Originally published September 18, 2024. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Australia and the United Arab Emirates on September 17, 2024 heavily favors bilateral agricultural trade. The new deal expels 99% in export tariffs and will save Australia some A$135 million ($91.57 million) in its initial year. Agricultural goods will be best positioned for savings because eight of Australia’s key exports to the UAE...
The Alaska fisheries battle in full swing
Originally published September 18, 2024. Alaska fisheries, the largest by production volume in the United States, are increasingly experiencing production swings and court battles. One front is a court case on stoppage of troll fishing and another front is the decline in chum salmon catches. The last mention is reminiscent of the 2018-2021 mysterious disappearance of 10 billion snow crabs in the...
The Georgia peanut could pave way for new Farm Bill
Originally published September 18, 2024. The Southern Peanut Farmers Federation (SPFF), which includes the Georgia peanut sector, is pushing for a new Farm Bill. The SPFF delegation alongside tens of other crop bodies met with Congressmen in Washington D.C., to agitate a new bill. Their aim is to prevent further extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, a fortnight before the September 30, 2024...
Sardine stock in Lake Tanganyika recovers after 90-day ban
Originally published September 17, 2024. A May to July 2024 fishing ban has recouped the sardine stock in Lake Tanganyika, with supplies now offsetting prices. Nestled on the western border of Tanzania with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Burundi, Lake Tanganyika is the world’s second largest freshwater lake by volume. According to a March 2018 story by the...
The Pacific Northwest cherry season tails off with outstanding yields
Originally published September 16, 2024. At 500,000 twenty-pound boxes more than in 2023, the 2024 Pacific Northwest cherry season has ended in a boom. The harvest returned 19.2 million 20-ib boxes, 17.7 million of which from Washington state. This output cured fears at the start of the harvest in June that heat might again lead to a decline. The production beat both 2022’s...
Trump and Harris come up with diverse Ag plans
Originally published September 16, 2024. Ag plans are becoming the heart and soul of the November election, with Trump and Harris offering completely different plans. The two contenders filled in their agricultural policies in a mid-September 2024 questionnaire by the American Farm Bureau Federation. In the quiz, the former president champions his America-first tariff approach while the vice president calls for...
Cocoa farmers in Ghana finally attain 48,000 cedi a tonne
Originally published September 14, 2024. After much wait, cocoa farmers in Ghana have officially earned a 2024-25 seasonal price increase to 48,000 cedi ($3,062) a tonne. This 45% season-to-season increment follows an earlier announcement of an intention to improve the farm-gate rate. Arguably, the farmers will now earn 3,000 cedi ($191.40) for a 64-kg bag when dealing directly with traders. The new rate has...
Hop picking underway in the UK, Czech Republic
Originally published September 13, 2024. A lukewarm hop picking season in the UK has begun September 2024, even as a strong harvest culminates in the Czech Republic. In the UK’s case, hop gathering usually marks a celebratory tradition that began with the 16th century introduction of the hop plant, Humulus lupulus. One of the places synonymous with the harvest is Hertfordshire in south-east...
“Golden bananas” bring Thai farmers revenue
They may be fewer than the traditional kluai na mwa variety, but “golden bananas” or kluai hom thong are turning farmers’ fortunes in Thailand. A production slump in the 2023-2024 harvest has made demand override supply and occasioned market price doubling. According to the Bangkok Post, this Musa acuminata AAA group member was costing 30 baht ($0.89) a kg by September 10, 2024. The normal price is usually 15...
Prices of soy in two states in India improve
India has raised farmers’ prices of soy to a minimum support price (MSP) of 4,892 rupees ($58.26) a quintal (100 kg) in three states. The first set of states to receive this increment were Karnataka in the southwest and Maharashtra in the west of the country. But it was the September 11, 2024 MSP approval in oilseed leader Madhya Pradesh (MP) in...