Agriculture

• Friday, May 15th 2009 - 02:55 UTC

  Per capita meat consumption in Chile increases 26% in ten years

  

  Chileans consumed 81.3 kilos of meat per capita in 2008, 26% more meat than they did 10 years ago, according to a study recently published by the country’s Office of Studies and Agrarian Policy (ODEPA) of the Ministry of Agriculture.

• Thursday, May 14th 2009 - 12:17 UTC

  Leading beef corporation upbeat about rebound of market

  

  JBS SA, from Brazil the world’s largest beef producer, said it aims to also become the largest distributor of the meat by the end of next year and has been approached by companies seeking to be acquired.

• Thursday, April 30th 2009 - 12:23 UTC

  Smallest wheat crop since 1910 forecasted for Argentina

  

  Argentina is forecasted to plant the smallest wheat crop on record because of drought and export restrictions, according to the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange. Planting will fall as low as 3.7 million hectares this fall that would be the smallest since the Exchange began recording such data in 1910.

• Saturday, April 25th 2009 - 10:42 UTC

  Uruguayan farmers estimate drought losses in 868 million USD and 12.800 jobs

  

  The intense six month drought suffered by Uruguay this summer cost the farming sector an estimated 868 million US dollars and the loss of 12.800 jobs according to a report from the country’s main farmers’ organization. The loss breaks down to 75% livestock; 11% agriculture; 11% dairy farming and 3% citrus plantations.

• Tuesday, April 21st 2009 - 08:45 UTC

  Paraguay’s cattle numbers increase 38% in 17 years; exports six fold

  

  Paraguay’s cattle rodeo increased 38.5% in the last 17 years according to the latest agriculture census. Even when the number of farms dropped 16.5% between 1991 and 2008, the number of head of cattle jumped from 7.626.617 to 10.561.894

• Sunday, April 19th 2009 - 05:03 UTC

  Brazilian agriculture, world’s top consumers of pesticides

  

  Brazil became in 2008 the world's top consumer of agriculture pesticides (ahead of the US), and continues to use a range of dangerous pesticides banned in other countries, according to a study released Friday.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2009 - 05:08 UTC

  Germany bans GM maize; “scientific and not political” decision

  

  Germany is to ban the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) maize - the only GM crop widely grown in Europe. The decision, announced on Tuesday by German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner, is a blow to the US biotech firm Monsanto, which markets the maize.

• Tuesday, April 14th 2009 - 11:51 UTC

  Argentina’s 2008/09 soy bean crop 16% below last year

  

  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) downgraded significantly Argentina’s 2008/09 soy bean crop estimates. Only a month ago the volume forecasted was 43 million tons, but the latest was brought down to 39 million tons.

• Monday, April 13th 2009 - 11:11 UTC

  The success of Brazilian farming and Argentina’s disarray

  

  If forecasts are confirmed the 70 million tons of the 2008/09 Argentine harvest would represent 2.9% of the world’s grain production when in previous crops it had reached 4.2%. Brazil in the meantime will have reached 5.5% of world production. Only a few years ago the difference was minimal with Brazil almost 4% and Argentina above 3%.

• Tuesday, April 7th 2009 - 07:20 UTC

  Argentine wheat farmers warn crop could fall below domestic demand

  

  Argentina farmland dedicated to wheat is forecasted to fall to a minimum, with a crop barely sufficient for the domestic market and no surplus to export to its main market Brazil, according to Santiago Cameron president of the country’s Wheat farmers association.