Thanks to tight supplies, the bell pepper market is strong in the U.S., ahead of the November Thanksgiving holiday season. At the same time, there is a new ‘hottest pepper’ champ, with 1 million more heat units than its predecessor. High demand, low supplies There is currently high demand for green pepper in the U.S., as supplies diminish due to...

For the first time in 2023, the retail prices of lamb meat and mutton in Australia have slumped to AUD$10 per kg. The drop marks an initial 10% reduction of an oncoming bigger slash. This means that mutton is as cheap as chicken and may reduce further if retailers match farm gate price cuts. By October 17, 2023, farmers were...

Consumer prices of groceries in South Africa have risen but supplies of mangoes and avocado in Limpopo Province hold stead. On the occasion of South Africa’s October Food Month, officials have remarked that Limpopo is without food pressure due to its “rich and fertile soil.” Nationally, however, potato, onion and egg market prices have spiked by as high as 13%...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) draws a line between trade and political affairs, according to the trade minister, spurred by the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.  “We don’t mix the economy and trade with politics,” commented Thani Ahmed al Zeyoudi to the press in Dubai, October 10.   Regarding the imminent siege of Gaza, al Zeyoudi echoed the foreign ministry’s statement that Hamas...

A week after U.S. corn and soybean prices fell, production statistics reveal that the September harvests are also down. The U.S. National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced on October 12, 2023 that yields will come shy of earlier forecasts. Corn will lose 1% in yield predictions but gain 10% year-on-year (y-o-y),  while soybeans will shed yield by 4%. October 1st, 2023 forecasts indicate 173...

Zimbabwe may experience lower-than-normal rains between December, 2023 and February, 2024 due to El Niño’s impact.  Hence, on October 11, 2023, the authorities suspended import tax on fertiliser to grant grain farmers a productive window before El Niño sets in. “Duty is wholly suspended…(for) twelve months” read the government’s notice of October 10,  shelving fertilizer imports tax till October, 2024. The state fears that the...

Nestling under favourable horticultural growing conditions, the 615 hectares of pomegranates in Iran’s western province of Kordestan will produce 10,000 tons in the 2023 season. According to Zahed Haji-Mirzaei, the director for horticulture affairs in Kordestan’s Agriculture Department, the harvest will continue to the end of the Persian November (November 21 in the Gregorian calendar). The director also reiterated that the current pomegranate production...

Nurtured by the Indus River’s cool climate, Kashmir’s apples are always in supply but this year, lowered production has hiked demand.  Farmers told Kashmir News Observer before October 10, 2023 of a production drop of between 30% and 40% from last year’s. One of the reasons for stunted growth was the unpredictable weather patterns in early 2023.  An unusually cool and rainy spring prevented the proper setting of...

On September 7, 2023, India reduced tariffs to 5% on U.S. duck, turkey, cranberry, and other agricultural products.  This was a month after U.S. President Joe Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi terminated a 10-year trade dispute.  U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted that the tariff-reduction agreement would create new market opportunities for American producers and exporters.”  The announcement happened on the sidelines...

 The Philippines’ Department of Agriculture (DA) has downplayed any effect on its 65-year long agricultural trade with Israel despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza.  Speaking October 10, 2023, DA’s Assistant Secretary for Operations, Arnel de Messa said that there will be “very little impact.” Israel is currently involved in retaliation against Hamas, which launched a surprise attack inside Israel over the weekend, killing...