EU Loses to Canada for No. 3 Wheat Exporter Title as Crops Fry
Bloomberg – 8/10/2018
Europe’s wheat loss is a win for Canadian farmers. After a scorching summer fried wheat crops across the European Union, the bloc is set to lose its position as the world’s third-largest exporter as Canada usurps the title, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The agency Friday cut its outlook for EU wheat exports by 16 percent to a six-year low. Things could still get worse for Europe as the USDA’s production outlook was “at the higher-end of market expectations,” according to Rabobank International, a lender to the farm commodities trade.
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China Faces Slump in Wheat Supplies
Feed & Grain – 8/10/2018
A sharp decline in China’s domestic wheat and grain supplies has been reported after China and the U.S. started targeting each other’s exports with tariffs, says a report a the Asia Times. China seems to be unable to fill the supply gap after wheat imports from the U.S. nosedived. In fact, its own farms produced 18.36 MMT less wheat year on year during the first seven months, dragging down total output during the period to just 37 million tons, according to the State Grain and Reserves Administration.
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Ukraine 2018 Wheat Harvest to Exceed Previous Forecast of 24 Mln T
Successful Farming – 8/10/2018
Ukrainian farmers have already harvested 23.98 million tonnes of wheat from 96 percent of the planted area and the final crop figure is likely to exceed the previously expected 24 million tonnes, data from the agriculture ministry showed on Friday. The ministry said in a report farms had harvested 6.37 million hectares of wheat as of Aug. 10 and the yield average 3.76 tonnes per hectares.
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Wheat Prices On Verge of Taking Off
Successful Farming – 8/10/2018
Wheat prices have made a significant turnaround in recent weeks, as continued dry weather in major wheat-exporting countries worldwide are providing underlying support. As of this writing, prices have reached their highest levels in over a year. This has been universal on all three U.S. exchanges: Chicago (soft red winter wheat), Kansas City (hard red winter wheat), and Minneapolis (hard red spring wheat). All three varieties are on the rise, gaining over 25% in value. Harvest is winding down, with over 90% of the hard and soft red winter wheat already harvested. Once harvest is complete, farmer selling usually shuts off unless prices rally.
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U.S., Mexico Try to Keep NAFTA Momentum Going
Politico – 8/10/2018
Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo will meet again today with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer as part of their continued push to resolve remaining issues between the U.S. and Mexico in the NAFTA renegotiation. Guajardo on Thursday remained tight-lipped about the likelihood that NAFTA talks could wrap up by the end of the month, but said negotiators are “doing [their] best to do it as fast as possible.” Top U.S. and Mexican officials have been aiming to finish up a deal this month in an effort to get a deal signed by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto before he leaves office on Dec. 1.
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South Dakota Wrapping Up Winter Wheat
AgWeek – 8/13/2018
Winter wheat harvest is wrapping up in South Dakota and with spring wheat harvest more than a third done, producers are reporting much better results than 2017. “Once we get outside of the areas that were impacted by the hail on the winter wheat, most of the other reports have been very favorable,” says Reid Christopherson, South Dakota Wheat Commission executive director.
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North Dakota Wheat Production Forecast to Be Up Dramatically
AP – 8/10/2018
Wheat production in North Dakota is forecast to be up dramatically from last year’s drought-plagued crop. The latest forecast from the federal Agriculture Department puts the durum wheat crop up 31 percent to about 38 million bushels, the spring wheat crop up 50 percent to 312 million bushels and the winter wheat crop more than double at 2.8 million bushels.
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PNW Wheat to Fight Hunger in Yemen
Capital Press – 8/12/2018
Seven ships loaded with soft white wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest are bound for Yemen in the Middle East to feed millions of people on the brink of famine in the war-torn country. The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, purchased roughly 200,000 tons of wheat — enough to feed 7 million people in Yemen for two months — and is working with the United Nations World Food Program to distribute the shipments. Officials gathered for a press conference Friday outside the historic Albers Mill in Portland to announce the humanitarian mission. Stephen Anderson, Yemen country leader for the World Food Program, said the wheat will provide much-needed relief to the country, where nearly 18 million people require emergency food assistance, according to the UN.
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Source: U.S. Wheat Associates