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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, February 16, 2025
Ukrainian farmers are producing more wheat and corn than expected in a war-torn country where seeds and inputs are difficult to come by and swaths of farmland are in occupied territory, but exports are on the decline again as Russia steps up its attacks on Ukraine’s beleaguered port facilities, according to a new analysis by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
Prices for global food commodities rebounded in July, driven in part by a sharp rise in the cost of sunflower oil as Russia terminated the Black Sea Grain Initiative, creating new uncertainty about Ukraine’s ag exports, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported Friday.
People in some of the poorest and hungriest nations in the world may be the hardest hit by India’s decision last month to ban exports of long grain, non-basmati rice – a move that’s already pushing global prices higher and forcing import-dependent countries to scramble to find supplies, according to analysts and trade data.
Major commodity programs are mounting a defense of federal checkoff programs, which are being targeted by a proposed amendment to USDA’s fiscal 2024 appropriations bill.
The House Rules Committee has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday to decide which proposed amendments to the fiscal 2024 Agriculture spending will get debated on the House floor.
House members continue filing amendments to the fiscal 2024 funding bill for USDA and FDA that the chamber is scheduled to debate this week ahead of the long summer recess.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres confirmed Monday that Russia has pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, ending the ability of Ukraine to ship grain through its Odesa ports.
Moscow seems intent on letting the Black Sea Grain Initiative expire this coming Monday, but the United Nations is equally resolved to preserve the deal and prevent food prices from rising in some of the poorest nations.
The drought that continues in much of the Midwest despite recent rainfall could affect not only crops but also the ability of producers to get their corn and soybeans to foreign markets.
Russia’s threat to pull out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative continues to threaten global supplies of wheat and corn, but China would be one of the biggest losers would be China if that happens.
