WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have identified a chemical compound released by locusts that causes them to swarm, opening the door to possible new ways to prevent these insects from devouring crops vital to human sustenance as they have for millennia. Resea... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s notorious dog-meat festival has opened in defiance of a government campaign to improve animal welfare and reduce risks to health highlighted by the novel coronavirus outbreak, but activists are hopeful its days are numbered. The an... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – China has suspended imports from four of Australia’s largest meat processors, Australia’s trade minister said on Tuesday, as the trade of several key agricultural commodities suffers in the wake of souring ties. The suspension comes after Au... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China announced on Tuesday a new list of 79 U.S. products eligible for waivers from retaliatory tariffs imposed at the height of the bilateral trade war, amid continued pressure on Beijing to boost imports from the United States. China’s fi... More »
(Reuters) – Tyson Foods Inc expects to continue idling meat plants and slowing production because of the new coronavirus, the company said on Monday, signaling more disruptions to the U.S. food supply. Tyson reported lower-than-expected earnings and revenue fo... More »
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia criticised the World Health Organisation on Monday for advising adults to avoid palm oil in their diet during the COVID-19 outbreak and use alternatives such as olive oil. The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office said in ... More »
MOUSCRON, Belgium (Reuters) – With potato farmers and processors struggling, Belgians are being urged to eat more fries to offset a slump in demand during the coronavirus pandemic. Belgium is the world’s largest exporter of fries and other frozen potato produc... More »
BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – British actor and filmmaker Idris Elba launched a new United Nations fund on Monday to help farmers in poorer nations, calling on richer economies to provide aid to prevent “needless hunger and suffering” stemming from ... More »
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – India and Pakistan are planning to partially open up some parts of the economy, officials in the two countries said on Monday, as the costs of harsh lockdowns to limit the outbreak of the coronavirus mount across the region. Ind... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, said on Sunday it will shut a U.S. plant indefinitely due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees and warned the country was moving “perilously close to the edge” in supplies for ... More »
(Reuters) – The White House’s top trade advisor denied on Tuesday that the Trump administration was considering a three-month deferral of tariff payments on imported goods to ease the pain of the economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Industry g... More »
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines has detected an outbreak of avian flu in a northern province after tests showed presence of the highly infectious H5N6 subtype of the influenza A virus in a quail farm, the country’s farm minister said on Monday. Agriculture ... More »
HAMBURG (Reuters) – A case of H5N8 bird flu has been confirmed in a poultry farm in the eastern German state of Saxony, German authorities said on Monday. The social affairs and protection ministry in the state of Saxony said the case involved bird flu of type... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Cargill Inc will launch plant-based hamburger patties and ground “fake meat” products in April, the company said on Monday, challenging Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods for sales in grocery stores, cafeterias and restaurants. The entry of C... More »
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa has lifted a two-month ban on livestock auctions that halted trade in cattle, sheep and other animals following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Limpopo late last year, the agriculture minister said on Monday. I... More »
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – A small factory in Malaysia’s capital is preparing thousands of ready-to-eat halal meals, from fried rice to chicken biryani, to be shipped off to Japan for 2020’s biggest sporting event. Food firms from Muslim-majority Malaysia, are e... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture minister urged authorities to prevent a recurrence in African swine fever outbreaks, according to a statement on the ministry’s website on Monday. Relevant departments must work to achieve this year’s pig production reco... More »
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – President Donald Trump sought on Sunday to assure American farmers and ranchers hit by a protracted tariff war with China that a trade agreement he signed with Beijing will lead to major purchases of U.S. agricultural products. Trump’... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture ministry said on Monday it plans to issue biosafety certificates to a domestically grown, genetically modified (GM) soybean crop and two corn crops, in a move toward commercializing GM grain production in the world’s top... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will lower tariffs on products ranging from frozen pork and avocado to some types of semiconductors next year as Beijing looks to boost imports amid a slowing economy and a trade war with the United States. Next year, China will imple... More »
(Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department said a federal appeals court should reverse a lower court verdict finding Bayer AG liable in the case of a California man who blamed its Roundup weed killer for his cancer. The gov... More »
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian app iFood, which specializes in delivering ready-to-eat meals to consumers in large cities, is looking to expand its services to other areas and plans to increase operations in retail, chief financial officer Diego Barreto said ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Braving perils from blood-sucking leeches to tigers and using transport as basic as elephants, scientists have journeyed like “Indiana Jones” to remote locations to collect wild cousins of crop seeds in a project to help tackle climate chang... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China reported a third case of bubonic plague on Sunday after two other plague cases were revealed last week, but the disease remains rare despite its fearsome reputation and authorities say the cases appear unrelated. HOW DOES INFECTION O... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture ministry said on Monday it will launch an investigation into the illegal production, sale and use of African swine fever vaccines in the country, citing online reports of their use by some farmers. No country has yet app... More »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Air pollution in some parts of the Indian capital deteriorated early on Monday to the worst recorded level, officials said, a day after revelers set off fireworks to mark Diwali in celebrations that were more subdued than in previous year... More »
SALADILLO, Argentina (Reuters) – There is a saying among farmers when times are hard on the Argentine Pampas: “Unsaddle the horse until the sun comes out”. That saying is starting to spread in farm towns like Saladillo, after the populist-leaning Peronists won... More »
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) – Argentina’s farmers have some questions for President-elect Alberto Fernandez, after the center-left Peronist won a decisive election on Sunday, ousting business-friendly leader Mauricio Macri. Across the country’s fertile P... More »
(This October 13 story has been refiled to change timeframe in paragraph 2 to nine months, not eight months) BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s pork imports in September surged 76% from a year earlier while beef imports came close to a monthly record, as it stocked u... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia has refused entry to a Vietnamese woman for failing to declare 10 kg (22 lb) of raw pork, seafood and poultry on arrival in Sydney, its first expulsion under a more strict biosecurity law, authorities said on Tuesday. Already known... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s pig herd in September was 41.1% smaller than it was a year earlier, the agriculture ministry said on Monday, as a year-long African swine fever epidemic continued to slash the world’s largest herd. The number of sows in China also f... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators on Friday gave the green light for genetically modified cotton to be used for human consumption, paving the way for a protein-packed new food source – edible cottonseed that tastes a bit like chickpeas – that its develope... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China hopes Beijing and Washington will resolve their trade dispute “with a calm and rational attitude”, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Sunday, ahead of talks in two weeks between the two sides. The United States and China have... More »
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary’s national food safety authority Nebih has found five cases of African swine fever in wild boar carcasses near Budapest, it said on Sunday. The causes of the infections found in a closed hunting area in Budakeszi, west of the Hunga... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Thousands of Indonesians prayed for rain in haze-hit towns on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo on Wednesday, as forest fires raged at the height of the dry season, the state Antara news agency reported. Fires have burnt through parts of Su... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Sunday started to impose additional tariffs on some of the U.S. goods on a $75-billion target list, with effect from 0401 GMT. The extra 5% and 10% tariffs were levied on 1,717 items of a total of 5,078 products originating from th... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, the country’s top pig-farming province, is removing some restrictions on hog production to stabilize supply after an epidemic of African swine fever reduced herds. Sichuan produced more than 65 mill... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iowa’s Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has “screwed” the U.S. ethanol industry and farmers by granting waivers to 31 small petroleum refineries, effectively exempting them... More »
(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) said on Sunday that fears of the U.S.-China trade war leading to a recession are increasing and that Goldman no longer expects a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies before the 2020 U.S. presidential e... More »
NEW YORK/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Bayer AG has not offered to pay billions of dollars to settle claims in the United States related to the Roundup herbicide, mediator Ken Feinberg said, dismissing a report to that effect which drove its shares as much as 11% high... More »
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said the Balkan state’s government will compensate owners who voluntarily cull their domestic pigs, as the country works to stamp out an outbreak of the highly contagious African swine fever. Almost 130... More »
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s veterinary authorities said on Friday they would cull 8,253 pigs after detecting an outbreak of African swine fever at a breeding farm in the northeast of the country, the sixth industrial farm in the Balkan nation to be hit by the... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture ministry said on Monday it will carry out checks on local veterinary authorities in 10 provinces as it tries to slow the ongoing spread of the deadly African swine fever virus. The investigations come after China’s cabin... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s pork output fell by less than expected in the first half as the country tackles a devastating disease outbreak, although official data showed conflicting figures on the size of the decline in the hog herd. China produced 24.7 millio... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China and the rest of the world must co-exist, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan said on Monday, in an indirect jab at the United States with which Beijing is currently trying to resolve a bitter trade war. “China’s development can’t shut ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s southwestern region of Guangxi has confirmed a new outbreak of African swine fever, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday. The new outbreak has killed 1 pig and infected 42 more on a farm in Guigang city, the Ministry of Agricul... More »
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria has confirmed a new case of African swine fever among backyard pigs in the village of Novachene near the town of Pleven in the north of the country, the national food safety agency said on Friday. Bulgaria already reported two cases ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture ministry said on Friday it had confirmed an African swine fever outbreak in Luchuan county in the southwestern region of Guangxi that killed nine pigs on a farm. China has reported 143 outbreaks of the incurable disease ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – International tensions over trade could have a positive outcome for agriculture by reviving efforts to reform the most ineffective of policies that distribute hundreds of billions of dollars to farmers each year, the OECD said. Nearly 70% of ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – As many as half of China’s breeding pigs have either died from African swine fever or been slaughtered because of the spreading disease, twice as many as officially acknowledged, according to the estimates of four people who supply large fa... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Monday that U.S. authorities would begin next week removing millions of immigrants who are in the United States illegally. “Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens wh... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Ocado is plowing 17 million pounds ($22 million) into the emerging “vertical farming” industry, further diversifying the online grocer and technology group’s business. Vertical farming involves producing food indoors, with crops gr... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s soybean imports fell 24% in May from the same month last year, customs data showed on Monday, as the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war and deadly African swine fever checked demand. China brought in 7.36 million tonnes of soybeans in May,... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump defended his administration’s deal with Mexico against criticism that there were no major new commitments to stem a flow of Central American migrants crossing into the United States, and said on Sunday more de... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump predicted Mexico would strongly enforce a new deal under which it agreed to expand a controversial asylum program and boost security on its southern border to stem Central American migrants trying to reach the... More »
WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The United States and Mexico struck a deal on Friday to avert a tariff war, with Mexico agreeing to rapidly expand a controversial asylum program and deploy security forces to stem the flow of illegal Central American migrant... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the discovery of unapproved, genetically modified (GM) wheat plants growing in an un-planted agricultural field in Washington state. There was no evidence the wheat had entered the food suppl... More »
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s president and the top U.S. business lobbying group called on President Donald Trump to back down from a threat to impose punitive tariffs on Mexican imports, in a dispute over migration that could shock Mexico’s economy. Trump ... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore, the tiny Southeast Asian city-state, is an unlikely place for a farming revolution. With tiered fish farms, vegetable plots atop office buildings and lab-grown shrimp, the island aims to beef up its own food production and rely... More »
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam culled a further 500,000 pigs over the past two weeks to tackle an oubreak of African swine fever, taking the total killed so far to 1.7 million, or 5% of the country’s herd, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. Pork accounts for ... More »
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia’s royal oxen predicted a plentiful harvest of rice, the country’s biggest crop, at an ancient plowing ceremony on Wednesday. King Norodom Sihamoni presided over the televised annual ritual in which two oxen are given offerings a... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – British livestock genetics firm Genus agreed on Thursday to license its know-how on virus-resistant pigs to Beijing Capital Agribusiness Co Ltd, which will seek regulatory approval for the pigs in the world’s biggest pork market. Genus has ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Brazil’s agriculture minister will ask Chinese officials on Thursday to greenlight exports to the Asian nation of sugar made from genetically modified (GM) sugarcane, which is expected to be widely used in Brazil in coming years. Minister T... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Monday the country will never surrender to external pressure after Washington renewed its threat to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports in an escalating trade dispute. The trade war between the world’s top... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Monday the country will never surrender to foreign pressure after Washington renewed its threat to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports in an escalating trade dispute. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang... More »
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam has culled more than 1.2 million farmed pigs infected with African swine fever, the government said on Monday, as the virus continues to spread rapidly in the Southeast Asian country. Pork accounts for three-quarters of total meat con... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When he ran for president in 2016, Donald Trump delighted crowds with his harsh rhetoric on China. As he runs for re-election in 2020, he is likely to keep talking tough, but the reception – at least in some key states – may not be as eu... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Monday a Chinese delegation is preparing to go to United States for trade talks, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods this week and target hund... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China Vice Premier Liu He could still travel to the United States for trade negotiations but shorten his trip or cancel it altogether, South China Morning Post reported on Monday, citing an unnamed source briefed on the latest plans. In an ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Friday that it had confirmed outbreaks of African swine fever in two locations in Hainan province, an island off the country’s southern coast which it had hoped to keep free of the contagious disease. The disease, fatal to pig... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A New Zealand company pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of adding artificial chemicals to its premium manuka honey, media reported, in a flagship prosecution over a product that is high-value export for the country. New Zealand Food S... More »
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa is likely to harvest 16 percent less maize in 2019 compared with the previous season after drought delayed plantings, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. The government’s Crop Estimates Committee (CEC), which will provide its... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. border agents said they have seized 1 million pounds (453,592 kg) of food products from China this month, rather than 1 million pounds of pork as they had previously announced, as they work to keep out African swine fever. The containe... More »
(Reuters) – Tyson Foods is recalling some 69,000 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips that may have been contaminated with metal, the top U.S. meat processor said on Friday, marking its second recall this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (US... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has urged rural governments to offer temporary subsidies to pig breeding farms and large-scale producers to help stabilize hog production, as fears grow about the impact of a severe disease outbreak on pork supplies. Factory prices fo... More »
WUZHEN, China (Reuters) – China’s 2019 pork imports are set to double from last year to 2 million tonnes, a Rabobank analyst said on Thursday, as African swine fever hits production of the meat in the world’s top hog market. China has reported 113 outbreaks of... More »
ROSS-ON-WYE, England (Reuters) – For almost 100 years, Chris Chinn’s family has farmed asparagus in the rolling hills of the Wye Valley in western England. This year, he fears uncertainty around Britain’s departure from the European Union will keep his eastern... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. border agents have seized around 1 million pounds of pork from China, a spokesman for the agency said on Friday, over suspicions that it might contain African swine flu disease which has hit Chinese pork output. Federal agents have ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and China appear close to a deal that would roll back U.S. tariffs on at least $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, as Beijing makes pledges on structural economic changes and eliminates retaliatory tariffs on U.S. good... More »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Indian traders will export raw sugar to Iran for March and April delivery, five trade sources said, the first Indian sugar sales to Tehran in at least five years as Iran struggles to secure food supplies under sanctions imposed by the United... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese state media on Saturday expressed cautious optimism over trade talks between the United States and China, a day after President Xi Jinping said a week of discussions had produced “step-by-step” progress. Xi made the comments at a m... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he may extend a March 1 deadline for reaching a trade deal with China while keeping current tariffs in place, adding that the negotiations are “very complicated.” “There is a possibility that I ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are in Beijing this week as Chinese and American negotiators try to hammer out a trade deal to ease a trade war and avert an increase in U.S. tariffs ... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s cabinet approved on Sunday a law to allow exports of medical cannabis in a move expected to boost state revenues and the agriculture sector, and which frustrates critics who fear it could lead to more recreational use of the drug... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The French army will provide logistical support to hunters tasked with culling wild boar in a border zone next to Belgium, as France tries to prevent an outbreak of a virulent swine disease, its agriculture minister said on Friday. France has... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture ministry on Sunday said a new outbreak of African swine fever had been confirmed in Gansu province in the northwest of the country. The outbreak occurred on a farm with 109 live pigs in Qingyang city, infecting 44 of the... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A new outbreak of African swine fever has hit two farms in Jiangsu province in eastern China, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, as the highly contagious disease continues to spread through the world’s largest hog herd. ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese and U.S. teams ended trade talks in Beijing on Wednesday that lasted longer than expected and officials said details will be released soon, raising hopes an all-out trade war that could badly disrupt the global economy can be avoide... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – China’s approval of imports of a DowDuPont Inc (DWDP.N) genetically modified soybean puts rival Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) on the defensive, investors and analysts said, as U.S. farmers will have a new choice when planting their most valuable agri... More »
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Super Bowl fans may have to go without guacamole this year if avocado farmers in Mexico cannot send their fruit to the United States because of a prolonged fuel shortage. Like clockwork, Mexican producers ship thousands of tonnes of avo... More »
(Reuters) – The Trump administration said on Tuesday it would keep providing food assistance to poor Americans in February despite a partial U.S. government shutdown, but warned it had no solution in place for March if the funding shortfall continues. The anno... More »
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The highly contagious foot and mouth disease, which poses a threat to the livestock industry, has been detected in a northern district of South Africa’s Limpopo province, the country said on Tuesday. Positive laboratory results for the... More »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considering three options for a relief package to help farmers suffering because of low crop prices at a cost of as much as 3 trillion rupees ($42.82 billion), according to three government sources.... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has opened the door to imports of rice from the United States for the first time ever in what analysts took to signal a warming of relations between the world’s two biggest economies after a frosty year marked by tensions and tit-for-... More »
HIVARGAON/MUJAHIDPUR, India (Reuters) – A spike in the price of onions has led to the ouster of governments in Indian elections in the past. Now, prices of the staple have collapsed, and many impoverished farmers are saying they will make Prime Minister Narend... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has loosened the rules on the transportation of breeder pigs and piglets in provinces that are affected by the African swine fever, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday. The move, which came after Beijing reported more than 90 ca... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Friday laid out objectives for trade talks with Japan, setting the clock for them to begin as early as Jan. 20, as the administration seeks to slash the United States’ $69 billion trade deficit with the world’s third-b... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture ministry said on Monday two new African swine fever outbreaks were reported in Shaanxi and Guizhou provinces. The new case in Shenmu city of Shaanxi province killed 19 of 33 pigs present on a farm, the Ministry of Agricu... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture ministry said on Monday it will ban pig farming in areas inhabited by wild boars to prevent the spread of highly contagious African swine fever. China, the world’s top pork producer, has reported more than 80 outbreaks o... More »
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – President Donald Trump and top U.S. officials said on Monday that a trade truce with China will lead to structural changes in Beijing’s economic policies, including lower tariffs, lower non-tariff barriers and more market access ... More »
