World Agriculture
Developments, trade, data, and topics in world agriculture
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Three lending models of global agricultural supply chain financeAbstract: Supply chain finance can effectively solve the problem of information asymmetry between borrowers and lenders, and the three mainstream models include the cooperation between agricultural supply chain enterprises and P2P, public welfare P2P lending for farmers and commercial P2P lending. Although the practice in the field of supply chain finance in developed countries has been quite mature, forming three business models dominated by logistics enterprises, core enterprises in the production chain and commercial banks, there are not many attempts to test supply chain finance in agriculture. At present, the three mainstream models include the cooperation between agricultural supply chain enterprises and P2P, public welfare P2P lending for farmers and commercial P2P lending. The first model is represented by the cooperation between Danish food retailer COOP and P2P platform MYC4. COOP is one of Denmark's top food retailers, owning and managing five production supply chains, while MYC4 is a well-known P2P platform in Denmark that connects European investors with agricultural micro-enterprises and individual farmers in developing countries, the former providing microfinance to the latter. The basic model of the whole business chain is: COOP has cooperated with MYC4 in a project called "Commodities from Africa". COOP has put MYC4 website link on its official website to direct its consumers to P2P platform and participate in African projects that apply for loans on MYC4. The projects on MYC4 are selected by local cooperative credit institutions (credit provider) in Africa, and African farmers applying for loans provide COOP with a large and continuous supply of agricultural products through MYC4 financing and reproduction, while using part of the proceeds from the sale of agricultural products to repay the loan. In addition, COOP has also set up an "Africa Fund" to return African commodities sold in the autumn of 2010 to the fund in the amount of 0.5 euros per piece to help "suppliers" in Africa ". The second model is a public welfare lending platform for farmers, typically represented by KIVA in the United States, which is also the world's first public welfare P2P network credit platform. In 2003, Matt Flannery (Matt Flannery) and Jessica (Jessica Jackley), inspired by Muhammad Yunus (Muhammad Yunus), the father of small loans, founded KIVA in October 2005 to lend investors' idle funds to poor people around the world who are eager to change their fortunes or start businesses. Agriculture accounts for a large part of KIVA loans, the founders hoped to supplement agricultural development by providing interest-free loans to farmers at the bottom of the entire agricultural supply chain. KIVA also works with local small lenders and other organizations working to change poverty to screen eligible borrowers and then post projects online through the website to provide loans. At present, the platform has borrowed a total of 684,633,175 US dollars, with a repayment rate of 98.75 per cent. The third model is more common, but it also lacks strong pertinence, that is, ordinary commercial lending platforms, such as well-known foreign P2P platforms such as Zopa in the United Kingdom, Prosper and Lending Club in the United States, are all individual-to-individual loans and investments. Investors indirectly participate in agricultural supply chain finance through direct loans to farmers or individuals engaged in agriculture-related industries. Some scholars in China believe that supply chain finance can effectively solve the problem of information asymmetry between borrowers and lenders. For agriculture with deep-rooted traditional genes, the effect of transformation will be more obvious. At the same time, it will help individual farmers who are in a traditionally disadvantaged position. Significant. Compared with the mature development of supply chain finance in manufacturing and retail in developed countries, the fertile soil of agricultural supply chain finance is still to be developed, and there are many excellent cases and experiences in related fields in China that are worth learning. He Kun, general manager of Silicon Valley Hopu (Beijing) Financial Information Service Co., Ltd., believes that supply chain finance uses the credit advantages of the core enterprises to connect the logistics, information flow and capital flow of the whole chain, which is lower than the risk of a single credit and is the core value embodiment. 2015/4/16 China Agriculture News Network lixia
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Global Rice Trade Outlook 20152015/4/15 16:26:00 China Agricultural News Network content Summary: As India's export supply decline is greater than the sales growth of Pakistan, Vietnam and the United States, global rice trade is expected to be 42.3 million tons in 2015, down about 1.6 percent from 43 million tons in 2014. According to the rice outlook report released by the US Department of Agriculture, global rice trade in 2015 is expected to be 42.3 million tons, down about 1.6 percent from 43 million tons in 2014 and slightly lower than the 42.5 million tons predicted in March. The slight decline in global rice trade in 2015 was mainly due to the fact that India's export supply fell more than the sales growth of Pakistan, Vietnam and the United States. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), India's rice exports in 2015 may fall from 10.9 million tons in 2014 to 9.3 million tons, a decrease of about 18%, because of the decline in rice production in the autumn harvest in 2014. FAO expects India's total rice production to be 0.1582 billion tons (0.106 billion tons of finished rice) in 2015, up about 2% from 0.1546 billion tons in 2014. Due to weak monsoon rainfall, the decline in water storage in major reservoirs, and the lower-than-average rainfall in most parts of the country during October and November 2014, delayed winter rice planting, which may affect rice production in early spring 2015. The price of rice fell steadily in January 2015, mainly due to the second season rice harvest.
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Restrictions halve Russian wheat exports~ ~ restrictions halve Russian wheat exports 2015-03-30 15:58 | source: China Grain Network | russian wheat exports have halved from last year after the government began imposing tariffs on wheat exports. Transport company ZAORusagrotrans forecast that Russian wheat exports in March were 65% lower than last year. After export tariffs took effect in February, wheat exports plunged 45 percent in the month, government data showed. Rusagrotrans vice president IgorPavensky said many grain buyers are turning to European sellers, whose goods are cheaper as the euro weakens. "Our market share was taken away a little bit." He called from Moscow. "Record supply in Europe." Pavensky said that Russia is expected to export 450000 tons of wheat in March, compared with 1.3 million tons in the same period last year. Exports are expected to be at least 600000 tons, said VladimirPetrichenko, president of ProZerno, a market research firm in Moscow. The export tariff system has successfully reduced the cost of wheat in Russia. Data compiled by Rusagrotrans show that shrinking demand from exporters has reduced the ex-factory price of wheat in southern Russia this week by nearly 20% from the highest of about 9,600 rupees/ton this year hit in mid-December. Price declines accelerated last week as farmers began selling stocks to finance spring planting, market researchers said SovEcon. **European Supply** Pavensky said Russian wheat export duties were 15 percent of the total value of the shipment, plus 7.50 euros per ton. In addition, the rebound in the ruble this year has also increased the cost of buying Russian wheat. As Russian supplies dwindle, buyers are turning their attention to countries such as Germany, France and Romania. Since July 1 last year, EU regulators have issued 24.4 million tons of soft wheat export permits. SwithunStill, president of the Lausanne SolarisCommoditiesSA, said that Russian wheat exports have not completely dried up in the past two months because traders are currently sourcing at low prices and selling abroad profitably. The DmitryRylko in charge of the Russian Agricultural Market Research Association (InstituteforAgriculturalMarketStudies,IKAR) said that the impact of tariffs on exports continues.
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FAO: Global rice production will be reduced to 0.4956 billion tons in 2014/15FAO: Global rice production will be reduced to 0.4956 billion tons in 2014/15 2014-12-16 09:25 | source: China Grain Network | according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global rice production in 2014/15 is expected to be 0.4956 billion tons, down from 0.4975 billion tons in the previous year and slightly below the earlier forecast of 0.4963 billion tons. The global decline in rice production is due to falling production in major producers such as India, Thailand and Papua New Guinea. Global rice use is expected to be 0.4996 billion tons in 2014-15, an increase of 2% over the previous year, slightly lower than the earlier forecast of 0.5002 billion tons, as consumption in many countries is likely to increase. Global rice trade is expected to be 40.5 million tons, slightly higher than the previous year's 40.2 million tons and 1 per cent higher than the earlier forecast. Global ending stocks of rice are expected to be 0.1774 billion tons, down 2% from the previous year and slightly lower than the earlier forecast of 0.1777 billion tons.
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IGC: Global wheat production and ending stocks are expected to decline year-on-year in 2015/16.~ ~ IGC: Global wheat production and ending stocks are expected to decline year-on-year in 2015/16. 2015-03-27 15:14 | source: China Grain Network | according to a monthly report released by the London-based International Grains Council (IGC) on Thursday, global wheat production and stocks will both decline in 2015/16. IGC predicts that global wheat production will be reduced to 0.709 billion tons in 2015/16, 10 million tons less than the previous year. In 2015/16, global wheat consumption will increase slightly, reaching 0.711 billion tons, up from 0.708 billion tons in 2014/15. Therefore, the global wheat ending stock in 2015/16 will be reduced to 0.196 billion tons, down from 0.198 billion tons in 2014/15. IGC also said that global grain stocks in 2015/16 will be reduced to 0.406 billion tons, 23 million tons or 5 percentage points lower than the previous year. However, the level of global food stocks is still good, and the ratio of stocks to consumption will reach the five-year average.
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Reducing waste and loss and strengthening scientific research are key to achieving food security~ ~ Reduce and Research, the Key to Food Security and Nutrition Posted: 03/23/2015 3:39 pm EDT Updated: 03/23/2015 3:59 pm EDT According to the WFP, "There are 805 million hungry people in the world and 98 percent of them are in developing countries." According to the World Food Program, hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. These sad facts are even sadder when we consider that an estimated one-quarter of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted each year. Halving that would save enough to feed the whole population that lives in hunger. Food loss and waste occurs both in developed and developing countries. In the developed it tends to happen more at the end of the food chain -- on the store shelf and in the kitchen. In developing countries food losses are mostly at production, post-harvest and processing stages. This is largely due to the lack of infrastructure -- from accessible roads to poor storage facilities. The Copenhagen Consensus Center has taken on the task of examining the costs and benefits of reducing post-harvest losses and their findings can be found in the report Benefits and Costs of the Food and Security Nutrition Targets for the Post 2015 Development Agenda. What really struck me were the figures on research and development. The paper studied different scenarios to show that investment in infrastructure contributes to lower food prices, improved food security and has positive economic rates of return. Such improvements are estimated to cost $240 billion over the next 15 years, but will reduce the number of hungry people by 57 million, avoid the malnourishment of four million children and generate $13 of benefits per dollar spent. Although this would be a significant step towards the achievement of the sustainable development goals, there may be a better way. The Copenhagen Consensus Center points out: There is an even better food target: an extra $88 billion in agricultural research and development over the next 15 years will increase yield growth by an additional 0.4% each year. For each dollar spent, this will achieve $34 of social benefits. It will save 79m people from hunger and avoid 5m children being malnourished. It seems it is time to get focused on ways to kick start R&D, as well as post harvest losses in the developing world. According to the UN-DESA, "During the last decade, global R&D increased approximately 22 per cent." However, public spending in R&D did not increase but on the contrary has been declining in highly food insecure countries. China and India, increased their public spending on R&D and have significantly accelerating their agricultural productivity. Fortunately, the private sector has been dedicating resources to R&D. According to USDA, in 2010 global private sector investment hit $11 billion. Reductions in post-harvest losses will require large public and private investments in infrastructure and should be complemented with agriculture R&D that is focused on long-term productivity growth and food and nutrition security. As we look to new goals for agriculture, we need to make sure agriculture is getting funding and that is breaking ground on research and post harvest losses.
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U.S. soybean acreage to hit record high~~U.S. farmers expect to plant record-high soybean acreage Posted: Tuesday, April 7, 2015 8:51 am U.S. farmers expect to plant record-high soybean acreage For a second year in a row, U.S. growers are raising the bar on soybean acreage. Growers across the United States intend to plant an estimated record-high 84.6 million acres of soybeans in 2015, up 1 percent from the previous record set in 2014, according to the Prospective Plantings report released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Increases of 200,000 acres or more are anticipated in Arkansas, Iowa, and Ohio. Compared with last year, the largest declines are expected in Kansas and Nebraska. If realized, soybean acreage will be the largest on record in Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Driven by expectations of lower prices and returns in 2015, U.S. corn growers intend to plant 89.2 million acres in 2015, down 2 percent from last year and down 6 percent from 2013. If realized, this will be the lowest planted acreage since 2010. Countering this trend, Minnesota and Wisconsin are both expecting an increase in planted acreage from last year. The Prospective Plantings report provides the first official, survey based estimates of U.S. farmers' 2015 planting intentions. NASS's acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of March from a sample of more than 84,000 farm operators across the United States. Other key findings in the report are: •All wheat planted area for 2015 is estimated at 55.4 million acres, down 3 percent from 2014. •Winter wheat planted area, at 40.8 million acres, down 4 percent from last year. •All cotton planted area for 2015 is expected to total 9.55 million acres, 13 percent below last year. •Sorghum growers intend to plant 7.90 million acres in 2015, up 11 percent from 2014. Kansas and Texas, the leading sorghum-producing states, account for 75 percent of the expected United States acreage. NASS also released the quarterly Grain Stocks report to provide estimates of on-farm and off-farm stocks as of March 1. Key findings in that report include: •Corn stocks totaled 7.74 billion bushels, up 11 percent from the same time last year. On-farm corn stocks were up 13 percent from a year ago, and off-farm stocks were up 7 percent. •Soybeans stored on farms totaled 1.33 billion bushels, up 34 percent from March 1, 2014. On-farm soybean stocks were up 60 percent from a year ago, while off-farm stocks were up 18 percent. •All wheat stored totaled 1.12 billion bushels, up 6 percent from a year ago. On-farm all wheat stocks were up 17 percent from last year, while off-farm stocks were up 3 percent. •Durum wheat stored totaled 37.6 million bushels, down 1 percent from March 1, 2014. On-farm stocks were down 22 percent from last year, but off-farm stocks of Durum wheat were up 23 percent from March 1, 2014. The Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports and all NASS reports are available online at www. nass.usda.gov.
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97% of American farms are family farms.~~97 percent of all U.S. farms are family-owned Mar 17, 2015 USDA Southeast Farm Press Family-owned farms remain the backbone of the agriculture industry. The latest data come from the Census of Agriculture farm typology report and shines light on the question, "What is a family farm?" "As we wrap up mining the 6 million data points from the latest Census of Agriculture, we used typology to further explore the demographics of who is farming and ranching today," said NASS Statistics Division Director Hubert Hamer. "What we found is that family-owned businesses, while very diverse, are at the core of the U.S. agriculture industry. In fact, 97 percent of all U.S. farms are family-owned." The 2012 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report is a special data series that primarily focuses on the "family farm." By definition, a family farm is any farm where the majority of the business is owned by the operator and individuals related to the operator, including through blood, marriage, or adoption. Key highlights from the report include the following five facts about family farms in the United States: Five Facts to Know about Family Farms 1. Food equals family - 97 percent of the 2.1 million farms in the United States are family-owned operations. 2. Small business matters - 88 percent of all U.S. farms are small family farms. 3. Local connections come in small packages - 58 percent of all direct farm sales to consumers come from small family farms. 4. Big business matters too - 64 percent of all vegetable sales and 66 percent of all dairy sales come from the 3 percent of farms that are large or very large family farms. 5. Farming provides new beginnings - 18 percent of principal operators on family farms in the U.S. started within the last 10 years. "Whether small or large - on the East Coast, West Coast, or the Midwest - family farms produce food and fiber for people all across the U.S. and the world," said Hamer. "It's due in part to information such as this from the Census of Agriculture that we can help show the uniqueness and importance of U.S. agriculture to rural communities, families, and the world." The 2012 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report classifies all farms into unique categories based on three criteria: who owns the operation, whether farming is the principal operator's primary occupation, and gross cash farm cash income. Small family farms have GCFI less than $350,000; midsize family farms have GCFI from $350,000 to $999,999; and large family farms have GCFI of $1 million or more. Small farms are further divided based on whether the principal operator works primarily on or off the farm.
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The American Farm Association hopes to simplify biosafety standards, reduce tariffs and other legacy issues through TPP.~~US Farm Bureau looks to TPP to streamline biosecurity, cut tariffs and tackle unfinished business from past agreements Updated Fri at 1:02pm Lower tariffs and better market access are common goals for farmers in any free trade negotiation. But the US farm lobby is also looking to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to deliver a streamlined, science-based approach to dealing with biosecurity regulations around the Pacific rim. The American Farm Bureau says the TPP, currently being negotiated by 12 countries including Australia, Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia, will include a chapter on sanitary and phytosanitary issues. Those are the regulations that set biosecurity protocols for food imports and exports. The Farm Bureau's senior congressional relations director in Washington DC, David Salmonsen said sanitary and phytosanitary regulations were too often used as an alternative trade barrier once tariff walls came down. "So we want a better system there, and a quicker system," he said. "Our fruit and vegetable people were very concerned that when there's some kind of a tie up at the import level, product can go off quality very quickly while there's a dispute. So we're trying to get a rapid response mechanism to solve small issues and not have everything be a full blown dispute while you're trying to get your imports in ." The TPP hasn't yet been locked down, and it's not clear what any sanitary/phytosanitary chapter may eventually say, but the Farm Bureau believes it'll be less about specifics and more about the approach countries should take to quarantine disputes and issues. "Not specifically, technically, about this, but an approach where we'll get a quicker mechanism, where the governments could go more of a science-based, risk assessment approach, versus just a 'we don't like it' approach which we think is really unfair and operates as a trade barrier," Mr Salmonsen said. "There's a chapter in the TPP that's being discussed now just on that subject ." That's something Australian horticultural producers and exporters can relate to all too well. This year, Vietnam banned the import of all fresh produce from Australia citing concerns about fruit fly. And in recent years, as Asian countries have shifted from unregulated market status to requiring compliance with additional sanitary and phytosanitarty regulations, Australia has also lost markets including Thailand and Taiwan. On the other hand, Australia's high quarantine standards and slow risk assessment processes have been cited as a problem by other countries, which keen to export their produce here. But Australia has consistently maintained its approach to biosecurity is science-based, and the Australian Government has said it will not do a deal that compromises the nation's comparatively pest- and disease-free status. What US farmers want: Farm Bureau outlines agriculture priorities for TPP The USA already has free trade agreements in place with a number of TPP countries, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile. Mr Salmonsen says it wasn't until Japan joined negotiations in 2013 that the TPP became a much bigger deal for the US farm sector. "Even though Japan is already a very good market for us - about $13 billion of all kinds of product - we know that Japan has relied on a lot of high tariffs," he said. "So the negotiations between the US and Japan are, in a sense, very classical trade negotiations trying to address tariffs. "Indications are that we're making good progress. Indications are just indications until it's all done, but we think there'll be a significant lowering of their tariff on beef, we think there'll be some improvements on the way they handle pork imports from the US. Japan, Australia to share defence technology and lift trade barriers Photo: Australia's economic partnership agreement with Japan provides extra motivation to finalise the TPP, according to the US Farm Bureau. (News Online Brisbane) "Our rice producers would always like to sell some more rice. Now the Japanese are very sensitive on that, but there is certainly discussion of trying to get a bigger tariff rate quota for our rice exports ." Mr Salmonsen said Japan's economic partnership agreement with Australia - its first with a major agricultural exporter - increased America's desire to close the TPP. "People can say, 'well, if we don't conclude a deal with Japan, then Australia will have the advantage because their tariffs are going down before ours are'," he said. "So in that sense, let us say that it's a little motivating ." It's not only in Japan where the US is seeking concessions. The US, Canada and Mexico signed NAFTA - the North America Free Trade Agreement - in 1993, and a bilateral US-Canada agreement came even earlier, in 1988. Mr Salmonsen said US agriculture wanted the TPP to resolve some of the sore points that remained. "Even though we have a free trade agreement with Canada, when that was negotiated dairy and poultry were left out of it," he said. "Canada strongly protects its supply management program for those product areas, and we'd like to get some more access in there. Those discussions have to continue ." Farm Bureau believes Congress will vote to fast-track approval for TPP Mr Salmonsen said he believed Trade Promotion Authority would have the numbers in Congress, when it came up for a vote as early as the end of the month. In the Trade Promotion Authority bill, Congress sets out what it wants the Trans-Pacific Partnership to achieve, and restricts itself to a straight yes or no vote on any deal struck between the US and trade negotiators from 11 other Pacific nations including Australia. Many observers in Washington DC say it's not yet clear whether Trade Promotion Authority will pass, and there's concern from other Pacific nations that the TPP will stall if it doesn't. But the US Farm Bureau believes it'll get there. "We've been working this very hard since the beginning of the year, and this is the time of year when a lot of our farmers from our state farm bureau organisations come to Washington," Mr Salmonsen said. "They've all been briefed on the issue, they all take it up and meet with their entire state delegation - urban and rural members - and are pushing our message. "That's as simple as we can make it: support TPA now. We think we need this done, we need the certainty for our negotiating partners to know that our Congress will deal with the trade agreement as it's negotiated to, we hope, come to a conclusion to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations later this year ." Anna Vidot travelled to America as part of a group of Asia Pacific journalists at the invitation of the US State Department.
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Deadly bird flu spreads in US turkey farmsDeadly strain of bird flu spreads to more U.S. turkey farms ~~April 10, 2015, 4:03 PM MINNEAPOLIS -- A deadly strain of bird flu was confirmed Friday at four more turkey farms in Minnesota, raising the number of farms affected in the country's top turkey-producing state to 13 and the toll at farms across the Midwest to over 1 million. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the new cases of the highly contagious H5N2 strain are in Cottonwood, Lyon, Watonwan and Stearns counties. It was the fourth farm in Stearns County to become infected in the outbreak first confirmed in early March. The four new farms housed a combined 189,000 turkeys. Officials said those not killed by the virus will be euthanized to prevent the disease from spreading. Once those birds have been euthanized, the 13 affected Minnesota farms will have lost 872,000 turkeys. Since the outbreak began, 19 farms in Minnesota, South Dakota, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas have lost more than 1 million birds. All but one are commercial turkey farms. The outbreak has already prompted dozens of countries to place temporary restrictions on poultry imports from the U.S., a business that's normally worth $5.7 billion a year. Affected products include turkey and chicken meat, along with eggs, fertile hatching eggs and breeding stock. Canadian officials confirmed Wednesday that a turkey farm in southern Ontario with 44,800 birds is also infected with H5N2. Officials continue to stress the risk to public health is low and that there's no danger to the food supply. The largest farm hit was a huge 310,000-bird farm in Meeker County owned by Jennie-O Turkey Store, the country's No. 2 turkey processor, where the virus was confirmed Wednesday. The Minnesota Board of Animal health said Friday that all the remaining turkeys there would be destroyed. Officials weren't initially certain if that would be necessary. Hundreds of commercial flocks near the affected farms in Minnesota and other states have been quarantined as a precaution. Scientists suspect that migratory waterfowl such as ducks are the likely reservoir of the virus, but haven't confirmed any wild birds with the disease or any presence of the virus in their droppings in Minnesota so far. Officials are trying to determine why the virus has been evading the strict biosecurity that's standard practice at commercial turkey farms. But they've said the virus can be accidentally carried into barns by farm workers and their equipment, or by rodents and wild birds that sneak into barns.
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Global food security concerns remain as prices fallThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released the "Cereal Supply and Demand Briefing" on February 5, which raised the 2014 world cereal production valuation to 2.532 billion tons, an increase of 7 million tons from 2013. This is the second consecutive year of food production valuation. New historical records. Due to the increasing global grain supply, international food prices have fallen to the lowest level since 2010. Theoretically speaking, the overall supply of food in the world exceeds demand, which will bring about lower food prices, which will benefit food importing countries and help ensure world food security. However, taking into account factors such as the strength of the US dollar, the financial constraints of food-deficit countries and regional imbalances, the decline in food prices cannot simply be equated with food security. In particular, it is necessary to guard against the risk of future food and agriculture production reductions that may be caused by lower food prices. International food prices fell from the beginning of 2014 the International Grains Council recently raised its forecast for global maize production in 2014. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture also show that the global wheat harvest in 2014 set a record, and the global rice production was close to the record of the previous year. At the same time, the demand for wheat from the United States, such as Brazil and Nigeria, is declining and is the weakest in nearly 20 years. Affected by this, the international food prices from the beginning of 2014 all the way down. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 202.1 points in 2014, down 3.7 percent from 2013 and nearly 28 points from its 2011 peak, with the Cereals Price Index alone down 12.5 percent from 2013. In 2015, this trend continues. In the United States, wheat futures suffered their worst start in 40 years, rice futures prices in Chicago hit $10.525 per 100 pounds, the lowest since August 2010, cocoa prices also fell to their lowest point in a year, and futures in New York entered a bear market. Some analysts pointed out that after the food crisis caused by the soaring food prices in 2007-2008, with the increase of production inputs and the improvement of production efficiency in recent years, the world's food supply as a whole has shown a trend of oversupply. Theoretically speaking, the decline in international food prices will bring benefits to food importing countries to a certain extent and will help ensure world food security. However, considering the current real factors such as the continued strength of the US dollar and the uneven regional development, the world food security situation cannot be overly optimistic. Abdolreza Abbashian, a senior grain economist at FAO, said in an interview with our reporter that by observing the total number of hungry people in the world, it is not difficult to find that no matter when international food prices have reached their peak in recent years, or when they have been hovering at a low point in the past, the total number of hungry people in the world has not fluctuated significantly. Food security goes beyond agriculture. According to FAO statistics, corn stocks in the European Union, the United States and China are still increasing, wheat stocks in the European Union, China, India and Russia are also increasing, and rice stocks in India, Indonesia and Thailand are also at the highest level. However, in sharp contrast, at least 38 countries in the world are still in a situation of food shortage, including 29 African countries. In countries such as Zambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Central Africa, there is currently a serious food supply crisis. It can be said that international food prices continue to fall, but the food security situation in Africa has not improved, and food prices have fallen. From the perspective of supply and demand, food production may be suppressed in the future, resulting in a decline in food production. What is the reason for this contrast? Abbastian analyzed that, in fact, the increase in world grain production means more sufficient raw materials for food processing, and the final price of food is not only reflected in the price of raw materials, but also compared with the cost of processing, transportation, sales and other links. The impact of grain cost price on consumers is not so significant. "For example, the price of wheat has dropped by 10% in the international grain market, the reduction in the price of bread on the market may not even reach 1%". Since the international food market is mainly denominated in U.S. dollars, "the U.S. dollar has continued to strengthen in the past two years, which is also one of the factors that have lowered international food prices." Abbashian said that for many countries, although international food prices are falling, they are The cost of food imports is still high in the currency of the country. Moreover, for many countries with weak financial resources, even if the international food price falls to US $1/ton, hunger is still a problem that cannot be solved. This is a practical problem faced by many underdeveloped countries. "In fact, from this perspective, the world The issue of food security has gone beyond the scope of agriculture, and the different macroeconomic conditions of various countries must also be considered." on the other hand, the continued decline in international food prices has objectively weakened the competitiveness of African countries' food production in the international market, "resulting in African food production not making money in the market, and food production has been suppressed". Abbashian believes that food production in African countries is also constrained by factors such as weather, disease and war, "which also makes only a few African countries have the conditions to expand production." low international food prices have frustrated the enthusiasm of African countries, which is not conducive to food self-reliance in these countries in the long run." be alert to the risks that may arise from oversupply in the market. Experts pointed out that the current global economy is facing the risk of deflation, and consumers are more inclined to hold their wallets tightly, which may have a negative impact on world food production in the future. What may follow is that agricultural producers will reduce production because they cannot make money. At the same time, the government may also increase storage costs due to excess inventory, and then take the initiative to control the scale of agricultural production. If this happens, small and medium-sized enterprises and individual producers will suffer a fatal blow. "Falling international food prices will put large agricultural companies in a good position." Abbastian said that the decline in profits will make it difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises and individual producers to continue, while large enterprises will rely on abundant funds to take advantage of this opportunity to occupy more market share, leading to the narrowing of food supply channels. "The government must play a more important role," Abbastian believes, and policymakers must recognize the immediate reality. "The current international food prices are only relatively low, but they have fallen a bit at a very high position". The FAO Food Price Index clearly shows that although it has experienced three consecutive years of decline, the index is still more than twice that of 2003. "compared with the trend of international food prices, how to maintain the diversity of production channels and ensure the stable operation of the food market is the primary issue that the government needs to pay attention to in order to ensure food security". (Source: People's Daily, February 7, 2015 Author: Han Bingchen) lixia
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Europe: iron-handed control of alien speciesAlien plant and animal species are expected to cost the EU up to € 12 billion ($16 billion) a year in economic and ecological losses. These alien species compete with native European native species for food or nourishment and also destroy the latter's habitat. In response to the serious problem of invasive alien species, last year, the European Parliament also passed a new bill to control the entry of invasive alien animals, plants or insect species. According to the new bill, the EU has launched an "action plan" to deal with invasive alien species that have entered the EU, limiting their spread, stricter official inspections of alien species at the borders of EU countries, and introducing early warning mechanisms to ensure that invasive species can be made. Make rapid response and control. The EU-wide list of harmful species will be drafted before January 1, 2016, when EU citizens will be prohibited from owning, transporting, trading, and planting the invasive alien species included in the list. The European Environment Agency says more than 10000 alien species have taken root in the European region, including at least 1500 considered harmful plants and animals. The menacing alien species will not only cause serious economic losses, but also directly affect the diversity and ecological security of European native organisms. In the UK alone, there are currently about 2000 alien species, resulting in economic and ecological losses of up to 1.7 billion pounds a year. Especially Japanese knotweed, a weed from Japan. British gardening enthusiasts introduced a Japanese knotweed into the UK in the mid-19th century. Unexpectedly, its vitality was extremely strong. It grew to 1 meter high in a month, and eventually grew to 3 meters. Coupled with its luxuriant branches and leaves, it looked like an impenetrable green "barbed wire". What's more serious is that Japanese knotweed has a strong penetrating ability, which can drill out from the cement board or brick cracks, and rely on its strong root system to expand the cracks, and eventually cause damage to the building. Japanese knotweed is not afraid of water. Broken leaves can drift down rivers or streams to continue to grow. Only by uprooting it and burning it can it be prevented from spreading. However, its developed root system can go deep into the ground for 5 meters or expand horizontally for more than 7 meters. The part that is extremely difficult to completely remove can lurk in the soil for more than 10 years and will be drilled again when conditions are suitable. The research results of European scientists show that alien species have even led to the extinction of some biological species in Europe. Scientists also pointed out that some invasive alien species also indirectly spread diseases, causing harm to human health, such as asthma, dermatitis, allergies and so on. Aedes albopictus, a mosquito native to Asia, can infect dengue fever. The Chikungunya virus outbreak in Italy in 2007 is closely related to this mosquito. Apart from the intentional introduction of some alien species, the invasion of some other species is purely accidental. Zebra mussels, for example, came to Europe from the Black Sea in the 19th century by adsorption on ships, and this abundance of mussels can clog the intake pipes of power plants. Environmentalists welcomed the European Parliament's resolution, saying it was the first new bill to address the impact of biodiversity in the region since the EU legislated to protect animal habitats and growth areas in 1992. Ariel Brenner, head of EU policy at Bird International's European branch, said the European Parliament's resolution was "very correct", but there were still some loopholes. The bill requires the 28 EU member states to jointly identify harmful alien species on the high-risk list and take concerted action to limit their destructive power. European Parliament Member of Parliament Pavel Perk, who was the main promoter of the new bill to combat invasive alien species that was passed in the European Parliament, said: "The harm caused by alien species to Europe is so serious that they can easily breed and grow across the continent. In such a situation, cooperation between EU member states is essential." the European Commission originally proposed to limit the number of harmful alien species included in the blacklist to 50, but member states called for a more flexible approach, so if any threatening new species are discovered, they will be included immediately. Blacklist. (Source: China Green Times, March 13, 2015 Author: Zhang Jianhua) lixia
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EU food acreage expected to fall by 0.6 per cent in 2015World Agrochemical Network report: According to the forecast of the European Union Trade Association Coceral, the area under food crop cultivation in Europe will drop slightly by 0.6 to 62.8 million hectares in 2015. In 2015, the area under food cultivation in EU member states is expected to decrease by 0.6 to 60.3 million hectares, with non-EU member states, including Serbia, Bosnia, the Republic of Macedonia and Albania, planting 2.5 million hectares. The area under soft wheat cultivation in the EU is expected to decrease by 1.3 to 24.9 million hectares. The area under barley cultivation is expected to increase slightly by 0.3 per cent to 12.4 million hectares. The area under oilseed cultivation in EU member states will increase by 1.8 per cent to 11.7 million hectares, and the area under soybean cultivation will increase by 19.3 per cent to 8.858 million hectares. The area under oilseed cultivation in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Macedonia is estimated to be 390000 hectares. EU Planted Area Forecast (thousand hectares) crop 2014 * 2015** Change% soft wheat 25,250 24,924 -1.3 hard wheat 2,490 2,562 +2.9 barley 12,657 12,698 +0.3 corn on the Cob 11,537 11,456 -0.7 rye 2,157 2,222 +3.0 oats 2,642 2,625 -0.6 sorghum 1,125 1,135 +0.9 black wheat 2,834 2,700 -4.7 total food crops (1)*** 60,693 60,322 -0.6 non-EU Countries 2,511 2,482 -1.2 total food crops (2)**** 63,204 62,804 -0.6 rape 6,708 6,534 -2.6 sunflower 4,449 4,268 -4.1 soybean 719 858 +19.3 total oilseed crops (1)*** 11,876 11,660 -1.8 non-EU Countries 365 390 +6.8 total Oilseed Crops (2)***** 12,241 12,050 -1.6 * Actual data **Forecast *** Includes 28 EU member states **** Includes 28 EU member states and 4 non-member states ***** Includes 28 EU member states and 3 non-member states source: Coceral source: AgroPages World Agrochemical Network lixia
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More than 2.5 million hectares of hybrid rice planted in India in 2014Indian Minister of Agriculture Mohanbhai Kundaria recently stated that the planting area of hybrid rice in India in 2014 has exceeded 2.5 million hectares, accounting for about 5.6 per cent of the total rice area. The Indian government has not set targets for hybrid rice production, but India is committed to promoting hybrid rice cultivation through various crop development programs such as the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and the East India Green Revolution (BGREI). India's hybrid rice production has been increasing in the past nine years, mainly due to the increasing acceptance of hybrid rice in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In 1996, the area under hybrid rice cultivation was 10000 hectares, increasing to 1 million hectares by 2006. In Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, hybrid rice was infected by the bacteria but did not suffer huge losses, the Kundaria said. The Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the Rice Research Institute (DRR) have jointly developed a bacterial blight-resistant variety, Samba Mahsuri improved rice. The variety was introduced in 2008 and is currently cultivated on 90000 hectares in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Taka and Tamil Nadu. World Agrochemical Network http://cn.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---9149.htm lixia
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IGC: Global corn production and ending stocks are expected to decline in 2015/16.Foreign media news on March 26: According to the monthly report released by the London-based International Grains Council (IGC) on Thursday, the 2015/16 global corn on the Cob production will fall and inventories will fall. IGC predicts that global corn production will drop to 0.941 billion tons in 2015/16, down from 0.99 billion tons in the previous year, mainly because the yield per unit area has dropped from the previous year's high. IGC expects global corn consumption to decrease to 0.961 billion tonnes in 2015/16, down from 0.974 billion tonnes in 2014/15, mainly due to an expected decline in animal feed demand. Corn feed demand has increased in countries and regions where corn was harvested in 2014/15, but corn feed usage in these regions is expected to decline in 2015/16. Global corn ending stocks in 2015/16 will also be reduced to 0.171 billion tons, down from 0.191 billion tons in 2014/15. IGC said that in major corn exporting countries, corn stocks are expected to be nearly 25% lower than in 2014/15. Table 1:IGC's global corn supply and demand balance sheet, per million tons 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2014/15 2015/16 february Forecast March Forecast March Forecast production 865 991 992 990 941 trade 99 120 115 116 118 consumption 863 947 974 974 961 ending inventory 130 174 193 191 171 annual change 2 44 16 -20 major exporters 33 51 67 66 50 china Livestock Network http://www.chinafarming.com/yumi/2015/3/27/20153278361324844.shtml lixia
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Vietnam Expands Vegetable Cultivation to Reduce Imports Dependence on ChinaContent Summary80% of Vietnam's vegetables, flowers and fruit seeds are imported from China, Thailand and Japan. According to the plan and plan approved by the Prime Minister of the Vietnamese government, the planting area of vegetables, flowers and fruit trees in Vietnam will reach 1.3 million hectares by 2020 to reduce dependence on imported products. According to the Vietnam News Agency, 80% of Vietnam's vegetables, flowers and fruit seeds are imported from China, Thailand and Japan. In 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam will focus on seed evaluation, management of crop seeds and valuable genes, so as to select and cross breed new crop and vegetable seeds and improve production efficiency. According to the plan and plan approved by the Prime Minister of the Vietnamese government, the planting area of vegetables, flowers and fruit trees in Vietnam will reach 1.3 million hectares by 2020 to reduce dependence on imported products. 2015/3/12 China Agriculture News Network lixia
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Asian rice exports to West Africa blocked or cause food crisisForeign media said that the Ebola epidemic endangered Asian rice exports to West Africa, because shipping personnel to avoid it, so that Asian rice exporters face high freight costs and shipping companies refused to ship the problem, but also let the Ebola epidemic area in West Africa countries to worsen the food crisis. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal on October 30, 2014, since the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic, thousands of people in major affected areas in West Africa have been forced to isolate, not only causing local farming to be abandoned, but even school nutritious lunches have been stopped due to food shortages. Shenggen Fan, director-general of the International Food Policy Research Center, said that because international shipping companies have refused to ship to the Ebola-affected area, the price of rice in West Africa has increased by nearly 1/3 since the outbreak. He said: "Assuming the situation continues to deteriorate, I am afraid that more people in the area are malnourished." thailand rice exporters Riceland International director Vichai (Vichai Sriprasert) said: "mainly the captain and crew do not want to leave the ship, they are afraid of arriving in Hong Kong after contact with the local unloading personnel infected with Ebola." the crew members who arrived in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, had to wear masks and gloves before allowing local staff to board the ship to unload rice. Although APM Terminals, the port operator in Monrovia, reduced the port handling fee by US $1 per ton, it still could not make up for the soaring price of rice because the shipping company increased the freight rate significantly. George Nehme, a local rice importer, said: "We don't care about the price increase because there is no rice imported at all." He said that none of the Asian rice export vessels in December were willing to ship to Liberia. In order to resolve the domestic food crisis, Liberia had to switch to land transportation of rice from Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria, but the freight was equally expensive. The chairman of a Singapore rice trader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "The shipping pipeline is quite limited because some shipping companies have heard of the outbreak and prefer to ship to South America or the United States." Even if shipping companies are willing to ship to Africa, the freight rates are quite staggering. Take the rice exported by Thai ship to Nigeria as an example. In the past, the average freight rate was 65 to 70 US dollars per ton, but now the price per ton has increased by 10 to 15 US dollars. Date: 2015-03-06 Source: China Grain Network lixia
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Europe: Strict Control of Invasive SpeciesAlien plant and animal species are expected to cost the EU up to € 12 billion ($16 billion) a year in economic and ecological losses. These alien species compete with native European native species for food or nourishment and also destroy the latter's habitat. In response to the serious problem of invasive alien species, last year, the European Parliament also passed a new bill to control the entry of invasive alien animals, plants or insect species. According to the new bill, the EU has launched an "action plan" to deal with invasive alien species that have entered the EU, limiting their spread, stricter official inspections of alien species at the borders of EU countries, and introducing early warning mechanisms to ensure that invasive species can be made. Make rapid response and control. The EU-wide list of harmful species will be drafted before January 1, 2016, when EU citizens will be prohibited from owning, transporting, trading, and planting the invasive alien species included in the list. The European Environment Agency says more than 10000 alien species have taken root in the European region, including at least 1500 considered harmful plants and animals. The menacing alien species will not only cause serious economic losses, but also directly affect the diversity and ecological security of European native organisms. In the UK alone, there are currently about 2000 alien species, resulting in economic and ecological losses of up to 1.7 billion pounds a year. Especially Japanese knotweed, a weed from Japan. British gardening enthusiasts introduced a Japanese knotweed into the UK in the mid-19th century. Unexpectedly, its vitality was extremely strong. It grew to 1 meter high in a month, and eventually grew to 3 meters. Coupled with its luxuriant branches and leaves, it looked like an impenetrable green "barbed wire". What's more serious is that Japanese knotweed has a strong penetrating ability, which can drill out from the cement board or brick cracks, and rely on its strong root system to expand the cracks, and eventually cause damage to the building. Japanese knotweed is not afraid of water. Broken leaves can drift down rivers or streams to continue to grow. Only by uprooting it and burning it can it be prevented from spreading. However, its developed root system can go deep into the ground for 5 meters or expand horizontally for more than 7 meters. The part that is extremely difficult to completely remove can lurk in the soil for more than 10 years and will be drilled again when conditions are suitable. The research results of European scientists show that alien species have even led to the extinction of some biological species in Europe. Scientists also pointed out that some invasive alien species also indirectly spread diseases, causing harm to human health, such as asthma, dermatitis, allergies and so on. Aedes albopictus, a mosquito native to Asia, can infect dengue fever. The Chikungunya virus outbreak in Italy in 2007 is closely related to this mosquito. Apart from the intentional introduction of some alien species, the invasion of some other species is purely accidental. Zebra mussels, for example, came to Europe from the Black Sea in the 19th century by adsorption on ships, and this abundance of mussels can clog the intake pipes of power plants. Environmentalists welcomed the European Parliament's resolution, saying it was the first new bill to address the impact of biodiversity in the region since the EU legislated to protect animal habitats and growth areas in 1992. Ariel Brenner, head of EU policy at Bird International's European branch, said the European Parliament's resolution was "very correct", but there were still some loopholes. The bill requires the 28 EU member states to jointly identify harmful alien species on the high-risk list and take concerted action to limit their destructive power. European Parliament Member of Parliament Pavel Perk, who was the main promoter of the new bill to combat invasive alien species that was passed in the European Parliament, said: "The harm caused by alien species to Europe is so serious that they can easily breed and grow across the continent. In such a situation, cooperation between EU member states is essential." the European Commission originally proposed to limit the number of harmful alien species included in the blacklist to 50, but member states called for a more flexible approach, so if any threatening new species are discovered, they will be included immediately. Blacklist. (Source: China Green Times 2015-3-11 author: Zhang Jianhua) lixia
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China's pork and soybean imports will increase by more than 40% in the next decadeAccording to the long-term forecast report released by the US Department of Agriculture in February, by 2024, China's net imports of coarse grains and soybeans may increase by 46% and 40% respectively from current levels. China has been a net importer of cotton, soybeans, rapeseed, barley, soybean oil and palm oil for at least the past decade, the report said. China has also become a net importer of pork, beef, corn, wheat, rapeseed meal and rapeseed oil since 2008/09 and a net importer of rice since 2011/12. According to the report, China will remain the world's number one soybean importer in the next decade. By 2024, China's soybean import demand will account for 71% of the world's total imports, up from 65% at present. China's cotton imports will also more than double from the current low level, but still be lower than the record high in 2011/12. By 2024, China and Hong Kong's net imports of beef and pork will increase by 71% and 41% respectively. China is a net exporter of poultry meat, and poultry meat exports may increase by 12% by 2024. China's recent import trade has had a significant impact on some of the undertraded grains, including barley and sorghum. In the past three years, China has become the world's major sorghum importer, importing 4.2 million tons in 2013/14. Because sorghum is a low-cost alternative to corn, China will remain the main sorghum importer in the next ten years. China imported 2.2 million tons of barley in 2012/13 and doubled to 4.9 million tons in 2013/14. Barley imports may still be huge by 2024. Barley demand comes from the feed industry as well as the beer processing industry. Source: search pig net http://www.soozhu.com/article/210466/ lixia