuesday announced plans to exit about 35 countries and lay off roughly five per cent of its global workforce as part of the company’s cost-cutting plans. A surge in inflation this year to four-decade highs has forced Corporate America to slash planned spending and roll out measures […] Read more