Agriculture & Food

U.S. and EU increase sanctions on Russia. On June 2, the White House announced new sanctions against Russia. The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed further restrictions on key Russian government and commercial officials, as well as on technology and other materials that the U.S. Department of Commerce needs for Russia. On June 3, the European Commission announced the sixth round of sanctions against Russia, including a partial oil embargo and sanctions on Russian tankers, banks and media. The European Commission issued a communiqué on the same day, saying that the sanctions will take effect immediately, and the EU will stop buying Russian seaborne crude oil within 6 months, which accounts for 2/3 of the EU's imports of Russian crude oil, and stop buying Russian oil products within 8 months. By the end of this year, EU oil imports from Russia will be cut by 90%. About 30% of the EU's current oil imports come from Russia, of which about two-thirds arrive by sea and one-third are transported by pipeline.

Kosachev, vice-chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament), has previously stated that the EU's decision to impose a partial embargo on Russian oil will bring a blow to the economic competitiveness of EU countries and the well-being of local people. Kosachev believes that with the EU's partial embargo on Russian oil, Russian oil will inevitably face problems such as reorienting its exports and breaking the Western blockade.

On June 2, the 29th ministerial meeting of the "OPEC+" cooperation mechanism decided to increase crude oil production by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August this year. Some analysts pointed out that Saudi Arabia and other countries decided to speed up the increase in crude oil production, not only to make up for the shortage of crude oil supply due to sanctions imposed on Russia, but also to ease the global inflation caused by soaring energy prices.

The global food price index fell slightly. On June 3, a report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations showed that the FAO food price index in May was 157.4 points, down 0.6% from the previous month, but still 22.8% higher than the same period last year. It was the second straight month of declines for the index after hitting a record high in March. Published monthly, the index measures changes in international prices for the most actively traded food commodities. It is worth noting that wheat and poultry meat prices rose in May. Wheat prices rose 5.6% month-on-month and 56.2% year-on-year. Affected by this, the grain price index rose by 2.2% month-on-month. Affected by the increase in poultry meat prices, the meat price index rose by 0.6% month-on-month, hitting a record high. A separate FAO report released on June 3 estimated that global cereal production this year is likely to decline for the first time after three consecutive years of growth, and is expected to fall to 2.784 billion tons, a decrease of 16 million tons from the record high in 2021.

Brazil's GDP grew for three consecutive quarters. On June 2, data released by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) showed that, seasonally adjusted, GDP in the first quarter of this year reached 2.249 trillion reais, an increase of 1% over the fourth quarter of last year, marking the third consecutive quarter. increase. Among the various industries, the service industry has the most eye-catching performance. In the first quarter of this year, the service industry, which accounts for 70% of Brazil's GDP, increased by 1% month-on-month and 3.7% year-on-year, becoming the main force driving Brazil's economic growth. Rapid economic growth has been fueled by a recovery in Brazil's services sector, which in turn has been driven by rising household consumption. In terms of foreign trade, in the first quarter of this year, Brazil's exports increased by 5% month-on-month and 8.1% year-on-year; imports fell by 4.6% month-on-month and 11% year-on-year. Brazil's economy will grow by more than 1% this year, according to the latest forecast by the Brazilian financial market, while the Brazilian government's estimate is more optimistic, predicting an increase of 1.5%.