A look at some notable items of news from the past seven days …
International
This week Fresh Plaza presented its Overview Global Stone Fruit Market, looking at how the supply and trade in apricots, peaches and nectarines is doing all around the world.
From agricultural superpower Brazil: The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture’s Supply Management Company (CONAB) released long-term projections for production, supply, and demand for agricultural and livestock products. Looking ahead to 2028/29, CONAB projects soybean and corn area and production to continue to expand at impressive rates, though less than the growth seen over the past decade.
Of interest to South Africa was the US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS) look at the wheat situation in South Africa. The Rand’s drop in value this year (Moody’s downgrade and Covid-19) means that record wheat prices will be seen, which will have a “negative inflationary impact on bread and wheat flour prices, and increase the South African consumers’ expenditure on basic food products”. See South African Wheat Prices Reach Record High Levels.
Covid-19 related
A Guardian report looks at food security in the U.S.A. – “‘People are going to go hungry’: pandemic effects could leave 54m Americans without food“.
Also of interest is “Much controversy in the UK over farm jobs for Brits“.
National
Agbiz‘s Land Reform Status Update is available on its website.
Wandile Sihlobo (Agbiz) also took a look at South Africa’s wheat prospects. See “Whether we will have surplus wheat in the global market hangs on the weather“.
Lloyd Phillips from Farmer’s Weekly records some tips for livestock farmers with “Free State farmer shares lessons on ultra-high-density grazing“.
Another unusual agricultural story, also from Farmer’s Weekly, is “Toilet paper saves timber industry amid print media closures“.
Covid-19 related
The South African Pork Producers Organisation (SAPPO) released farmer guidelines to manage Covid-19. These include a contingency plan, a staff register, a risk assessment report, a visitors register and a worker assessment. These points are all hyperlinked to more information.
Agbiz head of Legal Intelligence Theo Boshoff summarised the key points of the amended regulations for alert level 3 in the Agbiz newsletter. See “South Africa’s level 3 lockdown – what you need to know“.
A second piece “addresses frequently asked questions related to the Department of Employment and Labour’s directives on occupational health and safety in the time of Covid-19”.
Conditions for exporting fruit at harbours, operating far below capacity, cause producers great concern. The Landbouweekblad article, in Afrikaans, is “Kaapstad-hawe kniehalter uitvoervrugte“.
Another article from Landbouweekblad “Padblokkade help Citrusdal-boere om vallei te beskerm” is about how a road block protects producers and workers on Citrusdal farms.
Further reference
See the following Agribook pages:
- Wheat
- Deciduous fruit
- Food security
- Rangelands
- Forage crops
- Forestry
- Wood, pulp and paper
- Rural crime and farm security
- Biosecurity
