BRICS foreign ministers call for full implementation of Black Sea Grain Initiative 

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…

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Russia continues to limit grain shipments from Ukrainian ports, Hungary asks EU to continue import curbs

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…

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Mexico moves to trade dispute settlement consultations to fight US GM corn dispute after formal consultations fail

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…

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Brazil’s BRF draws share pledges from Saudi Arabia’s Salic and Marfrig

BRAZIL-Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co. (SALIC) and Marfrig have each committed to purchasing 250 million shares in any “future primary” share offering by Brazilian meat giant BRF. BRF has a potential US$900 million stock offering and these two players will be taking up the majority of this offering.  SALIC, which was formed in 2011 to secure food supplies for…

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First Mills announces the final IPO price at US$16 per share, attracts bids worth US$18.35m

SAUDI ARABIA – First Milling Company (First Mills), a market-leading milling firm in Saudi Arabia along with financial advisor SNB Capital has announced it has determined the final price for its initial public offering (IPO) at SAR 60 (US$16) per share to trade on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul). According to World Grain, the company has successively raised US$266m (SAR999m) in…

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Turkish İmas expands milling machinery business with a new office in Istanbul

TURKEY- İmas, a publicly traded Turkish machinery manufacturer, has launched a new office in Levent, Istanbul to better cater to its growing demand for grain and feed milling machinery operations.  The company, which has been on the Istanbul Stock Exchange since April 2022,  has been growing with new investments.  Currently based in Konya city, the company has a high capacity…

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Desert wells in Iraq translate to bumper wheat crop harvest as rivers dry, but experts cast doubts on its sustainability 

IRAQ- Prolonged drought has caused rivers in Iraq to dry up, forcing Iraqi farmers to rely on groundwater for farming, which has translated to a bumper harvest and increased cultivation in the country.  Iraq’s government says this officially-supported shift to wells has allowed the country to double areas cultivated with wheat this year to about 850,000 hectares compared to roughly…

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Alapala’s Depart partners with HBTS to expand vertical packaging solutions in Africa and Asia

TURKEY – Depart, Alapala Holding’s group company for milling spare part sales and after-sales services has partnered with Italian HBTS Packaging to expand its solutions to include vertical packaging. Under the agreement, Depart will manage the sales and marketing of HBTS’s vertical packaging machines in all of Africa, the Far East, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The horizontal/flow-back packaging…

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Canadian pension funds endorse US$25bln Viterra-Bunge merger as Viterra supports hunger project in Canada 

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…

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USGC advocates for DDGS use by Mexican swine producer, former chair is appointed to MAIZALL board  

MEXICO- The US Grains Council recently toured Mexico and convinced Keken, a mega Mexican swine producer, to restart the use of distillers’ dried grains with solubles (DDGS). The USGC held face-to-face meetings with leaders from Kekén, during which the Council addressed quality concerns that caused them to stop using DDGS half a decade ago.  The USGC also put the fully-integrated…

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