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The War in Ukraine \u2013 one year on<\/strong><\/p>\n A new report estimates Russia\u2019s invasion cost<\/a> Ukraine $11.5 billion in lost crop production in 2022: \u00a0sunflower at $3.032 billion; wheat at $2.513 billion; corn at $2.143 billion; and barley at $837 million.<\/p>\n Ukraine has asked<\/a> Turkey and the UN to begin talks to extend the Black Sea grain deal, seeking an extension of at least one year. The agreement will expire on 18th<\/sup> March unless an extension is agreed. Russia said that it would be inappropriate<\/a> to extend the deal unless sanctions affecting its agricultural exports are lifted, and other issues are resolved.<\/p>\n China has included<\/a> maintaining the grain corridor as point nine in their recently published twelve-point peace plan.<\/p>\n In the meantime, Ukraine has proposed<\/a> increasing the minimum tonnage of ships which export grain and vegetable oil from the country via the grain corridor and a new mechanism<\/a> for queueing.<\/p>\n Grain exports from Ukraine have fallen<\/a> recently, with ship inspections now half<\/a> of what they were four months ago, with a backlog of 140 ships waiting for checking. Ukrainian and some US officials blame Russia for slowing down inspections, which Moscow has denied.<\/p>\n Ukraine has exported<\/a> 21.1 mln mt of agricultural products under the agreement, including ten mln mt of corn and six mln mt of wheat. Click here<\/a> for a full breakdown of the receiving countries and quantities exported.<\/p>\n An increase in the depth of a canal<\/a> linking the River Danube with the Black Sea could improve logistics for Ukraine\u2019s shallow water ports and improve flows out if the grain corridor agreement collapses.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s President has lauded<\/a> the country\u2019s farmers and announced a push to export 60 mln mt of grains by the end of 2023.<\/p>\n Other market news<\/strong><\/p>\n Argentina\u2019s worst drought<\/a> in 60 years is disastrous for local communities, destroying crops, bankrupting farmers and reducing exports. Bloomberg writes that it is not related<\/a> to climate change. Chile is also suffering,<\/a> with the country’s far south experiencing its worst drought in 50 years, hitting cattle ranchers and vegetable farmers.<\/p>\n France is not doing much better, suffering its worst drought in 64 years<\/a>. Authorities are preparing water restrictions, including on crop irrigation.<\/p>\n High prices are encouraging wheat-importing countries to purchase<\/a> supplies for only about two to three months of their future demand versus typical buying of up to six months forward.<\/p>\n India will sell an additional three mln mt<\/a> of wheat stocks to reduce domestic wheat and wheat flour prices. In addition, the government has said it does not plan to lift a ban<\/a> on broken rice exports and cut a 20% tax on overseas shipments of white rice.<\/p>\n The trade war over GM corn between the US and Mexico continues<\/a> with little sign of a settlement. The US has refused an offer from Mexico to allow GM corn imports for animal feed. Meanwhile, China\u2019s farmers are starting to plant GM corn<\/a>, but less than one per cent of total corn acreage.<\/p>\n Ivory Coast is restricting<\/a> some multinational traders from additional bean purchases for exports as the country seeks to avoid a shortage. A cash<\/a> shortage has left Nigeria\u2019s cocoa farmers unable to hire workers and exporters unable to get the crop to ships.<\/p>\n Brazil has halted<\/a> beef exports to China after confirming a case of mad cow disease. China is the leading destination for Brazilian beef, accounting for about 60 per cent of the nation\u2019s exports.<\/p>\n Bloomberg writes that onions<\/a> are the latest victim of what they have previously called<\/a> a global food crisis.<\/p>\n The UK is going through a domestic food crisis with a shortage<\/a> of fruit and vegetables, particularly salad and tomatoes. The supermarkets and the government blame bad weather in southern Europe and north Africa. Others blame Brexit as there is no shortage<\/a> in the EU or Switzerland. A government minister suggested that the British should eat turnips<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n The FT writes that \u201cNestl\u00e9 sells<\/a> fewer products after increasing prices.\u201d (I think I could have guessed that). \u00a0The newspaper adds that Danone will increase<\/a> their prices further this year after raising them by 8.7 per cent in 2022.<\/p>\n Bloomberg\u2019s French coq-au-vin index<\/a> shows a 14.7 per cent increase in January from a year earlier. The newsagency\u2019s UK breakfast index<\/a> has soared to a record high, jumping by more than 22 per cent from a year earlier in January.<\/p>\n Fertiliser and crop inputs<\/strong><\/p>\n French health and safety authorities have ordered a halt to some uses of one of France’s most widely used weedkillers<\/a>, S-metolachlor, used mainly on maize, sunflower, soy and beet crops.<\/p>\n Morocco\u2019s OCP Group, the world\u2019s largest phosphate fertilizer company, saw record<\/a> earnings in 2022.<\/p>\n The New Scientist writes of the benefits to soil health of applying biochar<\/a>, a charcoal-like solid rich in carbon, to the soil.<\/p>\n Bloomberg has a video<\/a> on how the global fertilizer crisis threatens food security.<\/p>\n An Israeli company has found a way for plants to access nitrogen better, potentially reducing the need for fertilizer. Others are betting on peecycling<\/a>. The FT tells us that \u201cthe urine passed by one adult in a day is enough to produce a loaf of bread\u201d. (Yes, but what would it taste like?)<\/p>\n Other Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n Regular readers will have guessed that I am unconvinced about the potential for vertical farming, but I may have to change my ideas. A recent trial to grow wheat has shown that vertical farming<\/a> can deliver five crop cycles per year, producing the equivalent of 273 acres of conventionally grown wheat in a 10-acre vertical farm.<\/p>\n Mercore<\/a>, the global trade fintech group, has executed a trade finance transaction utilizing a digital bill of exchange for Abercore<\/a>, a UK-based trader.<\/p>\n Earth.org<\/a> believes that farmers face five challenges to feed the world: climate change, biodiversity loss, insufficient acreage, growing population, and low investment.<\/p>\n Capturing carbon on the farm could start<\/a> to pay off as carbon prices rise.<\/p>\n The Conversation believes that adding sails<\/a> to cargo vessels can significantly reduce carbon emissions.<\/p>\n Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered Bayer to return to Brazilian soybean farmers the 1.3 billion reais ($252 million) in royalties<\/a> charged for GMO soybean seed.<\/p>\n The FT writes that France\u2019s ban on disposable plastic<\/a> packaging has been more challenging than anticipated.<\/p>\n The Conversation believes that New Zealand\u2019s plan to tax cow burps<\/a> will do little to slow or stop global warming.<\/p>\n Finally, the prize for this week\u2019s best headline goes to Euronews<\/a>: “Baby kangaroo poo could be the secret to stopping cows\u2019 methane farts.\u201d How did they discover that?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Image-26.02.23-at-09.53.jpeg?resize=300%2C293&ssl=1\")
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