Canadian farm exports run into Chinese wall

An expanding list of Canadian farm exports is hitting obstacles at Chinese ports, leaving sellers of soybeans, peas and pork scrambling amid a bitter diplomatic dispute. China has already blocked Canadian canola from Richard­son International and Viterra, two of Canada’s biggest farm exporters, saying that shipments had pests. Other China-bound canola cargoes have been cancelled,[...]

Feds say no link in Viterra, Nexen approvals


Reuters - The Chinese government is treating its role in potential takeovers of two Canadian companies separately, and is not linking them in order to pressure Ottawa to approve a deal between China’s CNOOC Ltd. and Canadian oil producer Nexen Inc., Canada’s agriculture minister said Nov. 13.
Approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) under Chinese[...]


Higher prices lure farmers


Reuters / Canadian farmers intend to plant nearly a million acres more wheat than the industry expected in the first year of an open grain market, along with a record-large canola crop, Statistics Canada reported late last month in its initial forecast of 2012 planting intentions. 
Drier-than-normal weather in Western Canada, stretching back to last[...]

Canada wins China canola access, sees Russia meat barriers

Canada has not ruled out WTO action against Russia for banning meat 
from Canadian plants over ractopamine

China has softened its three-year-old import restrictions on Canadian canola, while Russia is set to erect barriers to some of Canada’s biggest meat-packing plants, Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said April 16. 
China approved one additional oilseed-crushing plant, the 600,000-tonne CNOOC-Biolux plant in Nantong, Jiangsu province, to accept shipments of Canadian canola seed, a crop[...]





Western Canada farmland values soar as growers expand


Western Canadian farmland is soaring in value, as farmers expand their lands and look to cash in on high crop prices, a report by real estate organization RE/MAX said Sept. 10.
The price of high-end grain-producing land in southern Saskatchewan has jumped 20 per cent on average from last year to a range of $1,200 to[...]

Disappointing Canada canola harvest sets off battle for supplies


A disappointing Canadian canola crop is setting up a tug of war between domestic crushers and exporters over supplies, with global vegetable oil markets already stretched tight by a drought-damaged U.S. soybean crop.
Canadian farmers were expected to shatter the record for canola production and harvest 15.4 million tonnes of the oilseed in 2012-13, according to[...]


Heat-damaged canola 
crop creates supply shortages


Reuters / Supply worries about Canada’s disappointingly small canola harvest this year are compounded by the oilseed’s reduced oil content, crimping profits for crushers and leaving food companies to scramble for other vegetable oils.
Expectations were high early in the crop year that a record-large canola crop in Canada would compensate for some of the damage[...]

Machinery dealers, meat packers likely to suffer


While U.S. crops of corn and soybeans wilt in the worst U.S. drought in a half-century, winners and losers are emerging in the agriculture sector of the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Shares of Agrium Inc. and PotashCorp of Saskatchewan are up 21 per cent and eight per cent since June 1, lagging far behind the spike in[...]