Latest spike is a variation on the pattern set in 2002 A steady downward trend in global food prices in 1980-2002 has given way to sharp rises and falls. A report from the US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (ERS) looks for answers to the question...
Game Changer
Colombian importers go shopping in Canada as FTA enters into force Last year, Compania de Galletas Noel SAS imported $22,875,271 worth (the FOB value in US$ on 111,264,125 kilograms) of wheat from the US, Datamyne’s trade data shows. Next year, the Colombian maker of...
Fresh Resource for Food Exporters
A new free database offers access to international regulations on food additives The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has developed, with a grant from the Department of Agriculture, an International Food Additive Database designed to provide easy access to...
Troubled Waters
Hurricanes, oil spills, and now flooding feed the dead zone The Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone” is forecast to cover 8,500 to 9,421 square miles – an area the size of New Hampshire – this summer, surpassing the record set in 2002, reports the National Oceanic and...
China’s Alarming Record
More FDA inspections and access to results are called for A new report from Food and Water Watch reprises a lengthy list of Chinese import disasters, from melamine-contaminated pet food in 2007 to antibiotic-laced honey in 2010. The point of Decade of Dangerous...
Bruised Rep
Not another Weiner story: this time it’s homegrown apples A Wall Street Journal story that the US Department of Agriculture found residues of 48 different pesticides in a recent sampling of apples bruises the reputation (and possibly sales) of America’s second most...
With Apologies to Meryl Streep
When the actress plays a role, it’s artistry. When tilapia is passed off as snapper, it’s fraud. We called it “cluck-cluck cutlet of the sea” – without much flavor of its own, tilapia takes on the flavors of the other ingredients in a range of recipes. Now the New...
Not a Party
Countries left out of FTAs lose out on trade Proponents of the free trade agreements awaiting Congressional approval often argue their case by pointing to the boost FTAs will give to US exports. So, for instance, the US Department of Agriculture projects the US-Panama...
Trade Beef
US cattleman urges action on FTAs as competitors vie for overseas markets The US agricultural sector pressed its case for ratification of pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea before the US House of Representatives Committee on...
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Celebrating imports from Mexico Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 Batalla de Puebla at which Mexican forces soundly defeated the French army, which had been dispatched by Napoleon III to secure an empire in the Western Hemisphere. While the French wouldn’t quit...