BUENOS AIRES -- Argentine farmers are expected to plant 6.5 million hectares of wheat in the 2019/20 season, the government said in a report on Friday, citing good rainfall as the reason for the increase from its previous forecast of 6.46 million hectares.

NEW YORK -- US President Donald Trump has directed members of his Cabinet to review the administration’s expanded use of waivers exempting small refineries from the nation’s biofuel policy, after hearing from farmers angry about the issue during his recent Midwest tour, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

THE Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) said it will finalize after a key meeting this week the guidelines for funding the farm mechanization component of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

PERDUE FOODS, one of America’s largest chicken producers, said it will sell frozen chicken nuggets mixed with cauliflower, chickpeas and plant protein to address a growing demand for products combining meat and vegetables.

DAVAO CITY -- Mexico is exploring the possibility of exporting Hass avocados and limoncito, a citrus-like fruit, to Davao City, according to Mexico Ambassador Gerardo Lozano.

OTTAWA/WINNIPEG, MANITOBA -- Ottawa increased the insurance coverage available for canola exporters, a government corporation said on Thursday, as it seeks to reduce trade risks amid a dispute with China.

SAO PAULO -- Brazil’s government said on Thursday it has lifted a suspension of beef exports to China after dealing with an atypical case of mad cow disease, sending shares of Marfrig Global Foods, Minerva SA and other Brazilian meatpackers soaring.

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican bread and flour tortilla makers will likely use significantly more wheat sourced from the United States this year despite growing unease with President Donald Trump, according to Mexico’s main wheat chamber.

SOCIAL enterprise Coffee For Peace, Inc. said it hopes to promote coffee growing in conflict areas with an eye towards meeting domestic demand which is currently served largely by imports.

THE AVERAGE farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, fell 0.2% week-on-week during the fourth week of May to P18.20 per kilogram (kg), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

DAVAO CITY -- Farmers in Davao Oriental province, the biggest coconut producer in the region, are awaiting the specifics on the Department of Agriculture’s (DA’s) recent pronouncement that the US market is open for young coconut exports.

NEW YORK -- US stockpiles of Venezuelan cocoa swelled in May to levels not seen in at least five years, a Reuters analysis showed, as exporters in the crisis-hit country hit by US sanctions scramble to raise cash however they can.