Taiwan to increase garlic exports to cut domestic oversupply

Taipei, May 21 (CNA) Taiwan's Agriculture and Food Agency said Saturday it will sell more garlic overseas in an attempt to lower domestic supply and stabilize prices.
Hsu Han-ching, deputy director of the agency, said as garlic farmers are currently suffering from a production glut, the agency will try to increase exports, adjust the local garlic supply, and help local garlic growers alleviate the financial impact.
According to Hsu, the output for every hectare of farmland used to grow garlic is expected to hit 11,702 kilograms this year, up almost 40 percent from the level recorded a year earlier.
As local garlic is very competitive in terms of quality and pricing in the global markets, the agency has successfully auctioned off 5,851 metric tons of garlic so far this year, Hsu said.
More than 4,000 metric tons will be put up for sale to foreign buyers in upcoming auctions.
Due to high inventories in the local market, Hsu said, the agency will meet with garlic farmers and representatives from the Yunlin County government’s agriculture division next week to figure out how to sell more of the products overseas.
Yunlin County is a major garlic growing region in Taiwan.
Hsu said the agency will also come up with campaigns to encourage more garlic consumption in the domestic market.

Source: http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201105210015

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Garlic prices likely to fall

Garlic prices will likely come down in June, following almost a year of sustained strong markets.

The price of Chinese garlic could fall 20-30% when new-crop product begins arriving in June, said Jim Provost, president of West Grove, Pa.-based I Love Produce.

New-crop Chinese garlic should begin arriving on the West Coast in mid-June and on the East Coast in late June, Provost said.

Fresh garlic acreage in China is up about 30% this year in the country’s major growing area, weather has been good, and quality should be good and yields high, Provost said.

Patsy Ross, vice president of marketing for Gilroy, Calif.-based Christopher Ranch, agreed.

“If China has a similar harvest as in 2008 and 2009, there will be an oversupply of Chinese garlic to the U.S. and it will drive prices lower,” she said.

The pipeline will likely be so empty by the time new-crop Chinese garlic begins shipping, it could take time for markets to adjust downward, even with an expected bumper crop, said  Louis Hymel, director of purchasing and marketing at Orlando, Fla.-based Spice World Inc.

“China is expected to have a harvest as large as their 2007 season,” Hymel said. “However, inventories are at a low point so it will take awhile to replenish the global pipeline.”

On May 3, white netted 3s and 5s from China sold for $34 on the Los Angeles terminal market, comparable to last year at the same time.

Chinese garlic prices have held steady around $34 since last summer, a level that was at times more than three times the price the year before.

California garlic, meanwhile, has reached the mid-$50s during garlic’s long hot streak, $20 more than in 2009 and $30 more than in 2008.

California, which should begin shipping new-crop garlic in late June, could be another story, Provost said. The growing weather has been good, but a substantial number of growers have had to use old seed from California rather than new seed from Washington and Oregon.

A cold, rainy winter in the Northwest limited the amount of seed available for California growers, Provost said. Using old California seed could limit yields and affect quality, he said.

As a result, he said, the price of California garlic may not change much.

Higher prices, however, don’t necessarily deter customers from buying California garlic, Ross said.

“Many retailers and foodservice customers have committed to taking the high-quality California garlic with the high food safety standards, even though they have to pay a little more,” she said.

Hymel reported good growing weather for new-crop California garlic.

“The crops in Baja and central California are looking nice, and hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate through the harvest,” he said.

(Source: http://thepacker.com/Garlic-prices-likely-to-fall/Article.aspx?oid=1321051&fid=PACKER-TOP-STORIES&aid=684)

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Garlic becomes hot commodity outside stock market

Over the past 18 months a financial bubble has been building that rivals land speculation in its momentum and lack of reason. In China the price of garlic has skyrocketed. The roller coaster began in 2008 when the price dropped significantly due to overproduction in the market. Subsequently, in 2009, acreage planted to garlic was cut back. Also in 2009, the swine flu swept through Asia, causing panic and, believing garlic to have natural antibiotic properties, demand exploded. At first the laws of supply and demand prevailed and the price rose accordingly. Then speculators took notice and wholesale prices have been surging well into August of this year. Had you invested in crude oil or gold futures in the year 2009 you would have seen a robust return of 100 percent and 27 percent respectively. Had you put your money in Chinese garlic, you would have enjoyed more than a 600 percent return for your investment.

Unfortunately you cannot add garlic to your portfolio as there is no futures market for it. In other words, it is not traded on any stock market. Those who made big bucks (or rather, yuan) on garlic went straight to the farmer to buy it, stored it and sold it in parcels as the price went through the roof.
Jerry Lou, a China strategist at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, said “Local investors have made serious money in garlic.“ “It’s been a great bull market for commodities across the board,” said Larry Schneider, director of business development at Zaner Group, a brokerage firm specializing in futures and commodities. “But I can’t remember when anything last shot up like this.”
So, why is a column about local food focusing on a crop going wild on the other side of the planet? Because in a global economy everything is local. Fifty percent of the garlic on U.S. supermarket shelves comes from China. For a time, the huge supply and low price was driving prices down, making it difficult for U.S. growers to compete. This year American garlic growers can benefit from the boom. Though we haven’t seen the price frenzy of china, the wholesale price of domestic garlic did increase 70 percent from March 2009 through March 2010, according to Bill Christopher, co-owner of California-based Christopher Ranch, the biggest domestic supplier of raw garlic in the U.S.
Vermont growers who sell locally likely didn’t participate in that price hike because our prices were already fairly high. We still may benefit, though, if out-of-state prices begin to catch up to ours and the choice of buying local becomes economically competitive. I have noticed that the fever to get in the garlic trade has been climbing; as of six years ago it seemed like everyone and their plumber was starting to grow garlic commercially. (Truly, my plumber, Tom grows a small crop as a sideline). My neighbor, a part-time farmer has increased his garlic acreage every year. My former employee, Eliza, left my farm to start growing garlic exclusively. And even though I have been on hiatus from commercial farming for two summers, I still plant up to 50 pounds of garlic each fall to keep the seed stock going. With prices of organic seed garlic cresting $20 a pound it is well worth the effort should I return to full-scale farming anytime soon.
With all of this land turned over to grow garlic are we heading toward a bubble of our own? If I had the ability to predict future commodity prices such as this one I would have a nicer tractor by now. I can say that demand for local garlic remains high in Greater Burlington and stores that sell it such as City Market have historically exhausted supply by early December. The wholesale price of Vermont garlic has remained steady for the past several years and my guess is it would take more than an epidemic to send it into a frenzy. This sits well with me because with the frenzy comes the inevitable crash. Still, I got an interesting follow-up call from James Morrell, the produce buyer from City Market after we had spoken about the garlic situation in China. Morrell told me that though he did not see a significant increase in conventionally grown garlic prices over the summer, in the past week, for no apparent reason, the wholesale price shot up 6 percent.

(Source: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20101008/LIVING06/101007024/Garlic-becomes-hot-commodity-outside-stock-market-?odyssey=nav|head)

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High garlic prices causing concern

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The heavy dependence of the state’s agriculture sector on cash crops is costing the state dear, if the present trend of prices of agricultural produce such as garlic are an indication.

One of the reasons for the prices of garlic staying high for the past three months is the state’s over-dependence on other states for the produce.

The price of garlic had been staying in the range of Rs 250 to Rs 270 per kg for the past few months.

In normal case,  garlic is priced at around Rs 60 per kg.

There are three varieties of garlic in the open market. The first one is the raw variety priced at Rs 150 per kg on Monday.

The second one, the normal dried variety, is priced at Rs 240 per kg and the third one, the big dried variety, is priced at Rs 250 per kg.

The problem is that the raw variety is not favoured by consumers as it is considered to be of low quality.

Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp) Managing Director K.Premanath told Express that the non-availability of garlic from other states might be the reason for its price remaining high in the state. Moreover, garlic is an  easily perishable item.

In the case of onions, the prices which was on a high had shown a downward trend.

The price of big onion which was Rs 70 to Rs 80 per kg earlier had come down to Rs 20 to Rs 22 per kg on Monday.

The price of small onions had also come down in the range of Rs 44 to Rs 50 per kg from Rs 76 per kg.

The Union Government had even decided to allow the conditional export of onions, as the price of onion had recently crashed in domestic markets.

  Despite the relief for State’s consumers from the fall in the prices of onion, the high price of garlic is causing a great deal of concern.

Consumers may perhaps have to wait for another fortnight for the price of garlic to start coming down with the arrival of fresh produce from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Though the harvest of garlic had started in these states on February 15, the product is yet to arrive in the market.

The big increase in prices of garlic had been mainly attributed to a drop in production of 30 per cent last year in main garlic-producing states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, due to unseasonal rains. Large-scale exports of garlic to Pakistan between April and June had also contributed to the short supply.

India ranks second in area under garlic cultivation with 86,000 hectares and has the third position in production at 3,50,000 tonnes.

Madhya Pradesh is the leading garlic-producing state accounting for more than 35 percent of area and 38 percent of production. Garlic is sown in September to October and is harvested from February to March.

China ranks first in area and production of garlic.

(Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/high-garlic-prices-causing-concern/250341.html)

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Prices to rise as floodwaters fall

THE catastrophic floods in Queensland will end up costing consumers hundreds of dollars a year in higher prices for everything from food to insurance and even building and maintenance work.

The floods have ravaged farmland and many fresh fruit and vegetables may not be available in any supermarkets this winter.

"We might very well have to do what our parents did and only eat what is seasonally available in our local areas," said Caroline Schaefer, chair of the Agribusiness Association of Australia.

"Strawberries, melons, cucumbers, even mangoes, may not be available and those that are will obviously be very expensive because supplies will be so limited."

The price of sweet potatoes has already doubled, garlic and ginger are also up by 60 to 70 per cent, along with smaller increases for limes and tomatoes.

However, bigger rises are likely this winter because farmers cannot get back to plant seeds in the Lockyer Valley, a hugely productive food-producing area to the west of Brisbane.

"That will impact a lot of lines such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, beetroots -- many foods," said Jim Cooper, of Coles.

The floods have also affected production of eggs, chickens and milk, but the impact on prices is yet to be seen.

The cost of meat is also expected to rise, but there has been no assessment as yet on the number of livestock lost in the disaster.

Given the area flooded is as big as France and Germany combined, losses are expected to be huge, forcing up the price of beef in particular.

Insurance costs for all Australians, not just those affected by the floods, will also inevitably increase as companies try to cover their payouts.

"Suncorp has already said it is expecting to pay out around $130 million but I think insurers are going to get off more lightly than you might expect because so many people did not have cover, or were under-insured," said Prof Michael Sherris, from the Australian School of Business.

"I expect premiums to rise by around 10 per cent on home insurance policies but every other type of cover is likely to be hit as insurers try and recoup their losses, so even motor insurance premiums could see similar hikes."

Demand for furniture and electrical goods is also expected to soar as homeowners replace lost possessions.

Radio Rentals refused to comment on speculation it was preparing to raise prices to cash in on insurance claims.

However, shoppers around Australia may find shortages of many items as retailers prioritise stores in northern New South Wales and Queensland.

"We feel that it's the responsibility of large retailers like Ikea to ensure that we can provide products that will help people in flood-affected areas," said an Ikea spokesman.

"At the moment, our priority is to meet people's demands for basic items such as bedding and mattresses and we are working with our suppliers to make sure we can access as much stock as we need."

The store said it did not intend to increase prices as a result of the extra demand.

Experts expect that the property market may end up being squeezed up as the price of building new homes increases.

But one respite is likely to be mortgage rates.

The hit to the Australia's economy is expected to knock about 0.2 per cent off GDP, thanks largely to the impact on Queensland's coal mining industry -- equating to about $3 billion.

"That will mean the Reserve Bank is unlikely to raise rates in the near term," said Savanth Sebastian, of CommSec.

"But looking further out, the boost to the economy provided by the 'post-war-style' rebuilding effort will be a positive for the economy and could nudge inflation up by 0.15 to 0.2 per cent as people replace all of their goods and billions is spent on repairing infrastructure.

"Shortages of labour created by workers moving up to Queensland could also push wages up, so interest rate rises are likely later in the year."

(Source:

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Imphal traders' whim decides food prices

Guwahati, January 15, 2011: Although the whole country is engulfed in a major issue over inflation, traders in Manipur are literally calling the shots, fixing prices at their sweet will.
However, the State Government has no mechanism to monitor prices of goods.
In such a scenario, the public has no idea about who and how prices of goods are being fixed.
A random survey conducted by The Sangai Express in Imphal city found that prices of most of the commodities are being fixed by wholesalers.
At Khwairamband Keithel, onion is sold at Rs 70 per Kg while garlic costs Rs 180 per Kg.
One vegetable vendor Bimola said that she used to sell onion in retail after purchasing the merchandise from wholesalers in smaller quantities instead of purchasing onion in bags as very often rotten or damaged onions were found inside the bags.
As onion imported through Moreh are less popular, most of the retailers are dealing in Indian onions though it is costlier, Bimola said.
One grocer said that onion is available at Rs 64 per Kg at his grocery.
The same onions are bought from wholesalers at Rs 57 per kg.
But the price never remains fixed.
One day it would cost Rs 56 per Kg and next day it would cost Rs 58 per Kg.
Depending on the flexibility of the wholesale price, retail price also changes.
However, prices of dal varieties have come down.
One kilogram of mung dal costs Rs 75, mairongbi Rs 75, mangal Rs 28, sagolhawai Rs 80 per Kg and mukshori costs Rs 55. Sugar now costs Rs 40 per Kg.
Pulses (Hawai Tharak) which was sold at Rs 30 a kg about a month back now costs Rs 45-50 at Khwairamband Keithel.
Sometimes, it rises up to Rs 60 per Kg.
However, prices of pulses are not uniform at different market sheds.
One shopkeeper named Manojkumar who runs a shop at Alu Gali said that one kilogram now costs Rs 57 as against Rs 55 which was the price just eight days back.
This vegetable item was sold at Rs 30 to Rs 45 per Kg about two/three months back.
This escalation in price is the due inflation being witnessed all over the country.

A grocery shop in Khwairamband Keithel area

Again prices of goods in Manipur are dependent on transportation charges, Manojkumar said.
On being enquired at Jain Company and Sunil Company which are wholesale dealers in edible goods including onions, Jain Company said that they have not been receiving onion consignments for the last many days and that there was no onion in stock.
Sunil Company said that they have stopped dealing in onions in wholesale since months back.
Consumers' Club Manipur president P Arunkumar conceded that prices of all commodities including edible items are being fixed by traders.
The Government of Manipur should set up a price fixation committee to control prices but there is no such committee in Manipur, he informed.
The Weight and Measures Department has also ceased functioning and no one is checking whether cash memos are being given to customers or not.
Consumers' Club being a voluntary organisation has no authority to fix prices.
The club is only for creating awareness among consumers and addressing their grievances, Arunkumar said.
However, for petroleum products like petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG, due initiatives have been taken up to set up Sub-Divisional Level Price Monitoring Committees as per an order issued by the Home department to monitor prices of these products and to check unauthorised hoarding.
But after 11.3 Kl of diesel hoarded by one Ningombam Meghachandra of Kakwa (Singjamei PS Leirak) without storage licence was seized on November 18 last year by the Lamphel Sub-Divisional Level Price Monitoring Committee under Essential Commodities Act 1955, the same committee has apparently ceased functioning since then.
The committee is headed by SDO Lamphel as chairman.
SDPO Lamphel, Imphal West SDC (Central), Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer Lamphel, president/secretary of Consumer Club Paona Bazar and Assistant Director (CAF&PD) Imphal West are its members.
According to an order issued by Imphal West DC K Radhakumar, the committee should monitor prices of all essential commodities after undertaking inspection drive in markets.
The committee is also empowered to raid godowns to check unauthorised hoarding.
The committee should also submit weekly reports to the Imphal West DC and the Imphal West SP.
However, the Lamphel Sub-Divisional Price Monitoring Committee is, at present, concentrating only on petroleum products, disclosed a member of the committee.
This is in accordance to an instruction from the Union Home Ministry which directed the committee to monitor prices of only petroleum products, the official member added.

(Source: http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=1..160111.jan11)

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Poland seizes 145 tons of smuggled Chinese garlic

WARSAW (Commodity Online) : Polish authorities seized about 145 tons of fresh garlic disguised as onions as they were smuggled into the European Union from China.
They were on their way to Lublin, Poland, a EU press release stated on Monday. Six containers in total, filled with fresh garlic were captured on Dec. 15 and Jan. 5 traveling through Rotterdam harbor to Poland.
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) assisted Polish police and local Dutch and Polish Customs authorities in capturing the containers, worth 180,000 euros ($232,000) in duties.
Each container, filled with 24 tons of Chinese garlic, would save the importer 28,800 euros ($37,300) if accepted as onions. Compared to onions, garlic not only smells different, but costs an additional 1,200 euros per ton if imported outside the annual quota.
So, labeling containers filled with low production-cost Chinese garlic, as onions, is very attractive for smugglers, the release stated. Two people have been arrested, which is likely to serve a big blow to those perpetrating this type of fraud.

(Source: http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Poland-seizes-145-tons-of-smuggled-Chinese-garlic-35569-3-1.html)

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