Australian beef company sells stake to Chinese rival
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) — Australia’s Bindaree Beef Group has sold a major stake to China-listed Shan Dong Delisi Food Co Ltd., seizing on a free trade agreement as the mainland seeks new markets to satisfy its rapidly growing appetite for meat.
In a statement, Australia’s fourth-largest meat processor said it sold 45 percent of the company to Shan Dong for A$145 million (C$139 million), giving it access to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed rival’s sales network, which reaches about 700 million people.
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The deal will be an early test of whether a free trade agreement signed in June between Australia and China, its No. 1 export market, will drive up trade worth over A$100 billion annually. The FTA will over a decade cut import tariffs on Australian beef completely, from up to 25 percent currently, according to the Australian government.
South Africa drought outlook
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) — The South African Weather Service said an El Nino weather system, which was already forecast to bring drought conditions for much of the southern hemisphere’s summer, now looks like it will extend into autumn next year.
Dry conditions last year cut South Africa’s staple corn crop by a third and the prospect of another drought pushed prices in July to record highs, raising the prospect of food price inflationary pressure in Africa’s most advanced economy.
“Most models are showing the strengthening of an El Nino episode towards the summer season, with the expectation to continue throughout the autumn season,” the weather service said in its monthly regional climate bulletin.
El Nino is a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific that occurs every few years. It can bring floods to some regions but in southern Africa it generally heralds drought.
South African corn farmers intend to plant 6.3 million acres in the 2016 season, the lowest level since 2011, the country’s Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said.
Anthrax case foundin southwest England
LONDON, U.K. (Reuters) — The first case in Britain of anthrax in livestock for nearly 10 years has been confirmed by health authorities in Wiltshire, southwest England, where a cow died of the disease last week.
Anthrax is a naturally occurring bacterial disease which primarily affects herbivorous animals. The last livestock case in Britain was in 2006.
“An isolated case of anthrax in a cow has been confirmed at a farm in the Westbury area … following the death of a cow at the end of last week,” the local authority, Wiltshire Council, said in a statement.
The cow has now been incinerated and movement restrictions are in place at the farm but the council said there was little risk of human infection.
The council said the last case of human infection with anthrax in Britain was in 2008.
Arson suspected in lab fire
RENNES, France, (Reuters) — A Monsanto research centre in western France suffered heavy fire damage in a suspected arson attack early Oct. 28, the official in charge of the site said.
The official, Jakob Witten, said police investigators “strongly suspect it was a crime as no electrical or other sources were found.”
The fire was ignited from two different places at the site, where about 10 people work and which is specialized in corn research. The smell of gasoline lingered near the building, which had heavy damage in its reception hall and offices.
“No Monsanto sites in Europe have so far been the victim of fires of criminal origin, this is unprecedented violence,” Witten said.
The U.S. agribusiness group is the frequent target of criticism in France over concerns about genetically modified crops it has developed.
Thailand approves farmer aid
BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) — Thailand’s cabinet approved measures worth about 40 billion baht ($1.5 billion) to help rice farmers.
The government gave the green light to three measures to help rice farmers prepare for the next harvest, including credits and an interest rate reduction for farmers, Sansern Kaewkamnerd, a government spokesperson said.
An interest rate cut by state-owned Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) for one million families, steps to help co-operatives and communities collect rice from markets, and grants for farmers in the country’s north and northeast were among the measures approved, said Sansern.
The measures come after growing criticism levelled at the military regime from rice and rubber farmers who have seen their incomes fall following the end of the subsidy schemes, introduced by an ousted civilian government, that funnelled billions of dollars to agricultural communities.
The military government that took power after a 2014 coup slashed rural subsidies saying it wanted to wean farmers, who make up a large percentage of Thailand’s 67 million population, off expensive schemes used by previous administrations.
Bird flu vaccine contracts
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — The United States Department of Agriculture has awarded contracts to two drug companies to manufacture doses of avian influenza vaccine for poultry, in preparation for the potential return of the fast-spreading avian influenza virus later this year.
The two contracted firms: Iowa-based Harrisvaccines, and France-based Ceva Corp. will manufacture an undisclosed number of vaccine doses and store those doses for up to five years, USDA said in a statement.
In addition, the companies are required to test the vaccines regularly for potency, as well as deliver finished vaccines anywhere in the United States within 10 days of a request for them from the National Veterinary Stockpile.
Novozymes launches biofuel enzyme
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (Reuters) — Novozymes has launched a new enzyme for biofuel production aimed at regaining sales growth and market share in the U.S. market.
The Danish company said the product, Avantec Amp, improves yield and throughput in corn ethanol production and significantly reduces the need for urea, surfactants and ammonia.
A typical ethanol plant would be able to increase net profit by $3.3 million by using the product, Novozymes said, an important selling point as biofuel makers’ margins have been pressured due to low oil prices recently.
The world’s largest industrial enzyme maker has lost around five percentage points in market share in the U.S. ethanol enzymes market in the past 12 months and now has a share of around 55 percent, a spokesperson said. Its main rivals are Dupont and Dutch firm DSM.
Novozymes’ enzymes have been aimed at producing better ethanol yields.
But as ethanol prices have fallen together with oil prices, ethanol producers have increased production of the side product DDGS, used for animal feed, for which prices have gone up.
