Market News
Frost is slowing vegetable harvests in the Arizona desert, and if cold temperatures continue, yields could fall, according to growers and shippers, reported The Packer. Full Story
Palm oil consumption has quintupled since 1990. The $44 billion industry shows no signs of stopping, with the oil accounting for 25% of edible oil consumption in the European Union, reported Bloomberg Businessweek. Full Story
Idaho is on pace to set a record for agricultural exports for the third consecutive year, according to state officials, reported The Idaho Statesman. Full Story
Demand for cocoa beans threatens to outstrip supply for a second year, according to Jean Marc Anga, Executive Director of the International Cocoa Organization. Anga said demand exceeded production by about 160,000 metric tons for the 2012-13 season. He blamed poor harvests and expressed doubt that this year's crop would make up the gap, reported Market Watch. Full Story
Wheat farmers are harvesting a record crop for the fourth time in six years, adding to a global grain glut and cutting costs for food makers. Inventories of wheat and feed grains, including corn, will climb to a four-year high of 379 million tons before the start of the 2014 harvest, 12% more than this year, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
San Joaquin Valley, CA county agriculture inspectors are finding minimal freeze damage in samples of fruit that was picked last week. But officials claim the worst may be yet to come, with more freezing weather on the way for at least a couple more days, reported The Fresno Bee. Full Story
About 106 million bushels of U.S.-grown fresh market apples had yet to be shipped on Dec. 1, 3% more than last year at the same time, according to the U.S. Apple Association, reported The Packer. Full Story
Nogales, AZ-based Veggies Inc. expanded its facility space by 75%, adding four new packing lines and increasing its number of dock doors by five, reported The Packer. Full Story
Sanfillipo Produce Co. purchased Macaluso Fruit Co. and the Columbus Produce Terminal Market in an acquisition that closed Dec. 6, reported The Packer. Full Story
Corn prices may extend declines over the next two months as the moving averages signal a bearish trend, according to analysts. The grain retreated as much as 7.6% to $4.02 a bushel as the 20-day averages trend lower, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
There is a fairly widespread consensus that volume of Mexican tomatoes planted for export to the U.S. will be slower than normal because of weather-related planting delays and the necessity for some replanting of fields that were damaged by heavy rains, reported The Produce News. Full Story
Unseasonably warm weather helped Florida strawberries approach full volume in its traditional mid-December window, despite strawberry farmers replanting much of their crop due to early-season disease pressures, reported The Produce News. Full Story
U.S. bacon prices are poised to retreat from an all-time high as the fad wanes and pork supply rebounds after last year's historic drought. Retail bacon jumped around 23% to $5.71 a pound earlier this year, the highest since at least 1980. Pork-belly prices plunged 23% since the end of September, and hog futures will fall 14% next year to the lowest since October 2012, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
U.S. nonfat-dry milk prices rose to a six-year high on increasing overseas demand. The price of nonfat-dry milk averaged around $1.94 a pound in the week ended Dec. 7, the highest since November 2007, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
Citrus packing was put on a 48-hour hold Dec. 10 as California citrus growers gave authorities at 81 facilities more time to inspect for damaged fruit from freezing temperatures, reported The Fresno Bee. Full Story
Novozymes and Monsanto proposed forming the BioAg Alliance, a partnership to speed the use of bacteria, fungi and other "biologicals" by farmers. The duo plan to market and sell naturally occurring microorganisms aimed at making grain, fruit and vegetables more bountiful and agriculture more sustainable, reported AGNet.net. Full Story
Beef prices in Great Britain climbed to an all-time high as the country's cattle herd slumps to the smallest size in 65 years. Retail prices for sirloin steak averaged $16.53 a pound. The U.K.'s cattle herd, including beef and dairy animals, totaled 9.84 million head as of June 1, the fewest livestock for that data since 1948, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
Fruit losses from freezes in Chile in September could be down 13 to 16% for total volumes in the 2013-14 season. That number is less than the October estimate of 22%, according to a new estimate from the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association, reported The Packer. Full Story