South Korea offers loans to squeezed farmers

seoul / reuters / South Korea will offer $156 million in soft loans this year to farmers squeezed by record prices of feed grain and a weak domestic market for pork, the Agriculture Ministry said on Feb. 28. Livestock farmers in South Korea, the world’s third-largest importer of corn and a leading buyer of soybean

Egypt bakers threaten strikes to protest missed payments

Reuters / Egyptian bakers are threatening strike action unless the government meets demands including back payment of financial incentives, raising the prospect of fresh unrest in the crisis-ridden north African country. Abdullah Ghorab, head of the bakers’ association which represents 25,000 private bakeries across the country, said imminent strike action has been postponed following a


IGC forecasts larger world wheat crop

Most of the increased production will be absorbed by higher demand and end-season stocks are expected to rise by only two million tonnes

World wheat production in 2013-14 is tentatively expected to rise by four per cent, the International Grains Council said Feb. 21, issuing its first forecast for next season’s supply-and-demand balance for the commodity. “Much (of the increase) is expected to be absorbed by higher demand and end-season stocks are likely to rise by just two




Rains bolster Paraguay soy crop

Reuters / Paraguay’s soy farmers should gather a record 2012-13 crop of more than eight million tonnes after recent rains eased concerns that yields could take a last-minute pounding from dryness in the world’s No. 4 exporter. While the South American country’s harvests are small when compared with those of neighbouring soy giants Argentina and



Britain’s food agency seeks stringent tests on beef products

reuters / Britain’s horsemeat scandal has prompted the Food Standards Agency to demand a more stringent meat-testing program from U.K.’s retailers. The agency has demanded that food retailers and suppliers test all beef products such as burgers, meatballs and lasagne and present their findings to the agency by February 15. Britain’s food industry has been


Horsemeat holds a place of honour in French cuisine, but few eat it now

Consumption of horsemeat has fallen by 80 per cent in the last three decades as a more squeamish younger generation turns away

In a dingy Parisian back street, diners at a one-of-a-kind bistro tuck lustily into breaded horse brain, pan-fried heart of horse and broiled cheek, along with prime rump steaks the chef cuts from the bone himself. Seasoned aficionados queuing at one of the few horse butchers left in Paris say they prefer theirs raw as

Horsemeat scandal gives a boost to England’s besieged butchers

Britons are flocking to their local butchers after horsemeat was discovered in a wide variety of frozen foods and restaurant items

In one of Britain’s oldest butcher shops, staff in straw hats are rushing to cope with a surge in demand for pricey pies and sausages from customers worried about a scandal over mislabelled horsemeat. Founded in 1850, Lidgates in London’s smart Notting Hill district retains a Dickensian atmosphere, but very different prices. A whole beef