Tag Archives: countries
World Food Demand Climbs But More Competitors Enter Field
Posted Aug. 1st, 2013 by D’Arce McMillan Many countries have the potential to expand arable farmland and help meet food demand. The expectation of big harvests across the Northern Hemisphere this year is pushing down crop prices. It seems to fit with the growing perception among traders that the period of strong commodity prices that started around 2005 is coming to an end. High prices encourage commodity producers, whether they be farmers, miners, oil drillers or metal processers, to invest in producing more. Once the supply-demand situation become balanced, commodity prices fall. Also, China’s phenomenal economic growth, which focused on infrastructure development for the past decade and which required massive quantities of metal, minerals and energy, is slowing. Economies usually slow as they mature and shift from infrastructure and export growth to slower domestic consumer-led growth. As well, demographics resulting from the one child policy mean China’s population is rapidly aging. However, if you have attended any farm meeting in the past 10 years, you likely encountered pundits who said the boom in agriculture was more sustainable. The increasing prosperity of many Third World consumers would cause them to improve their diets, incorporating more protein, mostly from meat. The increasing demands on livestock production meant rising demand for feedstuffs, from corn to oilseed meal, feed wheat to distillers dried grain. The pundits said there wasn’t a lot of new land available for cultivation so this increasing food demand would largely have to be met by increased crop yields. All that still holds true. However, a new team of pundits now coming out the woodwork say that maybe the food shortage thing is a bit overstated. An agricultural symposium this month hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City featured several speakers who said global agriculture has lots of resources to meet the increasing demand for food. Many of the presentations are on the bank’s website at www.kc.frb.org. Ray Wyse, senior director of trading and oilseeds for Gavilon, a multinational agricultural trader, had one of the more sobering presentations. He noted that the traditional annual consumption growth from food and animal feed has not changed much over the past 30 years if you take away the big demand growth for corn and oilseeds from the biofuel industry. Government policy-driven ethanol growth in the United States has plateaued and it appears the same thing is happening in other countries. Wyse disputes the argument that there is little new land to bring into agricultural production. About 136,000 acres, almost all of it outside the United States, have been added to grain, oilseed and cotton production since 2005. He notes that current cultivated land in the former Soviet Union is 74 million acres less than it was in the late 1970s and early 1980s. That is an area about the size of the U.S. soybean crop and could be brought back into production. One of the great agriculture stories of the past decade was Brazil’s huge growth. Its arable land stands at 170 million acres, but the country has the potential to add another 470 million. Africa has huge unrealized agricultural potential, Wyse said. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has similar climate and water resources as Brazil, and it has the potential to add 200 million acres with the potential to produce three crops a year. Although yield growth has stagnated in the U.S. in recent years, the expanding application of modern farming techniques in the rest of the world is leading to annual yield growth in corn of more than 10 percent outside of the U.S. The introduction of genetically modified seeds also leads to rapid yield growth. He noted that the introduction of B.t. cotton in China raised yields by 40 to 50 percent and in India by 70 to 80 percent. There can even be profound change in North America. He noted that the development of short season corn and soybean varieties has caused farmers in North Dakota and Canada to shift away from traditional small grains into corn and soybeans and are harvesting much larger tonnages per acre. The result of all this is that there is a growing list of competitors for the global market. Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan have joined Brazil and Argentina, and other export powerhouses might be possible in Africa in coming decades. These countries tend to have weaker currencies than the U.S. and Canada, making their grain cheaper. Also, they have neither the storage nor farm credit systems that give farmers here the market power to match the stream of supply to demand and wait out price dips. Wyse warned that the result of all this is crop price moderation. The follow-on implication is a risk for land prices in the U.S. and in Canada, which have risen to reflect the recent grain price boom. Reading the presentations from the Kansas meeting is a little depressing, but the reaction should be prudent debt and risk management and business planning rather than panic. No one really knows how much food demand will increase as formerly poor societies in Asia advance and become more wealthy. And while there might be lots of land that is potentially available for crop production, it will require enormous on-farm investment plus astronomical investment to tie it into the global export network. Developing that land also has environmental implications. Also, we seem to be moving into a period of more variable climate, which adds another wild card to the forecast. The last few years were exceptionally good ones for North American farmers. Nothing lasts forever, but the future isn’t necessarily bleak, either. Continue reading
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Email: david@vistalegrerentals.com Phone in Puerto Vallarta: Dial 044-322-278-9736 Buying a property in México How can I own property in Mexico? Owning real … Continue reading
BluForest Inc. Analyzes The Potential Of China Entering The Carbon Trading Market
On behalf of the Board of BluForest Inc. Contact Us Company phone number: 1-855-509-5508 info@bluforest.com www.bluforest.com 8 AUG 2013 WDM Group PR Network QUITO, ECUADOR–(Marketwired – August 7, 2013) – BluForest Inc. (OTCBB: BLUF) (OTCQB: BLUF) BluForest Inc. (“BluForest” or the “Company”), an emerging leader in the field of Carbon Trading and Renewable Energy, is currently analyzing the potential of China entering the Carbon Trading Market and linking with other countries’ carbon trading schemes. BluForest has been intently watching as China researches the sustainability and functionality of a foundation of national carbon-trading market before linking with other countries’ carbon trading schemes. The United States, Australia, Japan and the European Union are discussing the possibility of building a sub-regional or regional carbon market with China, said Xie Zhenhua, vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission. “Our priority is getting our work done first, accumulating experience and then taking part in making the rules,” Xie said at a low-carbon forum.(1) Australian Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has expressed hope of eventually linking Australia’s carbon emissions trading schemes with China’s and South Korea’s, according to Reuters. Australia and the EU agreed in late August to link their carbon trade schemes by 2018. The NDRC selected seven pilot regions in November for the trial implementation of carbon trading. The pilot regions are encouraged to design regional regulations, specify the scope of trading and build a registration system and trading platform. China is said to focus on the trial implementation of carbon trading by 2015, with the goal of expanding a nationwide carbon market between 2015 and 2020, said Xie. China is working on designing the guidelines for reporting formats and accounting standards of carbon emissions, and building an online energy consumption monitoring system for major industries. Xie stated that “In the pilot phase, spot trading will dominate carbon trading, while futures trading will be considered when the conditions mature.” Xie also added that “the authorities should adopt measures to prevent risks and ensure a steady carbon market without dramatic fluctuations.” “As a result of investment of more than 2 trillion yuan ($315 billion), China cumulatively saved 700 million tons of standard coal over the past seven years, which was equivalent to a reduction of 1.7 billion tons in carbon emissions,” said Xie. The annual industrial output of the energy saving, environmental protection and recycling sectors is expected to reach 4.6 trillion yuan between 2011 and 2015. Xie said that adopting mechanisms such as the carbon market would help China reach its targets for energy saving and emission reduction in a more economical way.(2) BluForest is entering a rapidly evolving industry that offers investors the opportunity to get involved during the early stages of a marketplace poised for significant returns with mitigated risks. In addition to the voluntary carbon market which is demonstrating significant growth resulting from awareness and social responsibility, the Carbon Credit regulatory markets in Europe, Australia, California, Mexico and several other jurisdictions are also experiencing substantial growth. These indicators and the potential developments within the EU all point to a clear message: “The time to invest in BluForest, an ethical company positioned to capitalize on this growth has never been better!” Our initial land assets rank amongst the most valuable in the world. Their location within a government protected National Park places them on a level above most competitors who often face risks associated with permanence and other influences beyond their control. About BluForest Inc. BluForest Inc. is a development stage company that is a publically traded carbon offsets marketing and renewable energy company. BLUF is executing its strategy to become a leading marketer of carbon offsets in the voluntary markets under the UN principle of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). The BluForest website provides further information about the company which prospective investors are encouraged to visit. Safe Harbor Act Notice: Statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the company and its management. Such statements reflect management’s current views, are based on certain assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events, or performance may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors, and will be dependent upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the company’s ability to obtain additional financing and the demand for the company’s products. Any investment in the company would be extremely speculative and involve a high degree of risk and should not be pursued unless the investor could afford to lose their entire investment. Before investing, please review this filing, all past public filings with the SEC, all current Pinksheets.com filings and consult a registered broker dealer or contact the financial industry regulatory authority (“FINRA”) for more information regarding locating a qualified party to assist in making an investment decision. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect any change in the company’s expectations with regard to these forward-looking statements or the occurrence of unanticipated events. Factors that may impact the company’s success are more fully disclosed in the company’s most recent public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Continue reading
