Phytosanitary Grain Rules Need Work

The international grain trade needs better phytosanitary rules and tolerances for low-level presence of genetically modified (GM) crops, says Dennis Stephens, a consultant contracted to co-ordinate the Canada Grains Council. “Zero thresholds are no longer obtainable,” Stephens told the council’s 42nd annual meeting in Winnipeg earlier this month. “We’ve reached a stage where we have


Food Prices Hit “Dangerous Levels”

World Bank chief Robert Zoellick says global food prices have reached “dangerous levels,” and warns that their impact could complicate fragile political and social conditions in the Middle East and Central Asia. World Bank data released on Feb. 15 showed higher food prices – mainly for wheat, maize, sugars and edible oils – have pushed

Africa, Caribbean Urged To Brace For Food Price Shocks

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are warning poor regions that have so far not been hit by rising food prices, like sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, to get ready to face them. Food price volatility is here to stay, the World Bank cautioned, amid growing worries there could be another full-blown food crisis


U.S. Says Its Policy Not To Blame

U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Feb. 3 it was “unfair” to blame U.S. monetary policy for pushing up inflationary pressures in emerging market economies. Some analysts have blamed the fed’s quantitative easing for flooding the global economy with money and helping to drive prices for food and other commodities higher. “It’s entirely unfair

Grain Rally Less Speculative Than In 2008: Ritz

The recent rally in grain and oilseed prices is based more on concerns about crop levels than on speculation by investors, Canada’s agriculture minister said Jan. 17. Prices of crops such as wheat, corn, soybeans and canola are at their highest levels in more than 2-1/2 years amid flooding in Australia and dryness in Argentina.


Food Groups Sue U.S. For Ethanol Boost In Gasoline

Livestock producers and food industry groups filed a suit on Nov. 9 seeking to overturn a U.S. decision to allow higher levels of ethanol in gasoline, saying it could push up food prices. The Grocery Manufacturers Association, the National Meat Association and other groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency, saying regulators overstepped their authority when

A Graph Would Do Nicely – for Sep. 9, 2010

Some of us in business can communicate directly with the final consumer of our product. Farmers usually aren’t so fortunate. For example, wheat goes to a grain company, then to a mill and finally to a bakery. The baker, rather than the farmer, gets to take the credit for that nice tasty loaf of bread.


S – for Jun. 10, 2010

outh Africa’s food prices will rise gradually from 2011 partly as the economic recovery gains pace, increasing the likelihood of more protests, the Agricultural Business Chamber said June 2. Households, especially in the lower-income level, spend a large chunk of their income on food and higher food prices in recent years contributed to millions of

Future Food, Fuel Conflict Can Be Avoided

An increasing shift away from fossil fuels such as gasoline to alternatives derived from plants and waste need not produce an increase in food prices, U. S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters. Speaking on the sidelines of a UN climate conference in Copenhagen, Vilsack added he expected the U. S. Department of Agriculture to