World business news round-up - June 4

NEW ZEALAND

A favourable exchange rate could not prevent prices easing at last week’s combined sale of North and South Island wool in Christchurch and Napier.

New Zealand Wool Services International said concerns about the stability of the international economy and a volatile exchange rate, combined to weaken the market. Buyers were particularly selective with the small offering of mid micron wool, where prices ranged from 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent cheaper than the previous week.

PHILIPPINES

Feed millers imported 80,000 tonnes of corn from Thailand to fill the shortage caused by the El Nino. The Philippine Feed Millers Association said the shipment arrived between January and May at US$250 (£171) per tonne.

INDIA

Automotive firm Mahindra and Mahindra is turning its dealerships across the country into farming advice centres in a bid to build its brand in the farming community and boost tractor sales.

Known as Mahindra Samriddhi Centres, the dealers have set up small farms to demonstrate the best farming techniques. The centres also conduct soil tests.

UNITED STATES

During the week ending May 22, commercial hatcheries in the 19-state weekly programme set 211 million eggs in incubators. This was up 3 per cent from the corresponding week a year earlier, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 84 per cent.

RUSSIA

A US$30m (£20.4m) poultry plant is being built by Cargill at its complex in Efremov, Russia, south of Moscow. It will produce 18,000 tonnes of further-processed chicken products a year for the Russian market. It is anticipated the facility will be operational by the end of 2011 and will focus on high-quality products, including Chicken McNuggets, for McDonald’s restaurants there.

NEW ZEALAND

Relations between the ruling National Party and Federated Farmers in New Zealand have sharply deteriorated after the farming group’s leader reacted to a scathing attack on its emission trading scheme (ETS) campaign by suggesting a political party for farmers is overdue.

Federation national president Don Nicolson said the need for a rural party was being talked about by members around the country. He claimed fuel and energy costs that would flow through from the ETS from July 1 this year would impose large costs on farmers, especially struggling beef and sheep producers. The increased costs would wipe out profits equivalent to five million out of a total annual slaughter of 30m sheep.

The New Zealand Farmers Weekly

NEW ZEALAND

Meat company AFFCO has produced a sound first-half result in a difficult trading year, reporting a net profit before tax of NZ$21.88m (£10.1m) and an after-tax profit of NZ$15.91m (£7.4m) for the six months to March 31. The results were similar to those of the previous corresponding period, to March 31, 2009, and considerably better than the other major listed meat company, Silver Fern Farms, which recorded a loss of NZ$9.2m (£4.3m) after tax in the six months to February 28.

UNITED STATES

Co-operatives Working Together (CWT) has announced its tenth herd retirement programme since 2003, accepting bids from May 28 to June 25. The programme offers a way out of dairying.

CWT, funded by dairy co-operatives and individual dairy farmers, said the decision was made after reviewing economic benchmarks including cull rates and cull cow prices.

CWT will consider bids up to, but not exceeding, US$3.75 (£2.57) per 45kg of milk production.

NEW ZEALAND

Sharemilkers are claiming there are fewer jobs available for the coming season, but this has led to debate whether it is a cyclical trend or is caused by changes to the way Fonterra pays farm owners for their milk.

Some farming leaders put the scarcity of jobs down to the fact an abundance of cows on the market at prices lower than for many years is allowing landowners to look at employing managers or contract milkers. Others attribute it to complications with splitting Fonterra’s new payment structure between farm owner and sharemilker.

CANADA

Farmers’ cash receipts and operating costs both declined in 2009 compared to 2008, leading to a CN$10m (£6.54m) (0.3 per cent) drop in realised net farm income, according to Statistics Canada.

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