GRAINCORP Limited in Australia says today it is hoping for a prompt response from the Federal Government to its application for four permits to export wheat next year.

Farmers who support the Canadian Wheat Board's (CWB) monopoly on wheat and barley sales will continue to hold a narrow majority on the agency's board of directors, election results showed at the weekend.

Cereals production in the EU will be down by over 5% in 2006/07 compared to last year because of poor weather conditions, warned the EU farmers union Copa-Cogeca.

Belarusian farms harvested 5.924 mln tonnes of grains that totals 86% from the forecasted index, according to recent data from the Ministry of Statistics and analysis.

President Bush’s plan to power up ethanol production is raising red flags among the nation’s poultry and pig producers. They worry that rapidly increasing the ethanol production will further push up prices for corn, the main animal feed grain.

Once again soaring demand from the ethanol industry is reducing US maize supplies, keeping prices near 10-year highs. This trend makes it difficult for analysts to estimate how much of the feed grain will be available at the end of the year.