No.1 Grains Industry Magazine & Website for Africa & the Middle East
ZIMBABWE – The Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX), a commodity marketplace, has announced that its Warehouse Receipt System has been conferred with Liquid Asset Status by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). According to ZMX, a liquid asset is an asset that can be easily converted into cash in a short amount of time. Liquid assets include things like cash, money…
Read More
SOUTH AFRICA- The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) foreign ministers concluded their meeting at Cape Town in South Africa, calling for full and effective implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. These leaders strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations whenever, wherever, and by whomsoever committed. The foreign minister recognized the threat emanating from terrorism…
Read More
GLOBAL – The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Cereal Price Index declined nearly 5% in May, its lowest in two years, underpinned by significant drops in the price indices for vegetable oils and cereals. According to FAO, the decline was led by a 9.8% drop in corn due to a favorable production outlook along with sluggish demand for…
Read More
UKRAINE- Ukrainian officials say that Russia continues to block the recently renewed Black Sea Grain Initiative by halting the registration of ships to all Ukrainian ports, according to a Reuters report. According to the UN, only 33 ships departed from Ukrainian ports in May, half the number compared to April. Moreover, the average daily inspection rate for ships had fallen…
Read More
MEXICO- The Mexican government said it would counter U.S. arguments over agriculture biotech measures, including plans to limit its use of genetically modified (GM) corn, in trade dispute settlement consultations on Friday. The consultation was requested by Washington as the two countries inch toward a full-blown trade dispute under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) over Mexico’s policies to limit the use…
Read More
CANADA- Two pension funds, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and British Columbia Investment Management Corp, have declared their support of the potential Viterra-Bunge merger, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported. The possible merger would create a US$25 billion behemoth that will be one of the largest global commodity traders. According to the anonymous source, these…
Read More
EGYPT – Egypt has deferred payments for its large wheat purchases, a move aimed to relieve financial pressures as the country grapples with a shortage of foreign currency, raising concerns among traders as Reuters reports. According to traders, delayed payments for state-purchased wheat, a top priority commodity, were unprecedented as they were stretching to months. Aly Moselhy, Supply and Internal…
Read More
NIGERIA – AFEX, Nigeria’s first private agricultural commodities exchange player has announced plans to raise US$65 million to fund its expansion plan into seven new African countries in a bid to capitalize on the growth in intra-African trade. According to Eficon Agency, the leading private agricultural commodity exchange is making a strategic move as it looks to take advantage of…
Read More
ARGENTINA- Substantial rains in recent days in major Argentine agricultural areas have improved the outlook for the South-American country’s 2023-24 wheat crop, Reuters reported, citing the Buenos Aires grains exchange. After a severe drought devastated Argentina’s 2022/23 corn and soybean crops, continuing dry conditions could have threatened to set back the planting of the country’s 2023/24 winter wheat crop. Therefore,…
Read More
USA – Glencore-owned global grain trader Viterra is in talks concerning a possible merger with U.S. rival Bunge Ltd- a strategic move that will potentially form one of the most formidable international grain merchants, Reuters reported, quoting people familiar with the matter. These talks come a while after Glencore had publicly said it was reviewing options for its interest in…
Read More