For the second year, milkmen in New Zealand could again bag a NZ$10 ($5.72) per kilogram of milk solids (kgMS) farm gate average. As the last quarter of the 2024-25 season closes in May, milk could still lock at the forecast NZ$10+ ($5) per kgMS. Westpac’s forecasts have even got bold enough to bet that the product might hit NZ$10.30 ($5.90) a...
Farmers welfare, irrigation get lion’s share of India’s agriculture budget
Rural development is the focus of India’s 2025-26 agriculture budget after Agriculture and Farmers Welfare amassed 40% of the departmental budget. The total national budget of 50.65 trillion rupees ($582.5 billion) focused mainly on infrastructure development and agriculture. On February 17, 2025, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi noted that annual agriculture & allied budget has increased 12%. The allocation for agriculture & allied sectors...
The South Africa sugar sector hopeful of tax moratorium
The South Africa sugar industry expects the Finance Minister Enoch Gogongwana not to increase a biting health levy during the February 19, 2025 budget. While the minister may not terminate the controversial health promotion levy (HPL), he might offer a 60-month moratorium of not raising it. According to the executive director of South African Sugar Association (SASA) Sifiso Mhlaba in Durban, a moratorium would...
West Papua makes a cocoa comeback after decline
Once a revered source of Indonesia’s Trinitario and Forastero cocoa varieties, West Papua province is lately witnessing a production resurgence. West papua Now reported on February 14, 2024 how Jayapura Regency where the Grime River plies has overcome production decline by dibbling new cocoa seedlings. Local farmers are currently utilizing disease-resistant seedlings from the regency government that can withstand the Helopeltis spp fungus. The microorganism has undermined...
Dungeness crabbing in Oregon garners value despite low haul
60 days on, Oregon’s Dungeness crab season is bringing top dollar to crabbers amid low inventories at sea. Back-to-back mid-December openings in the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons have bequeathed Oregon early bird prices. In both seasons, the state’s fishermen enjoyed a week or two before California and Washington belatedly opened their seasons in January. But not so live hauls. By mid-February 2025,...
Egg consumption in Sri Lanka meets self-sufficiency
Rising egg consumption in Sri Lanka is enjoying price amelioration after the country moved from net importer status to sufficient producer. The Sri Lanka Producers’ Association announced on February 2, 2025 that the country has attained self-sufficiency. January Price Spike Dampens Consumption Ironically, the news came at a time when customers were switching to other protein sources due to then high egg...
Cacao beans love pricey this Valentine’s Day
Cacao beans and their derivatives won’t spare candy lovers this love weekend. Analysts predict even higher prices to come than current, a bad timing for Valentine’s Day gifts. From just $2,000 a tonne in 2022 to over $10,000 in February 2025, raw cocoa is increasingly making love giveaways expensive. According to AP, in Belgium where notable candy makers operate, factories are scouring...
FDA recall of 60 baked goods stokes listeria awareness
A voluntary FDA recall of 60 baked goods in the U.S. has brought listeria contamination into focus. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first listed the over 2 million product units on its recall page on January 7, 2025. This followed a voluntary withdrawal alert by manufacturer and wholesaler FGF LLC, based in Brownsburg, Illinois. By February 5, when the FDA site...
Price of sugar in India back in the black
Early mill closing, ethanol production and export window have lately helped lift the price of sugar in India. According to the Economic Times, the January 2025 price hit 39,500 rupees ($455.04) a tonne, effectively overturning December 2024’s 38,000 rupees ($437.76). In late 2024, the wholesale price of sugar in India had fallen by 3% year-on-year (y-o-y) as cane harvesting begun. The price rally...
Gulf of Maine lobster gets eleventh hour harvest size repeal
Gulf of Maine lobster fishermen will not throw back market-ready lobster into the ocean after a February 4, 2025 size rule repeal. An association serving 11 states on the East Coast of the United States finally begrudgingly decided to favor worried fishermen. The decision by the American Lobster Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission now annuls the looming July 1,...