A California juice product corporation on May 13, 2024 sued the state for implementing a 2022 farm workers’ unionization bill. Wonderful Co, the giant processor of fruit drinks like Halos Mandarin Oranges and Fiji Water, vows to stop the implementation. Governor Gavin Newsom of California had enacted the law under pressure in 2022 and since then resistance has been bubbling....
Prices of local mangosteens in Vietnam up before June harvest
A month before the summer harvest in the southeastern province of Binh Duong, wholesale prices of mangosteens in Vietnam tower above those of Thai imports. A May 12 sales report shows that mangosteen from Thailand sold at between VND50,000 and 65,000 ($1.96-2.55). This is even as local fruits in Vietnam averaged VND80,000 and 100,000 ($314-$3.93) a kg. In the past, Thai mangosteen...
U.S.’ ranchers to receive $28,000 to fight avian flu in dairy cattle
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said May 10 it is paying dairy farmers $28,000 apiece to contain avian flu. The allocation happens nearly a month since the discovery of avian flu in dairy products in mid-April, 2024. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alongside the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have allocated a total of $200...
Soybean prices remain weak despite devastating Brazil flood
Soybean prices fell early morning on May 13 in Chicago despite news of flood devastation on unharvested soy fields in southern Brazil. The benchmark soy price in Chicago sold at $12.153/4 a bushel, a 0.3% drop from the foregoing week ending May 10. Prices began to slip on May 9 after consecutive May 6 and 7 gains. Then there was a...
Cuba’s sugar production glances off the 0.5 million-tonne mark
For the first time in 124 years, Cuba’s sugar industry could resort into imports after decades-long production slashes. Output fell drastically in recent years due to the U.S.’ sanctions and poor weather, forcing mills into non-operation. The rum, carbonated drink, fruit jam and medicine industries all depend on ample sugar supplies, hence the current import speculations. By end April 2024, the state’s...
BC’s Armstrong Asparagus Farm expects 30 to 50% yield increase this Mothers Day weekend
Packed asparagus in Canada
Why is Malaysia extending Orangutan diplomacy to palm oil importers?
Malaysia will start offering free orangutans to China, the European Union (EU) and India as an environmental gesture for importing its palm oil. Analysts are already comparing this “orangutan diplomacy” to China’s “panda diplomacy.” Palm oil production takes place in Borneo island and Sumatra, whose palm forests also double as orangutan habitat. Plantation owners also clear forests to cultivate the...
The Ontario asparagus harvest starts bravely after frost delay
After a temporary delay due to spring frost, the May to mid-June Ontario asparagus harvest is underway in eastern Canada. Farmers hope for dry weather to help with the reaping and for lower production in competing eastern U.S., to boost prices. This season could be a repeat of the 2023 season that started on a low price note but ended strongly....
Musese in Namibia to harvest 4,000 tons of maize amid rising prices
The maize harvest on Musese farm in Kavango West is underway with expectations to reap 4,000 tonnes. This at a time when maize prices in Namibia are inching up. Harvesting began at the end of April, about 6 months since the scheme sowed white maize in November 2023. Operated by Winni Metzger, Musese is a nationally important greening scheme whose roots go back to...
Florida bans lab-grown meat to “save our beef”
Nearly a year after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed the sale of lab-grown meat in the U.S. in June 2023, Florida has banned it. Governor Ron DeSantis on May 1, 2024 signed SB 1084, a bill that bars the cultivation of lab-grown meat. He ratified the bill in what he referred to as a bid to “save our beef” or...