Overview

Agriculture

Food and Beverage

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Asset Management

Seed and Fertilizer

Retail

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Public Sector

Gro Intelligence works with food and beverage companies to mitigate climate-related supply chain risk and help procurement teams buy at better prices.

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Incorporate growing conditions for any region, weighted by a specific crop, into your sourcing decisions.

Forecast crop availability such as corn, soy, or wheat for regions around the world by monitoring Gro's daily updating yield estimates.

Monitor drought in key regions for early warning signs of how drought may impact crop production, supplies, and prices.

Identify the portions of the globe that are the best suited to growing a given crop. 

Efficiently monitor potential risks to the supply of your key ingredients

Monitor soy, corn, or wheat ending stocks to predict price moves.

Understand food inflation in the US six weeks ahead of official government reports.

Gauge tightness of available crop supplies and how that might impact price.

Monitor current and forward cash price of wheat, corn, and soybeans for a specific US facility.

Forecast price drivers to improve your purchasing decisions

Features built for easy integration into your workflow.

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Indonesia is taking additional steps to increase palm oil exports by temporarily removing export levies. The move, aimed at reducing bloated domestic inventories, comes less than two weeks after the government increased its quotas on palm oil export volumes.&nbsp;Relaxed export restrictions by the <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/NdVMw6j9v" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">world's biggest palm oil producer and exporter</a> will further weigh on global prices for palm and other <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/V9NBojk9b" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vegetable oils</a>. Palm oil prices are currently down nearly 50% from their April peak, but are still up about 44% from two years ago.&nbsp;That’s welcome news for consumers and food companies. Gro’s US Vegetable Oil Price Index, part of the <a href="https://hub.gro-intelligence.com/custom-price-indices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro Custom Price Index Application</a>, shows that in the US, a basket of vegetable oils commonly used by food manufacturers is up by high single digits from a year ago. That decline, which has been aided by a selloff in crude oil, represents a sharp deceleration from June 2022, when the index was up more than 40% year over year.&nbsp;Tumbling vegetable oil prices have contributed to an overall easing of food price inflation. <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/WdK1QrbRK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro’s US Food Price Index</a>, which reflects prices based on consumption of a wide range of food items, has declined in each of the past two months after hitting an all-time peak in May.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:100%;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gro-intelligence/image/upload/v1658265407/new-website/year_on_year_change_1182b3bfc0.png"><figcaption>Tumbling vegetable oil prices have helped put the brakes on food price inflation. This chart from Gro’s Custom Price Index application shows a sharp slowdown in year-over-year price gains for a basket of vegetable oils commonly used by US food manufacturers.</figcaption></figure>Palm oil is the most widely consumed of all edible oils, and its price has a big impact on the cost of rivals like soybean oil.Indonesian palm oil producers have been struggling with high inventories and weak domestic prices since the country banned exports for three weeks, ending in mid-May, in an effort to control rising domestic prices for palm-based cooking oil. The elevated inventory comes as both Indonesia and <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/2daENxVdn" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Malaysia</a>, the second-largest palm oil producer, begin to ramp up their harvests ahead of the seasonal peak in October/November.&nbsp;&nbsp;Indonesia’s push to boost exports has dampened sales for Malaysia, where <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/p9Blb6MqM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">crude palm oil inventories</a> rose 6.2% in June from the previous month. In addition, traditional buyers, including China and India, have sharply scaled back palm oil purchases from Malaysia this year amid high prices; in the first half of 2022, shipments to China were down 24% and to India were down 11%, compared with a year earlier, according to the Malaysia palm oil board.&nbsp;Palm oil prices might still need to fall further to attract buying interest from China and India, the two biggest importers. China continues to show negative import margins for discretionary imports of palm oil, due in part to the higher US dollar. India, meanwhile, has adequate domestic inventories for now.&nbsp;Indonesia’s latest export push cut crude palm oil export levies to zero from $200 a tonne from July 15 to August 31, 2022. A progressive palm oil export levy will be applied beginning September 1, with the rate set between $55 and $240 per tonne, depending on prices.&nbsp;How to Monitor Food Price Inflation Using Gro:&nbsp;<a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/WdK1QrbRK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro’s US Food Price Index</a> reflects prices based on consumption of a wide range of food items and can be customized and weighted for Gro users based on their commodities of interest. The index provides an inflation estimate for the current month, which is up to six weeks ahead of when official inflation data becomes available from governments.<a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/applications/custom-price-index-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro’s Custom Price Index Application</a> lets a user create a price index based on a food product’s key ingredients and weightings data, enabling more effective input cost management practices.&nbsp; &nbsp;

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Indonesia Takes New Steps to Increase Palm Oil Exports

Canada’s increased area planted to oats should replenish global supplies of the grain a year after a crippling drought sent the country’s oat stocks to their lowest level in more than half a century. Canada’s oat production, the world’s largest, drives global oats trade, and most of the oats that US food manufacturers use for cereals and alternative dairy products are imported from Canada.&nbsp;Canadian farmers planted 16% more acres to oats this year than a year earlier. That, coupled with improved growing conditions, should result in a much bigger harvest. The USDA has forecast Canadian oat production will increase year over year by 76% to 4.6 million tonnes.&nbsp;Canada’s Prairie provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta grow the bulk of the country’s oat crop. View a display from the Gro Portal of Canada’s oat production, planted area, and stocks <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/pd4ZE7QRj" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.&nbsp;Canada’s oat crop got off to a slow start due to cold, wet weather, but growing conditions have improved. Gro’s vegetative health index, weighted for Canadian acres planted to oats, has moved higher in recent weeks. And soil moisture levels, near a decade high, are favorable for the water-tolerant oat plants.&nbsp;Gro’s vegetative health index, along with other measures of growing conditions, can be weighted for specific crops worldwide, including oats, using Gro’s Climate Risk Navigator for Agriculture. View a Navigator display for Canadian oats <a href="https://hub.gro-intelligence.com/plot-region/agriculture/1037,Canada$%7B%22checked%22%3A%5B%22STATCAN%20Oats%20(Canada%20Only)%22%5D%2C%22method%22%3A%22sum%22%7D_0?0,World:15,North%20America:1037,Canada" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> or schedule a demo with our sales team <a href="https://info.gro-intelligence.com/schedule-a-demo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> to learn how Climate Risk Navigator can be tailored to your organization’s needs.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gro-intelligence/image/upload/v1657313359/new-website/Daily_Soil_Moisture_for_Canada_s_Oats_Planted_Area_1_561e90d4a9.png"><figcaption>&nbsp;Improved soil moisture levels for Canada’s oat crop (blue line) bode well for a big jump in production this year, as seen in this display from Gro’s Climate Risk Navigator for Agriculture.</figcaption></figure>For US food producers with oat-based products, a robust Canadian crop would be a boon, as imported Canadian oats typically represent about half of total US supply. Prospects for the US crop are less promising. US oat-planted area is down by 6% year over year to the lowest level in a decade. And severe drought in Texas is weighing on the harvest in the biggest oat-producing state. Other oat-growing states, mainly in the northern Plains, are faring better, with crop conditions at or above historical averages.&nbsp;Gro’s vegetative health index, weighted for US acres planted to oats, is at the lowest level in nearly a decade, as can be seen in this <a href="https://hub.gro-intelligence.com/plot-region/agriculture/1215,United%20States$%7B%22checked%22%3A%5B%22NASS%20Oats%20(US%20only)%22%5D%2C%22method%22%3A%22sum%22%7D_0?0,World:15,North%20America:1215,United%20States" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro Climate Risk Navigator display</a>. And view a display from the Gro Portal of US oat production, yield, planted area, and stocks <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/Vq61JLkdW" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/pd3r63A9o" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oat futures prices</a> have dropped sharply in recent weeks amid a widespread selloff of agricultural commodities, and as prospects brighten for the Canadian oat crop.What to Follow Next:&nbsp;<a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/applications/climate-risk-navigator-for-agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro’s Climate Risk Navigator for Agriculture</a> displays real-time updates of growing conditions that can be weighted for specific crops worldwide, including <a href="https://hub.gro-intelligence.com/plot-region/agriculture/1037,Canada$%7B%22checked%22%3A%5B%22STATCAN%20Oats%20(Canada%20Only)%22%5D%2C%22method%22%3A%22sum%22%7D_0?0,World:15,North%20America:1037,Canada" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Canadian oats</a> and <a href="https://hub.gro-intelligence.com/plot-region/agriculture/1215,United%20States$%7B%22checked%22%3A%5B%22NASS%20Oats%20(US%20only)%22%5D%2C%22method%22%3A%22sum%22%7D_0?0,World:15,North%20America:1215,United%20States" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">US oats</a>.&nbsp;Related Insights:&nbsp;<a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/ag-futures-sink-on-recession-fears-despite-fundamentals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ag Futures Sink on Recession Fears, Despite Fundamentals</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/hot-and-dry-weather-tees-up-a-tense-july-in-the-us-corn-belt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hot and Dry Weather Tees Up a Tense July in the US Corn Belt</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/soggy-spring-could-put-already-reduced-canola-acres-at-greater-risk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Soggy Spring Could Put Already-Reduced Canola Acres At Greater Risk</a> &nbsp;

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Canadian Oats’ Robust Outlook Holds Promise for US Cereal, Oat Milk Makers

Palm oil futures prices are down sharply following Indonesia’s announcement that it would increase exports in the hopes of reducing swollen domestic inventories.&nbsp;The September palm oil contract dropped as much as 10% in Wednesday trading on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange before closing down 2.7%. The contract has fallen 14% since Indonesia, the <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/NdVMw6j9v" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">world’s biggest producer and exporter of palm oil</a>, announced the new export quota over the weekend.&nbsp;The price declines continue palm oil’s recent slide — futures prices on the Malaysia exchange are down 39% from April’s record high. Palm oil’s drop also comes at a time when futures prices for a host of commodities, including wheat, corn, and soybeans, as well as crude oil, are also trading well off their highs.&nbsp;&nbsp;Lower prices for vegetable oils, of which palm oil is the most widely consumed worldwide, could help tame food price inflation. <a href="https://hub.gro-intelligence.com/custom-price-indices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro’s Custom Price Index Application</a> shows that in the US, a basket of vegetable oils commonly used by food manufacturers is currently down by double digits from an all-time high posted in May. Vegetable oils also are used for cooking and increasingly as feedstock in producing biofuels.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gro-intelligence/image/upload/v1657142750/new-website/US_Vegetable_Oil_Price_Index_30764f0c41.png"><figcaption>Gro’s US Vegetable Oil Price Index shows that a basket of vegetable oils commonly used by food manufacturers is currently down by double digits from an all-time high posted in May.</figcaption></figure>Retreating palm oil prices could increase demand from India and China, the top vegetable oil importing countries. In China, palm oil import margins are approaching parity with domestic cash prices, which could attract Chinese buying interest, especially if global palm oil prices continue to fall. In India, vegetable oil import quotas for the time being are giving an advantage to domestic producers.&nbsp;Additional Resources on Vegetable Oils:&nbsp;<a href="https://hub.gro-intelligence.com/custom-price-indices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro’s US Vegetable Oil Price Index</a>, part of Gro’s Custom Price Index Application, tracks the cost of a basket of vegetable oils commonly used by food manufacturers.&nbsp;<a href="https://info.gro-intelligence.com/russia-ukraine-war-vegetable-oil-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">(Whitepaper) Fuel for the Fire: The Russia-Ukraine War and Vegetable Oil Prices</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/indonesia-lifts-palm-oil-export-ban-easing-global-supply-worries-and-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Indonesia Lifts Palm Oil Export Ban, Easing Global Supply Worries and Prices</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/indonesia-palm-oil-export-ban-will-be-short-lived-here-s-why-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Indonesia Palm Oil Export Ban Will Be Short-Lived – Here's Why</a>&nbsp;

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Palm Oil Prices Retreat as Indonesia Pumps Up Exports

India said it will restrict sugar exports to safeguard against further price increases at home. The move comes just over a week after the government put a halt to most <a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/india-wheat-export-ban-risks-inflaming-food-insecurity-worldwide" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wheat exports</a> to control rising domestic prices.&nbsp;The restrictions will limit sugar exports to 10 million tonnes for the current marketing year, which ends in September. India’s sugar exports accelerated earlier this year, hitting 4.9 million tonnes in the October-February period, nearly double year-earlier levels, following the country’s <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/kqzOOeWRW" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">biggest-ever crop</a>. By contrast, top producer<a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/Vq6YYGpdW" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Brazil’s harvest</a> fell by double-digits, and Thailand’s latest crop, while improved, followed two consecutive years of low production.&nbsp;India is the <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/ZRlBBpAdB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">largest sugar consumer</a> in the world, and maintaining adequate supplies — the country holds about one-third of <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/3dX00jgd5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">global sugar stocks</a> — and keeping prices in check are high priorities. Indian <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/kqzOOPNRW" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">domestic sugar prices</a> have risen 3% since January. Global sugar prices have gained even more — ICE sugar futures are up 7.5% year to date and are up 24% from a year ago.&nbsp;In April, the Indian Meteorological Department released its first long-range forecast for the 2022 southwest monsoonal season (June-September), forecasting normal rainfall. The sugar industry is hopeful of another bumper harvest next season.Depending upon the variety and sowing time it takes about 12 to 18 months for sugarcane to mature. Generally, January to March is the <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/LRy44Dyq3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">period of sowing</a> and December to March is the period of harvesting. After harvest, a ratoon crop is cultivated from the regrowth.&nbsp;-Related Insights&nbsp;<a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/webinars/2022-risks-across-cocoa-sugar-and-coffee-global-growing-conditions-and-climate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">(Webinar) 2022 Risks Across Cocoa, Sugar, and Coffee: Global Growing Conditions and Climate</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/cocoa-harvest-outlook-improves-as-rains-ease-drought-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cocoa Harvest Outlook Improves as Rains Ease Drought Conditions</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/brazil-sugar-production-headed-for-another-drop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brazil Sugar Production Headed for Another Drop</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/sugar-prices-could-rise-if-brazil-tilts-to-greater-ethanol-production" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sugar Prices Could Rise if Brazil Tilts to Greater Ethanol Production</a> &nbsp;

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India Caps Sugar Exports to Control Rising Domestic Prices

Indonesia, the world’s largest producer and exporter of palm oil, announced it will lift its recent ban on palm oil exports in a move that will bring relief to the global market.&nbsp;Palm oil exports will resume on May 23 after being imposed on April 28. <a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/indonesia-palm-oil-export-ban-will-be-short-lived-here-s-why-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro has been predicting</a> that the move would be short-lived as the country’s limited storage infrastructure would force a halt to the ban.Prices for <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/eRJpygadV" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">palm oil</a>, the most widely used edible oil, fell about 2% at the opening of the Malaysian Bourse night-trading session. Still, palm oil prices are up 36% from this time last year. <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/V9NBojk9b" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Soybean oil</a> futures prices have been trading near record highs, and are up 21% from a year ago. Edible oils are often interchangeable, so a shortage of one type exerts pressure on the others.Palm futures prices should continue to see downward pressure leading up to November on higher seasonal production in both Indonesia and Malaysia, the No. 2 producer and exporter. Labor shortages, which restrained production during COVID, have eased. Global demand also has eased as high palm oil prices curtail discretionary demand.&nbsp;Malaysia’s <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/pdom6ayRL" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">palm oil end-of-April stocks</a> were up 11.5%, with exports down nearly 18%. Shipments to China, India, and the EU slowed.&nbsp;Overall, however, global supplies of vegetable oils <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/bR71z2ndN" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">remain tight</a>, helping to maintain a floor under prices, in part due to the Russia-Ukraine war halting shipments of <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/kR0gWepqz" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sunflower oil</a> from the Black Sea region.&nbsp;Indonesia’s palm oil export ban was one of the largest protectionist measures governments worldwide have enacted to stabilize domestic food prices as concerns about food shortages reverberate around the world.&nbsp;Indonesia’s export restrictions, intended to protect the local market, helped reduce domestic cooking oil prices since the start of the ban by about 12% to between 17,200-17,600 rupiah per liter, the government said. Previously, the government had said it wanted prices to drop to about 14,000 rupiah/liter.&nbsp;-Related Insights&nbsp;<a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/indonesia-palm-oil-export-ban-will-be-short-lived-here-s-why-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Indonesia Palm Oil Export Ban Will Be Short-Lived – Here's Why</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/soy-oil-s-share-of-us-crush-profits-rises-amid-increased-demand" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Soy Oil’s Share of US Crush Profits Rises Amid Increased Demand</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/indonesia-palm-oil-export-ban-drives-up-vegetable-oil-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Indonesia Palm Oil Export Ban Drives Up Vegetable Oil Prices</a><a href="https://info.gro-intelligence.com/russia-ukraine-war-vegetable-oil-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">(Whitepaper) Fuel for the Fire: The Russia-Ukraine War and Vegetable Oil Prices</a> &nbsp;

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Indonesia Lifts Palm Oil Export Ban, Easing Global Supply Worries and Prices

After suffering from the <a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/driest-conditions-in-a-decade-threaten-cocoa-harvest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">driest conditions in over a decade</a>, the outlook has brightened for West Africa’s current mid-crop cocoa harvest. Recent heavy rainfall in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which together make up over 50% of the world’s cocoa production, is bringing hope for a better harvest.Production in the two countries will be lower this year compared with record combined output of 3.3 million tonnes in the 2020/2021 season. However, fears of a sharp production decline have been eased by the recent rainfall. Gro expects the two countries’ total production will be close to the 2.9 million tonnes of the 2019/2020 season, which saw similar growing conditions.<figure class="image"><a href="https://hub.gro-intelligence.com/plot-region/agriculture/1077,Ghana:1052,C%C3%B4te%20d'Ivoire$%7B%22checked%22%3A%5B%22Cocoa%22%5D%2C%22method%22%3A%22sum%22%7D_0?0,World:11,Africa:1077,Ghana" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gro-intelligence/image/upload/v1651875509/new-website/Gro_Drought_Index_for_Cocoa_Regions_a33c3684ca.png"></a><figcaption>Drought readings for Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana’s cocoa growing areas (blue line) have declined following recent heavy rainfall, as shown by the Gro Drought Index. Click on the image and log in to monitor drought, soil moisture, NDVI, and other cocoa growing conditions using Gro's Climate Risk Navigator.</figcaption></figure>The mid-crop harvest in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which runs from April to September, accounts for about 20% of the countries’ combined total production. The bigger, main crop harvest, which goes from October to March, benefited from above-average rainfall during the 2021 summer.&nbsp;<a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/VqeAoP0qL" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Soil moisture</a> levels in the cocoa growing regions of both countries dropped to record lows at the beginning of 2022, but have since recovered to around average levels for this time of year. <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/p9Blog7qM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rainfall</a> in March and April has been above the 10-year average, which has lowered <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/EqZvo5wq3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro’s Drought Index</a> from the highs seen in February. The Index reached “extreme” levels of drought in some parts of Côte d’Ivoire and “severe” levels in Ghana, but both countries have fallen into the “moderate” drought range.<a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/EqZvoGxq3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cocoa futures prices</a> on the New York market, currently trading at $2,511 per tonne, hit a season high of $2,830/tonne on February 11, well below the $3,417/tonne high of the 2015/2016 season and just under the 2019/2020 season high of $2,988/tonne.-Related Insights<a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/driest-conditions-in-a-decade-threaten-cocoa-harvest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Driest Conditions in a Decade Threaten Cocoa Harvest</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/sugar-prices-could-rise-if-brazil-tilts-to-greater-ethanol-production" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sugar Prices Could Rise if Brazil Tilts to Greater Ethanol Production</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/new-ipcc-report-flags-climate-impacts-and-risks-looks-to-solutions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New IPCC Report Flags Climate Impacts and Risks, Looks to Solutions</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/cocoa-crop-strong-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cocoa Crop on Track for Another Strong Year</a> &nbsp;

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Cocoa Harvest Outlook Improves as Rains Ease Drought Conditions

A deadly avian flu outbreak is accelerating its spread across the US, so far killing 37 million chickens and turkeys in 32 states. At its current pace, the epidemic threatens by the end of May to surpass the last major outbreak in 2014-15, which cost an estimated $1 billion in damages.The disease, known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), is driving up costs for consumers and the food service industry. Wholesale <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/LRy4G1Eq3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chicken breast prices</a> are currently up 27% to $3.25 a pound since February 8, when the first HPAI case was reported in the US. Egg prices have increased even more, by 45%.&nbsp;Gro’s newly launched <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/kR0LQroRz" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bird Flu Outbreak Monitor</a> enables users with a Starter Gro account to track the spread and severity of the disease as more flocks become infected. And <a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/2022-bird-flu-outbreak-real-time-assessment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gro’s Poultry Market Resources page</a> contains additional resources to help teams monitor the impact of the outbreak on their supply chains.<figure class="image"><a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/kR0LQroRz" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gro-intelligence/image/upload/v1651777160/new-website/Poultry_Deaths_From_Avian_Flu_in_Iowa_aeb97cd8b1.jpg"></a><figcaption>Poultry losses from avian influenza are mounting rapidly across the US. This symbol map from Gro’s Bird Flu Outbreak Monitor highlights the most affected counties in Iowa, the state with the largest number of poultry deaths as of early May.</figcaption></figure>Safety protocols to prevent HPAI were beefed up after the 2014-15 outbreak, which was the largest farm animal epidemic in the US in terms of deaths and dollar losses. But those safety protocols have so far done little to slow the disease’s current spread.&nbsp;In April, twice as many commercial flocks were infected, and had to be destroyed, as in the previous month. Most heavily hit are commercial poultry farms in Iowa.&nbsp;The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the risk of human infection to be low. However, the agency last week reported the first known human case of HPAI infection in the US in a person working in the poultry industry in Colorado.&nbsp;Chicken prices were already rocketing higher before the spread of HPAI, propelled by <a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/deadly-avian-flu-cases-surge-sparking-concerns-for-us-chicken-egg-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">supply chain disruptions</a> related to COVID and then by the economic upswing as quarantine restrictions were eased. Currently, wholesale chicken breast prices are up about 150% from two years ago, and are a key driver of <a href="https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/6Rw1vjAdW" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">US food-price inflation</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;HPAI has so far affected 1.9% of all US chickens and about 7.5% of the US turkey flock. That’s a much faster rate of infection than in the 2014-15 outbreak, which in the same amount of time hit just 0.01% of the nation’s chickens.&nbsp;The quicker spread of disease this time around threatens to overshadow the damages of the previous outbreak, which ultimately killed some 50 million birds, including 2.5% of the nation’s chickens, and affected poultry and egg prices for years.&nbsp;Several countries have begun banning the import of chicken from roughly two dozen US states where bird flu outbreaks have occurred. Countries that have imposed import bans include China, Canada, &amp; Mexico, which together account for half of US chicken exports. Similar restrictions were put in place during the 2014-15 epidemic, causing a 17% decline in annual exports.&nbsp;-Related Insights&nbsp;<a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/2022-outlook-for-poultry-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2022 Outlook for Poultry Prices</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/deadly-avian-flu-cases-surge-sparking-concerns-for-us-chicken-egg-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deadly Avian Flu Cases Surge, Sparking Concerns for US Chicken, Egg Prices</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/us-beef-herd-shrinks-will-bring-higher-beef-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">US Beef Herd Shrinks; Will Bring Higher Beef Prices</a><a href="https://gro-intelligence.com/insights/holiday-chefs-will-struggle-to-fend-off-food-inflation-this-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Holiday Chefs Will Struggle to Fend Off Food Inflation This Year</a> &nbsp;

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