Agriculture

• Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 08:18 UTC

  Macri slashes agriculture export duties; farmers promise 30% larger crop next year

  

  Argentina's business friendly president Mauricio Macri, announced on Monday large tax cuts on agricultural exports and emphasizing that “the camp was essential to get Argentina back on its feet”. Macri, who took office Thursday, had promised to slash the steep taxes on agricultural exports, which triggered major protests by producers against former president Cristina Fernandez administration.

• Monday, December 14th 2015 - 08:17 UTC

  Brazil's harvest for 2016 estimated at 209.3 million tons, slight drop from 2015

  

  Brazil's harvest in 2016 will reach 209.3 million tons, which is 0.5% less than in 2015 according to the estimates from the Brazilian stats institute, IBGE. The fall is related to less crops of oilseeds, cereals and legumes in the centre west of the vast country, which is also the main farming area, as well as in the north.

• Tuesday, December 8th 2015 - 00:27 UTC

  Major food commodity prices down 18% over a year ago, says FAO index

  

  Major food commodity prices fell in November, reversing about half their rise in the previous month, as the cost of internationally-traded staples, except for sugar, fell across the board. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 156.7 points in November, down 1.6 percent from its revised October average, and 18% below its value a year earlier.

• Friday, December 4th 2015 - 05:07 UTC

  Agriculture can boost production by 40%/50% with measures announced by Macri's team

  

  Gustavo Grobocopatel, head of the agro-business Grobo group anticipated that with the measures announced by the team of president elect Mauricio Macri and to be implemented from next 10 December, Argentina's grains and oilseed crop “it going to increase by 40% to 50%”, meaning dollars for industry, jobs and services.

• Saturday, November 21st 2015 - 08:20 UTC

  EU and Mercosur will propose WTO an accord to end agriculture export subsidies

  

  The European Union and Brazil representing Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), are proposing the World Trade Organization agree to end agricultural export subsidies at a meeting next month. The proposal backers also include New Zealand.

• Saturday, November 21st 2015 - 08:09 UTC

  High expectations in Argentina of a record soybean sowing in 2015/16

  

  Argentina's much-watched soybean sowings will set a record this season, but the country is heading for a weaker wheat harvest, despite ideas of “very good” yields, the country's farm ministry said. In its first estimate the ministry said soybean sowings for 2015-16, pegged area at 20.6m hectares, a rise of 800,000 hectares year on year.

• Thursday, November 12th 2015 - 10:04 UTC

  Brazil increases soybean forecast output to 102.8m tons for the 2015/16 season

  

  The Brazilian government increased its forecasts for what’s already expected to be a record season for soybean output and exports as farmers expand the planted area while yield prospects rise on above-average rainfall.

• Wednesday, November 11th 2015 - 07:25 UTC

  Argentine agro-business shares booming on presidential candidates' pledges

  

  Argentina's agro-business shares are booming in the Buenos Aires stock exchange since 26 October, following the first round of the presidential election, and expectations are even greater on the promises from the two candidates that will be disputing the runoff on 22 November.

• Tuesday, November 10th 2015 - 06:33 UTC

  FAO food commodity prices rose in October 3.9%, but 16% down from a year earlier

  

  The FAO Food Price Index averaged nearly 162 points in October, up 3.9% from September, while still down 16% from a year earlier. FAO's latest Cereal supply and Demand Brief slightly trimmed its October 2015 forecast for global cereal production and now projects production at 2.53 billion tons, 1.1% below last year's record output

• Friday, November 6th 2015 - 08:40 UTC

  Monsanto GM seeds blocked from two Mexican states; consultation with local communities mandatory

  

  Monsanto, the world's largest seed company, has been blocked from planting genetically modified soy seeds in the southern Mexican states of Campeche and Yucatan after the country's Supreme Court granted an injunction against the country’s agriculture ministry, teleSur reported.