U.S. Lifts World Coffee Supply Hopes, Despite ‘Widespread Losses’ In Peru
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cut its estimate for Peru’s 2014/15 coffee crop by 1.1 million bags to a seven year low of 3.4 million bags because of widespread damage from the spread of rust. The lowered forecast will bring Peru from being the eighth largest coffee producer in the world to the eleventh. In October a state of emer
Read moreUK to Have a Frightful Halloween; Pumpkin Crop Drops 50%
The wettest August in Met Office recorded history has meant that UK pumpkins have been sitting in deeply wet soil, creating rot and soft spots in the UK pumpkin crop that will advance to full-blown issues in the ambient temperatures of retail stores. There are larger-sized pumpkins in the fields, but the wetness is resulting
Read moreAgTech Deals Take Off in First Half of 2015
By Lynda Kiernan The AgTech sector continues to heat up in the nation's tech centers as Silicon Valley saw a doubling in agtech deals in the first half of 2015. Agtech startups raised $2.06 billion through 228 venture capital deals in the first two quarters of 2015. This activity approaches the $2.36 billio
Read moreNew Policy in China will Eliminate 80% of Domestic Infant Formula Products
There are currently over 2,000 domestic infant formula brands sold in China, but government estimates indicate this number will likely be reduced by 80% - to approximately 400 - once new market regulations go into effect. The newly adopted policy, Regulations on the Administration of Formula Registration for Infant
Read morePrice of English Farmland Doubles in Five Years
The price of good quality, ‘investment grade’ English farmland has doubled over the past five years on the back of high demand from pension funds and wealthy individuals, according to Knight Frank. The price for an acre of ‘investment grade’ farmland in England has climbed to £12,500 per acre &nd
Read moreEconomic Slowdown, Devalued Currency, Pressuring Chinese Agri Sector Margins
China’s two-part challenge of its economic slowdown and the devaluation of its currency, is beginning to put pressure on operating margins throughout the country’s agribusiness and food sectors with the greatest effect predicted to be on companies that import raw materials, according to a new report by Rabobank. A
Read moreSomali Foreign Affairs Minister Calls for Ag Investment, Not Aid
Speaking in London, England, the Somali Foreign Affairs Minister, Abdisalam Omar, stated that Somalia in no longer seeking foreign aid, but instead foreign investment, reports Somali news service, the Somali Current. Mr. Omar noted that the resource-rich country is among the leading livestock and livestock product exporting c
Read moreBrazil Land Value Growth Slows Significantly
Data from SLC Agricola indicates that farmland values in Brazil are following the same trajectory as those in the U.S. and UK with value growth showing a sharp decline and difficulty keeping pace with the inflation. SLC, which controls 308,719 hectares of Brazilian land, said that the value of its portfolio increase by 7% from R$3
Read moreCalifornia Drought to Cost State’s Ag Economy $1.84 Billion
The ongoing drought in California is not relenting – taking 30% more agricultural acres and workers out of production this year than it did in 2014, according to the latest drought impact report issued by the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. In 2015, the state of California’s agricult
Read moreCall for Investment into Large-Scale Deer Farming
Plans are moving forward for the development of the first ‘mega’ deer farm in Britain, but top venison supplier, Christian Nissen, who supplies the majority of the country’s top restaurants and supermarkets, says that investment should to be made now in the sector, as it is expected to see soaring global demand.
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