Rising Cotton Prices
Submitted by sball on Wed, 2011/01/26 - 17:34.
Food prices aren't the only ones that are rising. After hearing that cotton had risen 130% in the last 15 months, I went looking for an article about it.
This one blames Chinese demand while poor weather hurt their domestic crop and worldwide production is down.
From this second article... "We feel the surge in cotton prices has not trickled down the supply chain to retail store shelves just yet," he said, adding the pain in retail stores should begin to be felt in the second quarter of 2011."
On the radio today
This was on the radio again today and the tone was somewhat alarmist, mentioning the price of a pair of jeans could double by later this year.
I do not think agricultural
commodity prices are coming down in the foreseeable future. Rising production costs and new demand mainly from China will continue. For the mainstream NICA farmer, this can mean problems or promise. To get the latter, they will need help. It may be the quickest way to bump up the living standard for them...but not easy by any means. That, I ealize is a pretty broad brush assessment...but it is late. Need to think on it.ZZT
production problems
The extreme flooding in Australia and Indonesia has also hurt the rice crops. Somewhere I read that this will be the first year rice production isn't expected to meet world demand.
Corn and wheat stocks
are virtually at consumption equals storage/production. No carryover. 2011 needs to be a very good production year or there will be trouble. Need to take back the ethanol acres and corn will be OK. And then as corn prices drop, soybeans will increase planting, and may get a respite...but longer term this is not the only answer.ZZT
for the small farmer..problems..
back in the old days u had a bean crop..u saved some beans for seed..now with all this genetic stuff..the stuff u plant to sell wont reproduce..so the price of seed..and all the fertilizers and pesticides are going thru the ceiling..the small farmer always get screwed...
Do you plant
hybrid beans here? What other crops do you plant from seed? Yo should be able to get some good non-hybrid varieties here...no? The other thing to figure in with hybrid varieties, is that the cost of the seed may be worth it if the variety gives you enough advantages so you can take maximum advantage of the other crop inputs. I don't know enough about how you raise your crops, but that is something to consider. For the most part you are correct though...small farmers have a tough time. Bt doesn't have to be that way...in today's economy there are some niches a small farmer can make some cash. They need some help to get started and figure it out.ZZT
most of the seed
any more is hybrid..my girl friend is from up there and she runs the farm.i wouldnt plant beans at all..they are hers..where i think the money is,is cacao and cattle..i like cacao a lot better than coffee..because u always have some fruit on the tree..where as coffee its a one time a year crop..the problem with cacao..it likes a lot of rain..and the rain and the mud is the reason ..i dont live in waslala
Non-Hybrid bean seeds
are readily available in the States and there are varieties that likely are adapted to here. So, if you can only get hybrids here, the solution is pretty simple. Bring down a pound or two and in a year you will have enough to plant all you can tend. Maybe try several varieties and see what works best. Free you up from the seed man forever. Sell a bit off to your neighbors and get your money back and some pocket change. I am happy to do a little digging (on line, not in the dirt) to see what i can come up with.ZZT
Nicaragua exports over US$1 billion in textiles during 2010
http://www.prlog.org/11306164-nicaragua-exports-over-us1-billion-in-text...