As predicted by Agri Food Think Tank, Argentina will have only 1 million tons of wheat to export

As predicted in the release posted in Agri Food Think Tank by Jose Gobbee back in May of 2009(see Argentina Wheat Prediction), Argentina wheat harvest will only between 7 and 8 million tons.

This harvest will be almost comopleteley demanded by the Argentine domestic market leaving on ly 0,5 to 1 million tons of wheat for exports. This will increase the global decrease in wheat supply from traditional wheat exporters.

Besides climate impact, most of Argentina decrease in wheat exports is explained by the government regulated policy which taxes wheat export from Argentina to foreign market decreasing the prices that Argentine farmers receive. This wheat area planted have decreased dramatically in Argentina.

Brian Lestcock for Agri Food Think Tank

New Report on China Processed Meat Market predicts 10 M tons consumption

It is predicted that by 2010, the consumption of China's processed meat products will achieve about 9.8-11 million tons, and the compound annual growth rate will be remain at around 5%-9%.

This report presents a full view of China's processed meat market, provides analysis and suggestions on how to enter this big market in China. The report includes an analysis on market share, competition, key players, market segmentation, import & export changes, sales channel, buyer's behaviour, entry barriers, industrial environment and policy trends.

please click on:
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/8a546c/research_report_on_chinas_processed_meat_mar

Jim Rogers alerts about food shortage and rising prices in food commodities

Como vienen sosteniendo las distintas Editoriales de Ag Food Think Tank, los fundamentals de los precios de los commodities agropecuarios siguen sostenidos y en alza.

Coinicide con esta línea de pensamiento el veterano y exitoso inversor Jim Rogers. Aquí una sintesis de su pensamiento en reciente entrevista para NBC y debajo un short Bio con referencias bibliograficas




Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund. During the following 10 years the portfolio gained 4200% while the S&P advanced about 47%.It was one of the first truly international funds. In 1980, Rogers decided to "retire", and traveled on a motorcycle around the world. Since then he has been a guest professor of finance at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. In 1998, Rogers founded the Rogers International Commodity Index. In 2007, the index and its 3 sub-indices were linked to exchange-traded notes under the banner ELEMENTS. The notes track the total return of the indices as an accessible way to invest in the index. Rogers is an outspoken advocate of agriculture investments and, in addition to the Rogers Commodity Index, is involved with two direct, farmland investment funds - Agrifirma (based in Brazil) and Agcapita Farmland Investment Partnership (based in Canada).

In December 2007, Rogers sold his mansion in New York City for about 16 million USD and moved to Singapore. Rogers claimed that he moved because now is a ground-breaking time for investment potential in Asian markets. Rogers' first daughter is now being tutored in Mandarin to prepare her for the future. He is quoted as saying: "If you were smart in 1807 you moved to London, if you were smart in 1907 you moved to New York City, and if you are smart in 2007 you move to Asia." The Millennium Adventure, Official Jim Rogers website

Facebook against milk products promotion

Why has Facebook included milk products together with tobacco, guns and other product as prohibited to be promoted through the social network?

Interesting question. Many people have been surprised by this resolution that now Facebook is trying to change. Find below the press release of the important newspape El País from Spain. How will social networks impact food consumers in the future? Another issue to be researched and debated in the near future.

2009-12-15 - Aunque suene raro, la red social conocida como Facebook prohíbe la promoción de tabaco, armas y productos lácteos. Organizaciones de consumidores muestran su perplejidad y enfado porque se equipara el queso o los yogures a las pistolas y las drogas.


(INFORTAMBO.COM) La última actualización de la política de Facebook para las prácticas publicitarias conocidas como "promociones" puede levantar una gran polémica, ya que amplía la prohibición de esta actividad al sector de los productos lácteos -al igual que sucede con los medicamentos, armas de fuego o el tabaco, entre otras-.

Según la Guía de Actuación de esta red social relativa a las promociones, el punto 2.4 establece que no estará permitida esta práctica "si el objeto de promoción es cualquier producto relativo a las categorías de ‘juego', ‘tabaco', ‘lácteos', ‘armas de fuego', ‘medicamentos' o ‘gasolina'". El documento añade que esta prohibición se amplía también a los concursos que ofrezcan premios similares a las anteriores categorías.

La citada guía explica que su función es la de "regir" las promociones de cualquier concurso, competición o "similares" puestas en marcha por los usuarios. Asimismo, añade que para llevar a cabo cualquier actividad de promoción en Facebook, previamente se deberá contar con una aprobación por escrito por parte de los administradores de la red social.

Prohibición estúpida

Esta decisión ya ha provocado las primeras quejas en Estados Unidos, donde la asociación Centro para la Libertad de los Consumidores en Estados Unidos (CCF, en sus siglas en inglés) ha expresado su "incredulidad" ante la medida. Esta agrupación, además de representar a los consumidores, agrupa a varios restaurantes y empresas de alimentación. "Es una prohibición estúpida. ¿Por qué incluir en el mismo apartado a la leche con los cigarrillos o analgésicos? ¿Quizás Facebook piensa que el requesón y el yogur deberían ser sustancias controladas?", ironizó el portavoz de esta asociación, David Martosko.

Según aseguró Martosko, CCF ha intentado "varias veces" contactar con los administradores de Facebook sin éxito. Además, recuerda que la página web de Facebook tampoco incluye ninguna explicación del motivo de la inclusión de los productos lácteos en este grupo. "Los helados no son combustible, inflamables o adictivos, y tampoco disparan proyectiles. Se está enviando el mensaje equivocado, especialmente si se tiene en cuenta que Facebook es un mercado dirigido principalmente a los jóvenes, por lo que esperamos una justificación o, si se elimina la prohibición, mejor aún".

Source: El País and Mike Englen

Agricultural Marketing gains in India

Agriculture is the largest source of employment in India, and food accounts for about half of consumer expenditures. Moving agricultural products from the farm to consumers more efficiently could result in large gains to producers, consumers, and India’s overall economy. This analysis uses a computable general equilibrium model with agricultural commodity detail and households disaggregated by rural, urban, and income class to study the potential impacts of reforms that achieve efficiency gains in agricultural marketing and reduce agricultural input subsidies and import tariffs.

More efficient agricultural marketing generates economywide gains in output and wages, raises agricultural producer prices, reduces consumer food prices, and increases private consumption, particularly by low-income households. These gains could help to offset some of the medium-term adjustment costs for some commodity markets and households associated with reducing agricultural subsidies and tariffs.
Released Thursday, December 17, 2009
See http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR89/

Source USDA