Elizabeth Schroeder

It is expected that between 150 million and 200 million pigs could be culled or die in the African swine fever (ASF) epidemic spreading through China, according to a report by Rabobank.

A longstanding dispute over EU subsidies that support Airbus and Boeing has led to the US government threatening to introduce punitive tariffs against EU imports amounting to US$11 billion (about R155 billion), including a long list of agricultural products.

Against the backdrop of widespread flooding in several US states, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey of the Democratic Party have tabled a new economic reform policy in the US Congress called the Green New Deal.

Agriculture lawmakers in the EU voted last week to push for new definitions for meat products in upcoming negotiations with the European Commission and EU government to reform the EU’s 59-billion- euro-a-year (about R937 billion) farm policy.

Governments and international aid organisations are still trying to take stock of the full extent of the damage caused by Cyclone Idai, which recently tore through central Mozambique and parts of neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi, resulting in devastating flooding across the region.

The per capita consumption of dairy products has surged in China in recent years due to that country’s growing economy, which has resulted in an increase in the living standards of the general population.