First vice-president of the European Union Parliament Irish lawmaker Mairead McGuinness has asked EU Commissioners for agriculture and trade for clarity on allegations that Brazil has sold meat that is unfit for consumption.
Argentina has the potential to increase food sales to the UK by 28% in the short term, from the current US$ 830 million to US$ 1.060bn, according to the president of the powerful farmers' organization, Argentine Rural Society, Luis Miguel Etchevehere, currently in London with a business mission sponsored by the Argentine foreign ministry, the Argentine-British Chamber of Commerce and the embassy in London.
The fallout from Brazil's rotten meat scandal accelerated Monday when China, a huge market, suspended imports and the European Union and South Korea demanded a partial ban. Another ban on Brazilian meat imposed by Chile sparked fears of a trade spat between the two South American partners.
Brazil's President Michel Temer has sought to reassure foreign trade partners that the corruption scandal engulfing the country's meat industry does not mean its products are unsafe. Meeting ambassadors from Europe, the United States and China to share a barbeque, Temer said his government remained confident about the quality of Brazilian meat.
Brazil's fertilizer market, having recovered to set a fresh all-time high last year, will expand further in 2017, Fertilizantes Heringer said, as it unveiled a jump in corn nutrient volumes, but a fallback in sales to coffee growers.
Mexican politicians are saber rattling against the US agriculture sector, and it looks like Argentina is ready to fill the gap. In effect Mexico's agriculture minister said on Thursday he will lead a business delegation to Argentina and Brazil to explore buying yellow corn, part of a drive to lessen Mexico's U.S. dependence given uncertainty over President Donald Trump's trade policies.
Conab, the Brazilian crop supply agency lifted its forecast for the second-season corn crop by some 2.5m tons, citing good weather. Conab forecast the Brazilian safrinha crop, which is sown after soybeans are harvested, up 44% year-on-year, to 58.59m tons. This compares to the 56.10m tons Cobab forecast in January.
U.S. producer prices recorded their largest gain in more than four years in January amid increases in the cost of energy products, but a strong dollar continued to keep underlying inflation at the factory gate tame.
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.
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.