
In 2017 Latin America and the Caribbean will have left behind half a decade of prices decline of its export basket plus a weak increase in the exported volume, achieving an overall 10% growth in the value of its shipments abroad, according to new estimates released by ECLAC in Chile.

Winners of the Hackathon Agro competition co-organized by the UK embassy in Uruguay, the local Cámara Uruguaya de Tecnologías de la Información (CUTI) and Fundación da Vinci, have visited England. Carlos Capano, Juan Francisco Kniazev and Agustín Ackermann, shared their experiences from their trip to England with Ambassador Ian Duddy, upon their return.

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.