India ends non-basmati rice export ban
The Indian government will resume non-basmati white rice exports with a minimum floor price of $490 per tonne, ending a ban that started in July 2023. The government has gradually eased restrictions on premium, aromatic basmati and parboiled varieties in the last several weeks. It eliminated the minimum floor price for basmati rice exports and...
Egypt expected to produce more wheat in 2024-25
According to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture, Egypt is expected to produce more wheat in 2024-25 as the government encourages an increased planted area and higher yields. Production is estimated at 9.2 million tonnes, up from 8.87 million a year earlier. The FAS said that High...
Grains and oilseeds powerhouse
The presence of two of the world’s most important agricultural producers and exporters — Brazil and Argentina — makes South America a powerhouse of world grains and oilseeds production and trade. The two make the region the leader in world soybean production, also producing large crops of maize (corn) and a significant tonnage of wheat....
Brazil’s grain production dips in 2023-24
Grain production in Brazil is estimated at 298.41 million tonnes for the 2023-24 marketing year, a drop of 21.4 million tonnes compared to the previous year, according to Conab, the country’s food supply and statistics agency. This would still be the second largest crop in the survey’s history. In its 12th Grain Harvest Survey for 2023-24...
US confined space incidents decrease in 2023
According to researchers at Purdue University, the number of documented agricultural confined space incidents in the United States decreased 34% in 2023 compared to the previous year. The total was also down from the five-year and 10-year average. Purdue University’s Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department has documented and investigated incidents involving grain storage and handling...
Future looks bright for pulses
High in protein and fiber and relatively inexpensive compared to meat, pulses are gaining favor among global consumers. And because of their natural soil-enhancing and greenhouse gas-absorbing properties, pulses also rank high among crops from a sustainability standpoint. In a recent report, Rabobank identified pulses as a crop that “creates opportunities for new and existing market players.”...
Dryness stressing Ukraine, Russia crops
As if the Russia/Ukraine war was not enough to deal with, the region has been enduring a very dry summer. Crop stress in the region is peaking for the third time this growing season with very warm to hot temperatures and limited rain. Soil moisture has never been much more than marginally adequate since spring. Recently, the...
Corn futures dip to four-year lows
The bulls seem to have abandoned corn futures and are giving few indications they expect to return anytime soon. On Monday, Aug. 26, the CME Group September and December contracts sank to their lowest levels since October 2020, with the spot month down 23% from a year ago and the contract falling 26% since the...
Be8 breaks ground on ethanol plant
Be8, a Brazilian renewable energy company, said it has agreed with Praj, an Indian company and global leader in bio-energy, to establish its first ethanol plant in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul. The plant, which will convert wheat into ethanol, will be the first large-scale refinery in Rio Grande do Sul to produce biofuel...
Brazil corn production, exports to drop
Brazil expects to harvest 4.6 billion bushels (116.8 million tonnes) from its three corn crops in the 2023-24 season, a drop of 12% from last year’s record harvest, according to the National Supply Company (Conab), the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois said in its farmdoc daily. Despite the drop...