October 25th, 2023
Via CIMSEC, a report on China’s use of fishing to compete geopolitically: In the 19th Century, the British East India Company was buying up huge amounts of Chinese goods – tea, silk, porcelain and more – but China was not interested in buying anything from Britain. As a way of balancing the accounts, Britain began smuggling […]
Read more »China’s Hunger For Soya Hinders Self Sufficiency Drive
October 23rd, 2023
Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report on China’s appetite for global soybeans: China’s drive for self-sufficiency, as trade links fray with the US, is not confined to the cutting-edge likes of semiconductors and missile technology. The humble soyabean, too, is weighing on the minds of the nation’s leaders, and has become the unlikely subject […]
Read more »October 22nd, 2023
Courtesy of The New York Times, a look at how – across Africa and in parts of Asia – disruption to the supply chain for fertilizer is raising food prices and increasing malnutrition: Suleiman Chubado is not entirely clear what caused the price of fertilizer to more than double over the past year, but he […]
Read more »Arkansas Orders Chinese-Owned Seed Producer Syngenta To Sell US Farmland
October 21st, 2023
Via Reuters, an article on Arkansas decision to order Chinese-owned seed producer Syngenta to sell US farmland: Arkansas ordered Syngenta to sell 160 acres (65 hectares) of farmland in the U.S. state within two years on Tuesday because the company is Chinese-owned, drawing a sharp rebuke from the global seeds producer. U.S. farm groups and lawmakers […]
Read more »October 21st, 2023
Via Reuters, an article on UAE agribusinesses in talks to acquire land in Egypt: Emirati agribusiness Al Dahra is in talks to acquire more agricultural land in Egypt, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, in a deal that could reduce Cairo’s dependence on imports of staple crops but also reignite water use concerns. […]
Read more »Food Is Hot Campaign Issue in Elections From Argentina to Poland
October 14th, 2023
Via Bloomberg, a look at how – with wars, trade bans and climate change – protecting consumers and farmers is playing a major role in politics: Whether it’s bread or onions, food has the power to make or break a country’s leadership. How nations secure their staples is looming large in elections across the world with […]
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