Agriculture

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 05:36 UTC

  Global food prices increased for third month running in April pushed by dairy costs

  

  Global food prices rose in April for a third straight month as surging dairy costs kept upward pressure on the FAO index, but cereal output is expected to be strong this year. Food prices spiked during the summer of 2012 as the United States was hit by a severe drought and dry weather plagued other producers. After falling at the start of 2013, prices have been rising again in the past three months

• Friday, May 10th 2013 - 05:51 UTC

  Argentine fruit and vegetable exports beginning to rebound; Q1 sales reach 477m dollars

  

  The production and sale of Argentine fruits and vegetables is beginning to rebound after a year in which the sector's problems continued to deepen; loss of competitiveness due to rising costs and lower demand, especially overseas because of the global economic crisis.

• Wednesday, April 17th 2013 - 07:35 UTC

  Argentine farmers expected to plant more wheat this coming season

  

  Argentina will plant more wheat this season than last year because of farmer-friendly adjustments to the government’s export policy and the bad luck that growers had last season with alternative crops such as barley, a key grain exchange said.

• Friday, April 12th 2013 - 06:19 UTC

  Dairy produce push FAO food price index one percent higher in March

  

  The FAO Food Price Index (FPI) crept higher by one percent in March compared with a month before, driven mainly by an 11% increase in dairy. Dairy products carry a 17% weight among the various commodity prices included in the calculation of the overall FPI.

• Monday, April 8th 2013 - 00:04 UTC

  Brazil exporters anticipate May/June port chaos with soy, sugar and corn crops coincide

  

  The logistics chaos in the Brazilian port of Santos (one of the busiest of the country) in mid March with the first shipments of a record soy crop will become even worse in May and June, according to the Jose Augusto de Castro, president of the Brazilian Association of Foreign Trade, AEB.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 20:15 UTC

  Brazil’s boom crops expose port congestion and lack of infrastructure

  

  Brazil’s soybean production has reached record levels this season which could make the country the world’s leading producer but port congestion and lack of storage capacity are impeding exports of soybean as producers fear losing international markets.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 05:42 UTC

  Agriculture should help boost the Brazilian economy to 3.1% growth in 2013

  

  The Brazilian economy is expected to grow 3.1% this year while inflation will reach 5.7% according to the latest estimates from the Central bank released in its “Quarterly inflation report”. In the previous report at the end of last year inflation was estimated at 4.8% but there was no figure for growth.

• Tuesday, March 26th 2013 - 21:55 UTC

  Argentina’s tax office targets main grain exporters; demands 951 million dollars in alleged arrears

  

  Cargill Inc. and Bunge Ltd. are among grain exporters that allegedly owe the Argentine government 951 million dollars in taxes and won’t be eligible for a reduced interest rate under a payment plan unveiled by the government this week.

• Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 08:22 UTC

  FAO first wheat forecasts for 2013 anticipates second largest crop on record

  

  First forecasts for the 2013 wheat harvest point to production increasing to 690 million tons, 4.3% up on 2012. This would be the second largest crop on record, according to the latest issue of FAO quarterly “Crop Prospects and Food Situation” report. The production hike is expected mostly in Europe, driven by increased plantings in response to high prices and a recovery in yields in some countries, notably the Russian Federation.

• Thursday, March 7th 2013 - 06:33 UTC

  US soy exports with a price edge over Brazil plagued with logistical shipment problems

  

  US farm officials forecast a tough autumn battle between Brazilian and US soybean exports, as Brazil attempts to make up for a poor start to 2012-13, with shipments hurt by logistical hiccups. US Department of Agriculture staff in Brasilia, while cutting their forecast of the Brazilian soybean crop to 82.5m tons, stood by a forecast of soybean exports of 39m tons for 2012-13, report agrimoney.