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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 19th 2024 - 15:46 UTC

Agriculture

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

    Cereal prices continue to rise despite improved supplies, says FAO

    The FAO Cereal Price Index rose 3.4% from December to a six-month high, with wheat, maize and rice values all increasing.

    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

    Fall armyworm is native to the Americas and can devastate maize production, the staple food crop that is essential for food security in large areas of Africa.

    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

    Merkel said the EU/Mercosur trade accord is a “strategic” priority for Germany and Vazquez' visit takes place just days before another round of negotiations

    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

    “Due to continued weather problems in Spain there is a shortage of iceberg lettuce”, a notice in a Tesco store read.

    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

    Conab said its higher import forecast reflected unexpectedly strong wheat volumes brought in late last year, driving total purchases for calendar 2016 to 6.87m tonnes

    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

    “Mercosur is of enormous significance for EU and we are entering a context of uncertainty with the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House”, said Jauregui

    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

    Brazil, world’s largest soybean exporter, is expected to reap a record harvest of more than 100 million tons this year, according to government and private estimates

    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.

  • Tuesday, January 3rd 2017 - 19:57 UTC

    Argentina reinstates refunds for agriculture exports

    Wheat flour, beef, sunflower oil, rice, honey are some of the produce which are benefitted with the renewed system

    Argentina has decided to reinstate refunds for agriculture exports, responding to a promise to the provinces from president Mauricio Macri but also to prop foreign trade and boost the most dynamic sector of an anemic economy. The fiscal cost is estimated in 165 million dollars and is extensive to wheat flour, beef, sunflower oil, powder milk, cheese, honey and other produce from the provinces.

  • Friday, December 23rd 2016 - 02:06 UTC

    Argentine lemons re-entry spark protests from California citrus growers

    Most Argentina lemons are expected to be shipped to the U.S. between April 1 and August 31, according to the USDA.

    Sparking protest from California citrus leaders, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has ruled that fresh lemons from Argentina will be allowed to be imported into the U.S. The rule is the result of ten years of study on pest risks associated with Argentina lemons, according to the USDA. A proposal to allow Argentina lemon imports was published in May this year and received more than 400 comments.

  • Thursday, December 22nd 2016 - 23:22 UTC

    A good one for Brazil: excellent prospects for agribusiness in 2017

    Brazilian soybean production in 2016/17 could increase by 9.2% to 106.085 million tons, according to news reports.

    Brazil’s farm economy will rebound in 2017 with a record harvest pushing up grain exports and expanding the country’s livestock industry, according to analysts’ forecasts. An estimated record grain harvest of 213.1 million tons would be 14% larger than last year, when crops were devastated by drought, according to Brazil government estimates. The harvest will start in January.