China readies to fight new bird flu

Reuters / Chinese authorities slaughtered over 20,000 birds at a poultry market in Shanghai April 5 as the death toll from a new strain of bird flu mounted to six, spreading concern overseas and sparking a sell-off in airline shares in Europe and Hong Kong. The local government in Shanghai said the Huhuai market for

Spring seeding well underway in Europe

Reuters / Spring seeding is in full flow in western Europe with a sharp rise in area expected in Britain after wet weather wrecked autumn plantings, but a significant drop is anticipated in Germany due to much more favourable conditions. In France, the EU’s top grain producer, conditions were generally satisfactory, with mild, dry weather


Larger farms face five per cent EU subsidy cut for 2013

Reuters / Farmers who receive more than 5,000 euros a year in European Union subsidies will see payments above that level cut by five per cent this year, to bring farm spending in line with proposed EU budget cuts. The European Commission will propose the move after its forecasts showed that farm subsidies for 2013,

Horsemeat scandal buoys U.K. organic sales

Reuters / Sales of organic products in Britain continued to decline last year in contrast to continental Europe but the horsemeat scandal has sparked a revival, the country’s main organic certification body, the Soil Association, said March 20. “In the worst economic downturn in living memory, it’s not surprising to find subdued sales of a



Black Sea 2013-14 grain exports to rebound

moscow/kiev / reuters The Black Sea region’s top three grain producers — Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan — will see output and potential export volumes restored in the 2013-14 marketing year with improved weather conditions benefiting crops. The three countries were hit by drought in 2012 which slashed their combined grain crop by one-third to 130


Policy shift needed to tap Africa’s farm potential

Reuters / Africa’s agricultural sector could become a $1-trillion industry by 2030 if governments and the private sector radically rethink policies and support for farmers, a World Bank report said March 4. Africa’s food market, currently valued at $313 billion a year, could triple if farmers modernized their practices and had better access to credit,


Argentina threatens barley export cap in bid to boost wheat crop

Grains behemoth Argentina is pushing farmers to produce more wheat by threatening to crack down on the fast-expanding barley sector, which growers are using as a hedge against export curbs, sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters. With national inflation seen by private economists at 30 per cent this year and global food