Trade

“United States Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Dusty Johnson (R-SD) announced the launch of the bipartisan Congressional Agricultural Trade Caucus” late last week, according to a press release from Panetta’s office. The caucus, which had been in development since September 2023, will “advance and promote policies vital to U.S. agriculture, […]

CNBC’s Rebecca Picciotto reported Sunday that “former President Donald Trump plans to escalate the U.S-China trade war he launched during his first term as president if he is elected to the office again in November.” “The GOP frontrunner confirmed in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he is considering a plan to impose tariffs of […]

Financial Times writers Colby Smith and Stephanie Stacey reported yesterday that, “The dollar hit a three-month low on Tuesday and US Treasury yields slid as investors grew increasingly confident that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates by mid-2024.”

Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova and Courtney Bonnell reported in today’s Los Angeles Times that, “Grain thunders into rail cars and trucks zip around a storage facility in central Ukraine, a place that growing numbers of companies have turned to as they struggle to export their foodstuffs to people facing hunger around the world.”

Financial Times writer Christopher Miller reported over the weekend that, “Russia launched its largest drone attack of the war in the early hours of Saturday morning, targeting Kyiv in what Ukrainian officials fear is the start of a winter campaign aimed at destroying the country’s energy infrastructure.”

Earlier this week, Reuters writer Roberto Samora reported that, “Brazil’s soybean crop is expected to reach a record 161.6 million metric tons in 2023/24, agribusiness consultancy Agroconsult said on Wednesday, despite weather issues that are seen keeping overall production below the country’s potential.”

Reuters writer Dominique Patton reported this week that, “China’s sow herd at the end of October was still larger than needed at 42.1 million pigs, state media reported on Monday, raising the supply of live pigs to the market and pressuring prices.”

Gloria Li reported today at The Financial Times Online that, “Wheat prices climbed on Wednesday, after Russian attacks on food infrastructure in Ukraine raised concerns over the potential impact on supply from the world’s fifth-largest wheat exporter.”

Reuters writer Mei Mei Chu reported on Monday that, “China’s soybean imports from Brazil rose 71% in October from a year ago, data showed on Monday, boosted by cheaper prices following a bumper crop in the South American nation.”

Bloomberg writer Hallie Gu reported yesterday that, “Chinese pork prices are likely to stay low for longer, extending a run of miserable profits for pig farmers and complicating efforts to stave off deflationary pressures in the economy.”

Financial Times writers Ian Smith and Isobel Koshiw reported today that, “Ukraine has reached a deal with global insurers to provide affordable cover to ships carrying grain and other critical food supplies from its Black Sea ports, even as its war with Russia wages on.”

Bloomberg writer Agnieszka de Sousa reported on Friday that, “China is gobbling up staple crops from around the world.”

Reuters writer Karl Plume reported yesterday that, “China booked its largest single-day U.S. soybean purchases in at least three months on Tuesday, traders said, offering a glimmer of hope for the most valuable U.S. farm export after overseas sales of the 2023 harvest had fallen well behind the normal pace.”

Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Dominic Carey reported yesterday that, “American wheat shipments dropped to a two-decade low, hampered by a shrinking Mississippi River and competition from ample global grain supplies.”

Simon Constable indicated late last week at The Wall Street Journal Online that, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year sent the price of key grains soaring as investors worried that supplies from the two countries—which before the recent war supplied roughly 30% of wheat exports—would be interrupted.”

Bloomberg writer Hallie Gu reported yesterday that, “Cold snaps are hitting China’s northeastern region, disrupting harvesting of grains from corn to rice and bolstering prices.”

Reuters writers Mei Mei Chu and Naveen Thukral reported today that, “China’s soybean imports are likely to stay high through the fourth quarter, taking 2023 purchases to an all-time record, but lackluster demand from loss-making hog farms is seen reducing purchases in early 2024, traders and analysts said.”

Reuters writers Naveen Thukral and Dominique Patton reported yesterday that, “China is set to import record volumes of wheat this year, trading sources say, with rain damage to its crop and worries over dry weather in exporting nations fuelling Beijing’s appetite to buy while prices are low.”