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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 19th 2026 - 03:39 UTC

Agriculture

  • Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 16:30 UTC

    Brazil forecasts record soy and corn harvests, on good climate conditions

    Conab forecast total corn production in 2016-17 at a record at 87.4m tons, compared to a previous estimate of 84.5m tons.

    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.

  • Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 12:40 UTC

    US producer prices in January record highest gain in four years

    U.S. Labor Department said on Tuesday its producer price index for final demand jumped 0.6% last month, which was the biggest rise since September 2012

    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.

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

    Brazil forced to import Robusta coffee: first time in decades

    If imports are approved, it would be the first time in decades that Brazil imports coffee, amid a Robusta supply crisis that threatens instant coffee production.

    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

    The 37.6 million kilos of wool exported (US$ 193 million) was down 18% compared to the previous twelve months. Of that volume 57% was combed wool.

    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 likely planted 5.19 million hectares with wheat this year, the Agriculture Ministry said. Argentine wheat is harvested in December and January.

    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 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.