Articles by Dominique Patton | Manitoba Co-operator

China finds coronavirus cluster in chicken-processing plant

Some concerned consumers are already avoiding the product and one grocer has pulled it from shelves

By Dominique Patton January 29, 2021

Reuters – China reported its first cluster of COVID-19 cases among workers in a meat-processing plant, raising fears among local consumers who have until now mainly worried about the safety of imported foods. Ten confirmed cases were found in a factory which slaughters 50 million chickens a year in the northeastern city of Harbin and

Hogs, Livestock, Markets

China’s 2020 pork output higher than expected

Reported slowing of ASF-induced decline beats expectations

By Dominique Patton, GFM Network News January 18, 2021

Beijing | Reuters — China’s pork output posted significant signals toward recovery last year after the sector was decimated by an incurable hog disease in 2019, official data showed Monday. China’s 2020 pork output fell 3.3 per cent from a year earlier, to 41.13 million tonnes, after plunging 21 per cent in 2019, the National

Crops

China to approve further domestic GMO corn, soy crop varieties

By Dominique Patton, GFM Network News, Hallie Gu January 12, 2021

Beijing | Reuters — China said on Monday it was set to approve the safety of another genetically modified (GMO) corn variety and a GMO soybean, both produced by Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co. Ltd. The move comes after China last year approved three domestically designed GMO crops as safe, the first in a decade,

News

China drafts new law on grains reserves amid food security concerns

By Dominique Patton, Hallie Gu December 15, 2020

Reuters – China published a new draft law on management of its grain reserves on Dec. 3 to include oversight of stocks in regions and provinces as it seeks to bolster its food security. Previous rules governing grain reserves only applied to its central state stockpiles but Beijing has this year heightened its focus on

Hogs, Livestock

Flush with cash, Chinese hog producer builds world’s largest pig farm

By Dominique Patton, GFM Network News December 7, 2020

China | Reuters – Behind the walls of a hulking industrial compound in rural China, top pig producer Muyuan Foods is trying to raise more hogs on a single site than any company in the world – a risky investment with deadly African swine fever lingering. The new farm, which began construction in March and

Beef cattle, Livestock, Markets

China’s coronavirus testing chokes beef trade

Additional inspections, disinfections costly for importers

By Dominique Patton, GFM Network News, Hallie Gu November 27, 2020

Beijing | Reuters — In a supermarket in downtown Beijing, refrigerator shelves normally filled with steak from around the world sit empty as tougher testing for the novel coronavirus creates supply bottlenecks and raises prices for importers. Fresh supplies of beef won’t arrive for days, a salesman at the Suning.com-owned Carrefour outlet told Reuters —

Livestock, Markets

Irritated trade partners push back on China’s coronavirus food tests

Canada rips testing as 'unjustified trade restrictions'

By Dominique Patton, Emma Farge, GFM Network News November 18, 2020

Beijing/Geneva | Reuters — Major food-producing countries are growing increasingly frustrated with China’s scrutiny of imported products and are calling on it to stop aggressive testing for the coronavirus, which some say is tantamount to a trade restriction. China says it has found the virus on the packaging of products from 20 countries including German

“China is going to import a lot more grains like barley, sorghum, and corn in the new marketing year, as the domestic (corn) prices would remain high.” – Xie Jinjiang.

Markets, News

China’s corn imports soar

At the same time its domestic pork supply is rebuilding

By Dominique Patton, Hallie Gu November 3, 2020

China imported more than one million tonnes of corn in September, customs data showed Oct. 23, bringing shipments for the first nine months of the year close to its annual low-tariff quota volume for the first time on record. The country has been purchasing large volumes of corn to ease the pressure from tight supplies

News

Cotton latest casualty in China-Australia spat

Australian barley, cotton and wine producers are now all under the gun

By Colin Packham, Dominique Patton October 22, 2020

In the latest round of a China-Australia spat side-swiping agricultural trade, China has ordered cotton mills to stop buying Australian supplies. That word came Oct. 16 from an Australian government source and two China-based cotton traders briefed on the matter. Relations soured after Canberra accused China of meddling in domestic affairs, and worsened when Prime Minister Scott

Hogs, News

China seeks to essentially raise all its own pork

Rapid rebuild of swine herd could dash hopes of exporters like Canada for lasting inroads into market

By Dominique Patton October 9, 2020

Reuters – China is aiming to produce 95 per cent of its pork at home, according to a cabinet document outlining plans for its livestock sector, underscoring a goal to quickly rebuild its huge pig herd after a major disease epidemic. The document comes amid a heightened focus on food security by Beijing, with coronavirus

Canada’s active PED case count dwindling

Kazakhstan’s president orders ban on foreign ownership of farmland

Canary seed competing with other crops on the rise

GFM Network News