The government of Indian Punjab is revamping cotton cultivation to at least half the acreage it once boasted before 2019. This at a time when India’s cotton prices to the major market of the United States are low amid uptick exports. According to Punjab’s agriculture minister Gurmet Singh Khudian on April 19, 2025, the 2025-26 target is 125,000 hectares (ha). Currently, the cotton...
The Trial of a Superchemical: Inside Bayer’s Billion-Dollar Battle Over the Soul of Modern Farming
On a quiet morning in March 2025, a jury in Georgia delivered a thunderclap verdict: $2.1 billion in damages against Bayer AG, the German pharmaceutical and agrochemical giant, over claims that its flagship weedkiller, Roundup, had caused cancer in a longtime user. It wasn’t the first verdict. It likely won’t be the last. But it felt different — not only...
Coffee value addition in Ethiopia gaining via foreign investments
As Ethiopia navigates a possible 10% tariff by its biggest coffee market, the United States, value addition in the country is improving. According to the Ethiopian Herald, foreign investors have pooled $10 million since 2022 towards export value addition. The investments could expand the marginal export share of value added coffee, currently at 1% of the total. It all starts with...
Easter eggs in the United States too pricey for rite of spring
A drop in wholesale prices has not stopped eggs to remain expensive at American grocers, downsizing Easter rites. Holiday weekend demand could keep retail rates at $6.23 for a large dozen and spoil seasonal fun. One fun tradition is “dye Easter eggs,”where folks use natural ingredients or food grade chemicals to color hard-boiled eggs. A survey reveals that 94% of families will continue the...
Salmon fisheries in California reopen for recreational harvest only
California has reopened its lucrative salmon fisheries after a 36-month hiatus but kept commercial fisheries shut. The state’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (CDFW) on April 15, 2025 outlined limited openings for the sporting harvest. This limitation follows recommendations by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) that ocean stock are still recovering from adverse climate. Similar suggestions led to the belated 2025 start of...
An apple a day for 363 years comes of age in South Africa
South Africa on April 17 is marking 363 years since the first apple tree produced fruit on local soil. Over 150 years after Vasco Da Gama circumnavigated the Cape of Good Hope, Jan van Riebeeck planted the first apple seedlings here. The first harvest of two Witte Wijnappel apples on April 17, 1662 would then shape the future of local apple production. ...
American retail beef steady despite Far East trade stoppage
A few days after China halted its beef imports from the U.S. to counter tariffs, American retail markets show price steadiness. In its April 7, 2025 weekly retail beef release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed marginal movements among cuts. While sirloin steak increased from $7.72 a pound to $9.40 week-on-week, boneless top sirloin roast shed $4 to $5.99. General increases...
Aussie avocados breaking 12-year silence in China market
Industry body, Avocados Australia, could finally gain the export chance it has been awaiting since 2013 if China clears the Aussie fruit. The first breakthrough occurred in November 2024 at the China International Import Expo, where both sides signed an avocado deal. Since then, the industry has secured pre-orders valued at A$300 million ($190.5 million) with Shanghai Huizhan International Trade. As soon as...
Vietnam spurs New Zealand’s price-unfeeling fruit exports
Even at a time when New Zealand is experiencing uptick food prices, exports of local fruits to Vietnam is flourishing. Outbound shipments seem not to affect fruit prices, which were domestically cheaper by 2% year-on-year (y-o-y) in March 2025. This is happening despite other foods getting costlier by 3.5%, y-o-y. In 2024, New Zealand shipped some NZ$172 million ($101.7 million) worth of...
Sugar pricing turning bearish from a barrage of factors
Multiple market factors from falling oil prices, demand fears and tariffs have undercut the pricing of global sugar up to mid-April 2025. Early on the 14th, unrefined sugar in New York shed -0.88% day-on-day while white sugar in London eased -0.53%. By the morning of April 15, most trade was below $0.18 a pound, continuing a streak that began on April...