
The World Health Organization is recommending that farmers and the food industry stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals.

Brazil’s Petrobras on Tuesday revealed plans to sell its stake in an African oil exploration venture as part of a wider divestment plan. The state managed oil company is looking to sell its 50% stake in Petrobras Oil & Gas BV, or Petrobras Africa.

Ireland's Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has expressed “grave concerns” about the offer of a beef tariff rate quota in last month’s round of European Union/Mercosur discussions, which he said gives rise to potentially very serious consequences for the Irish and EU beef sector in particular.

Argentina's central bank raised its policy rate to 28.75% on Tuesday, up from 27.25% previously, as inflation expectations rise, the monetary authority said in a statement. It was the bank's second consecutive hike after a long period of holding the rate steady.

Oil settled lower on Tuesday after rising to the highest since July 2015 the previous day, while tension flared between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the Saudi crown prince tightened his grip on power.

Argentine president Mauricio Macri who has made signing trade deals a priority, said he was optimistic that Mercosur, the trade bloc formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, would be able to conclude a free trade deal with the European Union by year-end despite differences over beef, ethanol and other agribusiness matters.

Brazilian president Michel Temer admitted that the social security reform bill may not be put to a vote, but underlined that even if that is the case, the federal government will not be shut down.

A new system implemented by the World Bank to measure the number of people who live below the poverty line has meant that in Brazil the number has risen from 8.9 million to 45.5 million, which is almost a third of the population.

Finland's UPM and the Government of Uruguay have signed an investment agreement, which outlines the local prerequisites for a potential pulp mill investment. The agreement details the roles, commitments and time-line for both parties as well as the relevant items to be agreed prior to the final investment decision, reported the Finnish company in a release on Tuesday.

Chinese grains trader COFCO International has agreed to sell its crop seeds business to Swiss-based Syngenta AG as it overhauls its activities following a series of major overseas acquisitions The deal to sell Nidera Seeds, which operates in Latin America, was announced by COFCO International and Syngenta in a statement on Monday.