{"id":7847,"date":"2022-08-26T11:56:22","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T11:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/?p=7847"},"modified":"2022-08-26T11:56:22","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T11:56:22","slug":"media-monitor-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/2022\/08\/26\/media-monitor-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Monitor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hot and dry weather in much of Europe will substantially reduce<\/a> crop production, particularly corn, soybeans, and sunflowers.<\/p>\n

The European Drought Observatory reports drought is affecting a staggering portion of Europe,<\/a> with 47 per cent of EU land under the level of “warning” and 17 per cent at the more severe \u201calert\u201d status.<\/p>\n

French farmers are asking<\/a> their government for billions of euros in compensation for crop and livestock losses.<\/p>\n

Politico believes that European farmers have little choice<\/a> but to adapt to climate change. On the same theme, the Guardian suggests five crops that could feed<\/a> a climate-changed world: amaranth, fonio, cowpeas, taro, and kernza. (No, I hadn\u2019t heard of them either.)<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s cotton crops are suffering<\/a> from hot, dry weather, with yields falling in India, Brazil, and China. Drought has killed the cotton crop in Texas,<\/a> but higher cotton prices could spark a revival of cotton in wetter Louisiana.<\/p>\n

With almost all of Texas in drought, ranchers are sending more cattle<\/a> off to slaughter.<\/p>\n

Corn prices moved higher this week on evidence<\/a> that the drought across the US Midwest would reduce yields.<\/p>\n

The drought in China is threatening food production<\/a>, prompting the government to order local authorities to take all available measures<\/a> to ensure crops survive the hottest summer on record.<\/p>\n

China is particularly concerned<\/a> about its rice crop. The six worst-affected regions, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Henan, Jiangxi, and Anhui, account for almost half of China\u2019s rice output.<\/p>\n

More than 70 days of extreme temperatures and low rainfall have wreaked havoc<\/a> along the basin of the Yangtze, which supports a third of the country’s crops. The government is using drones<\/a> and chemicals<\/a> to seed rainclouds.<\/p>\n

The government warns that the country\u2019s temperatures are rising faster than the global average and says it is a sensitive<\/a> region in global climate change.<\/p>\n

India announced restrictions<\/a> on wheat flour exports. Wheat flour exports jumped<\/a> 200 per cent after India banned wheat exports last May. There is talk that the country may import wheat and abolish<\/a> its 40 per cent import tax.<\/p>\n

Ukraine has exported<\/a> almost ten mln mt of agricultural products since Russia invaded, including nearly two mln mt since the beginning of August.<\/p>\n

Citing fake shipping documents, Turkey said it will re-impose<\/a> phytosanitary certification requirements for imports from Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Ukraine has restored a rail link<\/a> to Moldova after a 23-year hiatus. The connection could carry ten mln mt of freight a year.<\/p>\n

The UN is working with the EU and the US to overcome obstacles<\/a> to Russian food and fertiliser exports.<\/p>\n

Yara, one of the world’s largest fertilizer makers, is slashing<\/a> ammonia production due to soaring gas prices. The company announced a 50 per cent cut<\/a> to its ammonia-based urea and nitrogen fertilizer production in Europe, citing record high gas prices. There are worries<\/a> that soaring fertiliser prices will deepen Africa\u2019s food crisis<\/p>\n

The closure of the UK\u2019s biggest ammonia fertilizer plant could lead to a shortage<\/a> of CO2, a by-product used in the beer and soft drinks industry and by abattoirs to stun animals before slaughtering them. The plant closure could result in beer shortages and pig pileups, causing<\/a> alarm among the bacon and beer-loving British.<\/p>\n

It is ironic that the world should suffer a shortage of CO2 when there is too much in the atmosphere. At the same time, global methane emissions are rising. The FT warns,<\/a> \u201cIf you think of fossil fuel emissions as putting the world on a slow boil, methane is a blow torch that is cooking us today.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a more optimistic note, Brazil’s presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country does not need to cut a single tree to plant more soybeans and sugarcane or raise cattle. He promised to restore<\/a> law enforcement in the Amazon rainforest to curb deforestation.<\/p>\n

The Boston Consulting Group has published<\/a> a report on alternative proteins, writing that investing in the sector is the most efficient way to reduce global GHG emissions.<\/p>\n

The Guardian has called for a windfall tax<\/a> on food companies. The newspaper erroneously reports<\/a> that the four ABCD companies \u2013 ADM, Bunge, Cargill and LDC\u2013 control 70-90 per cent of the global grain trade. (Seven companies – ABCD+ Wilmar, Viterra, and Olam – account for an estimated 45 per cent of the seaborne trade in grains and oilseeds.)<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the UK charity Oxfam also called<\/a> for a windfall tax on food companies. They made a similar call in 2011<\/a> during the last food crisis. (I had forgotten that we had a food crisis in 2011.)<\/p>\n

In 2015, the USDA, EPA and FDA set a goal to reduce food loss and waste by 50 per cent by 2030. They still have a long way to go, but new technology, such as an artificial ice cube<\/a>, could help.<\/p>\n

Finally, Bloomberg asks if sail is the future<\/a> of commercial shipping. The news agency reports that adding a sail to an existing cargo ship can reduce GHG emissions by 20-30 per cent. You can find Bloomberg\u2019s weekly food and agriculture summary here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Commodity Conversations<\/a> \u00ae 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of the above links require subscriptions. Please support quality journalism.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Comment<\/p>\n

The UN estimates that retail establishments and the food service industry waste<\/a> around 931 mln mt of food each year worldwide. If food waste were a country, it would be the third biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for nearly 10 per cent of global GHG emissions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hot and dry weather in much of Europe will substantially reduce crop production, particularly corn, soybeans, and sunflowers. The European Drought Observatory reports drought is affecting a staggering portion of Europe, with 47 per cent of EU land under the level of “warning” and 17 per cent at the more severe \u201calert\u201d status. French farmers … <\/p>\n

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