Wheat Industry Waits for Details on Japan Deal
Capital Press – 08/26/2019
Wheat farmers are cautious but optimistic in the wake of the announcement that the U.S. and Japan have agreed in principle to a new trade deal. “Great news,” said Glen Squires, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission. “We certainly hope that (the agreement) is solidified and goes forward with no complications. We anticipate that it will.” Steve Mercer, vice president of communications for U.S. Wheat Associates, the overseas marketing arm of the industry, said his organization has been told the agreement would put the U.S. on equal footing with Canada and Australia. Under the new Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership that the U.S. rejected, wheat from those countries has been priced $20 per ton lower than U.S. wheat.
Global Pact for Commercialization of High-Fiber Wheat Materializes
World Grain – 08/27/2019
Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. has reached an agreement with Arista Cereal Technologies and Bay State Milling Co. for commercialization of its high-fiber resistant-starch wheat in several key markets. Under terms of the agreement, Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.-based Bay State Milling will become the exclusive commercial partner for Arcadia’s high-fiber wheat in North America under Bay State Milling’s HealthSense brand, while Sydney, Australia-based Arista receives exclusive rights under Arcadia’s intellectual property in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, Arcadia will continue to market its high-fiber wheat under its GoodWheat portfolio of specialty wheat ingredients in other international markets.
Philippines a Boost for Wheat and Barley
Farm Weekly – 08/27/2019 (Australia)
Providing grains education and technical services in the Philippines could stimulate and support demand for Australian wheat and barley in that country, according to a new AEGIC report. Co-author Peter White said while there were more compelling prospects for Australian grain in South-East Asia, strong population and consumption growth in the Philippines could represent opportunities for Australia. Dr White said the median age of Filipinos was 23 years which when coupled with the estimated $US25 billion sent home by the 10 million Filipinos living in other countries, meant people were consuming more wheat-based products.
Farmers’ Frustration With Trump Grows as U.S. Escalates China Fight
New York Times – 08/27/2019
Peppered with complaints from farmers fed up with President Trump’s trade war, Sonny Perdue found his patience wearing thin. Mr. Perdue, the agriculture secretary and the guest of honor at the annual Farmfest gathering in southern Minnesota this month, tried to break the ice with a joke. “What do you call two farmers in a basement?” Mr. Perdue asked near the end of a testy hourlong town-hall-style event. “A whine cellar.” A cascade of boos ricocheted around the room. American farmers have become collateral damage in a trade war that Mr. Trump began to help manufacturers and other companies that he believes have been hurt by China’s “unfair” trade practices.
Trade War Punishing U.S. Ag Sector Disproportionally
Delta Farm Press – 08/26/2019
The Trade War, or the realignment of fiscal, monetary and trade policy between the U.S. and China, Mexico, Canada, European Union, Korea, Japan, and other trading partners, is punishing U.S. producers and the agricultural sector disproportionally more than many other sectors. Tanner Ehmke Manager, CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, says, “With tariffs on the minds of everyone in agriculture, we set out to answer the question of who pays the retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural exports. CoBank’s knowledge exchange economists analyzed 11 U.S. agriculture commodities representing a cross-section of ag exports. In all but two cases, the U.S., not the importing countries or its consumers, paid much of the cost of these tariffs.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates