Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) will navigate the 10% beef tariff that the U.S. President Donald Trump announced on April 3, 2024. The equal duty on various Aussie products happened despite speculation by the local beef industry of possible exemption. In a press briefing on April 4, MLA’s MD Michael Crowley however owned to have anticipated the surtax from early 2025. The...
The Vietnam lychee prepares China expansion via Hekou port
A year after China signed agreements that favored lychee imports from Vietnam, the cross-border Hekou port anticipates expansive 2025 trade. Each early summer, the port receives thousands of tonnes of lychees from Vietnam. Back in May 2024 alone, 6,600 tonnes of the fruit passed via the harbor. With its well-developed rail infrastructure and fast custom clearance, this southwestern China port facilitates...
Agriculture braces for April 2 “Liberation Day” Tariffs
World agriculture is bracing for tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump will announce later on April 2, 2025 or “Liberation day.” On March 3, Trump postponed tariffs on “external agriculture product” apart from those from China, to April 2. As the day itself arrives, some countries such as Canada and India have already begun analyzing tariff effect. Canada Canada is...
Vertical farming startups plunging from “Plenty” to zero
Farming in vertical interiors has made the spotlight after startup Plenty Unlimited lost grip from billions in investments into bankruptcy. With a base in San Francisco, the company plunged into history after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late March 2025. This despite initial investments running into billions of dollars by Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt and others. While the firm...
Chilean sea bass to get costlier after U.S. judge upholds import ban
Sourced from the world’s end, the expensive Chilean sea bass could get dearer after a federal judge backed a 2022 import ban. Judge David Leibowitz of Florida on April 1, 2025 ruled against Southern Cross Seafoods from Texas which had lodged the anti-ban case in 2022. The United States banned all shipments from a sustainable region near Chile following refusal by...
Farm imports from Ukraine to reduce significantly, says EU
The European Union (EU) confirmed on March 28, 2025 that farm imports emanating from Ukraine will reduce from June 2025. Christophe Hansen, the EU’s agriculture commissioner, told AFP of significant agricultural import cuts when Ukraine renegotiates an expiring free trade deal. This is in reference to a temporary free trade deal drafted in 2022 at the dawn of war with Russia. A...
Ojai pixies bring Lent pies to the Golden State
The peak harvest of Ojai Valley pixies in southern California is back, a time when the petite fruits paint groves orange. For 2025, production by keynote growers is up while inns that stock specialty goodies are theming Lent offers with pixies. Family producer supporter, Melissa’s Produce cites a bigger harvest than 2024’s of smaller fruits with a Brix of 18º. Guarding...
The India MSP program procures multi-million tonnes of spring legumes
Gunning towards self-sufficiency, India is currently procuring Rabi (spring) crops directly from farmers at the Minimum Support Price or MSP. A brief by the Union Minister of Agriculture Shivraj S. Chouhan on March 27, 2025 cited 100% purchases for certain legumes. These include masoor, urad and tur (pigeon peas) under this generous pricing plan. The purchases extend a plan that the...
The New York trout fishing season starting with higher stock
Trout angling in New York starts April 1, 2025 with largesse after the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) stocked interior waters with nearly 1.9 million fish. The department cites a current brook, rainbow and brown trout stock of 1,873,980 across thousands of streams, ponds and lakes. Levels could augment in the coming three months as the DEC continuously stocks public...
Citrus South Africa estimates even exports for 2025
Steady shipments with neither oversupply nor undersupply define 2025’s citrus campaign in South Africa, forecasts the Citrus Growers of Southern Africa (CGA). Growth in navel and Valencia orange volumes will buoy exports despite a 5% yearly retraction in lemons, the industry forecasts. According to the CGA chairman Gerrit van der Merwe, the volume break even will enable the sector meet...