Exports
U.S., China agree to open their borders to apple imports
China agreed to open its market to imports of all varieties of U.S.-grown apples, a step thatUSDA said could expand apple exports, worth $1 billion in 2013, by 10 percent.
US-Cuba normalization expected to bring larger farm exports
Normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations, announced by President Obama, will include easier terms for selling U.S. food and agricultural equipment to the island nation, long viewed by farm groups as a natural and nearby market.
U.S. relaxes trade regulations with Cuba, may aid ag exports
The Obama administration relaxed trade rules with Cuba, changes that were promised when President Obama announced normalization of relations on Dec 17. The Treasury and Commerce departments published regulations in the Federal Register to facilitate trade. "These changes will immediately enable the American people to provide more resources to empower the Cuban population to become less dependent upon the state-driven economy, and help facilitate our growing relationship with the Cuban people," said the White House.
Record exports for biggest-ever US soybean crop
U.S. soybean exports are headed for a record 1.77 billion bushels this marketing year, nearly 45 percent of the largest crop ever grown by U.S. farmers, says USDA. If the estimate proves true, exports would be 7 percent larger than last season.
U.S. and Japan meet again on farm and automobile trade
Trade officials from Japan and the United States opened a new round of talks in Tokyo on two sticking points, agriculture and autombiles, in negotiations for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, said the Kyodo news service.
Goodbye, DEIP and EEP
The government has erased from its books the regulations for two export subsidy programs, the Export Enhancement Program and Dairy Export Incentive Program, that were mothballed years ago.
Ag negotiator sees “a lot of momentum” for TPP
The chief U.S. agricultural trade negotiator said there was "a lot of momentum" toward a Trans-Pacific Partnership pact after months of delays. The chief negotiators from the 12 TPP nations are in Washington this week, said Darci Vetter, of the U.S. Trade Representative's office. "We hope and think we will be closing this agreement soon." Vetter told the Farm Journal Forum that only the most sensitive products were left on the table, items that may need ministerial action.
Russia wheat exports second-highest ever despite duty
Russia's newly announced duty on wheat exports will discourage sales but exports still would be the second-highest ever, says USDA's Grain: World Markets and Trade report.
Record US soy exports as world harvests biggest crop ever
U.S. soybean exports are headed for a record 1.76 billion bushels this marketing year although the world is flooded with the oilseed, said USDA. In its monthly WASDE report on crop output and usage around the world, USDA raised its export forecast by 40 million bushels, to 1.76 billion bushels, citing "the record export pace in weeks and prospects for additional sales and shipments ahead of the South American harvest."
First female agriculture minister is appointed in Brazil
Katia Abreu, a former head of the largest farm lobbying group in Brazil, is the first woman to be appointed agriculture minister of the world's largest coffee, sugar and beef exporter, says Bloomberg.
Hong Kong bans poultry meat from Oregon county
Food safety officials in Hong Kong banned imports of poultry meat and products from Douglas County, Oregon, where avian influenza was found in a backyard poultry flock, said Xinhua.
USDA apportions $200 million for ag export promotion
The Agriculture Department distributed $200 million in cost-sharing funds to 84 organizations to promote U.S. farm exports and to build markets for the products overseas.
ADM sues Syngenta over rejected GE corn cargoes
ADM, the world's largest corn processor, sued Syngenta in state court in Louisiana over cargoes of corn rejected by China because they contained an unapproved Syngenta variety, said Bloomberg.
Lower prices, brisk sales point to record soymeal exports
Strong demand in the opening weeks of the marketing year and lower market prices are forecast to result in record exports of U.S. soybean meal, said USDA. It estimated sales of 12.8 million short tons, up 10 percent from 2013/14.
US farm exports set a record at $152.5 billion
U.S. farm exports set back-to-back records, climbing to $152.5 billion in just-ended fiscal 2014, said the Agriculture Department, up 8 percent from the mark set one year earlier.
Agriculture’s top hope for lame duck – revival of tax breaks
Congress is fairly likely during its post-election session to revive a package of tax incentives that expired on Jan 1, said the leaders of the two largest U.S. farm groups. The package includes the $1 a gallon tax credit for biodiesel, tax credits for wind and solar power, and generous write-offs for purchases of equipment and other assets. Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, told reporters the so-called tax extenders package was...
US ag exports to TPP bloc up 5 percent if trade barriers fall
U.S. agricultural exports to the 12 nations involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks would rise by 5 percent over a decade if all agricultural tariffs and tariff-rate qoutas were eliminated, says USDA's Economic Research Service.
Syngenta wanted to grow GE corn in China
Seed company Syngenta, whose genetically engineered corn is blamed for a disruption in U.S. corn exports to China, says it applied in 2010 to cultivate the same variety in China, says Reuters.