They may be two different products but Mexican tequila and South African beer both use a common spice, namely lime. This is why South Africa’s AB InBev, originally from Mexico, decided to grow its own limes to stem international shortage. One of the company’s key brews is Corona beer, which is served with a slice of lime. A nearly similar scenario played out...

Just when neighboring Philippines is navigating a price rise, rice prices in Thailand have dipped over a weakening baht. Consequently, both export and domestic sales in Thailand in the market week ending February 23, 2024 took a dip. The country’s export prices depend on a strong performance of the baht against the dollar to gain, and its weakening lowers prices. 1 baht...

Xuwen, the county on the southern tip of Guangdong province in southeast China is back again with springtime pineapples. According to Yulin Evening News, the initial harvest is underway and the county has been rolling out 6 million catties (3000 tonnes) of the fruit daily. Catty is an oriental measure of fresh produce equivalent to half a kg. The above daily harvest rate underlines the...

With spring knocking in the Northern Hemisphere, an award-winning floral showcase is returning for its 195th edition this March. The theme of the 2024 Philadelphia Flowers Show, America’s oldest and most prestigious floral event is ‘United by Flowers.” It will be uniting American organic flower growers and experts with flower enthusiasts. In extension, the 2024 theme will be all about spreading love, appreciation...

Two weeks after farmers’ protests in France forced the European Commission to rethink its climate terms, tractor demonstrations have lately shaken Spain and Greece. On February 21, 2024, Madrid looked like a ploughing field as hundreds of farmers drove tractors to the capital. The participants are agitating for the lowering of the cost of farm inputs such as fertilizer and better farm-gate prices. In...

Egypt is covering a juicing orange gap in Europe at a time when Brazil and the Iberian Peninsula are rushing their harvests. Hoping to hit 2 million tonnes for the December 2023 to July 2024 season, Egypt is counting on the low-supplied European market. The leading citrus exporter is looking forward to topping the record 1.6 million tonnes it exported in the 2022-23 season. The...

Vietnam is witnessing a wave of exports in three agricultural commodities, benefiting producers with high prices. For one, coffee is seemingly repeating the June 2023 pattern when exports diminished domestic supply with a corresponding price hike. A similar scenario is also staging around the currently pricey durian and rice in as early as February, 2024. After a lull in November...

As the Wisconsin sturgeon spearing season reaches its 16-day headway, harvesters have caught between 14 and 16% of capacity. Of this total, 2% consist of 8 sturgeon weighing a hundred pounds and above. This is lower than in 2023 but way better than 1969 which yielded only 8 fish, all below a hundred pounds. Most of the 100-pounders came from the Upriver Lakes, including...

It may look exactly like a typical Cavendish banana, but QCAV-4 is actually a genetically modified banana. It has become the world’s first  GM banana to gain approval as human food, in the Oceania region. Since the turn of the millennium, researches in Queensland have been developing QCAV-4.  20 years on, Food Standards Australia (FSA) as well as New Zealand’s...

30 years after the song “Gin and Juice” came out, Snoop Dogg and Dr.Dre have unveiled a cocktail line of four fruity drinks. They made the announcement on February 12, 2024. This release by the legendary musical and cultural stars includes four flavors namely apricot, melon, citrus and passion fruit.  The label of each canned drink reflects the corresponding color of the...