Agriculture

• Thursday, October 14th 2010 - 05:35 UTC

  US farm exports forecasted to surpass the 2008 record of 115 billion US dollars

  

  United States farm exports may surpass a 2008 record of 115.3 billion US dollars on surging corn, soybean and wheat prices, according to Joe Glauber, the US Department of Agriculture’s chief economist.

• Thursday, October 14th 2010 - 05:32 UTC

  Argentine farmers warn on deteriorating conditions for agriculture and livestock

  

  The combination of policies from the Argentine presidential Kirchner couple and scarce rainfall have had devastating consequences for agriculture and livestock breeding, claimed Hugo Luis Biolcati president of the Argentine Rural Society, SRA, the country’s strongest farmers’ lobby.

• Wednesday, October 13th 2010 - 23:36 UTC

  FAO promotes agriculture resources in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

  

  The countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia have vast untapped agricultural resources and can play a vital role in improving world food security, the FAO and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) said at the opening of a two-day meeting in Istanbul this week.

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 06:59 UTC

  China resumes purchases of Argentine soy beans banned since April

  

  China’s two largest state-owned grains and oilseeds trading companies to import soybean oil from Argentina, easing restrictions imposed in April. Beijing-based Cofco Ltd., China’s biggest grain trader, and China Grain Reserves Corp. have been cleared by the commerce ministry to import soybean oil from Argentina.

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 06:36 UTC

  UN corn and soybean futures resumed rally on Monday

  

  United States corn and soybean futures resumed their rally Monday as a surprising government crop report from last week continued to drive concerns over supplies.

• Friday, October 8th 2010 - 00:12 UTC

  Brazil forecasts crop will reach a record 148.9 million tons in 2010 farm year

  

  Brazil forecasts a record crop of cereals and oilseeds totalling 148.9 million tons, the largest ever, according to the latest release from the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE.

• Wednesday, October 6th 2010 - 22:47 UTC

  GM cultivation totalled 134 million hectares in 2009; 77% soybeans, 49% cotton

  

  The cultivation of genetically modified plants increased globally in 2009 with the field area rising by nine million hectares over 2008 to a total of 134 million.

• Monday, October 4th 2010 - 22:40 UTC

  Zoellick calls for the reinstatement of emergency food aid program

  

  World Bank president Robert Zoellick expressed concern about the renewed speculation with agriculture commodities which in the last months have seen prices of food in developing countries soar

• Saturday, September 25th 2010 - 05:02 UTC

  FAO emergency meeting to address soaring prices of cereals

  

  Experts from more than 75 FAO Member States agreed Friday that while there were no grounds for complacency, there was no indication of an impending world food crisis. They proposed exploring new measures to check food price volatility and manage associated risks.

• Sunday, September 12th 2010 - 06:50 UTC

  USDA cuts forecast for global wheat 2010/11 harvest, 5.5% down from last year

  

  US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cut its forecast for global wheat production in 2010-11, but by less than expected. USDA now predicts total output of 643 million tonnes for the current agricultural year, down from its August forecast of 645.7 million.