The Sprout: Argentina to review temporary ban on corn exports

The Lead

The Argentinian government said on Thursday it will re-evaluate a plan to temporarily suspend corn exports after the country’s farm minister met with agriculture leaders. As Reuters reports, the agriculture ministry said deals had been reached to guarantee the domestic supply of corn and to cushion local prices against fluctuations in international markets.

Meanwhile, port-side grain inspectors in Argentina have ended a month-long strike over wages. As Reuters reports, this means international exports of corn, soybeans, and wheat can return to more normal levels.

Around Town 

Parliament is off for its winter break and is set to resume on Jan. 25.

Canada shed 62,600 jobs in December, posting the first decline since April amid tougher restrictions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Reuters reports.

In Canada 

Eater reports on what the curfew in Quebec means for restaurants.

Glacier Farm Media is reporting that Canada’s two largest railways — Canadian National and Canadian Pacific — owe $5.3 million in Prairie grain overages and related penalties for the 2019-20 crop year.

Internationally 

Efforts by American and British officials to secure a transitionary post-Brexit trade deal has been hampered by the political crisis in the U.S. Bloomberg takes a closer look.

School closures in Britain necessitated by the pandemic have created large quantities of food waste, with one school reporting it has $10,000 worth of milk that could spoil. BBC News reports.

France is extending its mass culling of ducks to try to contain avian flu that has struck duck-breeding regions in the country’s southwest. Reuters has more.

The world’s largest pork processor has changed its management team in reaction to the pandemic. Reuters has that story, too.

And Forbes asks what restaurants will look like in a post-COVID world.

The Kicker 

There’s a shakeup coming to the world of takeout chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken said on Thursday that its American restaurants will carry a new chicken sandwich by the end of February that has thicker pickles and a bigger patty. On Monday, McDonald’s also announced it will reveal three new chicken sandwiches late next month.

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Tags: France, Canada, Argentina corn exports, US