Brazilian meatpacker BRF SA has admitted to bribing food inspectors with bank deposits and health benefits, police said on Tuesday, although the company itself avoided raids as it was cooperating with the latest phase of the corruption probe.
China's hog herd fell by half in the first eight months of 2019 due to a devastating outbreak of African swine fever and will likely shrink by 55% by the end of the year, analysts at Rabobank said on Wednesday.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday signed a decree with a variety of measures to expand financing for farmers. The measures include the creation of a fraternal fund that will provide an estimated 5 billion reais (US$ 1.20 billion) in additional credit for the sector, according to Rogerio Miranda, the Economy Ministry's deputy secretary for agriculture policy.
Brazilian farmers are wary of the imminent introduction of a new genetically modified soy seed technology because of the risks associated with dicamba, a herbicide the biotech product is designed to tolerate.
Dry weather in Argentina is hitting the outlooks for wheat and corn crops, local climate experts said, while low-cost soy is being supported by growers looking to hedge their bets with political uncertainty rising ahead of October's presidential vote.
Chinese commodities trader COFCO said it expects a sharp drop in the number of soybeans it will source for export from Brazil this year due to an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China that has hurt demand for animal feed.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday questioned a decision by his top trade negotiators to ask Chinese officials to delay a planned trip to U.S. farming regions after trade talks last week, saying he wanted China to buy more American farm products.
South Korea on Tuesday reported its first cases of African swine fever, becoming the latest country hit by the disease that has killed pigs from China to North Korea, pushing up pork prices worldwide.
Brazilian beef' packer Marfrig Global Foods SA said it is in the process of hiring 400 people to work at its Promissão plant in the state of São Paulo as Chinese demand warrants an increase in meat production.
Brazil’s soybean sowing season for the 2019-20 harvest is officially underway, but there might not be too many planters out in the fields just yet as conditions are extremely dry.