Global Ag News For Feb 25.2026

TOP HEADLINES

Israel Plans to Boost US Wheat Imports in Tariff Relief Bid

Israel plans to make further trade concessions to the US on food and agricultural goods, as part of efforts to persuade its closest ally to ease tariffs on exports from the Jewish state.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government intends to scrap a tax-free quota and raise levies to 50% on wheat-feed imported from countries other than the US starting in April, Israel’s deputy trade commissioner Yifat Alon Perel told Bloomberg.

Officials hope that boosting the competitiveness of US wheat against Israel’s traditional suppliers — the largest of them being Russia — will help clinch a deal to ease tariffs on goods shipped to the US. These have remained in place even after Netanyahu, who enjoys a close relationship with Trump, said all duties on US products would be removed.

Plans to give the US an edge on wheat imports were undisturbed by the US Supreme Court’s decision Friday to strike down President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, which he swiftly replaced.

The latest round of talks between the two countries took place in Washington in early February and continued “in a very positive trajectory,” said Perel, who heads Israel’s negotiating team.

Israel is pushing to lower its 15% tariff, but assumes the end point won’t be zero in the coming years. Negotiators are instead focused on bringing the rate down by 50% and carving out a tax-free regime for a few leading sectors, Trade Commissioner Roey Fisher said. He refused to specify the sectors being considered.

Speaking at Bloomberg’s Future of Israel’s Capital Markets Forum in Tel Aviv, Fisher said he believes tariffs are here to stay as part of Trump’s new doctrine.

“We need to realize that 15% is the new zero,” Fisher said.

Israel imports almost all of the wheat it consumes, primarily from the Black Sea basin. Russia accounted for 60% of all wheat imports last year, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture.

Separately, Israel is planning to spend up to 600 million shekels ($193 million) over the next decade subsidizing freight costs on human-grade, or milling, wheat imported from the US, an Israeli official familiar with the government’s thinking said, asking not to be identified discussing ongoing negotiations. Wheat for human consumption is duty free for all exporters.

The US Trade Representative’s office did not respond to requests to comment. Subsidies on US freight costs were first reported by Israeli newspaper Globes.

Incentives on US wheat purchases expand on a free-trade agreement between Israel and the US, revised in December to include food and agricultural goods previously left out to protect farmers. A limited group of some 30 items like apples, almonds or cherries will gradually become tax free over the course of a decade to allow Israeli growers time to prepare.

Israel had a trade surplus, excluding services, of $7.4 billion with the US as of 2024, according to the US Trade Representative. Last year Israel’s goods surplus narrowed to $6.7 billion, according to data released earlier this month in Washington.

Farmers Concerned

The plans have raised concerns in Israel that the end of tariffs on US agricultural goods will negatively impact the local sector. Members of a parliamentary committee are holding up the approval of the revised free-trade agreement with the US and are making it contingent on the government committing to compensate farmers.

“It’s a death sentence for some industries,” Israeli Agriculture and Food Security Minister Avi Dichter said.

Israel’s wheat imports are expected to increase in this marketing year to 2.15 million metric tons, primarily due to demand from farmers who lack grazing land for livestock, according to the USDA report.

Farmers say that imposing high levies on animal-grade wheat from non-US suppliers — even if US imports are excluded under the revised free trade agreement — will further increase already-high food prices in Israel.

“The price of chicken will surge by 50-70%,” the Business Sector Presidium’s chairman Dubi Amitai said at a monetary committee hearing.

 

FUTURES & WEATHER

Wheat prices overnight are down 2 1/4 in SRW, down 2 3/4 in HRW, unchanged in HRS; Corn is up 1 1/2; Soybeans up 4 1/4; Soymeal up $2.90; Soyoil down 0.28.

For the week so far wheat prices are down 8 1/2 in SRW, down 21 in HRW, down 0 in HRS; Corn is up 1/2; Soybeans up 5 3/4; Soymeal up $3.40; Soyoil up 0.88.

For the month to date wheat prices are up 25 in SRW, up 9 1/4 in HRW, up 0 in HRS; Corn is up 4 1/4; Soybeans up 82 1/2; Soymeal up $19.80; Soyoil up 6.16.

Year-To-Date nearby futures are up 11.9% in SRW, up 7.3% in HRW, up 1.4% in HRS; Corn is down 2.4%; Soybeans up 10.9%; Soymeal up 6.5%; Soyoil up 24.2%.

Chinese Ag futures (MAY 26) Soybeans up 42 yuan; Soymeal up 30; Soyoil up 56; Palm oil down 14; Corn up 6 — Malaysian Palm is unchanged.

Malaysian palm oil prices overnight were unchanged ringgit () at 4053.

There were no changes in registrations. Registration total: 34 SRW Wheat contracts; 94 Oats; 9 Corn; 301 Soybeans; 910 Soyoil; 163 Soymeal; 17 HRW Wheat.

Preliminary changes in futures Open Interest as of February 24 were: SRW Wheat up 3,208 contracts, HRW Wheat up 519, Corn down 37,066, Soybeans down 2,337, Soymeal up 215, Soyoil up 847.

 

DAILY WEATHER HEADLINES: 25 FEBRUARY 2026

• NORTH AMERICA: Above‑normal temperatures persist across most of the U.S., with wetter‑than‑average conditions in the Plains, Northwest, and Midwest.
• SOUTH AMERICA: Mixed weather conditions will persist across the Pampas corn and soybean belts, while Brazil’s Center-West expects moderate rainfall and the Southeast faces a risk of flooding.
• EUROPE: Central and Western Europe will see heat risks over the next 15 days, with dry spells across the region except Spain.
• ASIA: Near‑normal to slightly cooler temperatures are expected across Southeast Asia and South India over the next 15 days, with notably cooler conditions in China during the 6–15‑day period. Asia will remain mostly dry, except for brief wet spells in China’s crop‑growing regions.
• AUSTRALIA: Moderate to heavy rains may support crop conditions across Australia’s major production belts, while flood risks remain confined to southeastern Queensland.
• AFRICA: Dry weather may favor cocoa harvesting in Ghana, while moderate rains may support for South Africa and Ethiopia crop belts.
• TELECONNECTIONS: The positive Antarctic Oscillation pattern is expected to sustain wet conditions across southeastern Australia into mid‑March.

 

VERY WARM AND WET WEATHER IS IN STORE FOR THE U.S. AS THE CALENDAR FLIPS TO MARCH, BUT COLDER TEMPERATURES COULD LOOM TOWARD MID-MONTH

Weather Anomaly Severity: High (significant warmth)

Crops impacted: Wheat, Corn, Soybeans

Preferred model for the next 5 days: GFS Op

Preferred model for the 6-15 day timeframe: EC AIFS (highlights likely transition to colder regime)

Forecast confidence: High through 10 days, low afterward due to uncertainty about the potential for cold weather expansion

Model Change (from previous update): Colder trend across the U.S. in early March

 

Brazil: Widespread heavy rain continues in Brazil through midweek before it starts to go isolated and migrate to northern areas. The current rain favors newly-planted safrinha corn, but soil moisture is still tenuous and consistent, heavy rainfall needs to continue for the next two months to put the corn in good standing for pollination and grain fill. Currently, the forecast is not favorable for that situation, which will cause problems for corn should this not reverse.

Argentina: Showers have become spotty over the last week, which is forecast to continue into March. This will not be enough to lift areas out of drought in any significant way, and the trend toward lower crop ratings will likely resume. Outside of a few lucky spots, February rainfall has been below-normal like January has been, which is causing concern for both corn and soybean production.

Northern Plains: The region will be on the edge of colder air to the north and warmer air to the south through next week, causing variable temperatures. Multiple storm systems will move through over the next two weeks, which may result in some better precipitation and potential reduction in drought if it can be heavier and widespread enough.

Central/Southern Plains: Strong winds and dry soils have led to elevated wildfire conditions as well as falling conditions for winter wheat. The storm track remains busy, but only limited precipitation is forecast until maybe later next week. Drought is a big problem across Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, and will start to develop in Kansas if the precipitation doesn’t increase soon.

Midwest: Snowpack is extremely low across most of the region and we will need to see significant precipitation prior to spring planting to feel good about soil moisture. Streaks of drought, especially from Missouri to northwestern Ohio, are the major issues heading into spring. Quick-hitting systems will move through this week and weekend, which will result in streaks of lighter precipitation. A better chance for more widespread precipitation will occur early next week, but that is not guaranteed. The region will be on the edge of colder air to the north and warmer air to the south, resulting in mixed temperatures through early March.

Delta: Water levels along the Mississippi River are still low, but are rising despite the ongoing drought in the Delta region. Precipitation farther north in the Midwest is helping to keep river levels from dropping too low. However, this drought is long-standing and an issue prior to sping planting. Several fronts are forecast to move through this week and next, but with limited precipitation in the region as the drought continues into March.

Europe: Though a few fronts will move through this week with some showers, the pattern is drying out for the continent this week into next week. That is fine after the last few months of seemingly non-stop active weather. However, the pattern looks favorable for increased precipitation across Spain by the middle of next week. Spain found a needed break after significant heavy precipitation. If showers come back in a significant way, there could be issues with flooding.

Black Sea: Scattered showers continue to move through the region this week. Precipitation has been more consistent lately, but not heavy. Still, soil moisture and snow cover are building in some areas, which will favor winter wheat when it awakens from dormancy.

 

The player sheet for 2/24 had funds: net sellers of 2,000 contracts of SRW wheat, sellers of 6,000 corn, sellers of 6,500 soybeans, buyers of 2,500 soymeal, and buyers of 4,500 soyoil.

TENDERS

• WHEAT SALE, TALKS CONTINUE ON PURCHASE SIZE: Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC has bought milling wheat in an international tender that closed on Tuesday, European traders said. The size of the purchase in tonnage terms was not initially clear, although some early estimates were of several hundred thousand tons purchased. Tender negotiations are expected to continue on Wednesday after pausing on Tuesday for the end-of-day fasting break during the Ramadan holy month, traders said.
• CORN PURCHASE: Taiwan’ MFIG purchasing group bought about 65,000 metric tons of animal feed corn expected to be sourced from the United States in an international tender on Wednesday
• NO PURCHASE IN WHEAT TENDER: Jordan’s state grain buyer is believed to have made no purchase in an international tender to buy 120,000 metric tons of milling wheat which closed on Tuesday, European traders said. A new tender for 120,000 tons of wheat is expected to be issued in coming days and is anticipated to close on March 3, they said.

PENDING TENDERS

• BARLEY TENDER: Jordan’s state grains buyer issued an international tender to purchase up to 120,000 metric tons of animal feed barley, European traders said. The deadline for price offers is February 25.
• CORN TENDER: Turkey’s state grain board TMO issued an international tender to purchase and import a total of 350,000 metric tons of animal feed corn, European traders said. The deadline for submitting price offers is February 26, they said.
• RICE TENDER: The state purchasing agency in Mauritius has issued an international tender to buy 8,000 metric tons of long grain white rice sourced from optional origins, European traders said. The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender is March 13.
• WHEAT TENDER: Jordan’s state grain buyer has issued an international tender to buy up to 120,000 metric tons of milling wheat which can be sourced from optional origins, European traders said on Wednesday. The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender is March 3. A new announcement had been expected by traders after Jordan made no purchase in its previous tender for 120,000 tons of wheat on Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

TODAY

ETHANOL: US Weekly Production Survey Before EIA Report

Output and stockpile projections for the week ending Feb. 20 are based on four analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

• Production seen higher than last week at 1.132m b/d
• Stockpile avg est. 25.927m bbl vs 25.588m a week ago

 

Protesters to leave Cargill’s Brazil facility in 48 hours

Brazilian Indigenous protesters who invaded a Cargill port facility in the northern town of Santarem plan to leave the site within about 48 hours, Indigenous leader Alessandra Munduruku told Reuters on Tuesday.

The group has been occupying the Cargill facility since the weekend, after weeks of blocking the port’s entrance and disrupting truck traffic at a crucial time for the farming sector as the country reaps another bumper soybean crop.

The protesters are now making transportation arrangements before effectively leaving the facility, Munduruku said.

“We’re going to sit down and get organized here. Clean up (the place). There’s the issue of garbage. There are many children, many people who weren’t yet prepared to leave,” she said.

“We’re still looking into the transportation issue. These 48 hours are enough for us to leave,” she added, noting that many protesters would need boats to return to their villages.

Speaking from the Cargill site, Munduruku noted protesters’ demands had been met after the government revoked a decree that included Amazonian waterways on the Tapajos, Madeira and Tocantins rivers in the federal government’s privatization program.

According to the protesters, the August decree would open up Amazonian rivers to dredging, which could impact water quality and the fishing they rely on to survive.

Grains such as soy and corn are moved along the rivers before reaching export markets.

 

Brazil Soy Exports Seen Reaching 10.69 Million Metric Tons In February – Anec

• BRAZIL SOY EXPORTS SEEN REACHING 10.69 MILLION TNS IN FEBRUARY VERSUS 11.46 MILLION TNS IN THE PREVIOUS WEEK – ANEC
• BRAZIL SOYMEAL EXPORTS SEEN REACHING 1.73 MILLION TNS IN FEBRUARY VERSUS 1.82 MILLION TNS IN THE PREVIOUS WEEK – ANEC
• BRAZIL CORN EXPORTS SEEN REACHING 1.13 MILLION TNS IN FEBRUARY VERSUS 1.12 MILLION TNS IN THE PREVIOUS WEEK – ANEC

 

Limited shipments and strong rouble support Russian wheat export prices

• Weather problems may affect US and French new harvest
• Importers turn to non-Russian Black Sea ports because of freight advantage
• Russia’s southern region prepares to start planting

Limited shipments and a strong rouble supported Russian wheat export prices last week, which approached those of Black Sea competitors, analysts said.

The price of Russian wheat with 12.5% protein content for free-on-board delivery at the end of March was $233 a metric ton at the end of last week, unchanged from a week earlier, Dmitry Rylko, head of the IKAR consultancy, said.

Weather problems that have affected the new harvest in France and the U.S. may provide further support for prices, he said.

STORMY WEATHER AND ICE PREVENT SHIPMENTS

The situation with shipments from Russian ports remains difficult, Rylko said, as stormy weather continues in the Black Sea, and ice prevents ships from passing through the Caspian and Baltic seas.

In the Sea of Azov, however, he said convoys of ships have begun to pass through even though it is covered with ice.

High Russian prices mean some importers have been buying grain shipped to Constanta, in Romania, and Varna and Burgas in Bulgaria, rather than from Russian ports, due to a freight advantage, the Sovecon agency said in a weekly note.

It estimated the price for Russian wheat with 12.5% protein at $232-$236 a ton FOB, compared with $231-$235 at the end of the previous week. Its estimate for February wheat exports is 3.3 million tons.

IKAR has forecast wheat exports at 3.1-3.2 million tons for the month, while rail carrier Rusagrotrans said nearly 1.8 million tons of wheat have been shipped for export from February 1 to 16.

Russia’s southern regions are preparing for the spring sowing campaign, which is scheduled to start in March.

“No significant weather threats are expected in the coming week. Ice crust on some fields, in our view, does not pose a serious risk at this stage. It should gradually melt as temperatures rise”, Sovecon said.

Sovecon raised its 2026 Russian wheat harvest forecast by 2.1 million metric tons to 85.9 million tons last week.

 

Ukrainian export prices for new rapeseed crop rise amid fears of smaller output, union says

• Ukraine is a major rapeseed grower and exporter
• Extreme frosts may damage rapeseed sowing areas
• Analyst cuts Ukraine’s 2026 rapeseed crop outlook

Indicative export prices for Ukraine’s 2026 rapeseed harvest have risen to $530-$540 per ton CPT July-August delivery from $510-$520 reported a month earlier, as weather problems could reduce the harvest, farmers’ union UAC said on Wednesday.

Ukraine, a major European rapeseed grower and exporter, harvested around 3.7 million tons of rapeseed in 2024. The harvest fell to 3.3 million tons in 2025, mostly due to unfavourable weather.

UAC, the country’s largest farmers’ union, said in its weekly report that Ukraine may harvest less rapeseed this year as unfavourable weather conditions could damage significant areas of crops.

Winter rapeseed traditionally forms the basis of Ukrainian rapeseed production. It is sown in autumn and harvested in spring the following year.

Ukraine has sown approximately 1.1 million hectares of winter rapeseed for the 2026 harvest, but extreme frosts in January and February could damage up to 300,000 hectares of crops, UAC forecasts.

“This is a lot for rapeseed, and the area may fall to less than 1 million hectares, and it’s not very clear what will happen to the yield. We will not harvest very much rapeseed this season,” UAC said.

State weather forecasters said on Tuesday that as of February 10, weather conditions for winter crops in Ukraine had been satisfactory since the beginning of winter.

They noted that no significant plant death or damage was found but added that samples to test the regrowth of the winter crop would be taken on February 13-14.

Rapeseed, the lion’s share of which is exported at the beginning of the season in autumn and early winter, is currently selling at $560-$585 per metric ton CPT Black Sea.

APK-Inform consultancy said it revised down Ukraine’s 2026 rapeseed harvest forecast to 3.7 million tons from 3.9 million tons a month earlier.

The consultancy sees rapeseed exports at 2.7 million tons in the 2026/27 July-June season against the previous export outlook of almost 3 million tons.

 

Indonesia may struggle to deliver on new US farm import promises, traders say

• Wheat, soybean, soymeal import targets sharply raised
• Soymeal commitment far exceeds current imports from US
• State firm Berdikari to lead feed-grain imports

Indonesia could struggle to meet its pledge for a significant ramp-up of U.S. agricultural imports under its new trade deal, traders said, with the burden of vastly increasing U.S. soymeal purchases falling on a state agency newly tasked to buy animal feed.

Indonesia last week finalised a deal that lowers U.S. tariffs on its goods to 19% from 32%, with key commodities including palm oil, cocoa and rubber exempted from import duties.

In return, Indonesia pledged to raise annual U.S. wheat imports to 2 million metric tons from 1.1 million tons last year, boost soybean purchases to 3.5 million tons from 2.2 million tons, and increase soymeal imports to 3.8 million tons from 216,257 tons, among other commitments.

“Indonesian millers are already buying more U.S. wheat,” said a trader at an international trading company which supplies wheat and feed grains to Indonesia, noting the country’s buying of U.S. wheat increased to 1.1 million tons in 2025, up from 750,000 tons a year earlier.

“At best, they can buy 1.25 or 1.3 million tons in 2026.”

SOYBEANS AND SOYMEAL

The U.S., a major supplier of agricultural goods, is seeking to diversify farm exports to markets beyond top buyer China, which is curbing purchases amid trade tensions with Washington.

For soybeans, Indonesia already buys most of its cargoes from the U.S. to meet rising demand for tofu and tempeh, a traditional cake-like fermented bean product, and its new commitment to Washington exceeds its overall annual imports.

Indonesia consumes 2.7 million to 2.9 million tons of soybeans per year, according Akindo, the country’s soybean importers association, nearly all of it imported.

“The commitment to purchase 3.5 million tons per year needs to be assessed realistically so that it will not exceed domestic demand, disrupt supply balance,” Akindo Chairman Hidayatullah Suralaga said on Tuesday.

Indonesia bought 216,257 tons of U.S. soymeal in 2025, up around 50% from a year earlier but far short of the 3.8 million tons of the animal feed ingredient it has committed to buy.

Because the purchase commitment is so high, Indonesia could direct Berdikari, the country’s state-owned animal feed importer, to buy larger volumes to please the U.S., even if prices are higher than those offered by competing suppliers, said a Singapore-based grain trader.

Late last year, Jakarta tasked Berdikari with making all feed-grain purchases from 2026, shifting the role from private importers.

Berdikari has been assigned to import around 5 million tons of soybean meal in 2026 to supply feed mills and smallholder chicken farmers, Agung Suganda, director general of livestock and animal health at the Agriculture Ministry, said in a statement on December 30.

Berdikari’s preparations to import soybean meal are underway and it is awaiting government regulations for the imports, which it expects will be issued in March, Corporate Secretary Hasbi Al-Islahi said on Tuesday.

Indonesia imported 5.96 million tons of soymeal in 2025.

Under its deal with Washington, Indonesia also agreed to purchase 100,000 tons of U.S. corn and 163,000 tons of cotton, in addition to beef and fruit.

 

UK farmers demand continued access to crop chemicals in EU pact

Britain’s farmers must be allowed to keep growing gene-edited crops and using plant protection products currently banned in the European Union if the UK strikes a new pact with the bloc, the president of the National Farmers Union said on Tuesday.

The government is attempting to reset relations with the EU, with talks progressing since last autumn.

“We welcome the principle of an improved relationship with the EU – one that reduces friction and enables better trade at a time of global instability,” NFU president Tom Bradshaw told the group’s annual conference.

But Bradshaw said there was real jeopardy for Britain’s farmers in the negotiations.

“We mustn’t sacrifice our hard-won technological advances in gene editing, or our access to GB-approved plant protection products in order to reach a deal with the EU,” he said.

Farming and environment minister Emma Reynolds said Britain was seeking “technical adaptations and exceptions”, adding she would not provide a running commentary on the talks.

“In the five years since Brexit we’ve seen a 20% reduction in our agri-food exports from the UK to the EU. That is what we are trying to address and it is a big part of our broader EU reset,” she told reporters at the conference.

About 14 crop protection chemicals banned in the EU since Brexit remain permitted in Britain.

CropLife UK, whose members include pesticide makers, said in a report this year that losing crop protection tools could cost the farming sector between 500 million and 810 million pounds ($676 million to $1.1 billion) in the first year alone.

 

VaroPreem Starts Selling Premium Renewable Diesel in Norway

• VaroPreem started selling a type of renewable diesel in Norway that meets higher sustainability standards than previous fuels, the firm said in a statement
• The renewable diesel, known as HVO100, has been certified by Nordic Swan and is made at the company’s Gothenburg plant
• Nordic Swan Ecolabel said the premium fuel made by Preem is the only renewable diesel on the market that’s received its certification; the fuel was previously only available in Sweden
• The premium fuel is produced from raw materials such as residues from paper pulp production and food industries; it isn’t produced from palm oil, palm‑based residues, or soybean oil, according to VaroPreem

 

USDA Settles With Farmers, Groups Over Purged Climate Websites

The US Department of Agriculture reached a settlement with environmental and farmer advocacy groups over access to online tools regarding climate change risks and resilience, the agency told a federal court Tuesday.

• The climate risk viewer and old-growth forest inventory will remain online and available to the public until the USDA sends all data sets directly to the groups in the litigation, according to the proposed order submitted to Judge Margaret M. Garnett of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Working Group sued the USDA in February 2025 after all pages mentioning climate change were removed from the agency’s websites without public notice
• Last May the agency restored the web content, which included information about Inflation Reduction Act grants, and committed to complying with the Paperwork Reduction Act’s public notice requirements for removing information on government websites
• The agency doesn’t admit liability or fault as part of the settlement
• The plaintiff groups are represented by Earthjustice and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

 

 

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