Bloomberg

Global food prices fell by the biggest amount since 2008 due to easing concerns over the supplies of grains and vegetable oils as Ukraine restarted its exports.  The United Nations world food cost index dropped almost 9% in July.  According to Bloomberg, the index is at its lowest level since January before Russia’s attack on Ukraine helped push the cost of food close to record levels.  It’s the f

There was hope oil prices would retreat Monday as the Administration started to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but those hopes melted away as Saudi Arabia announced it was increasing the cost for its oil. Because of Saudi Arabia’s announcement, oil price inches up with West Texas Crude trading higher by roughly 4% Monday, in the mid-$103 range. Ste ...

Canadian Pacific, one of the largest railroad companies in Canada, will bring operations to a halt this weekend after the company didn’t reach a labor deal with its workers. The company issued a notice to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that it will lock out employees early Sunday if the two sides can’t agree to a settlement or binding arbitration. Bloomb ...

China is a long way from meeting the commitments in its trade deal with the U.S. According to calculations made by Bloomberg, in the first 11 months of the year, China imported just over half the goods it promised to buy from the United States in the Phase One Trade Agreement; the 2020 target was $172 billion ...

Bloomberg says American agriculture is likely bracing for more scrutiny of its practices under a Joe Biden administration. Agriculture would potentially see more regulation of everything from environmental protections to workplace safety, a stark contrast from the anti-regulatory Trump administration ...

The Justice Department is formally demanding information from the four biggest meatpackers in the United States, over potential antitrust violations. According to Bloomberg, the DOJ’s antitrust division sent civil investigative demands, which are akin to subpoenas, to the companies…and is talking with state attorneys general about the probe after growing calls for an in-depth investigation. Cur

China is halting imports of some U.S. agricultural products through state-run agricultural companies. The move comes as a response to tensions between the U.S. and China regarding Hong Kong. According to Bloomberg News state-owned traders Cofco and Sinograin were ordered to suspend purchases ...

On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order keeping meatpacking plants open during the COVID-19 pandemic. The President used the Defense Production Act to order companies to stay open as critical infrastructure, as meatpacking plants over the past couple of weeks closed with spikes in coronavirus cases among employees ...

Bloomberg says China is looking at possible ways to speed up its purchases of American farm goods to meet its Phase One Trade Agreement commitments. However, it appears not everyone is happy with the idea. The government is looking at speeding up the process because the coronavirus delayed some imports ...

Tractors would likely be moving at a quicker rate this year as farmers across rural America need to replace some aging machines. However, Bloomberg said there is very little movement of farm machinery in the U.S., plus European production is being hampered by shortages across the industry supply chain ...