Australia’s sugar producers facing mounting global pressures
The Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) urged the Federal Government to prioritise food, fibre and fuel manufacturing in its economic reform agenda, highlighting the sector’s role in adding value to agricultural production and driving jobs and investment in regional Australia.
“Food and fibre manufacturing is by far the largest component of Australia’s manufacturing sector, and it’s overwhelmingly based in regional Australia,” said Ash Salardini, CEO of ASM. “If we’re serious about having a manufacturing base in this country, we must supercharge these industries and seize emerging opportunities in low-carbon liquid fuels and bioenergy.”
Like other trade-exposed manufacturers, Australia’s sugar producers are facing mounting global pressures, particularly depressed prices driven by heavy subsidies and protectionist policies in competing sugar- producing nations, ASM said in a press release.
In May Global Natural Gas Production Dropped
The world’s natural gas production fell in May compared to April, driven by lower output in Russia, the United States, and Norway, according to the latest data by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI).
The Monthly Oil & Gas Data Review of the latest JODI oil and gas databases updates showed on Monday that natural gas production in the 58 countries that have updated their most recent self-reported figures for May declined by 4.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) in May compared to April.
The monthly drop was driven by a fall of 3.2 bcm in Russia’s production, a 1.6 bcm decline in the U.S., and output falling by 1.3 bcm in Norway, which has now replaced Russia as Europe’s top natural gas supplier.
Brazilian moves closer to Wahoo pre-salt oil production
Brazilian oil company Prio has received the preliminary licence to begin installation activities in the Wahoo field, taking another step to initiate output from the country’s Campos basin pre-salt development later this year.
Prio started in mid-March a four-well programme at Wahoo after waiting for over a year for the drilling permit, as workers on Brazilian federal environmental regulator Ibama were on strike for most of 2024.
Ibama on 18 July issued the preliminary licence and Prio now intends to obtain the installation licence, which is required to start the subsea construction and connection of the production lines at Wahoo.
US 50 pr tariff will undermine Brazil’s coffee industry on the global stage
The announcement of a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian products, such as coffee exported to the US, effective 1 August 2025, has already impacted the global market and sparked renewed volatility in coffee futures trading.
On 10 July 2025, Arabica futures contracts traded in New York jumped more than 3.5 percent, closing the day at 1.3 percent. Although arabica and robusta prices had fallen slightly with expectations of better harvests, the trade tensions now threaten further market volatility.
In a statement released on 10 July 2025, Abic (Brazilian Coffee Industry Association) stated that President Trump’s decision was communicated unilaterally and compromises Brazil’s competitiveness.
“The measure represents a serious setback in trade relations between the two countries, which could generate extremely negative and relevant impacts for the entire Brazilian coffee production chain.”
China’s biggest uranium mining project enters production
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) broke ground for the project on 12 July 2024. The project integrates automation, remote centralised control and big data analysis. It uses CO2 and O2 in-situ recovery (also known as in-situ leaching), where uranium is extracted through a closed-loop circulation of the uranium solution without lifting the ores to the surface for processing – a technique said to avoid water, gas and solid wastes and minimise carbon emissions.
CNNC has now announced that the project successfully produced the first barrel of uranium products on 12 July.
“As the largest natural uranium production capacity project in China’s nuclear and mining industry in the past 70 years, the successful production of the first barrel of uranium marks that China’s uranium resource development has officially entered a new era of green, safe, intelligent and efficient,” CNNC said. “After completion, it will provide a solid resource guarantee for national energy security and nuclear industry development, and will also greatly enhance the international competitiveness of China’s natural uranium industry.”
Worldwide milk production under threat from climate change
Global warming could significantly reduce milk production, researchers warn. A major new study has found that hot and humid conditions lower dairy cow yields, with the effects of extreme heat lasting for more than ten days, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports, citing Science Advances.
Scientists analysed over 320 million daily milk production records collected over 12 years to assess the impact of humid heat and farms’ ability to adapt. Their findings show that when temperatures and humidity rise above normal levels, milk yields drop by nearly 10 percent, and even modern cooling technologies fail to fully offset these losses.
The researchers note that in Israel, where the study was conducted, cooling systems such as ventilation and water spraying systems are already widely used. However, these technologies only manage to cut heat-related losses by about half. Cows are especially vulnerable during their most productive periods, creating what the scientists describe as a “productivity-resilience trade-off.”