South Korea is eager to see increased trade and investment with the Philippines, Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa said on December 5 as he conveyed Seoul's intention to ratify its recently signed free trade agreement with Manila "soon". Lee said the Senate of the Philippines has also assured him that it would soon concur in the deal's ratification.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has reached an important milestone in its proposed investment in Hamburger Hafen und Logistik Aktiengesellschaft (HHLA), which operates the Port of Hamburg. The carrier has completed the first phase of the tender offer process. It is now moving into the second phase, which runs until December 7, with the company reporting good progress toward completing the proposed acquisition.

Many Ecuadorian companies have stepped forward to implement programs for the betterment of the communities in which they operate. For this reason, Dole created the DALE Foundation in 2001 to formalize its social commitment to Ecuador and the banana-growing areas.

The pineapple producer Anexco, which belongs to the fruit importer Fyffes, has opened its health centre in Costa Rica. It is intended to ensure primary medical care for employees and their families, as Fyffes' Latin America boss, Alasdair Macleod, explains. In addition to areas for occupational safety and health promotion, the new building also houses a dining room, several treatment rooms and an operating room for minor surgical procedures.

Oxfam Germany has filed a complaint against Edeka and Rewe, the two largest food retailers in Germany, for "working conditions on banana plantations in Ecuador and Costa Rica," according to Banana Link[https://www.bananalink.org.uk/news/oxfam-germany-files-complaint-under-new-supply-chain-law/].

A.P. Moller – Maersk would like to inform you of the next steps in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the impact compliance will have on your supply chain. As of 1 January 2024, shipping will be included into the EU ETS, which sets an annual absolute limit on emissions of certain greenhouse gases (GHG) and requires the purchase of allowances for emissions. Therefore, the inclusion of shipping in the EU ETS puts a price on GHG emissions.

• Unprecedented synergies and investments from private and public stakeholders to decarbonize the shipping industry. • Call for targeting the highest levels of ambition of the IMO GHG Strategy to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and implementing newbuilding standards that support the energy transition.

According to the Association of Banana Marketing and Export of Ecuador (Acorbanec), banana buyers from the EU and other markets are reluctant to pay the increase in the minimum support price of the banana box in Ecuador, which is paid to producers, after it rose from USD 6.50 in 2022 to USD 6.85 per box agreed on November 6, 2023. The Ministry of Agriculture made the price official on November 13 with Ministerial Agreement 089.

Fruit exports from Chile, Peru, and Ecuador could be affected by restrictions on the Panama Canal. Shipping lines will have lower cargo capacity and handle stricter itineraries. It is due to the drought, which has reduced the number of transits and the maximum draught allowed. In the last quarter of the year, the outlook for reefer container transport has weakened, and cargo demand is expected to register a second consecutive year of decline.

According to Netafim, an agricultural technology company, Colombia has 40,000 million arable hectares, and today, 5.3 million are exploited, representing 13% of the planted area in the country. Given its obvious importance for food security, and with the imminent arrival of El Niño, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, headed by its minister Jhenifer Mojica, has allocated $63,000 million for farmers who want to make improvements or build irrigation and drainage systems, and thus foresee declines in their production.

Indicators such as the Drewry World Container Index have continued to fall. Now, Xeneta, the freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform, warns that it sees an "ominous sign for carriers," as long-term contracted rates continue to slide. "The warning signs were already there, but the latest data from Xeneta suggests 2024 could be even more brutal than expected for carriers in the ocean freight shipping market," the company writes in its latest market analysis.

The reports of road openings in Panama are coming after learning of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) ruling that declared the mining contract unconstitutional, which caused protests by the population for many weeks. Cargo carriers are already mobilizing in Colón, Chiriquí, and Panama, while in Veraguas, they will already be reopening because they closed again due to a concentration, SNIP Noticias reported.

Imported 17,035 tons of bananas from Ecuador from January through September 2023, which is an 11-percent decrease compared to the same period in 2022 (19,239 tons), Trend reports. According to data from Kyrgyzstan's State Statistical Committee, these imports totalled $10.251 million, representing an eight per cent increase over the same period in 2022 ($9.490 million).

In Guatemala, the first International Forum of the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) and Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (Foc TR4) was held, in which experts sought strategies to prevent and control these diseases that threaten global banana production. Participants highlighted that the Foc TR4 has affected 23 banana-producing countries worldwide.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Employees Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce shares by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,725 company stock shares after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the quarter.