Agriculture

• Friday, January 3rd 2014 - 18:40 UTC

  'Andean super crop' quinoa opens the way for the UN Year of Family Farming

  

  Increased production and consumption of quinoa, coupled with higher visibility of and greater scientific knowledge about the so-called “Andean super crop” is the legacy left to the world by the International Year of Quinoa 2013, the closing ceremonies of which were held in Bolivia and Peru.

• Saturday, December 14th 2013 - 06:11 UTC

  Argentine central bank issues hard currency bonds hoping to lure cereal exporters

  

  The Argentine Central Bank, starved of dollars and declining international reserves started to trade new short-term dollar-denominate bonds in order to encourage the farm sector to sell the crops they are still holding on to. It is estimated that over 3bn dollars in mainly soybeans remain in the hands of farmers and cereal exporters.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 08:59 UTC

  Abundance of cereals, 6% ahead of the 2011 record, says FAO latest forecast

  

  FAO’s latest forecast for world cereal production in 2013 has been revised upward marginally (2 million tons) since November to a new high of almost 2 500 million tons (including rice in milled terms), 8.4% more than last year and some 6% above the previous record in 2011. The latest revision mostly reflects adjustments to maize output estimates in the United States, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which had become firmer towards the completion of the harvests.

• Thursday, December 12th 2013 - 06:47 UTC

  Brazil expects a 90 million tons soybean crop, making it the world's top producer

  

  Brazil's government food supply agency Conab forecast record soybean output of 90.03 million tons, near the top of its previous forecast of 87.9 million to 90.2 million tons, as farmers finish planting new fields.

• Tuesday, December 10th 2013 - 22:45 UTC

  Record wheat crop in Brazil's main producitn state of Rio Grande do Sul

  

  Brazil's most southern state, Rio Grande do Sul is consolidating as the country's main producer of wheat with a record crop from the current harvest of 2.91 million tons, breaking the 2011 record of 2,74 million tons, according to the latest report from Emater, the country's rural extension department.

• Wednesday, December 4th 2013 - 03:11 UTC

  Brazilian economy contracts 0.5% in third quarter, but still 2.2% annually

  

  The Brazilian economy slipped into contraction in the third quarter after recording strong growth in the June quarter. Data released by statistical office IBGE on Tuesday revealed that GDP decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.5% sequentially in the September quarter, more than offsetting the upwardly revised 1.8% growth recorded in the second quarter.

• Monday, December 2nd 2013 - 18:38 UTC

  Uruguay after another soy-crop record since area planted increased 100.000 hectares

  

  Uruguay's soy beans coming crop will have increased 100.000 hectares, reaching between 1.3 and 1.35 million hectares, a new record according to the latest report from the National Seeds Institute, Inase. This compares with the 1.2 to 1.25 million hectares of the last crop.

• Tuesday, November 26th 2013 - 08:41 UTC

  Uruguay to benefit from agreement reached by Iran with world powers

  

  The agreement reached by the world powers with Iran regarding its nuclear plans could have a positive impact for Uruguay, (and the region) since the regime of Teheran has been for years a strong client of Uruguayan rice and other products.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2013 - 05:06 UTC

  Brazil agriculture in state of emergency following infestations of Helicoverpa caterpillar

  

  Infestations of the Helicoverpa caterpillar in Brazil's grain belt prompted the agriculture ministry this week to declare a state of emergency in the leading soy state of Mato Grosso, highlighting the potential risk to large parts of the crop.

• Monday, November 18th 2013 - 22:25 UTC

  Argentina's annual economic activity grew 4.7% in September, says Indec

  

  Argentina's economic activity grew 4.7% in September compared with the same month last year, according to the government's much questioned stats office, INDEC. Market expectations were in the range of 3.9%.