Imports and Exports

Here’s the latest from the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates:

Rice prices have declined for several years because of competition from huge rice producers like Vietnam and Thailand as well as increases in agricultural productivity that have boosted supplies. Over the past few decades, hundreds of rice farmers in Southeast Texas have given up the crop entirely but that could soon change.

Broader trade talks have moved slowly amid political spats.

Demand and increasing that demand both domestically and internationally may be the biggest topic of all among farmers this year. We discussed how to make that happen with the chief executives of each of the grain associations.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday that the 43,000 pound shipment of rice from Pakistan was infested with Khapra beetle larvae. Authorities say only dead larvae were found.

Canadian wheat growers will probably reduce output by 26 percent this year and canola production will also fall, the government’s statistics agency said today.

Weather phenomenon closely watched by commodities traders.

The future of soybeans is in doubt as the profit and yield spreads between the two crops increase.

Storage capacity and transportation explain some aberrations

Rising household incomes, increasing production and favorable trade policies have led to major growth in U.S. agricultural exports in the past several decades.