Trade quarrels to boost Russia-China agricultural trade, lobbies and analysts say
Last week China imposed import levies covering $21 billion worth of American agricultural and food products and on Saturday announced tariffs on some Canadian products including peas.
Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here.
"This is a great opportunity for Russia to replace a competitor in the Chinese market, but we have to remember that China has been buying lots of higher quality peas from Canada, so not all our peas will do," Sergei Pluzhnikov, head of Russian Pulses Analytics said.
China became the largest importer of Russian yellow peas in the 2023/24 season, with shipments totalling 1.13 million tons, Rusgrain reported.
Russia does not publish official export statistics.
Some competition could come from Ukraine which earlier this month signed an agreement with China which could pave the way for pea exports.
Russian wheat could also see a growth in sales helping the country move towards its goal of increasing exports of agricultural products by 50 per cent by 2030 relative to 2021. China is one of its most important customers.
WHEAT HOPES
The head of analysis at grain shipment company Rusagrotrans, Igor Pavensky, suggested that the new U.S. tariffs could lead to an expansion of China's imports of Russian spring wheat, possibly before the end of the 2024/25 season (July/June)
Russia has overtaken the U.S. in wheat supplies for the first time this season, having shipped 275,000 tons to China, he noted.
U.S. wheat exports to China so far this season totalled only 139,100 tons, as of Feb. 27, down from 995,600 tons in the same period a year ago, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Wheat has been flowing from Siberia, which had accumulated high stocks, to Black Sea ports at a record pace aided by transport subsidies.
"It is possible that in case of intensified purchases even before the end of the current season, China will start buying large shiploads of Russian wheat from the Black Sea ports", he said.
Previously, wheat was exported to China almost entirely through border crossings and ports of the Far East.
Andrei Sizov, head of the SovEcon agency, said trade conflict with the U.S. could help accelerate China's long-awaited decision to allow imports of Russian winter wheat.
China banned winter wheat imports in the mid-1970s because of the presence of a fungal disease which can reduce crop yields and quality in some parts of Russia.
There have been talks about lifting the ban but it remains in place.
China does allowed spring wheat imports from Russia.
Winter wheat, which has higher yields and is more profitable for farmers, accounts for about 70% of Russia's total wheat harvest.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
41 minutes ago
- Reuters
Iberdrola launches $5.9 bln capital increase to fund grid investments
MADRID, July 23 (Reuters) - Europe's largest utility Iberdrola ( opens new tab on Wednesday launched a 5 billion euro ($5.87 billion) capital increase to help fund investments in power grids in Britain and in the United States. The company plans to increase its annual investments to around 15 billion euros from a current level of around 12 billion euros, building on its shift towards upgrading and expanding power grids in countries where returns are steady and healthy, such as the U.S. and Britain. The cash raised, along with debt, operating cash flow, asset sales and partnerships will help fund the new strategy the company will present in September. The shares offered through a process of accelerated book-building were set to be priced at 15.10 euros, one of the bookrunners said. Iberdrola's share price closed at 15.895 euros on Tuesday. Spain's stock market regulator suspended trading of Iberdrola's shares on Wednesday morning. Separately, the utility said first-half net profit declined 14% from a year earlier, when results included the sale of gas assets in Mexico. Net profit for the period was 3.56 billion euros ($4.18 billion) compared to 4.1 billion euros a year earlier. Excluding one-offs, profit was up 20%, it said. ($1 = 0.8523 euros)
Daily Mirror
44 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
BREAKING: Gangs and people linked to people-smuggling named and shamed with new sanctions
Gang leaders and individuals linked to people-smuggling have been named and shamed today in a world's-first sanctions scheme. The government announced on Wednesday that 25 people "at the heart of people-smuggling networks" have been targeted. They include gang leaders based in the Balkans and North Africa , suppliers of people-smuggling equipment in Asia and money movers in the Middle East, the Foreign Office said. The individuals face having their assets seized and will be banned from entering the UK after being sanctioned. It is the first time any government in the world has announced such a scheme, which is similar to the targeting of Russian oligarchs linked to the invasion of Ukraine. Those named carried out a range of jobs facilitating dangerous crossings - from providing fake passports, transporting engine parts and moving cash. Ministers hope the move will help deliver a hammer blow to an industry which has grown to be worth over £10billion a year in the last five years. UK firms who deal with sanctioned individuals will face hefty fines worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'This is a landmark moment in the government's work to tackle organised immigration crime, reduce irregular migration to the UK, and deliver on the Plan for Change. 'From Europe to Asia we are taking the fight to the people-smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world and making them pay for their actions. "My message to the gangs who callously risk vulnerable lives for profit is this: we know who you are, and we will work with our partners around the world to hold you to account.' It comes days after a landmark treaty was signed with Germany - where gangs have been found to store small boat components - to work together on people smuggling. Announcing the sanctions regime would be put in place earlier this week, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The new sanctions regime marks a decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery. It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece." We'll be bringing you the latest updates on this Breaking Politics News story. Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story HERE. Get email updates on the day's biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following The Mirror every time you see our name.
Reuters
44 minutes ago
- Reuters
Key US electricity price and output trends so far in 2025
LITTLETON, Colorado, July 23 (Reuters) - The first half of 2025 featured a slew of U.S. electricity and power milestones, with generation, demand and retail prices all scaling records during January to June. Below are key data points that track ongoing changes to the U.S. power and electricity sectors, which are being buffeted by historic swings in federal energy policies, rapid clean power deployment and surging consumer and business electricity demand. U.S. electricity production during January to June hit a record in 2025 as output from solar and wind farms scaled all-time highs. Total utility-supplied electricity production during January to June was 2,188 terawatt hours (TWh), which was the highest total on record for the January to June period and up 4% from the same months in 2024, data from Ember shows. A 32% year-over-year surge in solar output, along with record wind farm generation, helped drive clean-energy electricity supplies up 6% from a year ago to 989 TWh. Clean power sources secured a record 45.2% share of total electricity supplies during January to June, compared to a 44.2% share during the same months a year ago. Fossil fuels generated 1,199 TWh of electricity during January to June, or 54.8% of the total. Output from natural gas power plants, which are the largest single power source in the U.S., declined by 4% from the year before following a climb in gas prices early in 2025. To compensate for that drop in gas power, utilities bumped coal-fired power output up 17% during January to June from the same months in 2024. Coal accounted for 16% of power generation, the highest levels for the opening half of the year since 2022. U.S. retail electricity prices also scaled new highs this year, with the price across major U.S. cities averaging 18.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) during the opening half of the year, data from the U.S. Federal Reserve system shows. A combination of factors has been driving U.S. electricity costs steadily higher in recent years, including sustained electricity demand growth from data centers, AI applications, electric vehicles and air conditioners. The average electricity price in June 2025 was 6.7% above the rate in June 2024, which means that household electricity costs have climbed at more than twice the pace of overall U.S. consumer price inflation over that period. In addition to reflecting rising power demand, electricity costs have also climbed due to soaring spending by utilities to upgrade aging power grids which are struggling to accommodate the higher loads as well as growing volumes of renewable power. U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed the policies of previous president Joe Biden for fuelling much of the growth in electricity prices, arguing that the subsidized deployment of renewable power supplies has raised costs for utilities. Republican lawmakers have cited the high electricity prices in California - which has the country's most aggressive clean energy targets - as proof that clean energy goals raise consumer energy bills, and as justification for gutting clean energy support in the latest government budget. Yet electricity price trends so far in 2025 indicate that several states with above-average clean energy supply shares have seen prices fall from a year ago, while states with stout opposition to clean energy have seen prices rise. In California, which has the highest electricity prices of all states, electricity costs have averaged around 31.5 cents/kWh this year compared to just over 32 cents/kWh in 2024, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows. Electricity prices have also declined from a year ago in Iowa, Kansas and Nevada, which have all sharply lifted the supplies of clean power in electricity generation so far this decade. In contrast, states with energy systems that have stifled the growth of clean energy supplies have seen electricity costs rise by far more than the national average so far in 2025. Average prices in Florida - which has banned wind power generation and restricts state support for solar power - have risen by 5% so far this year, to around 14.94 cents/kWh from 14.25 cents/kWh in 2024. Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina and Wisconsin have also seen electricity costs rise by more than the U.S. average so far this year, and have also posted much slower clean energy supply growth than California so far this decade. On average, electricity prices in those states continue to hold below the national average, which was around 16.75 cents/kWh so far this year. But with power demand rising in all states, all utilities will be on the hook to deliver much-needed grid upgrades over the coming years. Some states with large supplies of power from solar and wind farms may be able to avoid further steep electricity price increases over the near term, as generation costs from renewables can be far lower than from fossil fuel plants. But in areas with little to no clean power supplies, utilities may have no choice but to raise consumer electricity costs in order to fund the continued operations of their fossil power plants and make necessary system upgrades. Those utilities will also likely increase their exposure to fossil fuel prices going forward as federal support for clean energy supplies are scrapped and remaining policy measures funnel power expansion options towards fossil fuels. That means that any further increases in gas and coal costs due to rising power demand may also be passed on to consumers, and could further accelerate the rise in customer energy bills in areas that lack significant clean energy supplies. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.
