Argentina's Ministry of Agriculture suspended on Wednesday the registration of agricultural exports until further notice, it said in a statement, a move that traders said likely foreshadowed a steep increase in grains export tariffs.
The sealed vault in the Arctic built to preserve seeds for rice, wheat and other food staples contains one million varieties with the addition on Tuesday of specimens grown by Cherokee Indians and the estate of Britain's Prince Charles.
Argentine beef exports to its top buyer China fell almost a third in January due to a price dispute with Chinese importers and the effects of a coronavirus outbreak, the head of the country's meat export chamber revealed.
The United States government has decided to once again allow raw beef products to be imported into the US from Brazil, a move that has angered some cattlemen and food safety groups who are voicing concerns about the quality of the meat.
Intense rains in parts of Brazil have limited the advance of the soybean harvest over the past few days while also delaying exports of the oilseed, agribusiness consultancy Arc Mercosul said on Friday.
It rained more in two days than it usually does in a month in some northern Argentine soy growing areas recently, but the crop losses will have little effect on national production when harvesting starts next month, farm weather experts said.
A delegation of Brazilian rice producers is on a mission to Mexico this week to lobby for a cut in the 20% tariff their exports face in the lucrative Mexican market, a reduction they say could enable them to compete with U.S. rivals.
China is back in the market for US agricultural commodities after issuing a list of products that will be eligible for tariff waivers, according to market sources. US exporters sold at least two sorghum cargoes to China after buyers bid for supplies to be shipped in the first half of the year. Importers also inquired about soybeans on Wednesday, a day after asking about wheat prices in a move that sent Chicago futures rallying.
Argentina industrial activity plummeted 6.3% during 2019, completing two consecutive years of losses, reported the Argentina Industrial Union following a survey of the sector which showed auto manufacturing suffered the greatest contraction, 32.5%.
German chemical giant Bayer is to appeal against a Missouri court's award of US$ 265m (£203m) to a US peach grower who blamed a herbicide for crop damage. Farmer Bill Bader sued Bayer and BASF, alleging that dicamba weed-killer drifted onto his orchard from nearby fields, destroying them.