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...
AB In-Bev coasting easy waters in 2024 with 4% profits
Global brewer Anheuser-Busch In-Bev has bought back some of its debt shares and now forecasts medium-term profits of 4 to 8% for 2024. Success from the Belgian beer company’s global operations has also earned the shareholders a long overdue dividend raise of 9%. These details emerged on February 29 after the brewer had settled $1 billion of the original $100b shares debt...
Vietnam targets deep-processing to strengthen pepper, coffee and shrimp exports
Deep-processing could save falling pepper exports from Vietnam, end occasional coffee depletion and boost value-addition on shrimp. Concerning pepper, the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) on March 4, 2024 vowed to increase processed pepper from the reigning 30% margin of all pepper exports. This move will counter-balance lowering production of the national spice, which has been depreciating by 10.5% in recent...
Use of liquid maggot fertiliser boosts rice yields by 25% in Indonesia
A farmer in Karawang, West Java in Indonesia has used liquid maggot fertiliser and boosted rice production by 25%. His results could pave way for further research on the nutritional benefits of this hydroponic fertiliser. The farmer known as Ruskim began his fertilising routine after 7 days of planting rice seedlings. He regularly sprinkled the organic fertiliser made from decomposed black...
California avocado season promising after above-average winter rain
After a rainy winter, the new February-September California avocado season looks to nearing the production capacity of the previous season. According to the California Avocado Commission (CAC), the state will harvest 208 million pounds, just 29 million pounds below last season’s margin. CAC predicted volume increment if producers waited until March to start harvesting so as to give the fruits time to...
World’s largest beef producer in NY lawsuit for “greenwashing”
New York’s attorney general (AG) Letitia James is suing JBS USA, the world’s biggest beef producer for “greenwashing” the public about ecological commitments. Greenwashing describes the misuse of information to manipulate the public image around a company’s environmental responsibility. In this regard, the New York AG attributes the meat packer with misinformation since beef production still leads animal greenhouse emissions....
Zambia announces mechanization initiative for smallholder farmers amid drought
The government of Zambia has announced a mechanization initiative to fund small-scale farmers amid a just declared drought emergency. On February 29, Vice President Mutale Nalumamgo launched the National Agricultural Mechanization Strategy, after which President Hakainde Hichilema declared a national disaster. The president said that farmers have lost 50% of planted crops after post-El Niño drought affected a million households. For now, however, the focus is...
Turkey nearly hits 1 million tonnes in fish production
Turkey’s live fish production in 2023 shot past the 2020 record of 837,000 tonnes, to nearly 1 million tonnes (MT). On February 28, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture quoted a harvest worth almost 1 million MT of aquaculture. The target for 2024 is 575,000 MT for aquaculture alone, which implies an even larger share of fish production. Fish...
American corn stages comeback in shortened markets
Cast adrift highly speculative grain markets, corn prices have rallied to a three-year “February” high in Chicago futures markets. The best gain was at $4.281/2 a bushel in early February 28, the highest comeback month-on-month since November 2023. This was also the best second month of the year rebound since February 2020. Analysts now expect the price floor to hit the breaking...
Dire decision on fisheries subsidies looms at WTO talks in Abu Dhabi
The 13th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) began in Abu Dhabi on February 27 with a tough focus on non-beneficial fisheries subsidies. Though agriculture is of importance in the current locked-door session, it is fisheries that could earn the world’s trade ministers overtime. Just two months ago, the COP28 summit, also held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), went into overtime...