PED in Oxford County

There has been an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus at a farrow-to-wean facility in Oxford County.

CFIA lifts quarantine in North Perth

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has lifted the quarantine zone in put in place in North Perth Dec. 16 because of an outbreak of avian influenza in a poultry flock.

Kraft-Heinz to upgrade Montreal plant

 

Kraft-Heinz announced it is going to invest $250 million to refurbish its facility in Montreal.

It employs 1,000 people running 41 manufacturing lines making everything from peanut butter to salad dressings.

“Our business in Canada is doing very well,” Simon Laroche, who leads Kraft Heinz in Canada. “As we’re looking at our three to five year plans, what we have right now is not enough to meet Canadian demand and needs.”

Laroche said the company wants to make more Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Heinz ketchup and also wants to bring innovation to existing products to meet changing consumer preferences, including offering more packaging sizes to meet different shopper budgets.

More AAFC cuts coming

More cuts are coming, said Milton Dyck, president of the union representing workers at Agriculture and AgriFood Canada.

Some of that is public, such as an already-announced budget cuts of about $350 million over the next three years.

The plans include staff cuts of 665 workers of which about 450 work in science, research and innovation.

That calculation is based on current staffing of 5,134 people.

The next largest group, 1,538, work on internal services.

James Neven appointed to farm products commission

James Neven, long-time director of the Ontario Greenhouse Growers marketing board, has been appointed to a two-year term on the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission.

He has resigned from the veggie board.

"James has been a thoughtful, principled, and highly engaged leader on our Board," said Steve Peters, chairman of the OGVG.

"He consistently advocated for Ontario's greenhouse vegetable growers and brought a collaborative approach to complex issues. We are grateful for his service and proud to see him represent our sector at the provincial level."

He is the first greenhouse vegetable grower to gain a seat on the commission.

He farms Neven Produce Inc. at Lynden.

Burrows to head Grain Growers of Canada

Bruce Burrows will take over as executive director of Grain Growers of Canada on April 1.

He takes over from Kyle Larkin who left in December.

Ontario rejoined the organization earlier this year.

Burrows has been president and chief executive officer of the Chamber of Marine Commerce and vice president and acting president and chief executive officer of the Railway Association of Canada. He also has experience in consulting and policy through Tactix Government Relations and BurCan Consulting.

Burrows said it is “a real honour to join Grain Growers of Canada and represent the interests of grain farmers across the country.”

“Strong advocacy starts with strong connections, and I look forward to strengthening those relationships by working with producers and members across Canada to ensure their priorities continue to be clearly heard in Ottawa,” he said.

Egg production increased despite avian influenza

Despite avian influenza outreaks that have claimed more than 17million Canadian birds since 2021, Egg Farmers of Canada reported that its supply-management members had 2.92 million more birds last year than the year before.

Of that, 1.5 million were granted them on a temporary basis to make up for the disease losses and the higher cost of eggs that used to be imported from the United States when its prices were much lower than Canadian prices. The U.S. was hit so hard by avian flu that President Donald Trump promised consumers that he would bring egg prices back down.

Canadian egg production increased by 7.6 per cent last year to 937 million dozen, with retail egg sales up by 5.8 per cent and foodservice demand up 2.6 per cent. 

The Egg Farmers of Canada marketing board credited its “Eggs Everywhere” advertising with reducing them number of households consuming six or fewer eggs per week. That number was down by four per cent.

At the end of last year, about 53 per cent of laying hens were out of conventional caged housing. A number of supermarkets and fast-food chains have announced deadlines after which they will not buy eggs if the hens are housed in conventional cages.

Poultry researchers get some federal funds

The poultry research team at the University of Saskatchewan are getting federal funds for a new poultry research facility.

The government said the research should help producers with the shift to different housing methods, such as free range, because of retail-industry bans from birds raised in conventional housing.

The money for the poultry research comes from a different direction than Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada which recently announced controversial research funding cuts and closure of seven research centres.

This money is from The Canadian Foundation for Innovation’s  Innovation Fund.

What I wonder is why the millionaire quota holders don't fund their own research. After all, they boast that they don't need subsidies like other non-supply-management commodities require.

Change to temporary foreign workers program dissed

 

The federal government’s announcement that it will allow more temporary foreign workers for jobs in rural areas is meeting resistance from Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan who say they were not consulted.

The federal government will allow employers in rural areas to take up to 10 per cent of their workforce under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program.

“As B.C. was not consulted prior to the announcement of federal policy change, we need to consider it carefully and do analysis of the federal announcement before deciding whether or not the province will opt in,” a spokesperson at B.C.’s Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills said.

Premier David Eby said “the idea that the solution to the challenges we face is an expansion of this program is, frankly, a bit frustrating.”

The provinces have often asked for an increase of the program that lets them choose the candidates, Last year the federal government cut that number in half.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is among the groups that have lobbied hard for more temporary foreign workers to be brought into the country. It said rural employers in particular are struggling with staffing issues because Canadians are unwilling to move to remote regions for work.

Ford announces rural subsides

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced $29 million for infrastructure projects in Wellington and Perth Counties when he was I Kenilworth recently.

The Municipality of West Perth is getting $2,053,125 for the Herbert Street Sewage Pumping Station, helping to sustain service for some 2,378 homes.

The Township of Wellington North is getting $26,097,500 to expand the Arthur Wastewater Treatment Plant and upgrade the associated forcemain, as well as replace and expand the Drayton Sewage Pumping Station in Mapleton, ensuring long-term service sustainability for 2,330 existing homes.

The Township of Perth East is getting $675,250 for the Milverton Well Replacement and Reservoir Rehabilitation, supporting 850 homes with improved water security. 

Countries pushing back on Trump’s latest tariff threats

 

Countries are pushing back on United States President Donald Trump’s threat to use new avenues to impose tariffs after the Supreme Court ruled his emergency-measures tariffs were bogus.

The United States has now turned to investigations of “structural excess capacity” in 15 countries and the European Union, some of which has negotiated new trade deals.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced last week that his office (USTR) had launched formal investigations to determine if American commerce was harmed by possible “unreasonable or discriminatory” practices in China, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, India and the EU. 

The probes are required under Section 301 of U.S. trade law before tariffs can be imposed. The investigation process requires several months but could give President Donald Trump new power to impose tariffs after the July expiration of the current Section 122 tariffs, which are also facing court challenges.

China recently called the Section 301 investigations “extremely ​unilateral, arbitrary ​and discriminatory, and ​a typical protectionist act.”

An additional Section 301 investigation was started on forced labor in 60 countries, targeting the EU and Britain, key meat trading partners including Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, as well as China, Brazil, Argentina and a wide range of emerging markets across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

“The ‌U.S. has once again abused the 301 investigation process to override domestic law over international rules,” a Chinese government spokesperson said.

AgriStats settles multiple lawsuits

 

AgriStats has reached out-of-court settlements on federal government charges for price-fixing for chicken, turkey and pork.

No details, such as the amounts of monies, have been revealed.

AgriStats was included in private-sector price-fixing class-action lawsuits for the meats but has so far not reached settlements on those cases. It maintains it did not nothing wrong.

The company gathered information on production volumes and pricing and shared it among meat-packing companies.

                           

CFIA suspends a licence

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended the licence held by 9523-1023 Québec Inc. of Contrecoeur, Quebec.

The CFIA said it failed to provide documents and access to data.

The company imports food.

Farmers worry about rising costs

War in the Middle East is pushing up global prices for fertilizer and fuel, prompting Ontario farm leaders to worry about this year’s crops.

Drew Spoelstra, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture said prices for fertilizers and diesel fuel have already risen because the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked by Iran because it has been attacked by Israel and the United States.

He was interviewed by CBC Radio Kitchener-Waterloo.

Jeff Harrison, chairman of Grain Farmers of Ontario, told another reporter that “farmers just aren’t 100 per cent clear on how this is totally going to affect them” but prices have clearly risen. Whether there will be supply disruptions is not yet clear.

About a third of the world’s nitrogen fertilizer usually comes through the Strait of Hormuz.

While not much of that likely is destined for delivery to Canadian farmers in time for spring planting.

When global prices rise, so do Canadian prices, even for fertilizers made locally. The same is true for diesel fuel.

Farm Credit Canada estimated that fertilizer prices went up by $100 a tonne when Canada banned imports from Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Raw cheddar cheese sickens children

Some children younger than three years are among seven Americans sickened with E. coli food poisoning after consuming raw-milk cheddar cheese made by RAW FARM of California.

Health officials said at least seven people have fallen ill.

People have been sickened in California, Texas and Florida, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Of the seven reported cases, five were in California, one in Florida and another in Texas.

 

RAW FARM is a family-owned company recognized as the nation’s largest producer of raw dairy products.

Tribunal to probe veggie imports

 

The Canadian Association of Vegetable Growers and Processors, has persuaded the federal government to investigate imports of frozen vegetables. There has  been an increase since suppliers have faced barriers into other global markets.

 The Canadian International Trade Tribunal will conduct the inquiry, said federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne .

The CITT will have 180 days to decide if imports of frozen and canned vegetables are harming or threatening to cause harm to domestic growers and processors. If so, it will propose remedies to the federal government. In its notice of inquiry, the CITT said anyone wanting to make submissions to the tribunal on this matter must file notice by April 2 of their intent to do so, and it will hold its hearing on the inquiry in Ottawa starting June 15.

 

It has also been asked to consider impacts to food affordability and security for Canadians.

The association said Canadians have been “facing a sudden surge of low-priced imports that is disrupting the Canadian market. Temporary, rules-based safeguard measures will restore fair competition and allow Canadian growers and processors to compete on equal terms.”

Such measures, it said, “will help stabilize supply chains that retailers and consumers depend on.”

More foreign workers allowed in rural areas

 

The federal government will allow rural employers to have up to 15 per cent of their workforce to be temporary foreign workers.

The new higher rate applies only in eligible rural regions. That's up from a current cap of 10 per cent, the government said in a news release.

Such employers will also be able to retain any temporary foreign workers currently on staff.

The government said provinces and territories will need to opt in, in order for the measures to take effect in their jurisdictions. For those that do, these changes could be "implemented within two weeks of a positive request," according to the news release. 

The measures will stay in effect through the end of March next year.

The government says the measures are necessary in parts of the country where businesses are struggling to find the people they need.

"Canadians must always be first in line for available jobs, but in some rural regions employers are facing persistent labour shortages," said Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu.

                           

 

 

Food inflation continues

 

While the overall Canadian inflation rate declined to 1.8 per cent in February from 2.3 per cent in January, food inflalion continued at more than double that rate.

In February, the grocery store inflation rate was 4.1 per cent, down from 4.8 per cent in January. But restaurant meal prices rose by 7.8 per cent in February.

The war on Iran and resulting oil shipment disruptions are almost certain to be reflected in higher inflation in March.

PDCoV outbreak his Huron farm

 

Porcine Deltacoronavirus has broken out in a finisher barn in Huron County.

Maple Leaf sales and profits up

Maple Leaf Foods has reported fourth quarter sales growth of 8.1 per cent derived from a  6.1 per cent increase in prepared foods sales and 13.1 per cent in poultry sales.

Its profit for the quarter rose by 8.3 per cent to $117 million.

The sales total was $991.2 million compared with $917.1 million for the same quarter the year before.

For the year, sales were $3,913 million compared with $3,633 million last year, an increase of 7.7 per cent and earnings were $542 million  compared with $97 million the year before.

During the year it spun off its hog production and pork slaughter business as Canada Packers.

Ted Arnott appointed to veterinary council

 

Ted Arnott who was the Conservative party representative for part of Wellington County for 35 years has been appointed to a three-year term on the Council of the College of Veterinarians.

The Council regulates the practice of veterinary medicine and establishes, maintains and develops standards of knowledge, skill and professional ethics among its members.

Arnott is active in a number of community organizations in Elora, Fergus and area.

Hormel wants tariff money returned

 

Hormel Foods has sued United States Customs and Border Protection and the federal government in the U.S. Court of International Trade, seeking refunds of tariffs it paid under trade measures imposed by President Donald Trump last year.

Hormel arguezs the tariffs were unlawfully imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the company said does not authorize presidents to levy import duties.

Hormel said it paid the duties as an importer of record on merchandise subject to the tariffs and sought a court order declaring the tariffs unlawful and requiring the government to refund all IEEPA duties it has already paid, along with interest.

The company based in Austin, Minnesota, said the lawsuit was necessary because it was unclear whether importers would automatically receive refunds even if higher courts ultimately agree the tariffs were unlawful. 

Hormel also said entries subject to the duties would soon begin to liquidate, potentially making the tariff payments final without judicial relief.

Broad coalition questions ag. research cuts

 A collation of 20 farm organizations, led by the National Farmers Union, is calling on the federal government to reconsider its recent announcement that it intends to close 17 research centres.

“We are calling for an immediate pause on closures and employee terminations for a minimum of 24 months so the government can take time to re-evaluate closures and cuts in areas that are crucial, protect irreplaceable components of the research system, or offer enhancements to Canada’s agriculture landscape that may have been overlooked;” said an NFU news release supported by the 20 farm groups.

It also asked for “full transparency regarding the decision-making process leading up to the cuts, including full disclosure of any impact analysis done; and meaningful engagement with farm organizations to develop a long-term strategy for Canada’s public agricultural research infrastructure.”

The 20 supporters are:

Alberta Federation of Agriculture

Alberta-British Columbia Seed Growers

Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN)

British Columbia Fruit Growers Association

BC Organic

Canada Organic Trade Association

Canadian Organic Growers

Canadian Seed Growers Association

Centre d'expertise et de transfert en agriculture biologique et de proximité

Coop Agrobio du Québec

Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario

Farmers for Climate Solutions

Manitoba Forage Seed Association Inc.

Manitoba Organics

Manitoba Seed Growers Association

National Farmers Union

Ontario Organic

Saskatchewan Seed Growers' Association

SaskOrganics Association Inc.

SeedChange

 

PED in Wellington County

Swine Health Ontario reported an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus at a finisher barn in Wellington County.

Seven appointed to animal care board

 

Seven people have been appointed to two-year terms on the Animal Care Review Board.

They are Tugba Karademir of Orillia, Brian Killick of Sarnia, Elizabeth Kirby or Orillia, Adrienne Curran of Ottawa, Karina Vilner of Thornhill, Sarah Colman of Stratford and Sara Brown of Haldimand.

They are all lawyers except Brown who is a paralegal.

The board hears appeals from people whose animals have been seized by inspectors or who face disciplines.

Sobey’s owner posts a loss

 

Sobey’s parent Empire Co. Ltd, reported increased sales in the third quarter, but one-time charges related to a major shift in its e-commerce Voilà operations resulted in a net loss.

Besides Sobey's,  Empire owns Safeway, IGA, Farm Boy and FreshCo stores.

It wrote off $746-million because the online business failed to meet financial expectations.

“While this impacted reported earnings, it resets the cost structure and sharpens our focus on profitable growth,” chief executive officer Pierre St-Laurent said during a conference call.

Its sales increased by 10 per cent to $79 billion, but the loss was $385 million compared with a profit of $146 million for the same quarter last year.

Katilo Roomy on recall

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s testing detected salmonella food-poisoning bacteria in Katilo Roomy.

It is under recall from distribution in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunwick.

Katila Roomy is a popular brand of traditional Egyptian aged hard cheese made from cow's milk.

                  -30-

ICIM Halloumi cheese on recall

 

ICIM brand Halloumi cheese is on recall from Quebec to British Columbia.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it may contain sheep or goat milk.

Farners voice concerns about B.C. time policy

 

Some British Columbia’s farmers face challenges because the province has adopted year-round Daylight Saving Time.

Peter Mithlin who reports for Country Life in B,C, farm newspaper said it will delay the start of work on many farms because it will still be dark up until 9:30 in southern parts of the province,

It will also put the province out of synch with customers and suppliers in Oregon and Washington State and will disrupt some companies with operations on both sides of the Canadian border with the United States.

The BC Landscape and Nursery Association (BCLNA)plans to join with other organizations to lobby the government to reconsider its move.

“There was very little consultation before this announcement was made,” BCLNA said in a newsletter to members this month.

Reduced visibility is always an issue in winter, and those issues will be exacerbated by the time change, it said.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) and other business groups have spoken out against BC’s unilateral move, noting that just 19 per cent of respondents to a 2019 provincial consultation favoured going solo on the change. Government at the time promised to wait until neighbouring jurisdictions agreed to move, “to avoid any economic disruption and disadvantage.”create an additional headache for businesses operating on both sides of the border,” GVBOT president and CEO Bridgitte Anderson says.

While the provincial consultation found that 92 per cent of farmers favoured a permanent shift to Daylight Saving Time, Jack Bates of Tecarte Farms in Delta told Country Life in BC at the time he was ambivalent.

People will work with the light they’ve got, he noted, and the livestock wouldn’t care. But safety could be an issue, particularly with longer hours of darkness in the morning.

“On those dark, dreary days in December and into January, it might not be light until 9:30, so it might be dark when kids are going to school. It might be a safety issue,” he said. “There’s a reason why it changed, and everyone’s forgotten that.”

Purdue fails to quash grower lawsuit

 Purdue Farms has once again failed to quash a lawsuit filed by two North Carolina ohicken contract growers’ who allege the company retaliated against them for their role in crtitizing the company.

The way chicken processors deal with contract growers has been the subject of many criticisms including documentary films such as Morgan 

Spurlock’s Super Sizer Me 2.

The federal judge rejected Perdue Farms’ constitutional challenge to Labor Department whistleblower proceedings 

Judge Louise Flanagan dismissed Perdue’s claims in closely related cases involving Fairmont-area growers Craig Watts and Rudy Howell. The ruling came more than a year after a judge denied Perdue’s requests for preliminary injunctions.

Watts and Howell had filed whistleblower complaints alleging Perdue retaliated against them after they raised public concerns about the company’s poultry growing practices. Watts’ complaint stemmed from actions taken after he publicized animal welfare concerns in 2014, while Howell’s case followed the termination of his grower contract in 2020 after he invited advocates to observe and film conditions on his farm.

Perdue had sought to block the Labor Department’s administrative proceedings, arguing they violated multiple constitutional provisions, including the Seventh Amendment and Articles I, II and III of the Constitution, as well as the Fifth Amendment.

Flanagan rejected those arguments, ruling that most of Perdue’s claims failed on the merits. She dismissed one claim and parts of another without prejudice for lack of standing, but otherwise sided with the Labor Department and the growers.

The judge said the Food Safety Modernization Act’s whistleblower process did not violate Perdue’s jury trial rights and that the company had not shown compensable harm from the administrative law judge removal protections it challenged. She also found Perdue lacked standing to pursue some of its due process and nondelegation arguments.

The order granted summary judgment motions filed by Watts, Howell and federal defendants, denied Perdue’s summary judgment motions and directed the clerk to close both federal court cases.

The decision left the underlying Labor Department whistleblower proceedings intact.

Purdue Farms is a family-owned business.

One rabid bat in February

 

Out of 105 samples submitted, one bat tested positive for rabies in Ontario in February.

It is the first case of rabies in the province so far this year.

Canada-wide there have been nine cases, six of them raccoons in Quebec and three bats with one each for Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Chicken hearing cancelled

 

The appeal Maple Leaf Foods Inc. filed against the Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board has been cancelled.

No reason for the appeal or the cancellation is included in the notice from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeals Tribunal.

The appeal has been on the docket since last fall.

Grain elevator converting to fertilizer

V6 Agronomy is converting the grain elevator at Johnstown to handle specialty fertilizer imports.

The site is on the St. Lawrence River Seaway about 100 kilometers south of Ottawa.

Much of the fertilizer will be loaded on trains to haul it to Western Canada. It will also serve Eastern Ontario by truck and some U.S. markets.

V6 is a Canadian developer of compound and specialty fertilizers. The company was founded in 2012 and has been operating an inland fertilizer terminal in Wilcox, Sask., since 2020.

The converted elevator will be called the Odyssey Terminal. It is owned by Edwardsburgh Cardinal Township..

The first phase of development features a 20,000-tonne fertilizer storage building that can accommodate a full Handysize bulk carrier vessel.

Global food prices up

 

Global food prices crept up last month, reported the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

It’s index rose by nine-tenths of one per cent to stand at 125.3 points, ending five months of declines.

Vegetable oil prices jumped, and meat and cereals rose, outweighing declines in quotes for dairy and sugar. 

Overall food prices are one per cent lower than a year ago and 21.8 per cent below the March 2022 peak.

Tobacco growers in for a windfall

 

Tobacco growers could be in for a windfall from the national tobacco settlement of $32.5 billion last March.

The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Council has posted a notice that it intends to make the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Marketing Board responsible to getting the money to qualified growers. 

The public has until April 20 to comment on the proposal.

The notice does not say how much money to board will receive for distribution to growers.

Pistachio importer’s licence suspended

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended the licence of pistachio importer Alimentation du Canada Inc. of Laval, Que.

The CFIA said the company failed to implement the recall procedure for imported pistachio products, and failed to record any information demonstrating the effectiveness of the recall. 

Pistachios from Iran have been subjected to scores of recalls this year because of salmonella food-poisoning contamination.

Cattleytics makes Dragon Den pitch

The developers of Cattleytics software for dairy farmers failed to win any backing during an appearance on the CBC Dragon’s Den television show, but are pleased they got a change to put agriculture in front of a large Canadian audience.

Shari Van Pol of Dundas said they were in it more for publicity than money the panel members might invest in the software that helps analyse data and management.

She is the founder and chief executive officer, but caught a lot of attention when Mac and Rose Jakeman brought an Ayrshire cow to the studio on the 10^th storey of the CBC office.

The dragons understood the value, and congratulated van de Pol on being able to build the company she has without outside investors. They were impressed by the amount of government funding she was able to find.

“Doing that as a solo founder is nothing short of amazing,” said dragon Tara  Bosch.

Van Pol asked for $1.2 million to grow her company.

                                    

 

CFIA posts beef marbling proposals

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has posted proposals to amend beef grading standards to clarify marbling definitions.

The proposals are open for public comment until April 3.

The Canadian Beef Grading Agency said grades will remain as they are for beef, veal and bison.

The proposed amendment does not change the current marbling standards for Canada A, Canada AA, Canada AAA or Canada Prime carcasses, nor does it change the application of these standards by CBGA graders.

Briefly, the CBGA believes that it would be beneficial to provide additional clarification on the different degrees of marbling in the Grades Document, the agency said.

The degrees of marbling are fundamental in both the Canadian and American beef grading systems and are identical between the two systems for Canada AA to Canada Prime, it said.

Credit Valley has a new hazard map

 

The Credit Valley Conservation Authority said it has updated its watershed mapping which could mean property owners will need a permit for projects.

The maps outline areas that are prone to flooding and erosion.

The new map reduced the protected area by about 15 per cent so 28,687 hectares remain in the regulated areas.

The new map is available on the CVC’s website at cvc.ca/RegulationMappingUpdate.

War ups fertilizer prices

Reuters news agency said the world’s farmers face soaring fertilizer and fuel prices as the war in the Middle East escalates, leaving some scrambling for supplies as the spring planting season approaches.

The war, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz, has shut down fertilizer plants in the region and severely disrupted shipping routes, potentially curbing supplies to key importers around the world .

Europe. China, India and Australia will likely be more impacted by fertilizer shortages for this year’s planting season than farmers in Canada and the United States. Their suppliers either produce on the continent or have most of their imported stocks en route or in place.

Shipments from the Middle East are likely to drop not only because transit through the Strait of Hormuz has all but stopped, but also due to cuts in production.

Qatar Energy has had to stop production at the world’s largest single-site urea plant, as it lost its source of natural gas feedstock after the company shut down gas output due to attacks on its LNG facilities.

At the same time, sulfur output has been cut in other parts of the Middle East.