Agriculture Minister Murray Watt on July 17, 2024 took an early opportunity to defend Australia’s live sheep exports by the sea ban at the Global Food Forum in Brisbane.  Brisbane in northeast Australia is hosting over 400 world agricultural leaders to discuss innovations and technology in farming. The differently-themed forum nevertheless presents Australia with an opportunity to defend the ban two weeks...

The premium-priced ‘Black thorn” durian variety from Vietnam is now selling 40% cheaper than it did in mid-2023. This is despite a decrease in Thai durian imports in recent weeks which should have pushed up the prices. According to Thuc, a grower from Ben Tre province on the Mekong Delta, prices have plummeted from 2 million dong ($78.82) in 2023 to 1.2...

The 2023-24 fiscal year has turned into a record breaker for the Ethiopia coffee industry after an export turnover of $1.43 billion. This breakthrough follows a 20% yearly export volume increase.  As a single month, June 2024 stood out with 46,000 tonnes in shipments, 108% more than in June 2023. In terms of revenue growth, the total revenue for the annual period...

As the prickly pear (Opuntia woodsii) season continues, farmers in Qalyubia Governorate, north of Cairo have been busy since July 15, 2024. In the lead with the harvest is the village of Mit Kanana (also Mit Kinahh) in Qalyubia, a famous source of cactus fruit. Here, harvesters have been carrying crates full of the orange-yellow ripe fruits while tractors steer along, Ahram news reported. In fitting fashion,...

China’s wholesale prices index was up 0.2 points on July 12, 2024 above that of a day earlier. This is even as food prices increased by 0.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) in June against expectations of 0.4% to fight looming deflation. The data came up on the government’s publication of the “200 Wholesale Price Index of Agricultural Products.” According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural...

As yields rise year-on-year, Italy could double fennel production and balance decreasing acreage of the aromatic vegetable. According to Colture Protette magazine on June 12, 2024, Italy’s fennel production increased by 19%  between 2000 and 2023. This is despite an acreage decrement of 14% over the same period. The magazine quotes a study by Ismea, which shows the sector’s production is up even as...

Anglers in the Sunshine State began their spiny lobster mini-season on July 14, 10 days before the July 24 official start. This followed an extra day gift for the upcoming Florida lobster mini-season by governor Ron DeSantis. The extra day happened following Executive Order 24-13, which the governor invoked specially for Florida residents only. DeSantis said that Floridians enjoy the best fisheries...

Ample food supplies and manageable prices are just a season away as India’s kharif crop area surges by 14%, the agriculture ministry says.  Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development confirmed that the pulse acreage alone has risen by 50% from 2023’s. He was speaking during a review of kharif (autumn) crops near the capital...

After a June reprieve due to production prospects in Ghana, the world’s cocoa prices are up again July 12 to a 2-week high. A sharp rally came on July 11 after reports that quarter 2 grindings in Europe were up by 4.1%, year-on-year . This stoked trade fears that the grindings, which were at 357,502 tonnes by June 2024, could reduce inventories. Likewise,...