Tea production falls amid bad weather
After a record high output in 2023, the country’s tea production declined last year because of unfavourable weather conditions and tea estates opting for quality improvement to secure better rates.
Tea production stood at 9.30 crore kilogrammes in 2024, down from 10.2 crore kilogrammes the previous year, according to the Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB).
Pijush Dutta, a member of research and development at the BTB, said the decline was mainly due to erratic rainfall last year, which made weather conditions unsuitable for tea cultivation.
The tea industry in Bangladesh dates back 184 years. Most tea gardens are located in the north-eastern swathe of Bangladesh, while many northern districts have also started growing tea in recent years.
OPEC’s oil production continued to fall in January
OPEC’s oil production declined in January for a second consecutive month amid lower output from Iran and Nigeria, according to the monthly Reuters survey published on Wednesday.
Last month, all 12 OPEC producers saw their combined output drop by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) from December to 26.53 million, according to the Reuters survey of data from oil-flow tracking companies and sources at OPEC, oil firms, and consultants.
Supply from Iran and Nigeria dropped by 60,000 bpd each, the most among OPEC producers, according to the survey.
Iran, exempted from the ongoing OPEC+ cuts, reduced output by 60,000 bpd, and analysts expect further losses ahead as U.S. President Donald Trump restored the “maximum pressure” campaign on the Islamic Republic with the aim to drive its oil exports to zero.
Nigerian production also fell by 60,000 bpd as the West African producer reduced exports.
Morocco boosts wheat imports
With the stability of its prices on international markets, Morocco has increased its wheat imports and is keeping at least a three-month stock, said Abdelkader Alaoui, the president of the National Federation of Mills.
According to the official data issued by the Office of Exchange, imports of that grain reached close to 63 million quintals in 2024, up from 59 million last year.
Despite the higher volume, the import bill dropped from MAD 19.35 billion ($1.93 billion) in 2023 to MAD 17.83 billion ($1.78 billion) in 2024, marking a 7.9 percent decrease.
In a statement, Alaoui said weak rainfall last season saw cereal production drop drastically, hence Morocco had to secure supply from various sources.
Harvest figures show total cereal production at 31.2 million quintals, down 43 percent compared to the previous season.
Soft wheat production was estimated by the Ministry of Agriculture at 17.5 million quintals, durum wheat at 7.1 million, and barley at 6.6 million.
Ukraine’s steel sector looks abroad
Ukraine’s steel producers are now looking abroad to stay alive after the closure of the country’s last operating coking coal mine in Pokrovsk last month.
Miners were working up until Jan. 13 when the Metinvest Group, the mine’s owner, halted production completely and evacuated employees as Russian troops advanced on Pokrvosk in Donetsk Oblast.
The Pokrvosk mine was the last remaining coking coal site in Ukrainian-controlled territory and was worth around $1.8 billion before the war, according to the GMK Center, a metallurgy consulting company.
In order to extract coke, which is used as fuel in blast furnaces, the coking coal is heated in a vacuum. Without it, it is impossible to make steel.
Ukraine’s steel producers will now have to increase imports of the fuel, racking up transport costs. This will hinder the global competitiveness of Ukrainian steel, which has already taken a pounding since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Mongolia inks uranium deal with French nuclear giant
This year marks the 60th anniversary of Mongolia and France’s establishment of diplomatic relations. To start off the year of celebration, the two governments signed a major investment agreement that will both diversify Mongolia’s exports and support France’s nuclear energy sector.
In January 2025, Mongolia and France reached a $1.6 billion investment agreement to develop Zuuvch-Ovoo uranium mine in a joint mega-project between France’s Orano Group and Mongolia’s state-owned MonAtom Group. During the signing ceremony, Mongolia’s Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai called the investment agreement a “historic day in Mongolia-France relations.”
The deal will increase Mongolia’s visibility in the world’s energy and minerals supply chains. The Zuuvch-Ovoo and the Dulaan-Uul deposits in Mongolia’s Dornogovi province have 90,000 tonnes of uranium deposits, and the new mining project will aim to extract 2,500 tonnes of uranium per year.
India budget India unveils long-term programs to increase pulses, cotton output
India will launch a six-year programme to boost the output of pulse crops by taking measures including directing state agencies to buy the staple at guaranteed prices, the finance minister said on Saturday, in a bid to cut reliance on imports.
Rising demand has forced India, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of pulses, to spend a record $5 billion on importing pulses such as pigeon peas, black matpe, and red lentils in 2024, making the country the world’s top importer.
India currently imports large amounts of pulses from Canada, Myanmar, Russia, and a host of African countries.
Over the next four years, state agencies will procure pigeon peas, black matpe, and red lentils from farmers at government-set guaranteed, or support, prices, Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the annual budget for fiscal year 2025-2026.
Sitharaman said her government would also aim to boost cotton production, particularly of the extra-long staple variety, by supporting research and development.