Country News
Australia: The Australia Bureau of Agriculture has reported that the barley harvest will surpass an earlier September estimate of 7.7 MMT and may total some 8.6 MMT this year, according to Bloomberg News.
China: China is still evaluating a cargo of U.S.-sourced GMO corn, reports Reuters. The strain in question is Syngenta MIR162, which China was originally expected to approve for importation in March 2012. The strain has been approved in Japan, South Korea, Russia and the EU.
France: Tunisia has purchased 100,000 MT of French feed wheat and 75,000 MT of barley, reports Reuters.
Japan: The Ministry of Agriculture announced that it received no bids for the importation of feed wheat and barley in a tender that closed Wednesday, according to Reuters. The government sought 120,000 MT of feed wheat and 200,000 MT of feed barley and will seek the same amount in a tender to be held on December 11.
Ukraine: China and Ukraine signed an agreement that could bring Ukraine $8 billion in investments, according to Reuters. The agricultural aspect of the agreement focused on ensuring a steady supply of Ukrainian barley, corn and wheat to the Chinese market.
Zimbabwe: Reduced production in tandem with droughts and floods have cause a critical food shortage in Zimbabwe, reports Bloomberg News. Corn production has fallen to 800,000 MT, which is down from 1.4 MMT two years ago. Grain prices have jumped to 53 cents per kg, which is up from 33 cents per kg one year ago. The government has imported 130,000 MT of corn since May from South Africa, while Zambia has pledged to export 150,000 MT to the country