Despite being the most consumed fruit in the world, the banana (Musa banksii/Musa sapientum) is experiencing a steady price fall. This is amid a release by the Federal Bank of St. Louis that shows a decade-on-decade price appreciation. More so, Latin America’s farmers are foreseeing a 20 to 25% fall in production due to El Niño effects. However, this quantity drop may not...

Despite a looming 3-month fishing ban in the North Sea, Scotland’s cod harvesting in Shetland is at its five-year best. Shetland Inshore Fish Survey (SIFS) on January 22, 2024 showed that local cod catches in 2023 were the highest since 2018. The survey also predicted enough stocks for the 2024 fishing season. This good news comes just when the European Union (EU) is...

A new shipping route via China’s northern port city of Tiajing could help reduce the wholesale cost of cherries from Chile by 50%.  Originally, cherries from Latin America had to land in south China before lengthy dispatches to the north, exacerbating costs. As of January 18, 2024, a half kilogram of Chilean cherries were costing 200 Yuan ($27.86). At 400 Yuan $55.72 a kg,...

Among the most exclusive apples in France today is Cœur de Reine, which has risen exponentially in consumer appeal and overtaken popular varieties. It is marketed by Blue Whale, a French brand that began operations in 1950 as a conglomerate of food producers. The firm boasts nationwide apple growers extending from the Garonne Valley to the Alps. Particularly keen on the phenomenal popularity of...

Embraer, the Brazil-based maker of Ipanema agricultural aircraft delivered 18% more of these planes by December 2023 than in 2022.  Briefing Reuters on January 15, the company said that the record deliveries banked on a strong growth of Brazil’s farming sector.  Ipanema is an eco-friendly biofuel plane that farmers in Brazil use to dust crops, especially soya, corn, coffee and sugarcane.  In...

Namibia’s grapes are supplanting the gap left by a 10% fall in South African table grape supplies in UK supermarkets by January 23, 2024. Drastic weather in 2023 decreased the supply of grapes from South Africa, the traditional source for UK grocers.  Already, the red seedless variety that thrives in the mild weather of southern Namibia is proving a hit among...

Rising shipping costs have made shippers of agricultural goods from the West Mediterranean reconsider redelivery of shipments to Asia.  China and India are receiving most of these expensive redeliveries Houthi rebels based in Yemen started targeting commerce ships plying the Red Sea  in end 2023.  Hence, deliveries of commodities like wheat from Europe to Asia have been losing at least 9 days...

Peanuts, soybean oil, hides and pork were among U.S. produce whose export sales decreased in the week ending January 21, 2024. On an upper trajectory were corn, soybeans, cotton, rice and wheat, due to increasing demand in mainly Asia and Europe. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released these weekly summaries on January 19, 2024.   Peanuts down Farmers received farm gate...

Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Juan Carlos Mathews estimated on January 8, 2024 that national exports in 2023 would equal 2022’s. One of these exports is avocados, of which the minister said Peru ranks second worldwide. Mathews’ projections echo a rise by 9% in total avocado exports from January to September 2023 in comparison to 2022. By September, Peru’s avocado...

China on January 18, 2024 allowed the domestic production of several GMO cultivars of corn and soybeans, including single corn and soy imports, apiece. These genetically modified crop approvals are the first steps in a race to fight domestic food security concerns. With an aim to realize 100% self-sufficiency in agricultural production, China’s GMO crop production targets mainly grains and textile. In this latest development, the...