Elizabeth Schroeder
Commodity markets jittery as EU deforestation regulation looms
The new EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains, which comes into effect later this year, has been met with mixed reaction by stakeholders.
‘Doomsday’ seed vault sees the addition of 19 500 new samples
Efforts to secure global food supplies are being ramped up due to growing concern about climate change. As a result, the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, located on Norway's Spitsbergen Island, recently received its most diverse batch of seed donations yet, according to Reuters.
Produce shortage prompts rationing of purchases by stores in UK
The shortages of fresh produce currently being experienced in the UK and Ireland can largely be ascribed to extreme weather conditions being experienced in Spain and North Africa, where harvests have been negatively impacted by flooding, snowfall and hail.
Accusations of price gouging as US egg profits soar
The Farm Action organisation in the US has attributed record-breaking increases in the price of eggs not to inflation or avian influenza (bird flu), as claimed by egg companies, but to price collusion among that country’s top egg producers.
Seven-year peak for soil moisture in Brazil’s sugar, coffee regions
Soil moisture levels in those regions of Brazil where coffee and sugar cane are produced are currently at their highest levels in seven years, according to data from Refinitiv, an American-British global provider of financial market data.
Spotlight on the global grain market expectations for 2023
As the world moves firmly into 2023, a level of market volatility that has not been seen in years is creating uncertainty with regard to global grain supplies.
US farmer’s confidence guarded for agriculture in 2023/24
While the confidence of US farmers in the local agricultural economy is at its highest level in 16 months, farmers are somewhat uncertain of what the 2023/24 season holds, according to the latest monthly Ag Economy Barometer report by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
UK pig numbers down on the back of high feed costs
There has been some concern among stakeholders in the UK’s pig industry after recent data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), indicated that total pig numbers in that country have dropped to 5,2 million, down by 2,5% on 2021 figures.
Low oilseed, grain stock supplies to keep prices high in 2023
Despite high commodity prices encouraging farmers across the world to increase grain and oilseed plantings, a challenging production environment is expected to curb global agricultural output.
US farming income reaches record high in 2022
It is expected that high commodity prices, partly due to the Russia-Ukraine war, will result in net farming income in the US reaching a record US$160,5 billion (about R2,7 trillion) this year.
Mexico seeking deal with US in the wake of planned GM maize ban
The Mexican government has moved swiftly to assuage fears that the country’s recently announced plan to ban genetically-modified (GM) maize by 2024 could violate the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade pact.
Crop-planting pace in Argentina ‘the worst in decades’
With farmers in Argentina experiencing a third consecutive growing season marked by drought conditions induced by the La Niña weather system, soya bean and maize planting were off to an unusually slow start at the beginning of the 2022/23 season.
Olives: The fruit of Italy’s migrant exploitation
One of the finest table olive varieties in the world, Nocellara del Belice, is grown in the olive groves near the town of Campobello di Mazara on the Italian island of Sicily.
Fears of egg shortage in the UK as farmers’ input costs soar
Egg producers in the UK are being forced to reduce the size of their flocks, with some leaving the industry altogether as soaring production costs make their businesses unviable.
Ukraine’s grain exports back on track after tense standoff
After announcing its withdrawal from the ‘Black Sea grain initiative’ on 29 October, Russia will rejoin a UN-backed agreement to allow the exporting of grain from Ukraine via a safe Black Sea corridor, with shipments expected to resume in the week of 31 October.
Global coffee prices to benefit from bumper crop in Vietnam
Coffee producers in Vietnam, the world’s largest producer of the Robusta variety used in instant coffee and espresso, are expecting a bumper crop this season.
Farmers in the US reeling as poultry deaths from bird flu soar
A different form of the avian influenza virus, known as the goose/Guangdong lineage, has wreaked havoc in the US poultry industry, with more than 47 million chickens and turkeys dying due to infections and being culled in this year's outbreak of the disease.
New Zealand’s livestock ‘burp tax’ aims to cut greenhouse gasses
Farmers in New Zealand have condemned the government’s proposed new levy aimed at taxing the greenhouse gasses that farm animals emit when burping and urinating.
Italy’s right-wing coalition sets agenda for agriculture
Among the main issues related to agriculture that Italy’s new right-wing coalition, which will be forming a government in the next few weeks, is expected to address, are food sovereignty and a concept of sustainability that does not overlook economic and social aspects.
Switzerland rejects plan to ban ‘factory farming’
Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to ban intensive farming in a referendum held on 25 September to establish whether Switzerland's strict animal welfare legislation needs to be further tightened.
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