Trade

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.”

Financial Times writers Nic Fildes and Andy Bounds reported today that, “Talks over a free trade agreement between Australia and the EU have foundered after the sides failed to reach a deal over the weekend, scuppering five years of negotiations.”

Reuters writer Pavel Polityuk reported late last week that, “Four vessels left Ukrainian Black Sea ports in the Odesa region on Friday as shipping via a new export corridor resumed after a three-day pause, independent transport sector consultancy STC said.”

Reuters writer Pavel Polityuk reported yesterday that, “Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov denied on Thursday reports by Ukrainian and British firms that the new Black Sea export corridor had been suspended.”

Reuters writer Pavel Polityuk reported today that, “Ukraine has suspended the use of its new Black Sea grain corridor due to what it sees as a threat from Russian warplanes, the Kyiv-based Barva Invest consultancy said on Thursday.”

Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Tarso Veloso Ribeiro reported yesterday that, “Chinese grain companies participated in a formal contract-signing ceremony for the purchase of US farm goods for the first time since the Trump-era trade dispute.”

In a Trade Spotlight report yesterday, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) indicated that, “U.S. soybean meal exports set a record at an estimated 13.2 million tons in MY 2022/23 (Oct-Sep), valued at nearly $7 billion, driven by increased soybean crush to supply feedstock oil for growing U.S. biomass-based diesel production.”

Bloomberg writer Tarso Veloso Ribeiro reported last week that, “A sevenfold jump in Brazilian soybean shipments to China for next month highlights how the US is losing influence over one of the world’s most important agricultural markets.”

Financial Times writer Sam Cowie reported yesterday that, “Few plants divide opinion in Brazil as much as soya, of which the country is the world’s largest producer and exporter.”