China
Bangladesh, Vietnam become world’s largest cotton importers
As China grapples with its massive cotton surplus, Bangladesh and Vietnam will take its place as the world's leading cotton importers, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee. China will remain the largest consumer, using nearly three of every 10 tonnes of cotton that goes through cotton mills in 2016/17.
U.S. says China still violating trade in chicken
The winner in 2013 of a challenge against China over chicken products, the United States is going back to the WTO to force China to remove antidumping and countervailing duties.
China cuts back on cotton, U.S. expands
At the same time China is whittling down its huge cotton surplus, high production costs will discourage its farmers from growing the fiber this year, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee. "Area in China is expected to decrease by 10 percent, to 3.1 million hectares in 2016/17," says ICAC, and with normal yields "production would fall by 10 percent, to 4.6 million tonnes."
Two big processors say they won’t buy new GE soybeans
Bunge and Archer Daniels Midland, two of the largest grain processors in the country, say they will not accept delivery of a new genetically engineered soybean strain from Monsanto because of marketing questions, reported Bloomberg. The European Union has not approved the strain, called Roundup Ready 2 Xtend, for import.
Obama: ‘The longer we wait, the harder it will be to pass the TPP’
China is trying to outmaneuver the United States in the Asian market, President Obama said, in pressing for approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.
After China allegedly stole Iowa corn seed, U.S. calls for more farm security
U.S. law enforcement officials are calling on farms growing GMO seed to bolster their security against foreign nationals set on stealing the technology, says Reuters.
When China cuts corn supports, soybeans look good
Farmers in the top corn-growing province of China say they will shift land to soybeans or other crops now that the government is reducing the support price for corn. The decision to allow the market to set the price for corn "should transform the agricultural landscape," says Reuters.
India to repeat as top cotton grower as China limits crop
Global cotton production will increase 4 percent this year, led by larger crops in India and the United States while China tries to whittle down its massive stockpile, said the International Cotton Advisory Council.
Report: extreme hunger fell by half worldwide between 1990 and 2015
"Extreme poverty, child mortality, and hunger all fell by around half between 1990 and 2015," thanks to the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2000, says the International Food Policy Research Institute in its 2016 Global Food Policy Report.
Look for smallest U.S. sorghum crop in four years, says KSU
After a three-year surge in exports that boosted the popularity of sorghum, demand is forecast to fall and the feed grain is headed for the smallest harvest since 2012, says economist Dan O'Brien of Kansas State U.
China vows to stop stockpiling corn, try other ag subsidies
Stuck with a six-month supply of corn in the warehouse, China “has pledged to end a costly corn stockpiling policy that has hit world markets,” says the Financial Times.
Senate Judiciary chair asks for U.S. review of Syngenta-ChemChina deal
The Obama administration should examine the food-security implications of the proposed $43 billion purchase by state-owned ChemChina of Swiss-based Syngenta, one of the world's largest seed and agro-chemical companies, said the Senate Judiciary chairman and the Democratic leader of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Swine virus can survive trans-Pacific trip
The Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus that killed more than 6 million piglets in a U.S. outbreak that began in 2013 "could survive a trip around the world, if it catches the right ride," reports Harvest Public Media.
Despite drought, California farmers ring up record sales
California farmers made $53.5 billion in sales in 2014, even as Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency and mandated urban water cuts for 2015. The record sales figures, which represent the most recent data available, were released in a new report by the state agriculture department.
‘Virtually every corn farmer’ could become party to Syngenta lawsuit
When China rejected shiploads of U.S. corn in 2013, it shook the commodity market and spawned hundreds of lawsuits against Syngenta. Harvest Public Media says lawyers involved in the lawsuits "are preparing to ask for the cases to be certified as a class-action lawsuit.
The heavyweight in the world peanut butter market
"The United States has always been a major player in global peanut butter trade and continues to be the world's largest exporter," says USDA.
U.S. farm exports tumble, led by China
U.S. farm exports will slump this year to $125 billion, the lowest level since 2010, due to strong competition from other exporting nations and reduced demand for imports, said the Agriculture Department in a quarterly update.
Polyester beats cotton; will Vietnam beat China?
Low oil prices are translating into low prices for polyester fiber, especially in China, which produces nearly three-fourths of the world's polyester, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
Mexico to displace China as top corn importer
China will remain the leading importer of soybeans and cotton, but Mexico will be the world's largest corn importer for the rest of this decade, said the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. The United States would be the top corn exporter despite increased competition from Brazil, said the University of Missouri think tank in updating its international marketing baseline.