Author: Timothy Wahome (Timothy Wahome)

Lobster population prediction in Western Australia gets precise
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Lobster population prediction in Western Australia gets precise

Marine biologists have developed a precise satellite monitoring method that could ease lobster population tracking in Western Australia (WA). In a Science of the Total Environment publication, scientists reveal how monitoring seagrass (H.minor) and algae changes could help predict lobster stock. The premise is that rock lobster gather around healthy marine grass habitats. Monitoring changes in these ecologies...

Olive oil price falls in Spain, retail offers turn irresistible
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Olive oil price falls in Spain, retail offers turn irresistible

The hitherto premium olive oil price in Spain has lately fallen from the heights of $6 €(5.72) per liter in May 2023. This has enabled supermarkets to be generous by offering gross discounts, even for expensive brands. A normally premium Coosur-branded bottle of olive oil now costs €5.49 ($5.76) per liter or 38% less at Aldi. This is quite a...

sugar
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The Philippines to ship 66,000 tonnes of sugar to the U.S.

The Philippines will export 66,000 tonnes of raw sugar to the United States before April 2025 to siphon off domestic glut. According to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), the shipments will help stabilize fluctuating domestic prices. Although the American import price is 1,000 pesos ($17.26) below the local 50 kg wholesale price, shipments will still...

grapefruit supports the Florida fruit sector
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Florida relaunches the Citrus Protection Act against China

Republican Congressmen Daniel Webster and Greg Steube of Florida (Fla) have reintroduced the Citrus Protection Act to restrict commercial imports from China. As representative of The Villages in central Fla, Webster aims to put local agriculture first and stamp out foreign dependancy.  The bill graced the 119th Congress’ 1st session in Washington D.C. on February 18, 2025 and...

Renting chicken for eggs becomes last resort in America 
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Renting chicken for eggs becomes last resort in America 

People in the United States are renting chicken for eggs like there is no tomorrow over bird flu-related egg inflation. Although plant-based eggs abound, Americans are still adamant for the real thing whose prices now average $4.95 a dozen.  Luckily, longterm rental firms have made leasing a backyard layer or two cool and even professional....

Coffee demand brings Kenya’s estates record $6.60 per kg
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Coffee demand brings Kenya’s estates record $6.60 per kg

Robust coffee demand drove late 2024 auction prices at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) to record 859.40 shillings ($6.60) per kg.  Helpfully, dry weather effect on Brazil’s and Vietnam’s crops rallied international prices to a historic $3.3545 a pound (7.37 per kg).  This strong international price was a windfall for Kenya’s coffee estates, just then beginning their October...

Rice in Japan grows dear as inflation surges 0.4%
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Rice in Japan grows dear as inflation surges 0.4%

With inflation up by 0.4% in January 2025 from December 2024, rice in Japan is at its steepest pricing on record. This turn of events has eclipsed the legendary deflation that Japan has toyed with for decades.  The Bank of Japan put the core consumer price index (CPI) for January 2025 at 3.2%, year-on-year (y-o-y).  Marking the...

Egypt is a world leader in strawberry production
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A California strawberry freeze spikes market demand

Torrential rain and snow have lately hosed through the central California strawberry belt and created market shortage amid high demand.  Some key producers in Santa Maria in central California such as Markon Cooperative sent advisories of harvest disruptions by rain.  The cooperative cited over 2 inches of rain in northern Santa Barbara, which effectively postponed picking schedule...

Agriculture Canada ups canola ending stock by 500k t
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Agriculture Canada ups canola ending stock by 500k t

Agriculture Canada has in February added 0.5 million tonnes to its monthly estimate of the 2024-25 canola ending stock. The raise over the foregoing January estimate puts the ending reserve at 1.3 million tonnes or half 2023-24’s 2.75 million tonnes. This means that the 2024-25 stock might go down to the wire as the tightest...

Humpback whale recreates Jonah moment in Chile: the bigger picture
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Humpback whale recreates Jonah moment in Chile: the bigger picture

A once-in-a-lifetime experience has recalled defunct whaling after a humpback whale spouted kayaker Adrian Simancas on the Strait of Magellan, Chile. Still garnering clicks on video weeks later, the mid-February 2025 experience took place at the southernmost expanse of South American waters.   Even though the whale took Adrian into its open jaws, it spit him out...