In just 3 years, Lebanon has turned from a regional exporter of avocados into an international player in Europe, especially Ukraine, Germany and the Netherlands.  Avocado exports to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have grown manifold but this is not all. Shipments to Europe shot up from just 40 tonnes in 2020 to 1000 tonnes in 2023. This echoes a revenue...

Commercially young but boasting multiple culinary uses, Australian fingerlimes (Citrus australasica) are breaking ground outside specialty restaurants into consumer markets. Many savour them as wholesome table fruits while others enjoy them as  juicy extracts or pies. Now, thanks to the Australian Native Fingerlimes Alliance (ANFA), this exotic fruit is slowly bursting out of its commercial infancy. Through consumer information and worldwide distribution,...

A senate inquiry in Australia is taking place on amicable payment arrangement between farmers and grocers.  While it takes 2 to 3 weeks for farmer remuneration by a local supermarket to happen, a pay rise often takes years. On March 11, 2024, producers in Orange, New South Wales, were bracing for a March 12 senate inquiry hearing against supermarkets. Many view the inquiry as...

Affordable cereals and vegetable oil helped lower world food prices by 10.5% year-on-year, per the FAO Food Price Index of March 8, 2024. A 22.9% yearly drop in cereal quotations counterbalanced appreciating animal products and lowered the February 2024 index.  FAO measures the appreciation or depreciation trends of agricultural commodity prices in terms of points every month. These points are the averages...

The commercially significant packing date for Vidalia onions of April 17, 2024 will coincide with rising onion acreage in south Georgia, U.S. Georgia’s Vidalia Onion Advisory Panel selected the date after careful soil and weather measurements to determine maturity timing. The 2024 harvest has the same timing as last year’s but boasts 11,000 acres, a thousand more than in 2023. Such increase in...

Thanks to a mild winter, the Pennsylvania maple syrup season came early in 2024 and is now in its second week. Since Pennsylvania’s Maple Ambassador Maddie Vandermark launched the season at a Bradford County farm on February 23, harvesting has been progressing smoothly.  To date, harvesters have been taking advantage of the fluctuating temperatures at the start of spring to maximize yields. The interaction between...

After 9 years in the making, a new banana variety in Oman could change the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s niche of agricultural economy. A strain of the resilient Williams (AAA) variety, this Cavendish mutant boasts superior adaptation to the Arabian climate. It also promises a high economic value due to its less curved bananas and high yield capacity. Its developers from Oman’s...

The mud crab season has begun in Bangladesh following a two-month yearly ban between January and February. On March 1, various fishermen took their nets and headed to the forested delta inside Mongla and Rampal coastal areas. The government gives the mud crab (Scylla olivacea)’s spawning timeline as January through February but new research reveals it usually happens in March and April.  Ban in...

American grain futures collectively fell on March 5 for diverse reasons including a new soy harvest in Brazil. Corn futures set for delivery in May slumped in Chicago on March 5, 2024 by 3 3/4 cents or 0.94%, to $4.26 a bushel. This followed a rebound to $4.3 per bushel a day earlier, which came as a result of temporary short covering.  Fears of...

Rice supply in the Philippines is heading into a stable phase through mid-2024, courtesy of the ongoing spring harvest. Additional supplies from Vietnam and a possible price stabilization deal with Cambodia will also meet domestic demand. As a consequence, the government assured on March 5 that rice prices will remain under 49 pesos ($0.88) a kg. The above retail price will also...