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High Orange Juice Prices May Be On The Table For A While Due To Disease And Extreme Weather

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5 months ago

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juice

MOGI GUACU, Brazil – Prices for orange juice have always been erratic; they rise when frost or a hurricane destroys fruit trees and fall when abundant harvests result in an excess of oranges.

But since the diseases and severe weather decimating orange groves in some of the top-producing nations are not readily fixed, the record-high prices for OJ that the globe is currently experiencing might not last long.

The biggest orange juice producer in the world, Brazil, is expected to have its poorest crop in 36 years due to drought and flooding, according to a prediction by Fundecitrus, a Sao Paulo state citrus growers’ association.

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Orange Juice | AP news Image

High Orange Juice Prices May Be On The Table For A While Due To Disease And Extreme Weather

According to Mogi Guacu, Brazil, orange grower Oscar Simonetti, there is more to worry about than rising juice prices. The worry is not having the juice.

In the United States, Hurricane Ian severely devastated an already suffering crop due to an invading insect, resulting in a 62% decline in orange production in Florida’s 2022–2023 season. Spanish orange output was likewise reduced by drought the previous year.

Low supplies have driven up costs. Government statistics from April show that a 12-ounce can of frozen orange juice concentrate in the United States costs an average of $4.27, 42% more than the previous month.

Consumer research firm Nielsen reports that fresh orange juice prices in the UK, where the British Fruit Juice Association reports supplies are at 50-year lows, increased by 25% over the previous year.

Those price hikes are turning off consumers tired of inflation. Rabobank, a Dutch food and agriculture bank, reports that orange juice consumption has decreased from 15% to 25% over the past year in major worldwide markets, including the United States and the European Union.

Jonna Parker, principal for fresh food client insights at market research firm Circana, noted that more and more people are obtaining their morning fruit from smoothies, energy drinks, and other beverages than orange juice.

People think about other options when the price rises, she said.

Before the current price increases, orange juice consumption fell worldwide due to public concern about the quantity of sugar in fruit juices and rivalry with other drinks. If that tendency keeps up, Rabobank said, it should help balance supply and demand and prevent prices from growing much higher. Limited supplies, however, are expected to keep prices high for some time.

Orange juice has completely gone from the shelves in some stores.

An “orange fruit drink” with 35% orange juice replaced orange juice on the Australian McDonald’s menu late last year. The company mentioned short supplies.

Because of limited Brazilian juice supply, Tokyo-based Morinaga Milk Industry Co. plans to cease delivering its Sunkist orange juice by the end of June. Based in Sapporo, northern Japan, Megmilk Snow Brand Co. ceased shipping 1-liter (approximately a quart) and 450-milliliter (15.2-ounce) orange juice packs in April 2023. The company sells the juice under a Dole contract. Sales have yet to start up again.

juice

Orange Juice | AP news Image

High Orange Juice Prices May Be On The Table For A While Due To Disease And Extreme Weather

A few firms are considering substituting other fruits for oranges in their goods. Citing the expense of routine orange juicing, British juice manufacturer Coldpress launched a mandarin juice product in February.

Still others, though, keep their ideas under wraps. Dole, Tropicana, Florida’s Natural, Uncle Matt’s, and Coca-Cola (which produces the Simply and Minute Maid brands) are among the big orange juice producers that either declined to comment or did not answer questions from The Associated Press.

Decades of history are at the heart of the present supply problems. When an Asian citrus psyllid invaded Florida in 2005, it injected bacteria from its saliva into the orange plants there. By damaging its root systems, the bacteria gradually destroys the tree. Once a tree is afflicted, there is no known treatment.

The effect has been devastating. Florida produced 200 million orange boxes in 2004 before the illness known as citrus greening struck the state. It will provide less than 20 million this year.

Though no orange tree is completely resistant to greening, scientists have been working to breed more tolerant trees, according to Michael Rogers, an entomology professor and head of the Citrus Research and Education Center at the University of Florida.

Though it has advanced more slowly there because of its far bigger orange orchards, citrus greening appeared in Brazil around the same time as in Florida. Rogers added that the disease is carried by insects traveling from tree to tree.

The sickness is still advancing. Fundecitrus projects citrus greening on 38% of Brazil’s orange trees by 2023. According to orange farmer Simonetti, greening affects 20% of his output. On afflicted trees, oranges ripen improperly and fall off early, lowering their juice quality, he said.

Production can only sometimes be moved to other places. Citrus psyllids, for instance, do not do well in the climate of California, where oranges are grown. However, Rogers added, California also lacks the rainfall required for juicing oranges; its oranges are often marketed for consumption.

Extreme weather is another problem that affects orange harvests and is getting more frequent as global warming is caused by climate change.

juice

Orange Juice | AP News Image

High Orange Juice Prices May Be On The Table For A While Due To Disease And Extreme Weather

Nine heat waves that tore across Brazil last year caused reduced production and inferior fruit quality. El Niño has had especially dramatic effects this year, causing terrible floods in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul and a record drought in the Amazon.

It’s hot during the day. Nighttime brings with it a drop. Simonetti said that this temperature differential is too great for the plant.

Brazil’s 2024–2025 crop is predicted to produce 232 million boxes of oranges, a 24% decrease from the previous year.

Coordinator of Fundecitrus’ crop estimates study Vinícius Trombin commented, “We have never seen a harvest like this.”

Trombin noted that some producers are considering combining oranges and tangerines to manufacture juice to offset the expected lower output. He is dubious, though.

“The consumer wants orange juice made entirely of oranges,” he declared.

Parker of Circana is a little unsure. Blends including other fruits, in her opinion, may help keep prices down and pique customer interest in orange juice.

“The notion of many flavors is a way to stand out and is very popular,” she said. People must be kept interested. Regaining that interest is extremely difficult once it is lost.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Trudeau Accelerates Bond Selloff Over Mass Spending Fears

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2 days ago

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2024-11-23

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Trudeau, Bond Market
Trudeau accelerated a bond selloff due to expectations of faster growth and a deeper deficit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accelerated bond selloffs, citing fears of a larger deficit over his GST giveaway. Investors were concerned he was returning to his free-spending strategy as an election loom.

On Thursday, Trudeau unveiled a C$6.3 billion ($4.5 billion) tax relief and rebate program. It includes a two-month moratorium on federal sales tax on various commodities such as Christmas trees, wine, toys, and books and a C$250 check for almost 19 million Canadians, or over half of the population.

The declaration looked to mark the end of a brief period of fiscal restraint, as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland committed to contain budget deficits to prevent stoking inflationary pressures.

Now that inflation has returned to the Bank of Canada’s 2% target, policymakers have reduced the benchmark interest rate by 125 basis points since June.

Trudeau’s Liberal government sees an opportunity to dig deeper into the public purse, but some analysts believe investors are keeping a careful eye on the country’s debt.

Bonds continued to fall on Thursday following the announcement, as the 10-year benchmark yield rose 7 basis points to 3.457%. After retail data showed a rise in consumer spending on Friday, it increased by up to 3.488%.

As the Trudeau government considers additional fiscal spending, concerns about Canada’s financial situation persist.

Budget Shortfall

Freeland has yet to publish final spending and income figures for the fiscal year that ended in October. Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux predicts a deficit of C$46.8 billion, much exceeding Freeland’s self-imposed aim of a C$40 billion shortfall.

Despite promises to reduce deficits, the Trudeau government continues to increase expenditure. This year’s budget includes a new capital gains tax inclusion rate to balance the cost of new housing and social initiatives.

This sparked anger from investors and entrepreneurs but allowed Freeland to present a consistent deficit despite significant spending.

The recent declaration indicates that Trudeau’s government no longer feels restrained in its capacity to use economic stimulus to restore favor.

Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have led most surveys by roughly 20 points for over a year. They have pounded the prime minister on affordability and promised to reduce taxes, especially income taxes. An election is expected in late October 2025.

The sales tax break will run from December 14 to February 15. The left-wing New Democratic Party intends to support it but has stated that it will continue to advocate for its permanent implementation and expansion to include additional items.

Let the Bankers Worry

Following Trudeau’s announcement, traders in overnight swap markets reduced their bets that the Bank of Canada will drop interest rates by 50 basis points for the second time in December, lowering the odds to fewer than 25% by the end of Thursday. As of late Friday morning, the odds were less than 17%.

The announcement also encouraged several experts to improve their short-term projections for Canada’s GDP. Analysts at the Bank of Montreal predict that the country’s GDP will increase at a 2.5% annualized rate in the first three months of 2025, up from 1.7%.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trudeau praised his government’s approach to program expenditure, claiming it fosters optimism and possibilities for families and the middle class.

“We’re focusing on Canadians. “Let the bankers worry about the economy,” Trudeau stated.

Related:

Canada’s Budgetary Watchdog Warns Over Trudeau’s Spending

Canada’s Budgetary Watchdog Warns Over Trudeau’s Spending

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Business

Forced Sale Google Chrome Could Fetch $20 Billion

Published

3 days ago

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2024-11-21

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Sale Google Chrome

Antitrust officials in the US could force the sale of Google’s Chrome browser for up to $20 billion, demonstrating the tremendous worth of the world’s most popular web browser.

Bloomberg Intelligence attributes Chrome’s projected worth to its more than 3 billion monthly active users. The US Department of Justice is preparing to request a federal judge order the browser’s separation from Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

Chrome’s worth comes from its overwhelming 61% market share and its crucial role in Google’s advertising ecosystem. User data enables businesses to better target adverts, and the browser also acts as an important distribution mechanism for Google’s AI technologies.

Industry analysts think it may be difficult to find a suitable buyer. While tech behemoths like Amazon could finance the purchase, they would likely face regulatory scrutiny.

AI businesses, such as OpenAI, may emerge as more viable contenders. They could potentially leverage Chrome to broaden their reach and develop an advertising business.

“It’s not directly monetizable,” one analyst told Bloomberg. “It functions as a gateway to other things. It’s unclear how you would assess that in terms of pure revenue generation.”

Google opposes prospective sales, claiming that they will hamper innovation. The firm does not break out Chrome’s revenue individually in its financial filings, even though the browser’s user data plays an important part in the company’s principal revenue stream, advertising.

The DOJ’s suggestion follows Judge Amit Mehta’s August decision that Google had illegally monopolized the search industry. The judge will consider the recommended remedies at a two-week hearing in April 2024, with a final judgment due in August 2025.

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Bitcoin Has Set a New Record And Is Approaching $100,000.

Published

3 days ago

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2024-11-21

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Bitcoin

(VOR News) – Bitcoin broke beyond the $98,000 mark for the first time on Thursday as investors awaited Donald Trump’s second term as president. All of this happened during the day. As such, cryptocurrency has reached a significant turning point.

According to Coin Metrics, the top cryptocurrency was trading at $97,541.61 during the most recent trading session. Merchants provided this information. This suggests a price gain of more than three percent during the previous trading session.

When the period began, Bitcoin peaked at $98,367.00.

During the premarket trading session, MicroStrategy, a platform that facilitates cryptocurrency foreign exchange trading and serves as a bitcoin proxy, saw a 13% gain. Coinbase, on the other hand, had a 2% rise during that period. Furthermore, all of these increases occurred simultaneously.

The market value of Mara Holdings increased by 9%, which helped raise the valuation of mining companies overall. This was among the factors that led to the total rise.

Because of the widespread belief that President Trump will usher in a new era of prosperity for cryptocurrencies, one marked by more favorable laws and the possible creation of a national strategic bitcoin reserve, the price of Bitcoin has been rising steadily this month.

The most recent change brought about by the increase was the consequence of higher financing rates and more open interest in the futures market during Asian trading hours. The rise was the catalyst for this change. This action was prompted by the ensuing rush.

Throughout its lifespan, this legislation was the catalyst for this change for a variety of reasons. At the same time, spot market premiums decreased, according to CryptoQuant statistics. All of this happened at the same time.

Furthermore, a number of short liquidations have been sparked by the recent spikes in Bitcoin’s price, which has caused the price to rise overnight. As a result, the price has gone up much more. As a result, the total number of short liquidations has increased.

According to CoinGlass, these liquidations have effectively produced more than $88 million in capital during the last 24 hours.

Rob Ginsberg, an analyst at Wolfe Research, noted in a study released on Wednesday that “historically, following previous movements of this magnitude, Bitcoin has either entered a consolidation phase or disregarded the overbought condition as investors accumulate.” This phrase relates to the fact that this particular move has happened before.

Ginsberg stated this in reference to the evolution of Bitcoin over time.

Ginsberg’s answer makes reference to Bitcoin’s propensity to go through a period of consolidation. The comment also made reference to this.

He said, “Considering we are emerging from an extended consolidation phase and the price has reached a new high, it suggests that the pursuit is underway.”

The crucial psychological milestone of $100,000 is expected to be reached in the upcoming weeks, and this breakthrough could happen as early as Thursday. It seems likely that this level will be reached. There is a chance that this new development will take place.

This task will be carried out against the backdrop of this historical era. In addition, if Trump were to win a second term, federal budget deficits would increase, inflation would likely increase, and the dollar’s position in international affairs would change.

The administration that Trump would run during his presidency would be responsible for these consequences. All of these characteristics would positively impact the value of Bitcoin as a currency if they were taken into account in the order that they are presented.

The price of bitcoin had risen by more than 130% by the beginning of 2024.

SOUREC: CNBC

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