Agriculture

The annual three-day Wheat Quality Council crop tour of Kansas has projected an average yield for hard red winter wheat in the northern portion of the state at 49.9 bushels per acre (bpa). This estimate is the highest in three years and a significant improvement from the weather-damaged 2022 crop, when the tour’s day-one estimate […]

Chicago soybean futures inched up on Wednesday, but remained below last week’s five-month high, as data showed that bean processing had slowed in the U.S. and the crop agency of top exporter Brazil raised its harvest forecast. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.2% at $12.17 a bushel, […]

After being surpassed by political factors like the war in Ukraine, grain market fundamentals have regained their status as the key drivers of prices, as weather hiccups in major cereal-producing regions cast doubt on the prospects of a global grain glut. Wheat prices in Chicago have gained 33% in the past two months after falling […]

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has announced a tender seeking to purchase a total of 121,516 metric tons of food-quality wheat from the United States, Canada, and Australia. The tender will close late on Thursday. Japan is the world’s sixth-largest importer of wheat, and the country maintains a tight control over its […]

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has indicated that there are early signs of a potential La Niña weather event forming in the Pacific Ocean later this year. The bureau has declared a “La Niña Watch”, stating that when such criteria have been met in the past, a La Niña event has subsequently developed around 50% of […]

The western Canadian province of Alberta has called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take immediate action to prevent potentially devastating strikes by railway and port workers that could cripple the country’s economy and supply chains. In a letter released by her office, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith urged Trudeau to do everything in his power […]

According to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the condition of the nation’s winter wheat crop remains at a four-year high, with 50% of the crop rated as good-to-excellent. This is unchanged from the previous week and significantly higher than the 29% recorded a year earlier when drought slashed harvests. The […]

According to the state news agency (INA), Iraq has procured 1.5 million metric tons of wheat so far this year, as the country aims to be more self-sufficient in wheat production. Haider Nouri Al-Karaawi, the general manager of the state-run Grain Board of Iraq, told INA that the procurement has been carried out in all […]

Russia’s IKAR agricultural consultancy has reduced its forecasts for the country’s wheat crop and exports, citing concerns about the impact on production. Specifically, IKAR has cut its forecast for Russia’s wheat crop to 86 million metric tons, down from its previous estimate of 91 million tons. The consultancy has also lowered its outlook for Russian […]

Indonesia may further extend its rice handout program by six months until December, despite easing local rice prices, outgoing President Joko Widodo announced on Monday. The Southeast Asian country has been providing 10 kilograms of rice monthly to more than 20 million low-income families since March 2023 to help them cope with high prices of […]