China
Biofuel makers in the U.S. and Brazil hope China becomes big buyer
China is a tiny market for ethanol imports but producers in the United States and Brazil are stirred by an upturn in sales, says Reuters.
Amid sorghum boom, export market refocuses and narrows
Sorghum growers are headed for their largest crop in 16 years, 573 million bushels, says the USDA in its Feed Outlook. The bumper crop is due to a 20-percent surge in plantings and record-high yields of 74.6 bushels an acre.
China’s cotton plantings plunge to record low
Cotton production is plummeting in China, the world's largest importer and consumer of the textile, says USDA.
A cost of production advantage for sorghum over corn
Sorghum is enjoying a resurgence after years of being over-shadowed by corn, thanks in large part to large exports to China that have boosted market prices.
Glutted with cotton, China likely to limit imports again
China is likely to restrict cotton imports to the minimum required under world trade rules for the second year in a row as it tries to work down a massive surplus of the fiber, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
As advantages shift, an upturn for U.S. cotton spinning
Rising costs for textile companies in Asia are prompting an upturn in cotton spinning - converting raw cotton into yarn - in the U.S. South, says the New York Times.
World grain harvest forecast is third-largest ever
The world grain harvest "is still expected to be the third-largest ever," despite a heat wave that hurt the wheat and corn crops in Europe, said the International Grains Council in its monthly Grain Market Report.
One defendant freed in seed-corn theft case
U.S. Judge Stephanie Rose dismissed charges against a Chinese woman, Mo Yun, accused of conspiring to steal trade secrets from U.S. seed companies, said the Associated Press.
Vietnam surges as cotton user; India tops China as grower
China is the heavyweight of the world cotton market. It is the largest importer and user of cotton on earth but it is forecast to lose its position as the world's largest grower to India this year.
Orange output to fall 7 percent globally on lower yields
Orange production will drop by 7 percent this year due to lower yields among the four major growers, Brazil, China, the United States and the European Union, which account for two-thirds of world output, says the USDA.
After generations on the move, nomads are settled into town
China is in the final stages of a 15-year drive to relocate millions of nomadic herders into life in town, says the New York Times, which called it "one of the most ambitious attempts made at social engineering."
China to sell some surplus cotton, but stocks will remain large
The Chinese government offered to sell 4.6 million bales, or 1 million tonnes, of state-owned cotton at prices ranging from 97 cents to $1.13 per pound from a stockpile estimated at nearly 67 million bales.
USDA has role at US-China trade meeting
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Krysta Harden will take part in the annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing this week, says USDA. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew are leaders of the U.S. delegation for meetings Wednesday and Thursday on "the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global areas," said a State Department official quoted by AFP.
China to discuss its stockpile secrets with UN ag experts
Chinese agricultural leaders are to meet members of the UN-backed Agricultural Market Information System, created after food prices surged worldwide in 2008, to discuss access to data on Chinese grain stockpiles, says AgriMoney.
Mammoth dairy in China to supply Russia
Chinese and Russian investors are collaborating to build a 100,000-cow dairy - the largest in the world - in northeast China to supply milk and cheese to the Russian market, says Farmers Weekly, based in England.
Enigmatic China key to drawing down global cotton glut
China, the world's largest buyer and consumer of cotton, also owns a huge stockpile of the fiber and is the central figure in determining if market prices will remain stable in the coming year, although at low levels, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
China to sell part of its massive cotton stockpile
China, the world's largest importer and consumer of cotton, "will start to sell down its massive cotton stockpile this year," says Reuters. Beijing holds half, or more, of the world's stockpile of cotton.
World cotton crop down 9 percent due to low prices
The cotton harvest worldwide will drop by 9 percent this year as growers plant less land because of low market prices for the fiber, says the International Cotton Advisory Council.