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Monday 18th of October 2021
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Avocado Glut Swamps Australia as Lockdowns Keep Brunchgoers Away @markets Commodities |
Australia is swimming in avocados thanks to bumper harvests and months of stay-at-home orders that have kept people away from cafe brunches.
Once considered a symbol of lavishness on the brunch menu, avocado prices in Australia more than halved from around A$3 ($2.21) a piece to around A$1 this year -- a trend that looks set to stay.
“It’s just the beginning,” said John Tyas, chief executive officer of industry group Avocados Australia, who forecasts production for this year to be about 65% higher than last year.
Avocado supplies in Australia have soared as farmers planted significantly more trees in recent years in response to strong consumer demand for the crop, which can grow all year round in Australia.
Many of those new plantings are only just now coming to fruition amid almost perfect conditions across the country, Tyas added.
Western Australia is likely to post a state record for the upcoming avocado crop this year, while the country is poised to produce around 170,000 tons of avocados in 2026, almost double the amount in 2020, according to Avocados Australia.
That surge in production comes at the same time as the pandemic, which has seen Australia impose some of the toughest and longest lockdown measures in the world.
Despite a ramped-up nationwide advertising campaign to get Australians to eat more avocados, consumption has suffered due to the closures of restaurants and cafes, which accounts for some 20% of the overall avocado market, Tyas said.
Some of Australia’s avocados are finding their way to Asian markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong, where demand for healthy foods is soaring thanks in part to the pandemic.
The drop in prices is also making Australian exports more attractive.
While the sharp drop in prices has been a cause for celebration for consumers, things have been so dire for producers that some farmers say they want to exit the industry altogether due to the likelihood of the glut continuing into the future.
Many growers are supplying at cost or below cost of production.
“It’s definitely on some people’s minds as to whether it’s going to be viable for them going forward. They can weather one year like this, but if this is ongoing, I mean the pricing purely, it’s just not sustainable the way it is at the moment,” Tyas said.
Domestic demand in Australia is also likely to pick up as lockdowns start to lift. New South Wales, the most populous state, eased restrictions on Oct. 11 after 107 days of lockdown.
The upcoming Christmas season and warmer weather in Australia will also see demand for avocados improving, said Tyas, adding that consumers “don’t need to hold back at all” because of the depressed prices.
Referring to the trope that people are unable to afford property because they’ve spent their money on smashed avocados, Tyas said: “They can get their housing deposit together and splash out on avocados as well.”
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African Region .@WHO regional overviews Epidemiological week 4-10 October 2021 Africa |
African Region
Since mid-July, the African Region has shown a constant decline in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, with over 33 000 new cases and over 1200 new deaths reported last week, a 32% and a 34% decrease respectively as compared to the previous week.
While the majority of countries (35/49; 71%) reported a decrease in new weekly cases, seven countries reported an increase, with Chad (by 54%) reporting the greatest increase.
The highest numbers of new cases were reported from
Ethiopia (6061 new cases; 5.3 new cases per 100 000; a 15% decrease)
South Africa (5884 new cases; 9.9 new cases per 100 000; a 39% decrease)
Cameroon (3096 new cases; 11.7 new cases per 100 000; a 55% decrease).
Concerning new weekly deaths, 75% of countries in the Region reported a decline whereas there was a marked increase observed in Senegal (by 125%) and Mali (by 100%).
The highest numbers of new deaths were reported from
South Africa (539 new deaths; <1 new death per 100 000; a 28% decrease)
Ethiopia (275 new deaths; <1 new death per 100 000; a 10% decrease)
Cameroon (58 new deaths; <1 new death per 100 000; a 36% decrease).
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And now we have two visions of the Future Africa |
And now we have two visions of the Future. One Vision played out on our screens, the Protestors could have been our Wives, our Children, our Daughters and Sons.
The Other Vision is that of MBS, MBZ and Al-Sisi and its red in tooth and claw.
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Thousands rally in Sudan’s capital to demand military rule @guardian Africa |
Thousands of pro-military protesters have rallied in central Khartoum, vowing not to leave until the government is dissolved in a threat to Sudan’s transition to civilian rule.
The protest on Saturday comes as Sudanese politics reels from divisions among the factions steering the rocky transition from two decades of dictatorship under president Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted by the army in April 2019 following weeks of mass protests.
Saturday’s protest was organised by a splinter faction of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), a civilian alliance which spearheaded the anti-Bashir protests and became a key plank of the transition.
“We need a military government, the current government has failed to bring us justice and equality,” said Abboud Ahmed, a 50-year-old protester.
The government’s supporters charged that the protest was orchestrated by sympathisers of the Bashir regime, which was dominated by Islamists and the military.
Protesters chanted “one army, one people” and “the army will bring us bread.”
“We are marching in a peaceful protest and we want a military government,” said housewife Enaam Mohamed.
Outside the presidential palace, the protesters chanted: “We will stay put where we are ... we want the dissolution of this government.”
Hamdok warned on Friday that the transition was facing its “worst and most dangerous” crisis.
The mainstream faction of the FFC said: “The current crisis is not related to dissolution of the government or not.
“It is engineered by some parties to overthrow the revolutionary forces ... paving the way for the return of remnants of the previous regime.”
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But Abiy Ahmed may find that even if he does win, and that isn’t a foregone conclusion given the setbacks suffered in recent months, the victory may be Pyrrhic. @business Next Africa Africa |
Ethiopia’s prime minister has begun a fresh offensive against rebel forces from the Tigray province.
But Abiy Ahmed may find that even if he does win, and that isn’t a foregone conclusion given the setbacks suffered in recent months, the victory may be Pyrrhic.
When the premier launched what he said would be a swift retaliatory strike against his opponents in the restive northern region almost a year ago, few could have imagined how quickly the reputation of the Nobel Peace Prize winning leader would unravel.
The war rekindled Ethiopian ethnic tensions beyond Tigray and has embarrassed the prime minister.
After initial successes the regional capital of Mekelle was retaken by rebels.
Perhaps more importantly, it has thrown his vision for Ethiopia’s economic future into disarray.
The conflict has drawn international condemnation. The U.S. has warned it may impose sanctions following a report that the national airline transported weapons to Eritrea for use in the fighting in Tigray.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also described Ethiopia’s decision to expel UN representatives as “particularly disturbing.”
The Horn of Africa nation as recently as last year had strong ties with the U.S. and had been one of Africa’s fastest growing economies.
21. It’s now joined a club of nine countries whose dollar bonds trade at a spread of more than 1,000 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, while interest in its long-awaited sale of telecom licenses has dwindled.
When he reflects on the conflict, Abiy may wonder: Was it really worth it?
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‘The genie out of the bottle’ @AfricanBizMag Africa |
The falcon cannot hear the falconer; https://bit.ly/3Bk45GjTurning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
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KABILA, TSHISEKEDI, AND THE WAR OF APPEARANCES By @jdlzw H/T @GEC_CRG & @HerewardHolland Africa |
Tshisekedi’s inauguration reminds us of the importance, at least since the time of Mobutu, of projecting images of strength, of a strong man, as part of political leadership.
In the DRC as elsewhere, leaders’ political power often lies, in part, in managing public perceptions (and therefore those of the political class) of that power.
His predecessor, Kabila, was able to project an aura of power, largely through his silence.
The rarity of his public appearances and speeches heightened the mystery surrounding him.
All of this recalls an insight that the French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault, in a lecture at the Collège de France in February 1976, brought to understanding Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, and in particular his notion of the “war of all against all.”
This idea, Foucault argued, is not simply about the state of nature among human beings before the creation of the State.
It persists even within the modern state itself. But, he warned, this is not a war with “weapons or fists,” nor “between savage forces that have been unleashed.”
Instead, this is a war of appearances, designed to make believe (faire croire) in one’s strength:
“There are presentations, manifestations, signs, emphatic expressions, wiles, and deceitful expressions; there are traps, intentions disguised as their opposite, and worries disguised as certainties. We are in a theater where presentations are exchanged, in a relationship of fear in which there are no time limits; we are not really involved in a war.”
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Kinshasa Africa |
According to a projection (2016) the population of Kinshasa will increase significantly, to 35 million by 2050, 58 million by 2075 and 83 million by 2100.
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