POLISH FARMERS’ ACTIONS ANGER UKRAINE
The Ukrainian government is urging Polish leaders to punish its farmers who on Feb. 11 at a border checkpoint stopped three trucks carrying inbound Ukraine grain and dumped it onto the highway, Reuters reported. The incident, which occurred near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint and was part of an ongoing 30-day strike to protest European Union agricultural policies, drew an angry response from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Czeslaw Sikierski, Poland’s minister of agriculture, said in a statement obtained by Reuters: “On behalf of Polish farmers, I apologize for such an act of desperation and ask for understanding of their exceptionally difficult situation.”
(Link: WorldGrain)
BRAZIL’S CORN, SOY OUTLOOK TRIMMED
The forecast for corn and soybean production in Brazil was trimmed from January’s outlook as El Niño’s adverse effects have impacted the crops. Conab lowered Brazil’s 2023-24 soybean crop projection to 149.4 million tonnes from 155.2 million in its January report. Total corn production was pegged at 113.7 million tonnes, below January’s 117.6 million. If realized, February’s soybean production estimate would be a drop of 3.4% compared to the 2022-23 cycle, according to Conab, which had projected Brazil’s soybean harvest at 162 million tonnes when the season began.
A lack of rain at the onset of the season in Brazil’s center-west, southeast, and Matopiba regions, followed by irregular and unevenly spread rains, took a toll, the agency said. Conab cited dry spells lasting more than 20 days in some areas, in addition to high temperatures, as factors spoiling the soy and first-corn production in central Brazil. Brazil is by far the world’s largest producer and exporter of soybeans, having surpassed the United States in those categories in recent years, with most of the exports expected to go to the world’s biggest importer, China.
(Link: WorldGrain)
