Country News
Brazil: The government eliminated the import tax (10 percent) for up to six months on a maximum of one million tons of corn. A short safrinha corn crop could encourage the planting of more first crop corn in September rather than soybeans. (Bloomberg and Reuters)
Canada: 2016 oat seeded area will be 2.972 million acres of oats, down by 365,000 acres from last year; pea and lentil area will expand. Also projected is an increase in corn plantings by 6.2 percent to 3.477 million acres from 3.275 million acres last year. (Stats Canada)
European Union: Brussels may impose duties on corn as import prices have fallen below the trigger level of €157/MT (155 percent of intervention). (Reuters)
Pakistan: The government has reversed an earlier decision to allow the sale of GM corn seeds that are herbicide tolerant and insect resistant. The decision had encountered strong criticism. (WPI)
South Africa: Drought prompted South Africa to buy white corn from the U.S. for the first time in 12 years. In the current marketing year, which ends April 30th, South Africa has imported over 70,000 tons of white maize from Mexico and Zambia. (South Africa Grain Information Service; Bloomberg)
Zambia: The National Bio-Safety Authority has given the Shoprite supermarket chain authority to import food stuffs containing GMOs. (Daily Mail)