Agriculture

• Monday, May 16th 2016 - 18:52 UTC

  April FAO Food Price Index 10% below a year ago; South America soy prospects less favorable

  

  The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 151.8 points in April 2016, up 1.1 points (0.7 percent) from March, but almost 10 percent below its April 2015 level. A relatively strong rise in vegetable oil quotations coupled with a more modest gain in international prices of cereals more than offset a decline in dairy and sugar prices.

• Friday, May 13th 2016 - 06:27 UTC

  Uruguay says beef and ethanol are included in Mercosur/EU proposals, but with no volumes or time span

  

  Uruguay's foreign minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa said on Thursday that all agriculture products are included in negotiations for a wide ranging trade and cooperation agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. The chief negotiator for Mercosur underlined that contrary to what was announced by some media, beef and ethanol are included in the proposals exchanged on Wednesday in Brussels between the two blocks.

• Wednesday, May 11th 2016 - 09:23 UTC

  Brussels assures EU farmers that beef is out of trade negotiations with Mercosur

  

  The European Union Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, announced on Tuesday that beef will not be part of the current Mercosur trade deal negotiations. The news follows a meeting between the Commissioner and NFU Cymru, which was held on Glamorgan NFU Cymru Chairman, Abi Reader’s farm, in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.

• Thursday, May 5th 2016 - 12:09 UTC

  European farmers march in Dublin to protest trade negotiations with Mercosur

  

  European farmers took to the streets of Dublin outside the EU Commission offices to highlight the potential “sellout” of the multi-billion-euro beef industry in trade talks with Mercosur. Concerns have been rising over discussions at EU level over the impact a deal with Mercosur would have on Ireland's €2.5bn beef industry, which depends on EU markets for over 90% of its exports.

• Thursday, May 5th 2016 - 09:42 UTC

  Argentina farm exports soar in first quarter following elimination of taxes and controls

  

  Argentine farm exports rocketed 68% higher in the first quarter compared to the same 2015 period, thanks to new policies that prompted growers to sell stockpiles built up under the previous administration, the government announced.

• Wednesday, May 4th 2016 - 08:26 UTC

  Irish farmers will march against Mercosur deal at the EC offices in Dublin

  

  The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) is to protest on Wednesday May 4, in Dublin against the proposed Mercosur and TTIP trade deals. The protest will take place outside the offices of the European Commission in the Irish capital.

• Wednesday, April 27th 2016 - 05:32 UTC

  Russian ban on EU food imports turns European farmers' fury against Mercosur accord

  

  Brussels must do more to help producers ride out the slump in agricultural commodity prices, European farm leaders have warned. Immediate solutions were needed to tackle the “unprecedented” crisis that had hit agricultural markets, said European farm umbrella organization Copa-Cogeca.

• Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 07:14 UTC

  Floods in Uruguay have 10.000 people displaced and losses are estimated in a billion dollars

  

  Uruguay's emergency committee reported on Thursday another death and over 10.000 people displaced because of widespread floods that followed a tornado and several days pouring rain. The ninth victim is a farmhand who fell off his horse while trying to cross an overflowed canal. A few hours before the body of a missing farmer was found kilometers down a river that sucked him while he was trying to save cattle.

• Thursday, April 21st 2016 - 11:49 UTC

  Monsanto in collision course with the administration of president Macri

  

  Monsanto has rejected a request by Argentina for more time to collect monies owed by small farmers for royalties on genetically modified soybean seeds. Argentine agricultural minister Ricardo Buryaile and members of his staff have met with Monsanto representatives, including chief operating officer Brett Begemann to request a waiver on the monies owed.

• Monday, April 18th 2016 - 09:46 UTC

  Mercosur/EU trade deal is “no bed of roses” and “we're just beginning”

  

  Despite growing optimism among Mercosur member countries of reaching a trade agreement with the European Union, Argentine minister of foreign affairs Susana Malcorra has cautioned that the road ahead is not “a bed of roses”, and the coming exchange of goods and tariff reduction proposals “will not satisfy any of the two sides”, but that is where “serious discussions begin”.