Orange shipments from Brazil to the European Union were suspended after EU officials found samples with black spot fungus, a Brazilian government official said.
The FAO Food Price Index fell 1% in October 2012, and for the first ten months of the year food prices were on average 8% lower than in the same period in 2011. The Index dipped two points to 213 points from September's revised level of 215 points. The decline was largely due to lower international prices of cereals and oils and fats, which more than offset increases in dairy and sugar prices.
The European Union and ten Latinamerican countries signed an agreement on Thursday settling the longest running series of disputes in the history of the multilateral trading system, better known as the ‘banana dispute’.
South America’s crop prospects deteriorated because of excessive rainfall in Argentina and dry conditions in central Brazil, according to Oil World. Argentina’s estimated 55/56 million tons soybean crop could drop anywhere from 3 6o 6 million tons because of delays in sowing caused by torrential rains and flooding.
Fourteen million hectares are affected by floods in Argentina’s prime farm land provinces and the presence of water jeopardizes the harvest of grains, according to farming sector leaders.
Brazil's trade ministry said the country's exports of corn and ethanol rose in October as foreign buyers turned to Brazil after the worst drought in 50 years ravaged US crops.
Global wine production will slump to the lowest in 37 years after weather damage to grapes from France to Argentina, forcing a draw down of stocks, the International Organization of Vine and Wine, OIV, said.
Iran is likely to import over 100.000 tons of soy-oil from Argentina in October-December 2012 as Iran's purchasing of soy beans, soy-oil and soy-meal is recovering from the impact of sanctions, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday.
The man known in Argentina as “soybean king” said the country was facing a “new industrial revolution”, but factories now won’t have chimneys because they will really be “green factories”.
Former Argentine central bank president, IMF economist and Bank of England consultant Mario Bléjer said that with clear long term policies Argentina could rapidly become the “Saudi Arabia of food” because food demand at world level will grow 20% in the next decade.