Agriculture & Softs Reports

World craves ever more coffee despite soaring price

London, 25 May 2011: Reuters

Global demand for coffee is set to keep climbing and even a doubling in the cost of the commodity over the last 12 months has failed to quench consumers' thirst for the beverage. Faster paced lifestyles in China and other Asian economies where economic growth has been strong have helped to keep consumption of coffee firmly on an upward path.

Read more: World craves ever more coffee despite soaring price

Coffee: 2011's Best Agricultural Performer

London, 24 May 2011: Reuters

Special Report: Coffee:

* Indonesia coffee woes keep global prices on the boil

* Vietnam coffee growers invest to boost yields on firm prices

* POLL-Vietnam 2010/11 coffee up 2 pct, but lags previous estimates

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Cutting food waste to feed the world

Rome, 11 May 2011

Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted, according to an FAO-commissioned study. The document, Global Food Losses and Food Waste, was commissioned by FAO from the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology (SIK) for Save Food!, an international congress being held in Düsseldorf 16-17 May at the trade fair of the international packaging industry Interpack2011.

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Global Timber and Wood Products Market Update

London, 22 April 2011

Lumber demand is increasing worldwide and has resulted in higher lumber prices in the 1Q/11 in the US, Japan, China and Europe, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Last year global demand for softwood lumber increased 18 percent after having hit a 50-year low in 2009. The rise in demand has pushed lumber prices in North America, Asia and Europe to their highest levels in ten months, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.

Read more: Global Timber and Wood Products Market Update

IGC Grain Market Report, April 2011

London, April 2011

The past month was again volatile in global markets, with a sharp jump in grain values in early April largely centred on renewed bullish trading in maize (corn), partly in response to new US data indicating heavier than anticipated domestic use.

Read more: IGC Grain Market Report, April 2011

Crude oil price’s crude effect on rice production

London, 18 April 2011

The impact of crude oil prices has far reaching impacts on the direct and indirect costs involved in rice production. Researchers have mapped crude oil, rice and soybean oil prices between 1970 and 2008 and demonstrate the implications of world crude oil prices on the agriculture sector, in particular on rice production. The paper, in the Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (JSSH), also suggests that soybean oil producers do not face the same problem and should not worry about the fluctuation of crude oil prices.

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Global Timber and Wood Products Market Update

London, 17 April 2011

Asia’s increasing demand for wood drives sawlog prices up in the US and Canada, reports the North American Wood Fiber Review.

Read more: Global Timber and Wood Products Market Update

Potentially catastrophic climate impacts on food production

Rome, 31 March 2011

"Potentially catastrophic" impacts on food production from slow-onset climate changes are expected to increasingly hit the developing world in the future and action is needed now to prepare for those anticipated impacts, FAO warned today in a submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

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The impact of Japan's natural and nuclear disaster on agriculture

London, 26 March 2011

Macquarie Agri-view: The devastating earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear radiation that hit Japan will, in our view, have a net positive impact on global agricultural markets. Initially demand for feed grains may fall as the country is forced to operate with less capacity while damage and logistics are assessed.

Read more: The impact of Japan's natural and nuclear disaster on agriculture

The EU Sugar Market Showing Stress Following Reforms

London, 25 March 2011

Czarnikow Group: The European Sugar market is facing significant stress following its reform which has resulted in marked changes to the EU’s relationship with the world market. Since the beginning of the year prices in some parts of the EU have strengthened above €900/mt, while the Commission has had to announce a duty-free import quota for 300,000 tonnes to bring in additional supply.

Read more: The EU Sugar Market Showing Stress Following Reforms