Indonesia’s rice import paradox
Indonesia, an agrarian country with fertile lands, has a rich history of rice cultivation, making it a significant player in the global rice economy. Despite this natural endowment and the long-standing cultural association with rice as a staple food, Indonesia continues to import significant quantities of rice. This phenomenon raises important questions about the country’s agricultural policies, food security, and economic strategies. How is it that a country with vast expanses of fertile land, suitable for rice cultivation, consistently struggles to produce enough rice for its population? This article delves into the polemics surrounding Indonesia’s rice import policies, exploring the reasons behind its reliance on imports and the impact of these policies on the country’s economy, farmers, and food security.
Weather nicks Japan’s wheat
Unfavorable weather conditions and disease outbreak in Japan’s main production regions have reduced wheat and barley production estimates, but rice is bucking the trend with higher yields and better quality for marketing year 2024-25, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
With an anticipated 1.08 million tonnes harvested, the wheat estimate is down 5.8 percent from the 1.14 million tonnes produced in 2023-24 but remains above the 10-year average. At 234,000 hectares (up 1 percent year on year), wheat planted area has increased annually since 2020-21 as farmers shifted production from rice to wheat due to low rice prices.
Largest US oil companies reveal massive payments to foreign governments
The three largest U.S. energy exploration companies paid more than $42 billion to foreign governments last year, about eight times more than what they paid in the United States, according to regulatory filings.
The disclosures from Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab, Chevron Corp (CVX.N), opens new tab, and ConocoPhillips (COP.N), opens new tab were required this year for the first time ever under a new Securities and Exchange Commission requirement.
Transparency advocates had been pushing for the rule for more than a decade to shine a light on Big Oil’s foreign financial transactions in its global quest for oil, and provide a sense of whether U.S. taxpayers are getting a fair share of the value of soaring U.S. production.
The United States has become the world’s largest oil and gas producer in recent years, thanks mainly to a boom in the massive Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico.
Britain’s last coal-fired energy station closes
The UK’s last coal-fired power station officially closed its doors on Monday, making Britain the first G7 country to end its reliance on the fossil fuel to produce electricity.
The closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar, a power plant that has dominated the surrounding central England landscape for nearly 60 years, marks a symbolic step in the UK’s ambition to decarbonise electricity by 2030, and become carbon neutral by 2050. “The era of coal might be ending, but a new age of good energy jobs for our country is just beginning,” Energy Minister Michael Shanks said in a statement.
The owner of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar factory, Uniper said the site will be put into a two-year decommissioning period beginning in October. The 350 Uniper employees and contractors that work at the site, will either be redeployed to other roles within the company or leave the business within three redundancy windows before the end of 2026, Uniper said.
In its place will be a new development — a “carbon-free technology and energy hub”, the company said. It marks the end of Britain’s 140-year dependence on coal as it becomes the first in the G7 of rich nations to do away entirely with coal power electricity.
US updates import tariffs as local uranium production grows
US uranium production continues to grow, with 2024’s year-to-date production already more than triple that recorded for the whole of 2023, according to the latest figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Meanwhile, as press reports suggest US concern that its ban on Russian uranium might be being circumvented, the Office of the United States Trade Representative has announced updated tariffs on Chinese imports – but not for import codes relating to the nuclear industry.
US uranium production in the second quarter of 2024 was 97,709 pounds U3O8 (37.58 tU), the EIA said in its quarterly update.
World’s cheapest edible oil
Palm oil has been undisputedly the cheapest edible oil across the globe for decades. It has been popular due to its high productivity per hectare, i.e. it requires less land to grow more crops of palm trees. Also, as compared to other oils like soybean or sunflower oil, palm oil has also been a cost-effective option. Therefore, you can see palm oil to be one of the main ingredients in processed foods, kitchen cooking, and even as a biofuel.
Poverty-hit barrios a food emergency takes hold in Argentina
In Argentina’s poor barrios a food emergency is taking hold as poverty rises, with malnutrition on the increase and medics treating children for eye diseases and even scurvy linked to a vitamin-deficient diet.
Years of recessions and high inflation in the resource-rich South American nation have left over half the population in poverty, including around seven in 10 children.
Food insecurity has risen sharply in recent years, and is now being aggravated by a tough austerity campaign under libertarian President Javier Milei, whose new government has slashed billions of dollars of spending as part of a “zero deficit” plan to right the embattled economy.
Official data last week showed that poverty hit 53 percent in the first half of the year, up from around 42 percent at the end of last year. Some 18 percent of people are in extreme poverty, meaning their household incomes don’t cover the cost of the basic food basket.