The ABS today released data into the Australian wine industry for the month of May indicating domestic concerns for the Australian wine industry. As has been the case for the past few months, domestic sales exhibited a downward trend, though, on a more positive note, export sales experienced considerable growth on the April figures. The trend estimate for white table wine sales sales fell by 1.7% from last month, with the trend falling by .7% for red and rosé wine sales. Total trend estimates... ...Read more »
Leading UK retailer Tesco has announced they will stop sourcing products from Zimbabwe until the political crisis in the country is resolved. The amount of produce Tesco sources from Zimbabwe - worth around £1 million per year - is insignificant in terms of global trade and influence, but they still feel that given the current climate they can no longer receive any food from the African country. “This is a difficult decision to take,” a statement from Tesco claimed. “We have to... ...Read more »
South Korea’s Agriculture Minister, Chung Woon Chun, has told a Korean television audience that the market for US beef will officially open next week. The minister sent a request to the Ministry of Administration to print the final protocol yesterday and this is usually a two to three day process. The issue of US beef imports has caused heated debate in South Korea with protests a common occurrence in the wake of the initial announcement back in April. South Korea banned US beef imports... ...Read more »
Local wine producers are starting to see international products limit their sales as Australian consumers look to try new products. With so much high-quality wine produced in Australia imports have been slow to make their mark but the strengthening of the Australian dollar coupled with an increasing international interest within the wine industry has seen import sales increase by forty percent recently. Imports now make up nine percent of the total sales within Australia and New Zealand is the most... ...Read more »
A global food shortage is a possibility in the near future as increasing populations increase demand, while severe weather conditions in many major producing countries limit supply. Food prices are soaring as a result and it is no surprise to see wheat stocks at 30-year lows. The issue for the future is that as the population continues to increase land will become scarcer yet demand for food will increase. Thus, the ability to find suitable land for agricultural purposes will decline and the crisis... ...Read more »
The USA and China have recently applied to export apples and stonefruit into Australia. Biosecurity Australia has now begun their risk assessment into the products to determine whether or not they will allow the two countries to import the products to Australia. Local growers have made clear their concern that allowing the imports will result in new pests and diseases being brought into the country. Furthermore, the impact of new competition on farmers could be substantial in some cases and cost... ...Read more »