FAO food price index dips in December
The benchmark for world food commodity prices declined in December compared to the previous month, led down by a drop in international sugar quotations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported Friday. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 127.0 points in December, down 0.5 percent from November and up 6.7 percent from December 2023. For 2024 as a whole, the index recorded 122.0 points, 2.1 percent lower than the average value in 2023, offsetting significant decreases in quotations for cereals and sugar with smaller but not insignificant increases in prices for vegetable oils, dairy, and meats. The FAO Cereal Price Index in December was relatively unchanged from November and 9.3 percent below its year-earlier level, as a marginal uptick in maize quotations offset a drop in those for wheat. For 2024 as a whole, the FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 113.5 points, down 13.3 percent from the 2023 level, marking a second annual decline from the 2022 record level. The FAO All Rice Price Index rose by 0.8 percent from its average 2023 level, representing a 16-year high in nominal terms.
Asia’s crude oil imports drop in 2024
Asia’s crude oil imports dropped in 2024, the first annual decline in three years, led by weak demand from heavyweight China and other major buyers, with only India managing sparse growth.
The world’s top importing region saw arrivals of 26.51 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, down 1.4 percent from the 26.88 million bpd in 2023, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.
The decline of 370,000 bpd this year marked the first time Asia’s crude imports have dropped since 2021, when China’s strict lockdown to combat COVID-19 cut demand in the world’s biggest oil importer.
China’s Daqing Oilfield reports register high yearly natural gas production
Daqing Oilfield, one of China’s largest oil production bases, announced Friday that its natural gas production exceeded 6 billion cubic meters in 2024, achieving steady growth for a 14th consecutive year.
The 6 billion cubic meters of natural gas can meet the daily needs of 39 million families of three for a year, according to the oilfield.
The oilfield’s base in northeast China produced 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas last year, while its Southwest China base produced 1 billion cubic meters.
Daqing Oilfield was discovered in 1959 in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. It has made a significant contribution to China’s modern petroleum industry.
In Türkiye French Danone recalls water-mixed milk products
France-based food company Danone has issued a recall for its milk products in Türkiye following inspections by the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture, which revealed the presence of water mixed into the products.
According to the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry’s findings, a batch of “Birsah” branded milk produced by Danone was found to have been mixed with water.
The discovery was made as part of the ministry’s ongoing inspection of counterfeit or adulterated food products. During inspections at the Birsah milk production facility, authorities determined that water was mixed into one batch of milk. Consequently, the company issued a recall for 1-liter (0.2641 gallon) UHT milk cartons with 3.1 percent fat content, marked with the batch number 176.L.
Canada aims to become world’s biggest uranium producer
Canada is racing to become the world’s biggest uranium producer as prices for the radioactive metal surge in response to soaring demand for emissions-free nuclear power and geopolitical tensions threaten supplies.
Cameco, the country’s largest producer, said that production of uranium would jump by almost a third in 2024 to 37mn pounds at its two mines in the heartland of the country’s uranium industry in northern Saskatchewan.
New mines and expansions planned by the company, as well as by Denison Mines, Orano Canada, Paladin Energy and NexGen Energy, in the same region could double domestic production by 2035, according to investment bank RBC Capital Markets.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Energy and natural resources minister, said investment in the country’s uranium market was at a 20-year high, with spending on exploration and deposit appraisal “surging by 90 percent to C$232mn [US$160mn) in 2022, and an additional 26 percent in 2023 to C$300mn”.
India’s coal production posts 5.3pc growth
India’s total coal production recorded a growth rate of 5.33 percent during December 2024 to touch 97.94 million tonnes (MT) compared to the corresponding figure of 92.98 MT for the same month in the previous year, the Coal Ministry said on Wednesday. Captive and other mines produced 18.95 MT, reflecting a significant growth of 29.61 percent compared to 14.62 MT in the corresponding period of the last year.
The cumulative coal production up to December 24 also witnessed substantial growth, reaching 726.29 MT in FY 2024-25, compared to 684.45 MT during the corresponding period of FY 2023-24, reflecting an increase of 6.11, the statement said.
In terms of coal dispatch, the figures for December 24 surged to 92.59 MT, compared to 87.06 MT in December 2023, achieving a growth rate of 6.36 percent. Dispatch from captive and other mines stood at 18.13 MT, marking a growth of 31.83 percent compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Tea industry witnesses production fall
The tea industry is likely to witness a fall in total production by over 100 million kg till the end of this year due to erratic weather conditions coupled with early annual closure of gardens, resulting in an increase in cost per kg for planters.