Problems in planting, little water in dams, but good yields and prices.
The Argentina rice producers have had a rare campaign, marred by lack of rainfall, however that has complemented greater radiation and triggered, in general, yields above average. On the other hand, the pandemic favoured an increase in cereal prices worldwide.
This campaign Argentina planted 185,000 hectares and is expected to harvest 1.2 million tons of rice. Corrientes, which is the most rice-screed province, was barely able to plant 79,000 hectares (10,000 less than last year); It is followed by Entre Rios, with 63,500 ha.; Santa Fe with 290,000 ha., Formosa with 8600 and Chaco with 4900 ha.
2020/2021 campaign
As in several regions and for several summer crops, the 2020/21 campaign started complicated due to the lack of rain mentioned beforehand. In addition, the rivers was very low this year, however the producers who were able to overcome this managed to boost the yields. This is important because it gives relief to small and medium-sized producers who have been adrift, so that they can pay off debts and continue in activity. They did have to be quite wary of irrigation, it took a lot to maintain it and there were problems with weeds and insects.
Entre Ríos this campaign had 17% more than last year, with 65,300 hectares. In 2019/20 Entre Ríos had only 54,200 hectares of rice. Since 2000/01, the largest area was 99,600 ha in 2010/11 and the worst 52,300 in 2001/02.
With 85% harvested in the province of Corrientes they estimate that it will end with averages of 7,000 to 7,200 kilos per hectare that is well above 6500 kg/ha provincial historical average. In Chaco, there are also yields 10-15% above average, at 7000-7300 kg/ha, 10-15% above average.
In Corrientes there are 7-8 companies that support the area by making investments with a lot of support in the province, which is something lacking in Entre Ríos.
Pricing
As always in the field, the equation is yielded by price. And the prices today are positive. Since 2012/13, the price of rice in dollars has fallen internationally, but since mid-2020 it began to rebound.
The pandemic and isolation had a strong price increase, but also in America rice production was not good, which also increased the prices.
Normally, long-fine rice, the most produced rice in the world, is between $150 and $190 a tonne with shell to the producer. Today it trades between $270 and $290 per tonne.
Chaco rice
From mid-2020 a regional recovery of rice commenced and it seems that this year those good prices will stabilize, which will give producers a margin to pay off old debts and invest to improve structure, pumping works, canals, machinery, etc.
Brazil has exported to other countries outside the region so that it began to demand more rice from neighbouring countries.
Problems, challenges and opportunities
Lack of competitiveness…..There are nopolicies, no focus on promoting the development of an activity that, under the right conditions, up to 300,000 hectares could be sown instead of the 185,000 that were implemented this year in Argentina.”
Having ports, natural well water, a crop with predictability and industrial capacity, it is not understood how the government does not support this activity.
It is an activity that generates work for 4 people every 100 hectares, and is a product that will have good prices for the next few years.
We can offer Brown and White Organic Long Grain Rice, packed in 1000kg tote vacuum packed bags. As always, our rice has strict quality controls from the field until delivery to your door. We promise ethical and sustainable food products, and the minimum order is only 1 pallet load.
Government winter grazing advice leaves farmers confused after months of planning
Farmers are confused about Government advice on how to prepare for winter grazing, in order to avoid controversial scenes of cows in mud.
Beef and Lamb North Island general manager Corina Jordan said the guidance from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) came too late and replicated work done by industry bodies to proactively plan and manage winter grazing practices.
Drought-stricken farmers get $900,000 funding boost as dry conditions continue
Farmers on the east coast of the country have been given an extra $900,000 in funding support as dry conditions continue.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said the money would be used to ensure feed support services can continue and extra wellbeing assistance is available to more farmers affected by the drought.
“Autumn has got off to an extremely dry start in multiple regions along the east coast of the country,” O’Connor said.
“Forecast rainfall is not expected to be enough to allow parched soils and pastures time to recover before winter.”
Scheme that offered $1000 to relocate to pick fruit attracts just 339 people
An incentive scheme intended to attract unemployed people to plug the worker shortage in the horticulture sector had attracted just 339 people as of April 16.
The shortage is due to border closures, preventing Pacific Island workers from entering the country. Around 15,000 workers from the islands normally come each year to pick fruit and carry out other orchard or packing work.
The Ministry for Social Development seasonal work scheme, which offered up to $200 a week for accommodation costs and a $1000 incentive payment for workers who completed jobs of six weeks or longer, was launched late year. By early March only 87 people had signed up to the scheme.
The Government is eyeing up the possibility of using forestry waste to create a local biofuels industry.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) on Monday said it was currently in the process of working on a business case to establish the sector.
If it went ahead, the industry would use the residues of trees milled in New Zealand to produce biocrude, liquid and solid biofuels.
Jason Wilson, director of sector investments at Te Uru Rākau New Zealand Forest Service, says the move would help the country transition away from fossils fuels such as coal and petroleum.
Researchers from The University of Western Australia’s (UWA) Institute of Agriculture are concerned that the worldwide adoption of biotechnology to improve crop production has stalled.
The UWA Institute of Agriculture associate director professor Wallace Cowling and adjunct professor Ashwani Pareek from Jawaharlal Nehru University in India are members of an international group of economists, plant breeders and basic plant scientists that has proposed a roadmap for future progress on the use of biotechnology to improve food security.
The group’s opinion article ‘Gaining acceptance of novel plant breeding technologies’ was published in a special 25-year anniversary issue of Trends in Plant Science on plant breeding.
Meat labelling uses blockchain traceability technology to lift sales
New age product labelling which uses blockchain technology to demonstrate the traceability of Australian beef has gone on show at Beef Australia 2021.
The project, named KPMG Origins – Trusted Beef Traceability, aims to deliver $115m in additional sales by 2025.
It is the result of a collaboration between southern NSW meat processor and exporter, Argyle Foods Group, Meat & Livestock Australia and business services giant KPMG, and targets significant export markets across South East Asia, with a focus on China.
That information, which can be used to validate product claims and underpin the premium quality status for beef from Australia, can be easily accessed by scanning a code on the product’s label.
The bullish forecasts for Australian wool exports have continued.
The only sign of nervousness is the ongoing trade tensions with China – about two-thirds of all Australian production is exported to China.
That unpredictability did not phase the author of the latest ANZ Agri Commodity Report which says the overall supply of Australian wool onto the market is forecast to grow for at least the next five years.
The report says the wool industry is already looking forward to a good Christmas.
This report builds on other economic forecasts, notably the ABARE predictions from earlier in the year, saying wool’s fortunes had bottomed out and were rebounding.
Northern grain markets continue to edge higher as persistent dry weather stalls farmer selling and casts doubts over the size and timing of new crop plantings. Ongoing strength in US futures and shortages of grain trucks are also supporting prices.
Prices for wheat, barley and sorghum in southern Queensland and northern NSW strengthened last week as traders and end users dealt with the absence of farmer selling and the difficulty in accessing grain trucks. Logistical difficulties have become more acute in recent weeks with the absence of farmer trucks on the road, because they are busy planting winter crops.
Farmers are planting wheat and barley in Queensland and northern NSW and are hoping to see top-up falls this week with forecasts of unsettled weather.
Consumers demand to know the full story about what they buy
The world is rushing to labelling which tracks the entire life of every product.
Consumers are demanding every piece of information before they buy something.
Much sooner than many had thought, this background on where the product came from and how it got to them is likely to be including in the label or branding.
It might be a QR or barcode which the potential buyer scans with their phone which brings up the history of the item they intend to buy.
They will want be assured of such things as product quality, safety, authenticity and sustainability.
That scan will take them right back to the farm where it started its journey.
Paraguay finds new markets for meat and plastic products
araguay has exported US $ 426,223 worth of meat, plastic and aluminium to new markets in the region and Europe in the first quarter of 2021, it was reported Thursday.
Paraguay’s National Director of the Import and Export Network (Rediex), Estefanía Laterza, explained that Covid-19 restrictions have increased food consumption worldwide, hence, for the first time, different cuts of pork will be marketed to Uruguay.
“The COVID pandemic strengthened our exports with an increase in non-traditional products and previously unexplored markets. During March 2021, about four new markets were obtained for the exports of products originating in Paraguay, with an initial export value of US $ 426,223,” Laterza said in a TV interview.
Consumers in the United States are accustomed to seeing “Product of Chile” labels affixed to fruit packaging in grocery stores throughout the country. Now, consumers in Asia will have a similar experience. New statistics released by the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX), a non-profit entity representing Chile’s fresh fruit growers and exporters, provide valuable insights on current shifts in the global fresh fruit market.
Statistics for the current marketing year show that Chile exported a total of 1,686,346 tons of fruit between Sept. 1, 2020, and April 19, 2021. Of that amount, 613,691 metric tons (36.4%) were exported to Asian markets, an increase of 15.28% over the same period of 2019–20. This increase is primarily attributable to the sudden uptick in cherry exports to China.The United States, which has historically been the largest consumer of Chilean fruit exports, accounted for 476,843 tons this year, bumping the country down to second place.
Farmers are familiar with the expression, “They’re not making any more farmland.” It’s true just about everywhere – except Brazil. Brazilian territory continues to be transformed into cropping acres as the world increases demand for animal protein. To be more precise, areas that used to serve as livestock pasture are now being transformed into cropping areas.
A study from the University of Illinois, “New soybean record,” points out that the back in the ‘90s, the southern region of Brazil, especially Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, had the original concentration of most soybean acres. But with the search for new and larger areas of land to expand the production, farmers started migrating north to the midwestern and northeastern parts of Brazil.
Argentine crop-monitoring app SIMA takes off with NASA’s help
The Argentine creators of a thriving crop-monitoring app are looking to grow their business across Latin America.
The company behind the SIMA Monitoreo de Cultivos app, which helps producers manage their crops, reported a turnover of a million dollars in 2020 and has even partnered with US space agency NASA.
“Before, producers wrote down field data in a notebook. Now they can upload it to their mobiles, take photos and feed an algorithm that returns precise information about the state of their crops,” systems engineer Andrés Yerkovich told AFP, discussing the app developed by his company SIMA (Sistema Integrado de Monitoreo Agrícola) in Rosario.
Nutrition is taking more of a front seat as many people are tiring of expensive diets and ‘gimmicky supplements’ that promise big results but don’t deliver. Instead, people are tending to favour a more balanced approach to health.This new, holistic approach to health is transforming the food market, and as it continues to evolve, there is a higher growth demand for consumers seeking natural nutritious foods that fit in with a lifestyle focused on general wellbeing.This new outlook has been further enhanced by authorities like the World Health Organization, which confirmed that a healthy diet plays a major role in fighting off coronavirus. The lockdown periods during the pandemic have also created change in people’s priorities, placing physical and mental health at the forefront of our minds.
Scientists in California have developed an efficient use for corn waste, which they claim can filter pollutants out of drinking water.
Corn is America’s top agricultural crop, but it also produces plenty of by-products. About half the harvest–stalks, leaves, husks, and cobs, remain as waste after the kernels have been stripped from the cobs.These leftovers, known as corn stover, have few commercial or industrial uses aside from burning. A new paper by engineers at University of California Riverside has outlined what they claim is an energy-efficient way to put corn stover back into the economy by transforming it into activated carbon for use in water treatment.
Rising demand for lactose-free products has driven the development of a new standardised method for residual lactose determination. Katarzyna Niedzwiedzka explains why…
As more people aim for a healthy and balanced diet, the development of healthy food products has become a main priority for the 21st century food industry.
A growing number of novel products are being created and refined by the sector in response to consumers’ needs and increasing awareness of healthy living. In this context, products that address food allergies and intolerances can be viewed as a distinct category, as this requires adherence by food manufacturers to stricter food safety policies and procedures.
Barry Callebaut Group, a leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, changed the face of the chocolate industry when it introduced a fourth type of chocolate – Ruby chocolate. The company’s groundbreaking Ruby chocolate was the first new natural color for chocolate in more than 80 years, and is described as an intense sensory delight, combining berry-fruitiness and luscious smoothness.
The chocolate has a pinkish hue, which along with its fruity flavor, comes from the Ruby cocoa bean. Barry Callebaut unlocks the flavor and color with a unique processing that doesn’t use berries, berry flavor, or added colors.
Is it time to give mushrooms more credit on Stop Food Waste Day?
As attitudes to food waste change, is it time to give one unsung hero its time in the spotlight? The UK and Ireland Mushroom Producers believe its versatility has led many across the UK to add it to their shopping trolleys during the pandemic.On this year’s Stop Food Waste Day, its perhaps time to pay homage to an unsung hero of the fridge’s bottom drawer. The humble mushroom, which can be thrown into almost any meal, has seen a rise in sales over the pandemic, and some believe it is an increased consciousness of food waste which has led to this.According to circular economy organisation WRAP, the UK wastes 4.5 million tonnes of food each year.1 Putting this in perspective – this represents 375,000 refuse collecting vehicles, which, if parked nose to tail would circumnavigate the M25 thirteen times.
Container shortages, capacity constraints, higher shipping costs, and ongoing impacts of the global pandemic all placed new challenges in front of ocean shippers last year... Read more…
We have great supply with finest quality which we have controlled from the fields up until shipping. We can also offer stock with immediate delivery in the USA, with no importation hassles. ...Read more
Most flours are alike in texture at first glance, especially when they are arranged beside each other on the supermarket shelves. But these ingredients for cooking and baking …Read more
The production of chia seed only develops in certain areas of the globe due to consumers’ lack of knowledge on its health benefits and the climate it grows on. North America tops the largest share of the chia seeds market, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific markets.The Covid-19 pandemic remarkably affects the export volume of the products, which led to a global market drop during the first half of the year. Although there is a significant market decline, the pandemic gives light to chia seed producers to double their forecast production. ….
The year 2020 was not to be very promising for the quinoa market due to COVID-19, and is projected to register a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 5.1% during the forecast period from 2021-2026.The three main ways the pandemic affected this market was by international logistics being disrupted affecting the supply chain and exports/imports....
Countries like China, Vietnam, and Thailand are the top exporters and consumers of cassava flour, dominating the Asia Pacific region as the largest market share and consumers of cassava flour globally. The world’s top producer of cassava enlists Nigeria, while Thailand is the largest exporter of one of its by-end products ....
Today is International seeds day, the team here at Tradelink is in full support, as together we recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture.
Plant-based items continue to be a trend into 2021, surveys show a high increase of consumption of protein from plant sources during the pandemic....Read More
