Ilena

Trump Asks Justice Department to Probe Meatpackers Over Prices President Donald Trump asked the Justice Department to start an investigation into the meatpacking industry, accusing them of “driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation.”

Trump asked the Justice Department to start an investigation into the meatpacking industry, accusing them of “driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation"

Bessent Says China to Buy 12 Million Tons of Soybeans This Year China has agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans this year, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, providing some relief to US farmers who have anxiously awaited the resumption of exports to the Asian nation.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China has agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans this year.

High Cocoa Costs Put Chocolate Makers on Edge for Halloween Halloween is shaping up to be a test for the chocolate industry, as high cocoa costs threaten to accelerate a consumer shift toward cheaper and trendier sweets such as sour gummies.

It's been spooky season for the #cocoa market for a while. Now higher prices are giving non-chocolate treats that were already trendy (think sour gummies) even more room to grab market share this #Halloween.

🎃🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com

Trump Says He’s ‘Worked Our Magic’ on Deal to Lower Beef Prices President Donald Trump said his administration had struck an agreement to bring down the price of beef for consumers during an event in the Oval Office on Thursday.

President Trump said his administration had struck an agreement to bring down the price of beef for consumers during an event in the Oval Office on Thursday

Trump’s Wood Tariffs Are Coming. Who Will Be Hit Hardest President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on imported lumber and wood products that his administration says are needed to protect the US economy and boost domestic manufacturing. Starting Oct. 14, softwood lumber will face 10% duties, while kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and other finished wood goods will be hit with 25% tariffs that rise further in January.

US homebuilders and retailers warn that higher costs could push housing prices and furniture costs higher as the trade fight over wood products escalates once again. Here’s what to know.

Line chart of the most-active lumber futures contract traded in Chicago, which on September 18 touched the lowest in seven months

A hike in US duties on Canadian wood was meant to protect prices for American producers. It still hasn't been enough to stop futures prices from plunging to a 7-month low as housing demand falls.

🪵🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com

After Seedless Grapes, Now for the Pitless Cherry Cherries with no pits are set to (eventually) hit grocery shelves thanks to gene-editing technology.

It's time for pitless cherries - thanks to gene-editing technology.

Startup Pairwise and fruit breeder Sun World International will work to bring it to the market in the next decade - @ilenapeng.bsky.social reports in the latest Business of Food newsletter.

www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

American Farmers Are Feeling the Pain of Trump’s Policies US agricultural communities that had expected Trump to have their backs have found themselves flung into a second trade war. If the situation continues, it could put loyalties at risk.

every rural county should be considered up for grabs in the midterms

a must read from @ilenapeng.bsky.social

(with a gift link!)

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

America's farmers are hurting & worried that politicians aren't getting it. Nine months into President Trump's second term, the near-term optimism that farmers once felt is waning and demand for mental health support services has surged.

🎁🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com

America’s Butter Glut Is Driving Prices to Three-Year Lows As America’s appetite for butter grew over the past few years, the dairy industry turned to cows that produce fattier milk and expanded facilities to meet the demand. They might have gone too far.

Americans are eating a whole lot of #butter but the US is making even more, sending futures prices dropping down to the lowest since November 2021.

🧈🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com

US Roasters Shun Coffee From Brazil After 50% Tariffs Kick In American coffee buyers are shunning fresh deals with top grower Brazil after President Donald Trump’s 50% tariff took effect this month.

Your daily #coffee still seems fine but behind the scenes, US roasters have been scrambling since 50% tariffs on Brazilian beans took effect. Shipments from top coffee country have been postponed, while new deals have stalled.

☕🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com

Trump Tariffs Spell Trouble for Hawaii’s Few Coffee Farmers Hawaiian coffee farmers have a message for President Donald Trump: Steep tariffs on major exporters such as Brazil will end up hurting them, too.

Growers fear that rising coffee prices will hit consumers already struggling with inflation, curbing demand on everything from popular everyday roasts available at grocery stores to luxury Kona beans.

Chocolate Makers Burned Again as Shortages Hit Cocoa Powder Chocolate makers were already grappling with record prices for cocoa butter, which provides that melt-in-your-mouth feel. Now they are also paying up for the powder that lends their product its color ...

#Cocoa prices, while still high, have cooled from records. But chocolatiers and food companies aren't in the clear yet, as prices surge for the typically cheap powder that lends chocolate and brownies their rich color and taste.

🍫🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com

Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate Demand for the Instagram-friendly nuts have driven up margins for farmers, who are preparing for a bumper crop this fall.

Pistachios are everywhere! A year and a half in, the viral Dubai Chocolate phenomenon is still going strong. US nut growers need that to continue, especially with a record harvest expected to start later this year.

💚🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com

Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate Demand for the Instagram-friendly nuts have driven up margins for farmers, who are preparing for a bumper crop this fall.

Demand for the Instagram-friendly nuts have driven up margins for farmers, who are preparing for a bumper crop this fall.

We at @bloomberg.com just launched Business of #Food, a weekly newsletter focused on how the world feeds itself.

Sign up here: www.bloomberg.com/account/news... #BusinessofFood

Global Food Companies Are Struggling to Deliver Methane Progress In 2023, some of the world’s largest food companies made a pledge to slash methane emissions. They promised to publish data and action plans by the end of 2024. Here's why Starbucks, General Mills and others are struggling to address the potent emissions in their supply chains. (Source: Bloomberg)

In 2023, some of the world’s largest food companies made a pledge to slash methane emissions. They promised to publish data and action plans by the end of 2024.

Here's why Starbucks, General Mills and others are struggling to address the potent emissions in their supply chains.

Your Orange Juice Will Soon Have Even Less Real Orange In It As orange supplies suffer from greening disease, the flavor and fragrance industry is developing workarounds to keep the taste of bottled juice consistent.

Soon, your morning glass of OJ will have even less fruit in it as Florida expects its worst orange harvest in nearly a century

Your Orange Juice Will Soon Have Even Less Real Orange In It As orange supplies suffer from greening disease, the flavor and fragrance industry is developing workarounds to keep the taste of bottled juice consistent.

Flavors are playing an even bigger role in the #orange juice supply chain, as trees hit by the citrus greening disease yield fewer — and more bitter — fruits.

🍊🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... w/ editing by @silviakillings.bsky.social via @bloomberg.com

RFK Jr.'s Quest to Make Americans Eat Healthier Will Be Costly Ultra-processed foods have made US diets among the least expensive — and the most unhealthy — in the world. The health secretary wants to change that.

The MAHA Commission report is coming soon. ICYMI, my colleagues and I last week unpacked some of the key changes RFK Jr. has previously talked about & how they would shape the US food system.

🎁🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature... w/ @deenashanker.bsky.social & Agnieszka De Sousa via @bloomberg.com

The Sugar Industry Had Dodged RFK Jr.’s Health Drive — Until Now Sugar producers thought they had escaped Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.

Health secretary RFK Jr. called sugar "poison" in late April, putting the sugar and sweets industries on alert at conferences in NY and Indianapolis last week.

🍭🎁🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... with @kubz.bsky.social via @bloomberg.com

RFK Jr.'s Quest to Make Americans Eat Healthier Will Be Costly Ultra-processed foods have made US diets among the least expensive — and the most unhealthy — in the world. The health secretary wants to change that.

Switching from seed oils to beef fat is a MAHA-approved move, but costs double. Great look from @deenashanker.bsky.social @ilenapeng.bsky.social & Agnieszka De Sousa at how expensive it will be for the food industry to switch to organic foods, natural dyes, & more: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

RFK Jr.'s Quest to Make Americans Eat Healthier Will Be Costly Ultra-processed foods have made US diets among the least expensive — and the most unhealthy — in the world. The health secretary wants to change that.

Many of RFK Jr's policies and ideas for food are widely supported in the nutrition community. Some are not. Either way, they would drive up prices. My latest with my colleagues @ilenapeng.bsky.social and Agnieszka De Sousa.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Egg Prices Hit Record as Retailers Keep Costs High on Supply Fears US inflation may have cooled last month but egg prices are still stubbornly high, and there’s no immediate prospect of relief thanks to bird flu and tariffs.

Egg prices hit a new record of $6.227 per dozen in the March Consumer Price Index report that came out today. Here's why & what might come next, especially as Easter approaches.

🍳🎁🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com

US Solar’s Hoarding Habit Will Help Blunt Sting From Trump Tariffs The US has imported about 80% of modules from four Southeast Asian countries that face big new levies.

☀️My colleagues Josh Saul, @jendlouhy.bsky.social and I took a look at the impacts of Trump tariffs on America's solar industry.

Stockpile of panels in America may dull the immediate impacts of high tariff rates hitting countries in Southeast Asia, analysts say.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

US Weather Agency Websites to Vanish Under Planned Contract Cuts The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency is poised to eliminate most websites tied to its research division under plans for the cancellation of a cloud web services contract, a move that could s...

Almost all NOAA Research websites that rely on cloud services - including Amazon, Google and WordPress - are poised to disappear at midnight ET Saturday after a contract was targeted for "early termination." Labs may also feel the effects.

Story for @bloomberg.com (free link):

Trump Tariffs on Canada Lumber Risk Pinching Toilet Paper Supply President Donald Trump’s promised tariffs on softwood lumber risk disrupting the supply chain for something nobody wants to be caught without: toilet paper.

Trump's tariffs on Canadian wood risk upsetting the supply chain for... toilet paper

The kind of pulp mainly sourced from Canada is a key ingredient, experts tell me and @mathieudion.bsky.social

Billion-Dollar US Levies on Chinese Ships Risk ‘Trade Apocalypse’ Critics will tell a hearing on Monday that the move against commercial ships could be more disruptive for global trade than Trump’s tariffs.

Donald Trump wants to make US shipbuilding great again by imposing levies on Chinese vessels. Critics say the move could devastate the US economy, hit global trade and fuel inflation www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Tariffs Add More Turmoil to Dysfunctional US-Mexico Sugar Trade Years of droughts in Mexico have already fractured its sugar exports to the US. Now President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs risk making the once-lucrative trade relationship even worse for America’s...

Tariffs Add More Turmoil to Dysfunctional US-Mexico Sugar Trade
www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com @ilenapeng.bsky.social

Tariffs Add More Turmoil to Dysfunctional US-Mexico Sugar Trade Years of droughts in Mexico have already fractured its sugar exports to the US. Now President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs risk making the once-lucrative trade relationship even worse for America’s...

Mexico is seen shipping the least sugar to the US since 2008, after droughts fractured a longstanding trade flow. Tariff risks are further shifting the US away from Mexican imports & toward higher-taxed shipments from other countries.

🎁🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com