News

May 19, 2008

That Was The Week That Was: The Pressure’s Still On Rice, Palm Oil And Soya, But Eases On Coffee And Cocoa

By Sally White

Meat is the latest agricultural commodity tipped for sharp price rises as demand increases and supplies are tightening. The world’s largest beef company, global trading group JBS of the US, said last week that at around US$4,000 a ton Russia is now paying twice the price for beef that it paid a year ago.

“We are seeing a convergence of cattle prices in Brazil, Australia and the US. Russia is buying beef from the US now and South Korea is opening up”, JSB’s chief executive Joesley Mendonca Batista said last week.

Most fertiliser prices are still rising – bad news for all agriculture markets. Urea prices have reached US$650 a tonne against US$350 a year ago. DAP prices are currently in a lull, as trade is limited by soaring...