Page 316 of articles about markets-economics

According to initial estimates, income from the Swiss agricultural sector has fallen by 3.4% in 2010 compared with the previous year, after the 7.7% drop in 2009.

The latest estimates of cereal production in the European Union, carried out by Copa-Cogeca show a 5% decrease for the 2010/2011 season.

Pork is firmly fixed as a family favourite with sales continuing to rise according to the latest figures from BPEX. During August the total meat market rose by one per cent while sales of fresh pork saw a dramatic rise of 11 per cent.

Exports of Canada`s pork products have managed to hold steady and even climb despite live hog output in the country continuing to decline. The ability to maintain exports of Canada's pork products also comes as domestic production of those products begins to decline.

Vietnam will increase taxes on imported meats to 40% from late October 2010 in a move to protect its local livestock industry.

According to information from commercial exchanges within the livestock farmers sector, the exportations, both within the EU as well as in other countries, show an upward trend.

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is hopeful that a new concessionary loan programme for pig farmers will over time help to reverse a projected "slight dip" in pork production this year.

South Korea will seek to resume exports of pork as the country has been declared free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

Malaysia will enforce its Animal Feeds Act 2009 next year. The Act is aimed at ensuring quality and contamination-free animal feeds.

The European Commission has adopted a draft decision on further liberalisation bilateral trade in agricultural products between the EU and Norway. It now passes to the Council and the European Parliament for approval.

Experts from more than 75 FAO Member States agreed today that while there were no grounds for complacency, there was no indication of an impending world food crisis. They proposed exploring new measures to check food price volatility and manage associated risks.

The Polish delegation has informed the Council on the consequences of the price increase of cereals on animal production, in particular pig production. Poland would like the Commission to take actions such as selling cereals from intervention stocks and increasing intervention prices in the framework of the Single Common Market Organisation regulation.

Thailand’s Department of Internal Trade or DIT has ordered pork retailers to reduce the retail price of pork to THB 105- 110/kg (USD 3.42- 3.58) from THB 110-115/kg (USD 3.58- 3.75).

U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on September 1, 2010 was 65.0 million head. This was down 3 percent from September 1, 2009 but up 1 percent from June 1, 2010.

Prices farmers received for their commodities fell 8.2% in June from the same month a year earlier, as the declining crops index offset gains in the livestock and animal products index.