Agriculture

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 11:28 UTC

  Brazil forced to import Robusta coffee: first time in decades

  

  Brazil's Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Monday he has asked the country's Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex) for authorization to open robusta coffee imports at near zero tariff, according to the ministry.

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 11:21 UTC

  Uruguay's wool and lamb exports dropped 17% in twelve months

  

  Uruguay wool and lamb exports dropped 17% in dollars in the last twelve months compared to the year before. Of the US$ 265 million shipped overseas, China was the main client with 42% of that total, according to the latest Custom stats.

• Monday, February 13th 2017 - 16:41 UTC

  Argentina expects at least 15 million tons of wheat from the 2016/17 crop

  

  Argentine farmers are expected to harvest at least 15 million tons of wheat in the 2016/17 crop year versus 11.3 million in the previous season, Agriculture Minister Ricardo Buryaile said last week. Wheat planting in Argentina expanded dramatically when President Mauricio Macri eliminated export taxes soon after his December inauguration.

• Thursday, February 9th 2017 - 15:45 UTC

  Cereal prices continue to rise despite improved supplies, says FAO

  

  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 173.8 in January, its highest value in almost two years, marking a 2.1% increase from its revised December value and 16.4% above its 2016 January level. The FAO Sugar Price Index surged 9.9% in the month, driven by expectations of protracted supply tightness in Brazil, India and Thailand.

• Monday, February 6th 2017 - 23:00 UTC

  Crop destroying caterpillar rapidly spreading across Africa; maize production endangered

  

  New research announced by scientists at CABI (Center for Agriculture and Bioscience Information) confirms that a recently introduced crop-destroying armyworm caterpillar is now spreading rapidly across Mainland Africa and could spread to tropical Asia and the Mediterranean in the next few years, becoming a major threat to agricultural trade worldwide.

• Monday, February 6th 2017 - 22:08 UTC

  Uruguayan president and business delegation begin tour of Germany, Finland and Russia

  

  Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez, six cabinet ministers and a numerous business delegation begin on Monday a two weeks official tour of Germany, Finland and Russia to increase political and trade links, particularly in the “new international scenario” and hopefully advancing in locking the long delayed accord between the European Union and Mercosur.

• Saturday, February 4th 2017 - 06:24 UTC

  British supermarkets rationing vegetables; adverse weather conditions in Europe

  

  British supermarkets have begun rationing vegetables, as adverse weather conditions in Europe have led to a shortage of products in UK stores. On Friday Tesco said customers will be limited to buying a maximum of three iceberg lettuces per visit, adding bad weather in Spain had triggered “availability issues”, although it added suppliers were looking to resolve the issue.

• Friday, January 13th 2017 - 12:37 UTC

  Brazil retakes wheat imports, the highest in three years

  

  Brazilian officials ditched expectations of a tumble in wheat imports to a multi-year low after a surprisingly strong finish to 2016 for buy-ins, encouraged by a recovery in the real and state purchases of domestic supplies. Conab - which a month ago slashed its forecast for Brazil's wheat imports in 2016-17 [on an August-to-July basis] to 5.10m tonnes, the lowest since at least the mid-1990s – this week revised its forecast sharply upwards, to 5.95m tonnes.

• Monday, January 9th 2017 - 10:53 UTC

  Mercosur and EU feel “2017 is a window of opportunity”, but can't find the path despite Brexit and Trump

  

  Negotiations for an ample trade and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Mercosur are strategic, essential and must be urgently concluded, said Ramon Jauregui, head of the Euro-chamber for Latin America delegation, following on the recent accords signed by the EU with Ecuador and Cuba.

• Wednesday, January 4th 2017 - 11:12 UTC

  Good weather prospects for Brazil's anticipated record soybean crop

  

  Rain showers forecast for this week should benefit soybean crops across Brazil and should not be heavy enough to hamper harvesting of the first shipments of the 2016-17 season, meteorologists said on Tuesday.