Food and drink | GlobalPost

Brazil's orange growers face hard times

Agence France-PresseJune 9, 2013 04:45

High production costs have orange growers in Brazil, the world's top orange juice exporter, bracing for a tough citrus season, despite last season's record harvest and high juice prices. "The orange market is going through its worst moment in two years: world consumption is stagnating, production costs are rising and processors are getting more and more powerful," said Marco Antonio do Santos, president of the Taquaritinga growers' union.

China, Argentina to increase soybean, corn trade

Agence France-PresseJune 9, 2013 03:31

Argentina and China have agreed to expand their commercial ties by increasing soybeans and corn exports to the Asian country, Buenos Aires said Saturday. "China approved three trangenic soybean and corn" varieties, Argentine Agriculture Minister Norberto Yahuar said in a statement. "In the next season we will be using these approved seeds and obviously, we will be able to sell more," the minister said, after talks in Beijing with his counterpart Han Chang Fu.

Canadian prairie town strives for mustard glory

Agence France-PresseJune 9, 2013 00:44

With its church and main street, Gravelbourg seems like just another Canadian prairie town. But it has a little known claim to fame -- as prime producer of the world's mustard seeds. And growing beneath its placid exterior is a movement to depose France's Dijon as the globe's condiment king. A two-hour drive through farm country from the Saskatchewan provincial capital Regina, the town of 1,200 established in 1906 by four brothers from Quebec "is now at the heart of mustard production," boasts its mayor, Real Forest.

UN food body approves $200 mn food aid to N. Korea

Agence France-PresseJune 8, 2013 09:27

The UN food body on Saturday said it had approved $200 million of food aid for North Korea, targeting the country's most vulnerable people who remain dependent on external assistance. The World Food Programme (WFP) executive board has this week approved a new two-year operation for North Korea starting on July 1, WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said. "It will target about 2.4 million people - almost all children, and pregnant and nursing women - with about 207,000 metric tons of food assistance at a cost of US$200 million," he said in an email to AFP.

A list of U.S. foods that could face Canadian tariffs in meat dispute

The Canadian PressJune 7, 2013 17:22

VANCOUVER - A list of some of the U.S. items Canada may place tariffs on in an ongoing meat-labelling dispute between the two countries. Canada says the tariffs will cost Americans money and jobs, but Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz acknowledges that Canadian consumers may have to pay more for the products. Canada must get authorization from the World Trade Organization before moving ahead. — Live bovine animals and swine — Meat of bovine animals, fresh, chilled or frozen — Cheese, with some exceptions — Apples — Cherries — Corn

OJ to bread: Canada releases list of U.S. products that could face tariffs

The Canadian PressJune 7, 2013 14:20

VANCOUVER - Ottawa is warning it may impose tariffs on everything from orange juice to bread if the United States doesn't change a meat-labelling policy that Canadian beef and pork industries say is costing them more than $1 billion a year. The federal government has released a long list of agriculture and other products that could be affected by Canada's retaliation in an ongoing dispute over U.S. country-of-origin meat-labelling rules.

CFIA adds more Vega bars to list of those recalled due to undeclared milk

The Canadian PressJune 7, 2013 14:22

OTTAWA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says more products have been added to a recall of Vega brand bars which may contain undeclared milk. The agency and the bars' distributor Sequel Naturals Ltd. are warning people with allergies to milk not to consume more than a dozen different kinds of Vega brand bars. The products are being pulled from stores because they may contain milk which is not declared on the label and may cause a serious or life-threatening reaction in those with milk allergies.

Heinz completes acquisition by Berkshire, 3G; Brazilian firms shifts around CEOs

The Canadian PressJune 7, 2013 13:21

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co. began a new chapter on Friday. The company, which also makes baked beans, vinegar and Classico pasta sauce, said that it completed its acquisition by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, the Brazilian investment firm that also owns Burger King. With the completion of the deal, 3G is shifting one of its partners from the helm of Burger King to head Heinz. Bernardo Hees, 43, is taking the reins from William Johnson, who was the seventh CEO of the 144-year-old company for the past 15 years.

China's 'chief butcher' sets out to sell Americans on allowing biggest corporate takeover

The Canadian PressJune 6, 2013 11:44

LUOHE, China - At an age when most Chinese executives are long retired, the country's top hog butcher is taking on a daunting new job persuading Americans to allow him to complete China's biggest takeover of a U.S. company.

World food output growth to slow: UN/OECD

Agence France-PresseJune 6, 2013 07:48

Growth in global agricultural production is expected to slow in the coming decade, the UN food agency and the OECD said in a joint report Thursday, warning threats to food security remain. The world's agricultural output is projected to grow at an average 1.5 percent annually from 2013 to 2022, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in the report. That compared to an average increase of 2.1 percent a year in the last decade, said the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2013.