Canada Is About Resuming Shipments

Canada hopes to resume shipments of table potatoes from Prince Edward Island (PEI) to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in two weeks and the U.S. mainland in the weeks after that, partially resolving a trade dispute.

Bibeau met with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Washington on Thursday, after shipments of PEI fresh potatoes to the United States halted in November due to U.S. concerns about potato wart.

Bibeau stated that Vilsack agreed to request that the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conduct a risk analysis of PEI potatoes for Puerto Rico within two weeks, followed by a risk analysis for the rest of the United States. Potato wart can reduce crop yields but is not harmful to human health. Vilsack’s office did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Farmers in tiny PEI expected to sell C$120 million ($94.24 million) worth of potatoes to the United States this year; totaling 300 million pounds. Farmers, however, will begin destroying potatoes within a week to prevent them from rotting, according to Greg Donald, general manager of the PEI Potato Board.

CEO of the National Potato Council, the United States has not detected potato wart since the 1970s. Farmers and processors on the East Coast of the United States rely on PEI for seed and fresh potatoes.

Crude Oil Higher

Oil prices rose on Friday, setting the stage for another week of gains, aided by ongoing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and with top producers planning to maintain a gradual increase in output even as fuel demand rises.

On Thursday, U.S. crude futures were 0.4 percent higher at $86.92 a barrel, rising to a seven-year high of $88.54. In comparison, Brent futures were 0.3 percent higher at $88.40; just off the previous session’s high, the highest since October 2014. Gasoline RBOB futures in the United States were up 0.7 percent at $2.5397 per gallon.

Furthermore, the market is anticipating next week’s meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies (OPEC+), which Russia leads. It has struggled to meet its targets under that strategy. Almost all of the deal’s signatories, except Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, cannot increase output as planned due to various historical issues.

It is a problem because the global economic recovery is restoring demand to pre-pandemic levels.

In Europe, as a whole, French GDP grew by 7% in 2021, the fastest rate since 1969. Meanwhile, Spain’s economy expanded at its most rapid pace since 1969.