
While Uruguay's National Meat Institute (INAC) eyes China, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong as the clients to target, the latter has already recorded an increase of 13% in both volume and revenues in purchases from Paraguay, according to a Central Bank (BCP) report released this week.

Chile faces a “state of shock in agriculture and fruit growing” because of the severity of the hydric crisis and sustained drought, to which must be added the driest July in the country's history, pointed out the president of the Chilean Federation of Fruit Producers, Jorge Valenzuela.

WWF and Tesco released Driven to Waste, a new report that quantifies the total amount of food lost on farms globally; revealing an estimated 2.5 billion tons of food goes uneaten around the world each year.

Brazil's JBS, one of the world's largest protein processors with interests in three continents is moving into the fish industry following a deal for the purchase of Australia's salmon farming company Huon Aquaculture for the equivalent of US$ 315 million.

Global food commodity prices fell in July for the second consecutive month, according to the benchmark United Nations FAO report. The FAO food price averaged 123.0 points in July 2021, 1.2% lower than the previous month although still 31.0% higher than its level in the same period of 2020.

Brazilian farmers are planning to expand their soy area for the 15th consecutive year, according to a survey by consulting firm Datagro. The world’s largest soybean producer and exporter will increase the area sown by 4%, to 40.57 million hectares in the 2021/2022 season.

Brazil said that it is closely monitoring the outbreak of African Swine Fever, ASF, in the Dominican Republic and is taking the necessary measures, including an alert on the control of imports, international agriculture surveillance, and animal health services.

With most Argentine ports along the Paraná river unoperational due to the historic downspout, Quequén, Necochea, and Bahía Blanca on the Atlantic coast would have become an alternative way out for agri-food exports had it not been for union strikes.

Chile's National Agriculture Society, SNA, has warned that up to 30% of crops could remain without harvesting because of a lack of manpower. SNA head Cristian Allendes participated in a conference on the labor problem and incentives to attract people to work in the fields, which was presented under the title of How is the 2020/21 season coming along?.

Chaotic climate conditions are having an impact on agriculture worldwide and in Chile the most recent victim of instability are raisins. Last January when grapes are expected to mature and develop a high content of sugar, torrential rains hit Chile's wines, and the excess of water harmed a high percentage of the harvest.