Cheaper Coffee Beans Set to Dominate as Asians Thirst for Instant Coffee
By the end of the decade it is predicted that Robusta coffee beans will gain more global market share than the more expensive Arabica beans as the popularity of quick, cheap, instant coffee spreads across areas of Asia. Global coffee demand will climb from the current 150 million 60kg bags to 175 million 60kg bags by 2020, mostly on the increa
Read moreThe Great Beer Abandonment: American Young Drinkers are Drinking Wine and Hard Alcohol Instead
The percentage of twenty-something, American drinkers who prefer beer to other alcoholic drinks has drastically declined over the past two decades according to Goldman Sachs Investment Research. Twenty years ago almost 75% of drinkers age 18 to 29 responded that they like beer best, today the percentage is down to 40%. In contrast, young dri
Read moreGreen Pool Sees Return to Sugar Deficit in 2015-16
Australia-based Green Pool is estimating a global sugar deficit of 4.58 million tons for the 2015/16 season based on expectations that Brazilian output will fall to 30.7 million tons. This would be the first deficit in six years, and even though Brazil’s Center South region, which is responsible for 90% of the country’s output, will see ca
Read moreAustralia Cuts Wheat Output Forecast on Worries Over Drought
Australia, the world’s fourth largest wheat exporting country, has cut its production forecast by 4% this week because of concerns over intensifying drought conditions in key growing regions. Global wheat prices have recently strengthened on concerns over Russia curbing exports and U.S. production, and this cut to Australia’s output estima
Read moreEric Schmidt’s Venture Fund Collaborates On Agtech ‘Collective’
A partnership of companies including Innovative Endeavors and Frextronics’ Lab IX have created ‘Farm 2050’ which aims to support agtech startups through seed capital, manufacturing facilities, testing equipment, and management guidance. The initiative will focus on robotics and data science applications that can resolve global food waste
Read moreShares in First Listed Cocoa Growing Specialist Jump on Debut
Peru-based United Cacao, the world’s first listed cocoa producer, saw its floatation this week on the London exchange give the company a stock market valuation of £23 million. United Cacao plans to become the world’s biggest cocoa supplier targeting total plantation area of 3,250 hectares. Dennis Melka, United Cacao chairman and chief exe
Read moreAustralia Cuts Wheat Hopes Warning Over Dryness
Australia, the largest wheat producer in the Southern Hemisphere, has cut its estimate for its wheat harvest in late 2014 from a March estimate of 24.8 million tons to 24.59 million tons. The estimate by Abares, the country’s official crop forecasting agency, is far below the 27 million tons produced last year even accounting for a forecas
Read moreBrazil Poised to Raise Ethanol Content of Petrol
Earlier in 2014 Brazil passed a law requiring raising the ethanol blend rate in gasoline from 25% to 27.5%, however, the law was placed on hold until studies were conducted to determine if the higher blend rate would damage car engines in any way. After months of waiting, feasibility studies have concluded that the higher blend rate is indeed
Read moreU.S. Officials Lift Hopes for Argentine Soy Harvest
Two weeks before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) official estimate is due to be released, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s bureau in Buenos Aires raised its forecast for Argentina’s soybean harvest by 3 million tons year on year to 57 million tons. The bureau raised its forecast despite numerous existing conditions that c
Read moreHigh Tech Farming Poised to Change the Way the World Eats
Silicon Valley is venturing into the entire food production chain. Since 2009 investments in the sector have grown by 63% per year, and experts are predicting that growth in the ag tech sector regarding the number of new startups and venture capital investments will outpace other technologies in five years. In the third quarter of 2014 venture
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