Corn - Prices unchanged even with crop failure

According to Conab (Brazilian Company for Food Supply), 2008/09 corn production (summer and winter crops) is already 15 percent minor in relation to that observed in 2008, reaching only 49.9 million tons. The area was reduced by 4.4 percent (14.1 million hectares) and the productivity 11.1 percent.
Read more...

Agriculture growth seen slowing in Q2

Philippine agricultural production in the second quarter of the year is expected to post slower growth from a year ago.
Read more...

Agriculture and Food in Crisis

“Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?,” asks the title of an article by Lester Brown in Scientific American (May 2009). Just a few years ago, such a question would have seemed almost laughable. Few will be surprised by it today.
Read more...

Brazil avoids the cold chill of recession

Economic growth in Brazil is expected to top 4 per cent next year, writes DOMINIC COYLE in Rio de Janeiro
Read more...

Insect-Protected Biotech Soybeans Are Coming to Brazil

Monsanto Company announced they have completed regulatory submissions in Brazil for its first insect-protected biotech soybeans. Insect pests have not been a major economic issue in the U.S. for soybean producers and Monsanto has focused on insect resistance in corn and cotton where U.S. producers do face economic losses. While Monsanto is a U.S. company and the U.S. has the largest acreage in the world for corn and soybeans, it is seeking out other areas where biotechnology can be adapted to meet specific local needs.
Read more...

Cotton - Brazilian market slows down, expecting new season

Brazilian cotton prices kept downward trend along with the first fortnight of June. In this scenario, growers were interested in liquidating stock left from 2007/08 crop. Buyers, in turn, refrained from trading, expecting products from new season that should be available in the next fortnight. Prices remain pressed also by lower export and import parity.
Read more...

Citrus - Brazilian industry starts to crush 2009/10 crop

In the first fortnight of June, some orange juice processors of São Paulo state started to crush early fruits from the 2009/10 season. Even so, offers to the fresh fruit market remained high, especially for early varieties. The domestic demand, however, was low due to rainy and cold weather. In Brazil, rainfalls in the São Paulo state were favorable to the orchards.
Read more...

Ethanol - Brazilian demand holds drops in harvest period

In the first fortnight of June, Brazilian ethanol prices registered slight changes. All in all, they can be considered firm once harvest is moving on in the Center-Southern region, and sugarcane production is forecast to be, again, a record. According to Unica (Sugarcane Agroindustry Association), between early April and May 15, hydrated production rose 85 percent in relation to the same period in 2008. For the anhydrous ethanol, there was a drop of 0.42 percent in the production.
Read more...

Brazil Ready to Expand Help and Cooperation with Africa

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, is going to propose broad cooperation with Africa at the 13th African Union (AU) Summit, to take place in Sirte, Libya, from July 1st to 3. Lula should participate in the meeting as a guest of honor.
Read more...

Sugar - Prices plunge due to need of cash, but level is still high

In the balance of the first fortnight of June, Brazilian sugar prices tumbled. Even so, the current prices in the domestic market (considering Sao Paulo state) are still roughly 55 percent higher than those recorded in the same period of 2007 and 2008.
Read more...

Meat - Lower demand presses down beef prices

In the first fortnight of June, lower supply (few animals available to trade) of fed cattle along with selling restraint in Brazil reduced pressure over arroba (15 kilos) quotations. In this period is expected that farmers be willing to trade once the winter reduces significantly the pasture production.
Read more...

Soybean - Grain hits year record

During the first fortnight of June, international and Brazilian soybean (in dollar and reais, respectively) reached the highest quotations of the year, in nominal terms. The support came from the maintenance of China’s imports and crop failure in Argentina, which has driven Brazil and the United States to meet the demand.
Read more...

Brazil Economists Expect Economy to Shrink 0.57%

Private economists surveyed by Brazil’s central bank say they expect the country’s economy to shrink 0.57 percent this year, a more optimistic forecast than that of the World Bank, which calls by a 1.1 percent fall in Brazilian GDP.
Read more...

Vast stretch of African savannah ripe for commercial farming – UN

Unlocking the potential of a massive stretch of savannah spanning 25 African nations could boost commercial farming on the continent, according to a new United Nations study.
Read more...