Ethiopia Seeks Wheat to Fill Gap in Supply
World-Grain – 03/28/2019
The government of Ethiopia has issued an international competitive tender to buy 400,000 tonnes of milling wheat, citing continued struggles to fill the gap of wheat supply in the local milling and baking industries, according to a March 21 Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “Most bakeries that receive subsidized wheat flour are reportedly operating way below their capacity,” the USDA said. “This shortfall is partly due to grain shortages and logistics challenges to quickly move consignments from Port of Djibouti to warehouses in Ethiopia.” The USDA said bids for the wheat are due by April 19, with delivery of the contracted wheat expected to begin by June/July. This marks the second tender issued by the government of Ethiopia in 2019.
Russia’s Grain Union Flags Possibility of Record Grain Crop in 2019
Reuters – 03/28/2019
Russia’s 2019 grain crop could exceed 2017’s record harvest of 135.5 million tonnes if the weather remains favourable, Arkady Zlochevsky, head of the Russian Grain Union, told reporters in Moscow on Thursday. The Union, a non-governmental farmers’ lobby group, currently sees this only as a scenario, as Russia is still sowing its spring grains. Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, usually starts grain harvesting in late June or early July. Zlochevsky says up to 5-6 percent of winter grains could be in poor condition after winter, which he adds is a standard level. He also expects the area of spring grain sowings to be 100,000 hectares larger this year than a year ago.
New NAFTA Far from a Done Deal
S&P Global – 03/28/2019
Last week, S&P Global Market Intelligence teamed up with CQ Roll Call, a news service specializing in Washington policymaking, to take a deep dive into the current state of the new North American Free Trade Agreement. When the proposal, now dubbed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, was signed in November 2018, President Donald Trump hailed it as a great success for his administration and his country alike. However, ratifying the agreement in the U.S. is proving far from straightforward. Politicians from both parties have raised concerns, ranging from the enforceability of labor provisions to the continuation of steel and aluminum tariffs…The meeting comes at a pressing time for U.S. wheat exporters. According to Panjiva, a division of S&P Global, U.S. wheat exports fell by 11.2% on an annual basis in 2018, to $5.44 billion, due primarily to Chinese retaliatory tariffs.
Kudlow Says U.S. Could Lift Some Tariffs on China as Part of Trade Deal
Reuters – 03/28/2019
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Thursday the United States could lift some tariffs on China, while leaving others in place as part of an enforcement mechanism on a U.S.-China trade deal. Kudlow made the comments to reporters on the sidelines of the U.S. Export-Import Bank annual conference as China and the United States negotiate a trade deal to ease eight months of tensions between the world’s two largest economies.“We have to see what the track record is and we’re not going to give up our leverage. However, just to clarify, that doesn’t necessarily mean all the tariffs will be kept in place. Some of the tariffs would be kept there,” Kudlow said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a fresh round of trade talks with Chinese officials. The negotiations will be followed by a round held in Washington next week.
Showcase Top Yields and Quality in the National Wheat Yield Contest
High Plains Journal – 03/29/2019
The National Wheat Foundation is currently accepting grower enrollment for the 2019 National Wheat Yield Contest. The contest is divided into two primary competition categories: winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories: dryland and irrigated. The deadline for Winter Wheat entries is May 15th with an early registration deadline of April 1. The Spring wheat entry deadline is Aug. 1, with an early registration deadline of June 15. “America’s wheat farmers produce the highest quality wheat in the world which should be taken into account when determining criteria for this national contest,” stated NWF Board President and Idaho wheat grower Wayne Hurst. “2019 will be the first year that we truly see how a quality component will impact the rankings of growers and influence results.” In order to be considered for a national or state award in the contest, growers must follow up each initial contest entry with a grain sample, which will be analyzed by an independent lab. To qualify, samples must meet a quality Grade of 1 or 2.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates