Crop Production
Prices soar for India's 'king of fruits'
Apr 13, 2011 01:12 EDT
Unseasonal rains and a cold winter have hit India's mango crop, decimating the summer harvest and sending prices soaring, traders say, as Indians grapple with the rising cost of staple foods.
EU lawmakers vote to widen proposed GM crop bans
Apr 12, 2011 11:40 EDT
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union governments should be allowed to ban the growing of genetically modified (GM) crops based on environmental concerns including the prevention of "super weeds," EU lawmakers said on Tuesday.
Surging food prices fuel ethanol critics
Apr 10, 2011 18:26 EDT
A surge in global food prices has prompted fresh criticism of US subsidies for ethanol, which diverts massive amounts of corn from global food supplies for energy.
Farmers in Spain look to expand 'European coffee'
Apr 09, 2011 15:16 EDT
In a tropical valley in Spain's Canary Islands the month of April is the time to harvest coffee, which is marketed as gourmet product and one which farmers hope to expand rapidly.
Corn prices hit record highs in Chicago
Apr 07, 2011 18:53 EDT
Corn prices surged to record peaks in the United States Thursday amid tight supply and fierce demand driven in part by rapid expansion of biofuels production.
U.S. braces for floods as Red River rises
Apr 07, 2011 17:33 EDT
FARGO, North Dakota (Reuters) - For Sherri and John Stern, who have lived together on the Red River in Fargo, North Dakota for 16 years, building a sandbag barrier is step one in an annual flood battle -- a 24-hour pumping operation comes next.
FAO food index to hover near record high in March
Apr 06, 2011 21:50 EDT
MILAN (Reuters) - Global food prices measured by the U.N.'s food agency may have come off record highs in March after falls in grain prices, but supply concerns and soaring oil prices mean such a move could just be a pause before new peaks.
High maize costs to boost French foie gras prices
Apr 05, 2011 14:21 EDT
PARIS (Reuters Life!) - French foie gras prices could swell this year due to a surge in maize prices but the increase should have little impact on sales and exports which continued to rise last year, producers said on Tuesday.
Still hope for Brazil's soybean harvest: Oil World
Apr 05, 2011 09:37 EDT
HAMBURG (Reuters) - Brazil's 2011 soybean harvest could turn out better than expected despite damaging rain with crop yields higher than previously forecast, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday.
David vs Goliath fight in Ecuador's banana industry
Apr 02, 2011 15:06 EDT
Ecologically friendly Ecuadoran banana producers, with the help of President Rafael Correa, are trying to secure their niche in a market dominated by multi-national giants.
China reports wider outbreak of wheat diseases
Mar 30, 2011 23:04 EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's wheat crop is suffering from a serious outbreak of disease and the spread of pests this year due to the dry spring, the ministry of agriculture said.
Good wheat harvest expected in Pakistan, despite floods
Mar 30, 2011 12:05 EDT
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said Wednesday that Pakistan can expect a good wheat harvest despite severe flooding last year as seeds distributed to flood victims begin to ripen.
Drought raising risk of more western U.S. wildfires
Mar 26, 2011 15:01 EDT
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Severe drought conditions across eastern Colorado and the western half of Kansas and Oklahoma are worsening the outlook for more wild fires in the region, climatologists said.
Rare Sumatran tiger killed by electric fence
Mar 25, 2011 09:43 EDT
An endangered Sumatran tiger has died after brushing against an electric fence set up by Indonesian farmers, in the second such incident this year, an official said Friday.
Dutch sold more flowers for less in 2010
Mar 21, 2011 12:57 EDT
The Netherlands, the world's top flower exporter, sold 3.6 billion flower bulbs abroad in 2010 -- a two percent rise on the year before, the Central Statistics Bureau said on Monday.
Cocoa industry has 'increasing concern' over I. Coast unrest
Mar 15, 2011 13:41 EDT
Leading organisations in the global cocoa industry on Tuesday expressed their "increasing concern" over the violence in Ivory Coast, the biggest producer of the commodity used to make chocolate.
Britain adds voice to criticism of EU GM crop plans
Mar 14, 2011 12:44 EDT
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain became the latest European Union country on Thursday to raise serious doubts over proposals to let EU governments decide individually whether to grow or ban genetically modified (GM) crops.
UN calls for rice production boost in Asia
Mar 09, 2011 07:38 EST
The UN's food agency on Wednesday called on Asian nations to help small farmers to grow more rice to prevent food shortages in the face of expanding populations.
Disappointing rains fall in Plains wheat belt
Mar 08, 2011 11:39 EST
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Overnight rains in the U.S. Plains wheat belt were disappointing, with more moisture needed especially in the far western areas to boost development this spring, a forecaster said on Tuesday.
Kenya coffee eyes new golden era
Mar 06, 2011 02:13 EST
Kenyan coffee producers are hoping that soaring global prices will end years of neglect, that saw output drop fourfold, and herald a new golden age for what was once the country's top export.
