Agriculture

• Tuesday, August 14th 2012 - 23:51 UTC

  Sunflower seed production down in Europe because of lack of rainfall

  

  Sunflower seed production in the European Union, Ukraine and Russia will drop 11.7% to a total of 24.82 million tons this year, from 28.12 million tons a year ago, Hamburg-based oilseed analyst Oil World said on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, August 14th 2012 - 23:38 UTC

  Mercosur farmers plan to sow record soybean area; stocks drop to half from a year ago

  

  Mercosur farmers in Brazil and Argentina are forecast to plant more soybeans for harvesting this season in response to higher prices, at the expense of wheat and corn sowing, according to Oil World. Paraguay and Uruguay Agriculture ministries have also anticipated an increase in the soybeans planted areas.

• Tuesday, August 14th 2012 - 22:10 UTC

  US, France and Mexico considering G20 emergency meeting to address soaring grain prices

  

  US, France and Mexico are planning talks to consider whether an emergency meeting is needed to tackle the soaring price of grain. The three will hold a conference call at the end of this month after the worst US drought in 50 years threatens to cause a sharp rise in the cost of staple crops.

• Tuesday, August 14th 2012 - 07:31 UTC

  Obama announces 170m dollars emergency support for scorched farms

  

  President Barack Obama announced an emergency purchase of up to 170 million dollars of meat and fish on Monday on a campaign trip to drought-hit Iowa, and accused Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan of blocking disaster aid to farmers.

• Monday, August 13th 2012 - 05:11 UTC

  Aid for US farmers stalled in Senate; proposal to reduce bio-fuel mix in gasoline

  

  The US House of Representatives passed a 383 million dollars disaster relief bill that provides political shelter for lawmakers during the worst drought in half a century, but may not release the aid for months to come.

• Saturday, August 11th 2012 - 11:17 UTC

  US consumers face dearer pork, chicken and beef because of the drought

  

  Pork and chicken will join beef on the menu of expensive meats as drought and US ethanol policy combine in a corn “disaster”, the head of the world’s largest pork producer has said.

• Saturday, August 11th 2012 - 11:03 UTC

  China only interested in commodities, not in products that reach supermarkets

  

  Trade with China for Argentina has great opportunities but also great threats because the Asian giant is only interested in produce with no added value, warned the head of Argentina’s Industrial Union, Ignacio De Mendiguren.

• Saturday, August 11th 2012 - 10:56 UTC

  Bill Gates finances research project to improve corn yields

  

  Billionaire computer magnate Bill Gates is to fund a €8m research project into whether cereal crops can be genetically engineered with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

• Friday, August 10th 2012 - 08:49 UTC

  Brazil bumper crop of corn estimated at 71.5 million tons

  

  Brazil will reap a record grain harvest of 163.3 million tons this year, a gain of two per cent over 2011, the IBGE statistics agency says. The IBGE's latest forecast, based on July data is 1.6% higher than the previous projection.

• Friday, August 10th 2012 - 08:41 UTC

  Short of soy Brazil meat producers want to import from Bolivia

  

  Meat producers in Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul state are lobbying the government to approve soy imports from neighbouring Bolivia after drought shrank supplies in the world's second grower, a state official and analysts.