
Argentina’s corn 2021/22 crop has now been estimated at less than the 48 million tons of just a few weeks ago, according to the Rosario grains exchange, because a severe drought has slashed yields. Likewise with soybeans first estimate of 40,5 million tons.

The benchmark gauge for world food prices went up in February, reaching an all-time high, led by vegetable oils and dairy products, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has reported.

Brazil will be launching this month an ambitious national plan to stimulate investment in the country's fertilizer industry, cutting on foreign dependency now worsened by the Ukrainian war and shipping difficulties.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also caused major disruptions in the agricultural commodities' markets with soaring prices for wheat, corn, soybeans... and much speculation.

China will begin the sale of state-owned reserves to increase supply in the world’s largest oilseed market, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration announced, although no auction volumes or dates were advanced.

French poultry industry group supported the government's decree banning meat imports from animals treated with growth antibiotics, a practice prohibited in the European Union since 2006, but which still needs to be fully implemented particularly for the poultry sector.

While Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was in Moscow visiting his close friend and admired populist 'strong man' Vladimir Putin, in the midst of the escalating situation in Ukraine, and brushing off critics saying Brazil is nobody's a puppet, his agriculture minister was in a more strategic mission, --in another outcast country--, but crucial for the booming farming sector.

The threat of a full-scale war has increased fears of shortages in the near future, driving prices up. The ton of soybeans rose 2.4% and closed at US$ 615.45, while corn grew 1.3% to close at US$ 269.19 and wheat climbed 3.6% and to reach US$ 321.87, it was reported.

Some of the first consequences of the Ukraine conflict? Belarus, a close ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin, has announced that the Belarus Potash Corporation, BPC, will no longer abide by some contracts following sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries.

United States keeps breaking records and slowly taking the global beef exports leadership, at least in terms of revenue according to the latest figures from the US Department of Agriculture, USDA. A situation which is having its impact on Brazil, a longtime top of the list in beef exports.