The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining reports significant damage to several of its facilities and agricultural projects following Hurricane Beryl's passage over Jamaica on July 3, 2024. One of the citrus budwood houses has collapsed, resulting in the loss of one of the two budwood facilities. Additionally, one of the parent plant houses has been damaged. The station also suffered 100% damage to its commercial crops and lost the packing she.

Banana farmers have appealed for government support after severe winds associated with the passage of Category Four Hurricane Beryl blasted through their farms, snapping and uprooting banana trees. Agriculture Minister Alfred Prospere has promised to provide the affected farmers with as much support as possible.

A court ruling could permit the construction of a new reservoir to feed the water-starved Panama Canal, but the waterway managers said on July 8 that the project might take six years to build. For years, Panama has wanted to make another reservoir to supplement the main supply of water from Lake Gatun. Still, a 2006 regulation prohibited the waterway from expanding outside its traditional watershed.

Global demand for ocean freight container shipping hit a record in May amid soaring spot rates and severe port congestion, according to data released by Xeneta and Container Trades Statistics. In May, 15.94 million TEUs were transported by ocean, surpassing the previous 15.72 million TEUs from May 2021. Year-to-date volumes are just under 74 million TEU, a 7.5% increase compared to the first five months of 2023.

The banana selling prices in St. Petersburg experienced significant variability, ranging from USD 17.90 per box CIF to USD 20.00-23.00 per box CIF, depending on brand, volume, packing, and the day of the week. A sudden drop in demand for bananas led to a downward pressure on prices. However, traders are optimistic about a potential stabilization of prices on Monday, January 15th, despite the challenges posed by high temperatures and the abundant supply of seasonal local fruit at competitive prices. Nearly 660,000 boxes were discharged in week 28, with around 1.03 million boxes expected for week 29. The exchange rate was 1 USD = 87.99 RUB. Prices in the Mediterranean for Ecuadorean bananas ranged from USD 16.00 to USD 20.00 per box CIF, depending on brand, volume, region, quality, packing, and weight. The lowest prices were in Algeria, where boxes sold for around USD 16.00-16.50 CIF due to large volumes of summer fruit and lower demand for bananas. High temperatures also reduced banana sales as consumers preferred melons, watermelons, and other typical Mediterranean summer fruits. The highest prices were in Libya, about USD 20.00 per box CIF for Ecuadorian bananas. Central American or Colombian bananas sold for around USD 2.00 less per box. In the Mersin Free Zone, re-exported Ecuadorian bananas were priced at USD 20.00-22.00 per box, depending on brand, quality, volume, packing, and weight. Central American bananas sold for around USD 16.00-18.00 per box. The exchange rate was 1 USD=33.01 TL

Via a new reefer inspection express lane at APM Terminals Moin, trucks now pass through a finely tuned and fast inspection process for empty reefers exiting the terminal for delivery directly to farms. Due to the improved process, there are almost zero waiting times, no reworks, and considerably enhanced transportation costs.

MSC bought BAL Container Line's two 14,000 teu vessels built at Jiangnan Shipyard. The Swiss-Italian mainline operator continues to combine its record market leadership (by capacity) position. Shanghai-based BAL, which runs a Southeast Asia-Japan service, ordered the ships when it ventured into long-haul lanes during the pandemic-induced boom in 2022.

Container freight rates continue to trend upwards, with Q3 looking like one of the most profitable quarters in liner history, with July generating rate increases taking hold. Drewry's composite global index increased 10% yesterday to $5,868 per feu. The latest spot index is 43% below the previous pandemic peak of $10,377 in September 2021, but it is 313% more than the 2019 pre-pandemic rate of $1,420.

The Association of Banana Producer Organizations of the Canary Islands (Asprocan), which brings together the six OPP-type entities that operate on the islands and, in turn, is the manager of the protected geographical indication (PGI) Plátano de Canarias quality label, has decided to temporarily suspend the ripening activity of this island fruit with certified quality by the company Bonnysa Agroalimentaria.

After four days of festivities, the banana fair ends in Angola. Local farmers, associations and cooperatives from several municipalities joined industry representatives from other parts of the country to discuss market expansion and their production strengths. Maria Antónia Nelumba, governor of Bengo province, on the closing of this 10th edition of the banana fair: "We will continue to produce and invest in banana processing, in order to take advantage of the entire production chain."

Banana Selling Prices in St. Petersburg ranged from USD 20.15 to USD 22.45 per box CIF depending on brand, quality, and packing. From Monday to Wednesday, prices were around USD 21.30-22.45 but they started to decline , reaching USD 20.15 per box CIF by Friday. Approximately 1.84 million boxes were discharged in week 27, and about 675,000 boxes are expected for week 28. The exchange rate was 1 USD = 88.12 RUB. Inflation accelerated to 0.66%, driven by higher service charges. The annual inflation rate now stands at 9.1% as of July 1, according to the State Statistics Service (Rosstat). Ecuadorean bananas in the Mediterranean were priced at USD 18.0-20.0 per box CIF . The actual price depended on brand, quality, volume, packing, and specific region. Bananas from Central or Southern America (excluding Ecuador) were sold at a lower price, around USD 2.0 per box less. In the Mersin Free Zone, re-exported Ecuadorean bananas started the week at USD 18.50-20.0 per box and later increased to USD 21.0-22.0 per box due to reduced fruit volumes.

PLP Congresswoman Kattia Cambronero advocates for a bill to prohibit 17 agrochemicals deemed hazardous by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and oversee the overall pesticide use in Costa Rica. Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) indicates that Costa Rica uses the highest number of pesticides per hectare. The Food and Agriculture Data (FAOSTAT) database reveals that Costa Rica consumes 23.44 kilograms of agrochemicals per hectare.

Banana producers in Tembiaporã, Paraguay, were visited by Ecuadorian experts in fruit production. These experts will train the workers of the local banana plantations to improve the quality of production in our country and gain a larger space in the international market. Last year, Paraguay managed to export bananas for a value close to US$ 33 million, of which approximately 80% was harvested in Tembiaporã, recognised as the "Banana Capital" of the country.

Port Freeport has announced the execution of a lease agreement with Chiquita Fresh North America, marking a milestone in their ongoing partnership. Effective June 13, 2024, the parties have agreed to a 5-year lease term with an option to extend it for an additional five years. We are extremely excited about the continued partnership with Chiquita," remarked Port Freeport's Executive Director/CEO Phyllis Saathoff.

The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), a Department of Agriculture subsidiary, has issued Tropic Biosciences a noncoverage certificate for the Department Circular (JDC) 1, 2021 series. Tropic Biosciences has developed reduced browning bananas (TRB011011 and TRB11002) utilising the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system.