Southeastern Spain’s autonomous Murcia grape region has kick-started its table grape marketing season beginning mid-June, 2024. Data by Apoexpa Spain on Murcio Diario shows that Murcio will contribute 75% of the national table grape crop in 2024.  While countrywide production could reach 300,000 tonnes, Murcia’s will hit 230,000 tonnes, with the region doubling as the main export origin. This will be welcome...

For the first time, South Africa has called for two WTO panels to review a lengthy citrus dispute with the European Union (EU). This happened after the two trade sides failed to come to an amicable agreement on two infections that affect citrus.  Hence, on June 24, South Africa fielded the request for panel arbitration via WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body...

Starting 2035, Danes will pay 300 krone ($42.96) per tonne of CO2  emissions on their farms, in the world’s first climate tax. For a starter, the levy will be 120 krone ($17.18) per tonne of emissions during the transition period between 2030 and 2035.  In that grace period and from 2035 proper, landowners will pay carbon tax the same way they meet other...

The ongoing coffee harvest in Brazil has recently occasioned a fall followed by a sharp rebound in world coffee prices. On June 24, 2024, global prices spiked after an earlier drop following news of increasing dryness in Minas Gerais. This state in southeast Brazil supplies 30% of  national Arabica. September Arabica  deliveries edged 5% up even as Robusta for July delivery closed 3.61% up...

Montenegro’s milk consumption now ranks 2nd globally at an annual equivalent of 349 liters per person, according to 2024’s FAOSTAT data. Driving this consumption are exclusive Montegrin milk products such as cheese, butter-like skorup and cream, alongside fluid milk. This consumption is at odds with falling cattle numbers, now at a consecutive five-year depreciation in the Balkan country. According to Monstat, the Montenegro official data...

Indonesia faces a crude palm oil (CPO) import challenge if it is to meet its 2045 production goal of 92.4 million tonnes. According to Hadi Sugeng, the Secretary General of the Indonesian Palm Oil Entrepreneurs Association (GAPKI) in a Majalah Hortus report, a 27.1 million-tonne annual deficit looms. Hadi cited 40% or 6.57 million hectares of the country’s oil palm acreage...

The Prince Edward Island (P.E.I).’s lobster wharf prices for the fourth week of June 2024 are down to  $6.50 ($4.75) a pound maximum. This is despite catches on the Atlantic Coast of Canada being at their best yet, near the season’s close. In a CTV report of June 23, 2024, fishermen decried of prices being as low as $6.25 ($4.56) per pound. This situation...

The Virginia cherry season may soon be over but personal George Washington’s cherries live on at his Mount Vernon residence two centuries after the first American president’s death. An archaeological revelation on June 18 showed well-preserved bunches, baffling plant specialists. Archaeologists who have been working on Mount Vernon’s cellar since 2023 found 35 intact glass bottles, two with fresh cherries. Though...

The multi-billion dollar industry of avocados from Mexico is at risk after the United States suspended inspections and mango imports. This follows an attack of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s inspectors by the residents of Aranza in Michoacán state. Though not hurt, the American inspectors could not complete their checking routine in Paracho, Michoacán on June 15, 2024.  Pointedly,...

A new flower AI tool that counts blooms on a tree from a standard camera image could turn tables on accurate yield prediction. Relying only on a common phone’s camera to capture a petal’s angles, textures and sizes, this nameless AI counts even hidden flowers. The tool is a collaboration of the National Robotarium of the UK, two scientific institutes from Chile and...