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File photo of a combine harvesting a wheat crop in Ukraine. (SergBob/iStock/Getty Images)

Traders consider exporting Ukraine grain by rail

Lviv | Reuters — Traders are trying to arrange the export of Ukrainian-origin grain by train through western Ukraine’s borders, but the export capacities are very limited, APK-Inform agriculture consultancy said Friday. Ukraine’s state-run railway operator said this week it was ready to organize agricultural exports by rail as a matter of urgency after closure

(William_Potter/iStock/Getty Images)

G7 ag ministers urge end to food export curbs as prices surge

Nations warn against 'speculative behaviour'

Hamburg | Reuters — Global food exporting countries should not restrict food exports after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cut world supplies, agriculture ministers of the G7 group of nations said on Friday. The impact on markets escalated this week as a growing list of food producing countries restricted exports, keeping vital supplies within their borders.


CME June 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs, cattle rise as grain markets stabilize

Bargain buying supports cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose on Friday, supported by technical buying, traders said. Cattle futures also were firm, bouncing back from two days of declines on some end-of-week bargain hunting. Signs of stability in the grain and soy markets after wild volatility since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine added support to

CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle down on cash weakness, technical selling

Chicago lean hogs mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures fell on Thursday, with weakness in the cash markets pressuring futures, traders said. Some follow-through selling in cattle also was noted after sharp declines on Wednesday, Pork futures were mixed, with the most-active April contract falling after a government report showed a sharp drop in exports

Bulgaria hampering grain exports amid Ukraine war, producers say

Bulgaria is starting to slow grain vessel loadings through administrative checks in what companies fear is an attempt to halt exports in response to the war in Ukraine, a producers’ group said March 3. Traders say Bulgaria is among European Union countries seeing extra export demand as merchants rush to replace grain they had planned


Grain storage at a Russian seaport. (Pridannikov/iStock/Getty Images)

Moscow retaliates against sanctions with export bans

Reuters — Russia sought on Thursday to retaliate against Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine by banning exports of certain goods and agricultural commodities. Exporting telecom, medical, auto, agricultural, electrical and tech equipment, as well as some forestry products, will be banned until the end of 2022. “These measures are a logical response

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Italian ministry tells firms to source durum from Canada

Rome | Reuters — In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Italian firms can source durum wheat from Canada, the Italian industry ministry said in a statement following meetings on Wednesday with various firms and associations. The statement added that alternative suppliers for clay, iron and sunflower seeds had not yet been found. Ukraine

CME May 2022 feeder cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME futures slide on U.S., global economic fears

Inflation 'starting to spook' consumers

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and lean hog futures fell sharply on Wednesday, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to fuel worries about the health of global and domestic economies, traders said. The livestock market also followed a slump in grain and oilseed futures, which continued to be rattled by global


CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 100- and 200-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle firm, hogs rebound

Hogs up off lowest since Feb. 4

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on a round of technical buying on Tuesday after snapping an eight-session losing streak on Monday, traders said. Hog futures rallied on a bargain-buying bounce after sinking to their lowest in more than a month and feeder cattle futures also were firm. CME April

Bread is baked at Erbil in northern Iraq in March 2003. (Photo courtesy United Nations Oil-for-Food Program, www.un.org/Depts/oip/)

Iraq to create strategic wheat reserve

Reuters — Iraq will allocate US$100 million to urgently purchase wheat and create a strategic reserve by importing three million tons of the grain, the commerce minister said in a statement on Monday. “The ministry has a plan to achieve food security for citizens and to address the global rise in food prices due to