Agriculture

• Thursday, July 7th 2011 - 16:24 UTC

  “Sweet” sugar hikes FAO Food Price Index in June to 39% above a year ago

  

  United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, Food Price Index rose one percent to 234 points in June 2011 – 39% higher than in June 2010 but four percent below its all-time high of 238 points in February of this year.

• Wednesday, July 6th 2011 - 15:35 UTC

  Brazil 2010/11 soy crop larger than estimated but strong Real eats into profits

  

  Brazil's 2010-11 soy crop was larger than previously estimated, as higher productivity and a greater area of land planted with the oilseed resulted in record output, agricultural consultancy Celeres reported this week.

• Tuesday, July 5th 2011 - 06:14 UTC

  Argentina announces aid for areas suffering from the volcanic ash cloud

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced a package of measures to mitigate the effects of ash spewing from Chile's Puyehue volcano that has upended air travel, tourism and farming in Patagonia.

• Monday, July 4th 2011 - 19:18 UTC

  EU/Mercosur launch ‘timid’ sixth round of trade negotiations in Brussels

  

  Mercosur/European sixth round of negotiations to reach a wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement took off Monday in Brussels, but rather timidly with no immediate prospects of an exchange of proposals for market access.

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 15:46 UTC

  Expected bumper crop in US makes corn prices suffer its biggest fall in 15 years

  

  The price of corn suffered its biggest fall for 15 years on Thursday, prompting speculation that the high cost of food may start to ease. Corn prices dropped 10% after a US Department of Agriculture report that farmers are sowing unexpectedly large amounts of the grain.

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:46 UTC

  Desforestation in Brazil doubles, in anticipation of an amnesty for illegal logging

  

  Deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon, the world’s biggest rain forest, more than doubled last month as farmers become more confident they’ll be granted amnesty for illegal logging.

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:29 UTC

  Australian MPs plant to limit purchase of prime farmland by foreigners

  

  Australian lawmakers are demanding a review of foreign investment rules to stop foreign mining companies, including those from China, buying up prime farmland.

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:23 UTC

  EU farm budget frozen for next seven years and conditioned to ‘greening’

  

  The European Union has published its long-awaited budget, which will see spending on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) frozen for the next seven years and make 30% of direct support conditional on ‘greening’.

• Tuesday, June 28th 2011 - 06:01 UTC

  Avoid raw sprouts and seeds to prevent outbreak of E. coli, say Dutch and UK health officials

  

  Dutch and British health officials advised people to avoid raw sprouts and seeds after scientists linked an outbreak of E. coli in France to a highly toxic one in Germany that has killed 47 people.

• Monday, June 27th 2011 - 06:40 UTC

  Global rice production reaches 476 million tons in 2011; strong Mercosur recovery

  

  Global rice production is expected to touch 476 million tons in 2011, on the back of improved weather conditions, as the influence of La Niña is expected to neutralize by June, United Nation’s body FAO said.