They may be fewer than the traditional kluai na mwa variety, but “golden bananas” or kluai hom thong are turning farmers’ fortunes in Thailand. A production slump in the 2023-2024 harvest has made demand override supply and occasioned market price doubling. According to the Bangkok Post, this Musa acuminata AAA group member was costing 30 baht ($0.89) a kg by September 10, 2024. The normal price is usually 15...
Prices of soy in two states in India improve
India has raised farmers’ prices of soy to a minimum support price (MSP) of 4,892 rupees ($58.26) a quintal (100 kg) in three states. The first set of states to receive this increment were Karnataka in the southwest and Maharashtra in the west of the country. But it was the September 11, 2024 MSP approval in oilseed leader Madhya Pradesh (MP) in...
Chicken productivity in China’s hinterland up courtesy AI
Silkie chicken productivity in China’s orange-rich southwestern mountainous province of Guizhou has increased by 30% thanks to AI agriculture. According to China Daily, a breeding station at Tiantaishan hamlet in Chishui is using artificial intelligence for tracking and monitoring purposes. The breeding locale is exclusive to the Silkie chicken, an atypical fluffy-feathered and crested type that originated from Asia. Though most farms...
Transfarmation Project® demonstrates “enhanced environmental control system” of vegetable greenhouse
Agriculture accounts for 10% of greenhouse emissions in the United States and 25% globally, hence the need for sustainable projects. One such is The Transfarmation Project® by Mercy for Animals, which has transformed a poultry barn into an eco-friendly vegetable greenhouse in North Carolina. Aptly, the project’s team says that “specialty-crop farming generates much less greenhouse gas than factory animal farming.” Paulomi Joshi, Demonstration Hub Project Manager...
Terra Vera launches ApiVera “to preserve bee populations”
Terra Vera has introduced ApiVera, a bee health solution to regenerate the apian sector. The launch is no departure from the company’s keynote amino acid-reliant crop management platform but an improvement of the same. Both a brand and division of the company, ApiVera seeks to improve bee colony sustainability one step at a time from New Mexico and beyond. Notably, “Api” denotes the...
Fruitbox brings Zespri kiwifruit to Kenya: “cost is less by doing direct routing”
Fruitbox Ltd. has partnered with New Zealand post-harvest operator EastPack Ltd. to supply Zespri brand kiwifruit to Kenya. This at a time when Kenya’s kiwifruit imports from mainly Chile, South Africa and New Zealand have magnified almost threefold. The imports grew from 142.7 tonnes in 2014 to 396.3 tonnes in 2022, according to ITC. Fresh from its sustainability campaign, Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, a co-owner of Fruitbox Ltd., could strategically improve...
Wheat price fluctuations checkmating EU’s farmers
Wheat price fluctuations which usually hover between rallies and dips do not benefit Europe’s farmers, Nieuweoogst reported on September 9, 2024. On the flip side, fluctuating wheat futures in the Euronext trading platform in Paris benefit traders who buy low and sell high. August 2024 was a case study, where the price difference between the weakest and strongest September delivery contracts...
Zimbabwe becomes Africa’s fourth avocado shipper to China
Zimbabwe will soon ship avocados to China following a September 4-6, 2024 bilateral agreement at the China-Africa Forum in Beijing. President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his host Xi Jinping signed the phytosanitary pact, alongside several other bilateral exchanges. But Zimbabwe’s joining the likes of Kenya, South Africa, and lately Tanzania to the 66,000-tonne Chinese avocado export base comes at a price. Strict Requirements The...
Milk rates in the EU, UK on an upward trajectory
UK’s customers and their European Union (EU)’s counterparts are bracing for hiking milk rates as supplies slump worldwide. According to Arla, the dairy multinational that makes the Cravendale branded products, UK shoppers should expect tough pricing regime end 2024. For one, Europe’s wholesale butter has already hinted of the upward curve with its surprise €8,000 ($8,831) a tonne hike on September 3,...
The Arunachal Pradesh ginger benefits farmers after export agreement
The premium Arunachal Pradesh ginger has benefited its growers after the Tibet-bordering northeast India state signed a 5,000-tonne export agreement. Arunachal Pradesh’s Agriculture Marketing Board (APAMB) signed the 350 million-rupee ($4.17 million) agreement with RC Roy Associates on September 8, 2024. During the drafting of the pact, APAMB’s officials said that farmers will be getting payment through the board. The mouthwatering deal will see the company...