The Australian government’s gene technology regulator said it had received an application by agricultural chemical maker Monsanto for a license to grow genetically modifies canola on a commercial basis.

(Courtesy-The Economic Times, 22 June)

Russia may ban US poultry imports

If Russian and US officials can’t reach agreement by August 1 on a veterinary certificate to accompany US poultry imports to Russia, the imports will have to meet the requirements of the Russian certificate, deputy head of the agriculture ministry’s veterinary department told in Moscow. And said the Russian version of the certificate, “which reflected the changes in Russian legislation over the six years during which the old certificate had been in effect”, was presented to US officials on April 30.

(Courtesy-The Economic Times, 22 June)

Floods ruin rice, rapeseed crops in China

Some of China’s worst floods in years have hit millions of hectares of farmland, damaging mainly rice and some rapeseed crops. Some soybean and corn fields has also been hit by deluges in central and western China, but sugarcane growing on southern hills escaped the floods as did the bulk if the winter wheat crop harvested just before the rain started. The damaged cropland constituted less than 5% of all planted area in China so far.

(Courtesy-The Economic Times, 22 June)

Malaysia’s June palm oil exports up

Malaysian palm oil exports for June1-20 stood at 601,193 tonnes, up from 574,449 tonnes for May1-20, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) said. The estimates included 105,638 tonnes of RBD palm oil, 197,088 tonnes of RBD palm olein, 50,700 tonnes of RBD palm stearin and 93,001 tonnes of crude palm oil.

(Courtesy-The Economic Times)

Pakistan cotton prices firm up

Pakistan cotton prices were firm during the past week as stocks continued to be depleted, and traders said that demand from millers could help boost cotton imports in the coming weeks. There are only 400,000 bales (375 lbs. each) of local cotton available in the market, that would be enough for 20-25 days of trade, and after that big players would mostly rely on imported cotton.

(Courtesy-The Economic Times)

Jakarta plans to hike import tax on all commodities and food

Indonesia plans to hike import tariffs on all commodities and food, said the agriculture minister. The amount of the increase and the exact date have yet to be decided but the comments will be welcome news to farmers who have long complained cheap foreign imports were hurting their business.

(Courtesy-The Economic Times)

Vietnam coffee forecast at 5,00,000t

The Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association revised its forecast of Vietnam’s upcoming ‘02-03 coffee crop to a maximum 5,00,000 tonnes from 6,00,000-6,60,000 tonnes previously. The revised forecast was made recently, taking into account the damage of dry spell on the Central Highlands coffee belt earlier this year as well as the areas on which growers have cut down coffee trees.

(Courtesy-The Economic Times)

Australia cotton, rice output restricted

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics is forecasting a further decline in Australian summer crop cotton lint production in ‘02-03, but expects summer rice production to recover slightly. Forecasted that cotton lint production in ‘02-03 would fall to 5,58,000 tonnes from 6,84,000 tonnes in the previous season. However, rice production is forecast to rise slightly to 1.3m tonnes (mt).

(Courtesy-The Economic Times)

Taiwan to auction sugar import permits

Taiwan’s state-owned Central Trust of China said it would auction import permits for 60,000 tonnes of sugar on June 21 for second-half delivery. Taiwan opened its door to 1,20,000 tonnes of sugar imports a year by private enterprises following its entry to the World Trade Organizations. However, imports must first obtain permits before buying sugar from foreign suppliers. Each permit allows one importer to buy up to 12,000 tonnes of sugar.

(Courtesy-The Economic Times)

China may buy Australian rapeseed

China may have bought a cargo of rapeseed from Australia following a smaller than expected domestic crop and high vegetable oil prices caused by months of disruptions to soy trade. The talk of a possible purchase of rapeseed which contains more oil than soyabeans comes at a time when the market is plagued with uncertainty over China’s rules on soya oil imports.

(Courtesy-The Economic Times)

Monsanto gets Russian biosafety certification

Monsanto Co. has received a certification of biological safety from the Russian Industry and Science Ministry’s Genetic Engineering Commission for its genetically improved potatoes. The view of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Science is that using the genetically improved potato would be the least expensive way to protect a crop from Colorado beetles, which kill 20-40% of the crop each year, inflicting around 19 billion rubles worth of damage.

(Source-Biotechnology Global Update)

Farmers swears by biotechnology

This year farmers will plant a record number of genetically improved crops. According to the US Department of Agriculture, 74% of soybean acres and 32% of corn acres will consist of genetically improved plants, up from last year’s rates of 68% and 26%, respectively. Biotechnology is actually good for the environment. By increasing crop yield, it allows the same amount of land to produce more food. This is good economics for farmers and consumers-but it also aids soil conservation. In developing countries, it decreases the pressure people face to turn rainforests into farmland. Genetically improved food is also good for the people who eat it. The science is still young, but we’ve already discovered ways to make food more nutritious. There is even a new variety of rice that fights vitamin A deficiency, which is a leading cause of blindness around the world.

(Source-Biotechnology Global Update)

Philippines gears up for agriculture modernization

The Philippines is embarking on several thrusts to accelerate development in the agriculture sector. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo aims to use agriculture as a means to attain food security and social equity. She further declared that, “agriculture policy actually should be more of a social policy rather than an economic policy”. With the President’s approval, the secretary for Agriculture signed the Department Administrative Order (DAO) entitled “Rules and Regulations for the Importation and Release into the Environment of Plants and Plants Products Derived from the Use of Modern Biotechnology”.

(Source-Biotechnology Global Update)

Iraq rejects Pak wheat, cites poor quality

The Trading Corporation of Pakistan said Iraqi grain authorities have rejected a cargo of 35,000 tonnes of replaced wheat due to quality issues. TCP said that Iraq has rejected the cargo because the wheat was not fit for bread baking due to the presence of sand and stones, but also accepted Pakistan’s request to resample the cargo. It is the third time Iraq has rejected Pakistani wheat on quality issues.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Full of beans

Economic uncertainty has forced Argentine farmers to hold on to their harvest of soybeans. With a shaky banking system and a sliding local currency, they are not taking any chances. The soy harvest in Argentina, the world’s third biggest producer, is near completion, with a record 30 million tonnes of the oilseed forecast to be collected. Yet, the grain trade is unusually slow because these farmers refuse to sell their harvest due to the economic crisis, marked by a shaky banking system and sliding local currency.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Karnal bunt found in Texas wheat fields

Signs of the dreaded Karnal bunt wheat fungus have shown up in three Texas wheat fields, but government officials said the limited nature of the find could prove a positive turn for wheat growers. The wheat disease is not dangerous to humans or livestock, but causes a foul odor and off-color in contaminated wheat. It is primarily spread by spores and through the movement of infected seed.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Palm oil tariffs

The government is expected to increase the base import prices for palm oil this month because of rising international prices and to reset import tariffs to match the market, traders said in Kuala Lumpur. The base import price for crude palm oil (CPO) will be increased to $388 a tonne from $344, crude olein to $415 a tonne from $428 from $375, traders said.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Indonesia’s imports of wheat flour from India and China are seen rising sharply this year due to dumping by the two countries, the Association of Indonesia Flour Mills (Aptindo) said. Aptindo accused New Delhi and Beijing of dumping their wheat flour on the vast archipelago and threatening the local industry.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Argentina joins Brazil in WTO appeal

Argentina plans to join Brazil in challenging the new US farm subsidy law in front of the World Trade Organization, Foreign Minister Carlos Ruckauf said. US President George W Bush earlier this month signed a six-year law raising US crop and diary subsidies by 67%, adding $6.4bn a year to farm spending. The South America agricultural powerhouse will join forces with its top competitor in the region in a complaint to the WTO on the new law. Brazil and Argentina are going to jointly ask the World Trade Organization to call a panel regarding the US’ unilateral decision.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Indian rice rules

Top rice exporters Thailand is expected to face fierce competition in coming months, mainly from India. Thailand’s traditional buyers including Nigeria and Indonesia have turned to buy rice from India due to its attractive prices. New Delhi was promoting exports by giving subsidies to exporters. India is estimated to hold around 30 million tonnes of rice in its stocks. Indian rice is on average $40 per tonne FOB cheaper than Thai origin. Indian 25% broken rice was offered at $130 per tonne FOB. Thai 25% broken grade was quoted at around $170 per tonne FOB. India, one of Asia’s major rice exporters, aims to export around 33 t0 4 million tonnes of rice this year, from 1.89 million tonnes shipped in 2001.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Coffee: In need of a pick-me-up

Struggling coffee farmers are facing a future in which specialty coffee appears to be the only way to secure a higher income from a growing sea of low-priced commercial grade coffees, according to an international coffee consultant.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Soya oil floods, palm oil in trouble

The Southeast Asia palm oil market is getting nervous following more arrivals of Soya oil from Argentina, with India, the world largest edible oils buyer, already showing huge appetite for soyoil because of lower prices. Some 200,000 tonnes of Soya oil - a direct competitor of palm oil- from Argentina is expected to arrive in Indian ports every month from June through October, as soybean harvests in the world’s third largest grower are set to reach full swing next month.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Sugar output to rise

Global sugar output is forecast to rise to 138.5m tonnes in ‘02-03 from 134.1m in ‘01-02 signalling another season of excess supply and potentially weaker prices, the UN food body said. The increase is largely attributable to a record output forecast for Brazil, increased production in the EU and a recovery in several other major producing countries.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Rain, cold cut China’s cotton area

Heavy rain and low temperatures in China’s top cotton growing region of Xinjiang have damaged crops, leading to about a 20% fall from last year in the planted area. In Xinjiang’s hardest-hit area, 60% of the 200,000 hectares of cotton was damaged. Out of that area, 36,000 hectares would yield nothing because rain since the middle of April had caused seeds to rot. According to expert’s estimates, Xinjiang cotton output in ’02 would decline by quite a big margin.

(Courtesy- The Economic Times)

Getting ‘high’ on mango

A “mango champagne” concocted by India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, launched a mango promotion campaign in London with a ‘mango’ dinner. At the launch party at Bombay Brasserie in Central London, there was an overkill of the mango magic as guests were treated to an assortment of mango products-from mango “lassi” to pickles, chutneys and an all mango desert, not forgetting the mango “champagne”, which as a connoisseur remarked, was “neither mango nor champagne”. Half-a-dozen commercial varieties of mango, including alphonso, banganpalli, dushehari, langra and chausa are being promoted as India’s “royal heritage”. A brochure explaining the variety of uses to which mango can be put-consumed as a table fruit, as dessert, or often between meals and processed for preparing pulps, juices, nectars, squashes and jams - is being handed out to traders and potential mango consumers. They are being told that it is India’s “king fruit” and India is the largest producer of mangoes.

(Courtesy-The Hindu)

China set to launch corn futures this year

China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange is aiming to launch corn futures later this year once the government gives the green light, providing urgently needed hedging tools during the country’s first year in the WTO. Everything is in place and the exchange now needs only the go-ahead to initiate corn futures, a hedge against heavier trade flows and wilder price swings that the World Trade Organization membership entails.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

US senate approves farm bill

The senate passed and sent to President George Bush an election-year farm bill boosting crop and diary subsidies by 67% despite warnings it would violate world trade rules. The six-year, $51.7bn bill also would raise conservation spending by 80% and restore food stamp eligibility to legal immigrants in thew United States for five years. The House has already approved the bill and Bush has promised to sign it into law.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Brazil’s coffee storage scheme unbalanced

Brazilian government aid for the coffee industry to promote storage is unbalanced and misconceived, a coffee exporters group said. “If the government wants to protect coffee farmers’ incomes, direct payments rather than retention subsidies would be more efficient”, director general of the Council of Green Coffee Exporters of Brazil said.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Korea feed-imports hit due to disease outbreak

South Korea’s grain importers for feed production are expected to be sideline for the rest of the month as demand takes a hit from the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and most local feed makers have bought grain for immediate needs. Some 12,000 animals have been culled, as authorities move to quell possible further outbreaks and ease concerns about food safety, after pigs tested positive for foot and mouth disease. The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease is a big blow to South Korea’s livestock and feed industries, which late last month began its first pork exports since the last outbreak in ’00 halted pork shipments worth $400m a year, mainly to Japan.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

World wool faces worst demand outlook

The global wool industry faces its worst demand outlook since the Asian financial crash in ’97, a unit of industry marketing body The Woolmark Co said in its monthly market briefing. Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) said its March ’02 quarter business survey painted a gloomy picture for the wool textile industry in every country surveyed. The sharp downturn reported at the end of ’01 continued in the first quarter of ’02, defying respondents’ expectations for a modest improvement.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Basmati blitz in America may not kick up a storm

The commerce ministry’s Rs. 1.6 crore basmati blitz in the US to be launched this month may turn out to be a damp squib as it ignores the gaint supermarket chains and the majority white American consumers who mean profit. Export Promotion body, APEDA, plans to focus mainly on the Rs 40 lakh ad film on Zee TV, a media campaign by Lintas for the “Produce of India” logo, and participation by Apeda officials in local food festivals. But the proven strategy for success appears to be quite different.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Argentina raises export tax on oilseeds

Argentina kept a 33.5 % export tax on raw oilseeds in place, designed to favour domestic crushers, on top of last week’s increase in new export taxes to 20% for a total levy of 23.5%, the government official bulletin said. Argentina confirmed a decision to raise recently introduced export taxes on 80 farm exports, including grains, oilseeds, vegetable oils and vegetable meals, to 20% in an effort to boost tax revenues and stem the rise in domestic prices for basic foodstuffs.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Malaysian palmoil enters bearish territory

Malaysia’s crude palm oil futures market is entering bearing territory due to higher palm oil production and the arrival of fresh soyoil form Argentina. Director of Godrej International, told that competition among edible oil producers, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Argentina, would be tighter in coming months because of ample supplies. Malaysia and Indonesia are the world’s largest palm oil producers while Argentina is the world’s third largest soybean producer and exporter.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Australia, US, trade blows over wheat monopoly

The world’s biggest wheat exporters, the United States and Australia, traded blows over an Australian wheat export monopoly caught in the crossfire of free trade talks. US Wheat Associations, the top representatives body of United States wheat growers, told an industry conference it was lobbying the Bush administration not to settle on a free trade agreement (FTA) with Australia while the monopoly remained.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Vietnam cuts coffee prices as Brazil crop looms large

Vietnam has lowered coffee prices to attract buyers for the first time in several weeks as the robusta harvest gathers speed in Brazil, the world’s number one producer, traders said. But they said that without further price cuts Vietnam might be left with large amounts of coffee as brazil was aggressively selling a new crop expected to be 28% bigger than last year at 40 million 60kg bags or more. Vietnamese prices are still $30-$40 out of the market.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Dry spell hits Malaysian cocoa output

Dry spell has hit Malaysia’s main cocoa producing area of Sabah on Borneo Island during the current mid-crop harvests, raising fear of a decline in production for this year. The hot weather is in sharp contrast to persistent rains in Indonesia’s growing area of Sulawesi, where many farmers are unable to dry beans coming from the main crop. Official at the state Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB) said the country’s production was seen flat at 55,000-60,000 tonnes in ’02 after last year’s sagging prices caused more farmers to neglect their crop and shift to oil palm for a quicker return. The MCB said plantation areas were estimated at 70,000 hectares last year, down from 75,766 hectares in ’00. Malaysia’s cocoa production reached its peak in ’90, when it produced 247,000 tonnes of beans, making it one of the world’s top producers. A lack of beans have forced grinders in Malaysia to turn to Indonesia even though beans produced by the world’s third largest producer are of lower quality because they are not fermented unlike Sabah beans.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Good Australian wheat sale

Australia’s national wheat exporter AWB said that it would soon be loading a brand new 75,000 tonne Panamax vessel in Port Kembla, New South Wales State. AWB described the sale as ‘significant’.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Record US cotton crop expected to swell again

The US Agriculture Department (USDA) raised its forecast of the record-setting US cotton crop to 20.3m bales on, up 1% from its previous estimate, and said soyabeans would fetch the lowest farm-gate price in 30 years. In a monthly look at crop output and demand worldwide, USDA said the US corn (maize) stockpile would tally 1.6bn bushels when the new crop was ready for harvest, 25m bushels more than thought a month ago. Demand for corn was lower than expected. Based on its recent report on cotton ginnings, USDA added 221,000 bales to its estimate of the mammoth US cotton crop, far exceeding the old mark of 19.6m bales in ’94. USDA forecast cotton exports of 10.5m bales, up 200,000 bales.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

MoU signed between Gapki and MMTC

Recently, an MoU was signed between Gapki and MMTC to increase exports of Indonesian crude palm oil and to ensure an easy flow of imports to our country. Export of crude palm oil (CPO) from Indonesia to India is expected to reach 1.6m tonnes this year. The signing of MoU between Gapki and MMTC (India), recently assessed as the most effective way to increase exports of Indonesian CPO which recorded a decrease from 1.6m tonnes in ’00 to 1.5m tonnes in ’01.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Pakistan’s rice production likely to fall

Drought-hit Pakistan estimates the area under rice cultivation will drop nearly 11% in the ‘02-03 crop year as severe water shortages force growers to switch to other crops. Pakistan, which depends heavily on agriculture, has been facing severe irrigation water shortages during the last three years, which has prompted some growers to switch to less water intensive crops, including cotton and wheat. The country’s agriculture sector shrank by 2.5% in fiscal ‘00-01 compared to growth of 6.1 % the previous year.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Pakistan seeks grain of hope

Pakistani rice exporters, already losing markets because of a rising rupee, fear falling production will cut rise exports by half in the space of two seasons, an industry official said. Chairman of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, said the government estimates of a domestic crop o 3.5m tonnes in ‘02-03(July-June), would slash exports by at least 50% from the ‘00-01 level. The estimate of 3.5m tonnes for the next season crop is very alarming. Local consumption is 2.3-2.4m tonnes, which means we will have only 1m tonnes of rice available for export in the ‘02-03 season.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Thai sugar waits for China

Thai sugar producers have held stocks in anticipation of higher prices and Chinese buying after Beijing allocated an import quota for 11.76m tonnes of sugar in ’02, traders said. China issued the quota to meet its obligations as a member of the World Trade Organisation(WTO), which it joined in December last year.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Need some palm oiling

China may need to raise palm oil exports in April-June to prevent domestic edible oil supplies becoming too tight after the introduction of new import restrictions, Oil World said.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

Pepper, shaken and stirred

The International Pepper Community recently lowered production figures for Vietnam. As a result, prices in the local market have escalated. IPC had just 3 months ago projected that the production in Vietnam would be higher this year. According to the IPC release, for the year ’02 pepper production in Vietnam is likely to register a 20 % fall from last year’s level of 55,000 tonnes. The main reason cited for the fall in production is the drought conditions in the country. Moreover, farmers are delaying the harvest, expecting a better price.

(Courtsey: The Economic Times)

New maize genome mapped

After almost four years of research to create an integrated Maize Genome map, the University of Missouri-Columbia researchers develop a map that fully integrated the genetic and physical maps for each of the ten chromosomes of maize. Plant scientists worldwide now have a new resource they can use for gene discovery, studies of gene functions and comparative genomics. The map will allow to learn more about the genome and ultimately will benefit all basic plant research, the corn industry and the consuming public. Future benefits of this research include increased crop yields, reduced use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, and better quality food. The value of this integrated map is that the position of a gene or genetic trait on the genetic map can be cross-referenced immediately to its corresponding location on the physical map and vice-versa. For example, if a plant breeder has localized a disease-resistance trait to a region on the genetic map, they need only cross-reference to the physical map to find its approximately location at the DNA level. In addition, this resource will provide for much greater efficiency in mapping and identifying the 30,000 to 50,000 genes of maize.

(Courtsey:The Hindu)

Record sugar output likely in China

China’s Guangxi province is forecast to produce more than 3.8m tonnes of sugar this season(October ‘01-April ’02), topping the record levels of 98-99 season, an industry association said. The association has earlier predicted that China’s sugar output in the current season would rise by about 20% to 7.5m tonnes.

(Courtsey:The Economic Times)

China relaxed restriction on GMO certification

China said it has temporarily relaxed restrictions on bio-engineered food imports after reaching a compromise with the US on the spat that had hampered soybean trade worth $1bn a year

(Courtsey:The Economic Times)

Thailand’s rubber

Thailand is the world’s top rubber producer and exporter, shipping around two million tonnes of the commodity each year. Its largest rubber exporting firm, Teck Bee Hang, has resumed buying raw material from the local market in a move expected to boost prices. Teck Bee Hang exports around 300,000 tonnes of Thai block rubber STR20 each year, mainly to Japan, the US and China.

(Courtsey:The Economic Times)

Malaysia’s output of palmoil

Malaysia’s crude palm oil output fell 17.28% to 773,341 tonnes in February from 934,897 tonnes in January, and against 888,767 tonnes in February ’01,the Malaysian Palm Oil Board(MPOB) said. Exports in February stood at 663,270 tonnes, down from 840,138 tonnes in January and 8221,742 tonnes in February ’01, MPOB said.

(Courtsey:The Economic Times)

Tea Board plans aggressive campaign to recapture Russian market

Indian tea imports to Russia plummeted to 75m kg in the year ’01 from 90m kg a year ago, registering a 13% decline, triggering concern among Indian tea exporters to Russia. The Tea Board has planned a number of steps to arrest the downward trend in Indian tea exports to Russia. We are not going to reconcile with the loss of our share in the Russia tea market. We will soon embark on an aggressive campaign to revive the reputation lost by our teas and again back our former position here, said director of Moscow office of the Tea Board.

(Courtsey:The Economic Times)

Producing rubber from sunflower

In addition to producing impressive quantities of seeds, sunflowers manufacture small amounts of rubber in their leaves. Only 1% of its dry matter is rubber. But that could change. Aided by a #2.5 million grant from the Agriculture Dept., a four year project led by Calvin H Pearson of Colarado State University hopes to increase the amount to at least 10% by genetically modifying the plant.

(Courtsey:The Economic Times)

Palm oil mission to focus on India, China

Malaysia and Indonesia have proposed a joint trade mission to china and India to seek better access to the palm oil markets of these two major export markets. Malaysia and Indonesia are the world’s leading palm oil producers and are planning the mission in view of the problems the two countries have been facing in gaining greater access for their exports there.

(Courtsey:The Economic Times)

Rice exporters from Pakistan

Rice exporters in Pakistan are in a classic catch-22 situation. After securing the right to bid in the Philippines’ next rice import tender for the first time in six years, they find rice prices at home are too high and the staple in short supply. The situation is a blow for Pakistani exporters, who are struggling to make inroads into the world rice trade, particularly in the Philippines, one of the largest rice importers in Asia. The Philippines has not bought rice from Pakistan for about six years due to quality concerns.

(Courtsey:The Economic Times)

China eases curbs on US soyabeans

The US reached an interim agreement with China on Thursday that will prevent the threatened disruption of imports into China of genetically modified soyabeans and other agricultural products from the US. The agreement, announced by USTR chief agricultural trade negotiator Allen Johnson, will avoid delays posed by the imposition by China of restrictions on GM farm products scheduled to go into effect on March 20.

(courtsey:The Economic Times)

Joint Venture by Indonesia, Thailand & Malaysia to prop up rubber prices

The world’s top three natural rubber producing countries-Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia- will buy excess stock and hold it from the market in a bid to push up global rubber prices up to $1 a kg.

(courtsey:The Economic Times)

Sugar prices

A plunge in the US domestic sugar prices to nearly a two-decade low in the last two years has not been passed on to American consumers.

(courtsey: The Economic Times)

Speculative US deals hit sugar export prospects

Large-scale speculative deals in the US market has resulted in a “contagion effect” on global sugar prices and its prospective exports from India, which was lower at 3.9 lakh tonnes in this season so far. Large scale bear hammering is presently taking place in Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange (CSCE) in New York, causing the raw sugar prices (free on board) to fall to an abysmal $123 a tonne for May delivery. Prospects of India’s sugar export worsened as to option of export to Pakistan was closed this season unlike last year.

(courtsey: The Economic Times)

UN says Asia likely to face drought

Asia, source of 90 % of the world’s rice, is likely to see harvests hit by drought this year because of the El Nino weather phenomenon, a United Nations official said. Asia would produce around 537m tonnes of rice in ’02, down for the second year running from 545m in ’00, with Southeast Asia, supplying around 25 % of the world’s rice, being the hardest hit, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s official.

(courtsey: The Economic Times)

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