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Us Department Of Agriculture News

05 Apr 2024

OpEd: Why the Wall Street Journal Got It Wrong and 74% of Their Poll Respondents Got It Right

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A recent article in The Wall Street Journal claims that the assessment by 74% of poll respondents in election swing states who believe inflation moved in the wrong direction last year is incorrect. The piece went on to state that the respondents’ perceptions were “contradicted by hard economic data”.Like many of us, I just love “hard data”, especially when it’s “economic”.One great aspect of “hard data” is that we must assume it’s correct; otherwise, how could it be “hard”? In fact…

21 Mar 2024

China Grain Imports Near Record High

Cereal and oilseed imports to China, the world's biggest buyer of farm goods, will remain near record highs this year despite a recent spate of cancellations as lower global prices and a domestic output shortfall prompt purchases.China's wheat imports from Australia in January and February this year have nearly quadrupled from the same time last year, the latest customs data show. That trend should continue even after Beijing cancelled or postponed 1 million metric tons of Australian wheat last week.The cancellations, along with those for about 500,000 tons of U.S.

11 Mar 2024

US FMC Names Usman Chief Information Officer

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Mohammad “Ali” Usman has been hired as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Federal Maritime Commission and appointed to be a member of the Senior Executive Service.Usman will serve as director in all areas of information technology (IT) and as the primary IT technical advisor to the Managing Director.He assumes his new duties effective immediately.“Well functioning, publicly accessible, and secured information systems are vital to being able to meet the mission of a government agency in the 21st Century. Mr.

12 Dec 2023

Palmali Aims to Expand Shipping Ops in the Black Sea

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Istanbul-based tanker operator Palmali has become the top shipper for Ukraine's Black Sea-borne sunflower oil exports, one of the country's key export products, and plans to expand further, its chairman Mubariz Mansimov said.Azeri-born Mansimov said Palmali was the most active operator in the increasingly dangerous Black Sea, and plans to expand its presence in Ukraine by placing an order for 10 more cargo carriers and starting trading operations early next year. Since pulling out of the U.N.-brokered deal that guaranteed safe shipment of Ukrainian food products in July…

11 Dec 2023

Panama Canal Woes to Delay Grain Ships well into '24

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Bulk grain shippers hauling crops from the U.S. Gulf Coast export hub to Asia are sailing longer routes and paying higher freight costs to avoid vessel congestion and record-high transit fees in the drought-hit Panama Canal, traders and analysts said.The shipping snarl through one of the world's main maritime trade routes comes at the peak season for U.S. crop exports, and the higher costs are threatening to dent demand for U.S. corn and soy suppliers that have already ceded market share to Brazil in recent years.

15 Aug 2023

Soybeans, Corn Fall on Improved US Crop Rating; Wheat Down for Third Session

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Chicago corn and soybean futures slid on Tuesday after a weekly report from the U.S. government showed better-than-expected conditions for both crops.Wheat fell for a third consecutive session on increasing estimates for Russia’s production and exports.The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) lost 0.2% to $13.23-3/4 a bushel, as of 0401 GMT, and corn fell 0.7% to $4.84-1/2 a bushel. Wheat gave up 0.2% to $6.15 a bushel.Weekly condition ratings for the U.S. soybean and corn crops improved in the past week more than analysts expected, U.S.

17 Jul 2023

Why Does the Black Sea Grain Deal's Expiry Matter?

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A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea will expire at the end of Monday after Russia said it will suspend its participation.The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be exported safely.WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs.

11 Jul 2023

What Happens if Black Sea Grain Corridor Deal is Not Extended?

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A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea expires on July 17 and with Moscow saying it sees no grounds for an extension there are fears it may collapse.Why is it important?Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs. The current deal, agreed in July 2022 some five months after the war started, helped to bring down prices and ease a global food crisis.Ukraine grain has also played a direct role with 725…

25 Apr 2023

Ukraine's Grain Export Success Placates Market Despite Russia's Threats

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Ukraine has shipped significantly more grain over the last several months than originally expected, especially corn, easing worries that were prominent last year over the country’s export program.But Russia now claims it will not support the Black Sea grain deal beyond May 18 due to obstacles on its own food and fertilizer exports. That deal was signed last July to allow shipments from Ukrainian seaports, overseen jointly by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations.Traders…

21 Dec 2022

Payment Issues Leave Dozens of Bulk Carriers Stranded Off Iran

Dozens of merchant ships with grains and sugar are stuck outside Iranian ports after weeks of delays as payments snags disrupt flows of goods into the country, according to trade sources and shipping data. Food is exempt from the West's sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, but the impact of the sanctions on Iran's financial system has created complex and erratic payment arrangements with international companies. The latest payment issues have led to ships being unable to discharge cargoes, with at least 40 bulk carrier ships stuck outside the major Iranian ports of Bandar Imam Khomeini and Bandar Abbas, ship tracking data on Refinitiv showed. Iran’s foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment.

19 Oct 2022

US Corn, Soy Exports Lag Normal Autumn Pace Amid River Shipping Woes

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U.S. soybean exports are trailing their normal autumn pace despite rising supplies from an accelerating harvest, as low river levels have slowed the flow of grain barges to export terminals, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data issued on Monday.Corn exports are also lagging their typical harvest-time rate, weekly USDA export inspections data showed.Low water on the Mississippi River and its tributaries has slowed the delivery of grain barges to export terminals along the Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S.

18 Oct 2022

Shipping Woes to Squeeze China's Soybean Stocks, Hit Feed Output

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China's soybean stocks are set to tighten further as delays in shipments from the United States deepen shortages of key animal feed ingredient soymeal, keeping prices at record highs.Ships carrying up to three million tonnes of U.S. soybeans which were scheduled to arrive this month and in November are likely to get delayed by about 15 to 20 days, two soybean traders told Reuters.While U.S. cargo delays are likely to weigh on benchmark Chicago soybean futures, tight soymeal supplies will buoy Chinese hog prices.

18 Oct 2022

Shipping Delays to Tighten China's Soybean Stocks, Hit Feed Output

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China's soybean stocks are set to tighten further as delays in shipments from the United States deepen shortages of key animal feed ingredient soymeal, keeping prices at record highs. Ships carrying up to three million tonnes of U.S. soybeans which were scheduled to arrive this month and in November are likely to get delayed by about 15 to 20 days, two soybean traders told Reuters. While U.S. cargo delays are likely to weigh on benchmark Chicago soybean futures, tight soymeal supplies will buoy Chinese hog prices.

11 Oct 2022

US Gulf Grain Exports Slowed by Low Mississippi River

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U.S. crop exports at Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals were at their lowest level in nine years for the first week of October, a period when export shipments typically accelerate, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data issued on Tuesday.Low water on southern sections of the Mississippi River closed the major shipping waterway for days last week, halting the flow of grain barges from Midwest farms to the nation’s largest grain shipping port.The ill-timed shipping disruption comes as farmers are busy harvesting corn and soybeans…

30 Sep 2022

Low River Levels, Soaring Barge Freight Curb U.S. Grain Exports

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Numerous barges have run aground on the lower Mississippi River, and grain barge shipping rates are soaring to historic highs this week, as drought has dropped inland waterways to levels not seen in decades.And with little rain in the forecast, the low water levels are hampering already sluggish grain exports at the U.S. Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports exit the country.The logistical snarls come as the Midwest harvest progresses and the busiest crop export season starts…

07 Mar 2022

Recovery, Resilience and Demand Shifts to Drive Inland Waterway Cargo Flows

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Waterway traffic is coming back. November 2021 saw 52.1 million tons moving on the U.S. inland waterway system, the highest monthly tonnage since October 2019, a few months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shutdowns and stoppages of early 2020. Flows estimated by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, based on data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) show a 25% rise from June 2020. Data in a presentation by The Waterways Council Inc (WCI)…

24 Feb 2022

Ukraine Shuts Ports as Conflict Threatens Grain Supplies

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Ukraine's military has suspended commercial shipping at its ports after Russian forces invaded the country, an adviser to the Ukrainian president's chief of staff said, stoking fear of supply disruption from the leading grain and oilseeds exporters.Russia earlier suspended the movement of commercial vessels in the Azov Sea until further notice, but kept Russian ports in the Black Sea open for navigation, its officials and five grain industry sources said on Thursday.Ukraine is a major exporter of corn (maize), much of it destined for China and the European Union.

31 Jan 2022

US Helps Fund Oakland Port Project

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Sunday it will help fund a new container yard for agricultural exports at California's Port of Oakland, as the government, ports and food companies scramble to ease costly shipping delays.The multimillion-dollar project is set to open in March, and officials said it could be replicated elsewhere.Strong U.S. demand for goods from Asia during the pandemic has boosted imports, clogging West Coast ports. Some ocean vessels have left the United States carrying empty containers after making deliveries…

13 Sep 2021

US Grain Exports Sink as Gulf Terminals Struggle to Recover from Ida

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U.S. grain exports slumped to their lowest level in years last week as shippers struggled to restart loading operations along the Louisiana Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ida flooded and damaged grain terminals and knocked out power across the region, preliminary data showed on Monday.Weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grain inspections data, an early indicator of shipments abroad, showed the volume of corn weighed and certified for export last week was the lowest in 8-1/2 years as no grain was inspected along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the busiest outlet for U.S.

20 Sep 2021

US Grain Exports Rise as Terminals Recover from Ida

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U.S. grain exports increased last week as shippers along the Louisiana Gulf Coast recovered from flooding and widespread power outages caused by Hurricane Ida's Aug. 29 landfall, but volumes were much lower than normal, preliminary data showed on Monday.Just seven export vessels were loaded with grain and soybeans at Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals in the week ended Sept. 16, down from 23 vessels in the same week last year, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data showed.Ida crippled overseas grain shipments weeks before the start of the Midwest harvest and the busiest period for U.S.

09 Sep 2021

US Gulf Coast Grain Exports Slowly Resuming

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Louisiana Gulf Coast grain exports are slowly ramping up after a nearly two-week halt due to damage from Hurricane Ida, with at least two large terminals loading vessels and power steadily being restored to others, government and shipping sources said on Thursday.More than 50 oceangoing vessels have lined up along the lower Mississippi River waiting to dock and be loaded with soybeans or grain, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data and industry vessel lineup summaries seen by Reuters.Restoring shipments from the busiest U.S.

11 Oct 2021

Cargill Loads Soy in Texas After Ida Damages Louisiana Terminal

The first bulk U.S. soybean cargo from the Texas Gulf Coast in about six months was loaded and shipped last week from a Cargill Inc terminal, in a sign of shifting trade flows in the wake of Hurricane Ida, traders and shipping sources said.The vessel Spar Rigel was loaded early last week with about 55,000 tonnes of soybeans at Cargill's Houston terminal, an outlet that typically loads mostly wheat and sorghum grown nearby, according to a shipping vessel lineup seen by Reuters.The uncommon shipment is the first of several soybean cargoes expected to load at Cargill's Texas facility this autumn after one of the company's two terminals at the Louisiana Gulf Coast - the country's top outlet for corn and soy shipped down the Mississippi River - was severely damaged by Ida on Aug.

17 Sep 2021

US Barge Costs Spike Weeks After Hurricane Ida

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Barge freight costs for moving grains in the Midwestern United States spiked on Thursday due to ongoing logistical problems more than two weeks after Hurricane Ida, while CHS Inc said the timeline to reopen its terminal remains uncertain.CHS Inc, a farmer cooperative and grain trader, said it expected its Myrtle Grove, Louisiana, grain export terminal to be operational by the height of the U.S. corn and soy harvest but could not be more specific.The terminal, which unloads grain barges and loads ocean-going vessels for export…