Topic “USDA” — Exporter Magazine

Washington will receive financial support from the federal government in the US to support peach exports this year. The Washington Stone Fruit Commission has received US$250,000 to promote first time exports of peach, nectarine, apricot and jam, according to a report in Fresh Plaza.com. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said it expects the Consumer Price Index to rise by 2 to 3% in 2011, ending a period of near-stagnant food price inflation over the past two years, according to FoodNavigator-US.com. Milk production in New Zealand will rebound by 10% next year to a record high, feeding a recovery in exports – assuming the world’s top exporter gets a break from the poor weather which has for two years sent output lower, according to AgriMoney.com. The report said researchers from food-maker Mars, technology giant IBM, several universities and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have almost completely sequenced the genome of the Forastero cacao tree, which accounts for 80-90% of the world’s cocoa production.