Agriculture/Farming

THE BROAD VIEW

What a Singaporean farmer can teach CEOs about leadership

Lessons from working on a farm can translate to the boardroom

Previous efforts by Trump to get China to purchase more US goods have fallen short, raising questions about whether the latest pledges will be fulfilled.

US says China agrees to spend billions on agricultural goods

Farmers have been struggling for years with relatively low crop prices and high costs

Thailand’s target is to export seven million tonnes of rice globally in 2026, but the Middle East war has turned the world topsy-turvy with supply disruptions, high oil prices and economic uncertainty.

Thai and Vietnamese farmers may stop planting rice because of the Iran war. Here’s why

The Middle East conflict has meant increased freight costs for food exporters

US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year brought an aggressive shift towards oil and gas at the expense of renewables.

Is the US falling victim to the resource curse?

Fossil-fuel production doesn’t necessarily crowd out manufacturing

Barry Callebaut recently opened new innovation centre in Singapore, focused in part on vegetable-fat based cocoa coatings.

Cocoa demand recovery bumpy as Europe grinds drop to 17-year low

The most-active New York cocoa contract has slumped more than 70% from a record high in 2024

Prices of fertiliser have doubled in parts of Australia since the outbreak of the war.

Australia secures fertiliser from Indonesia to meet crop needs

About 60% of the nation’s supplies of urea normally travel through the now largely shut Strait of Hormuz

Fuel, particularly diesel, and fertilisers are critical to Thailand’s economy, supporting factories, farms and millions of rural households reliant on rice and other crops.

Thailand rushes to secure oil, fertiliser as Strait of Hormuz remains shut

Despite talk of a US-Iran ceasefire extension, policymakers are still on high alert in South-east Asia

The cash injection comes just as the war in Iran drives up fuel and fertiliser costs and threatens to squeeze margins across the country’s crucial dairy sector.

New Zealand dairy farmers pocket billions from huge capital payout

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has long held the view that the capital return would be used to repay debt

With corn prices rising, it’s not just corn on the cob that will cost more. Corn-fed beef, soft drinks and other food products made with high-fructose corn syrup will also get more expensive.

Hormuz closure threatens global food supply: Why grocery price hikes are coming

The cost and availability of fertiliser will affect the whole world