News of food

Hunger in G20 host Brazil is Lula's unfinished fight

14-11-2024 19:32 Left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will call for "Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty" at the G20 summit in Rio.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

US$5-billion delivery app Rappi sweeps Latin America

09-10-2024 15:13 Delivery app Rappi has transformed the e-commerce landscape with lightning-fast deliveries, positioning itself as a US$5.25-billion market leader across Latin America.

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

Chef Máximo Togni’s new restaurant is straight from the heart

06-07-2024 05:23 Evelia is the hottest ticket in town and diners are snapping up reservations for the Núñez-based restaurant. Inspired by his beloved Italian grandmother, Máximo Togni’s new establishment is well worth a visit.

by Vanessa Bell

POLITICS

Officials close ranks behind Pettovello as pressure builds

06-06-2024 20:51 Leading figures in government close ranks behind embattled Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello; President Milei backs ‘best minister in history’ as foodstuffs scandal rumbles on.

EXPIRED FOOD SCANDAL

Expired food scandal: a chronology of hunger which the government sought to silence

06-06-2024 14:41 Human Capital Ministry’s missteps over more than millions of kilos of food held back at warehouses has exploded into scandal. Audits galore, dismissals, denunciations and an official communiqué overtaken by the facts.

FEATURE

Poverty, marginalisation, cocaine: Gangs find lucrative combo

30-03-2024 06:48 Argentina's economy is in intensive care. Financial stagnation, coupled with record inflation and the slashing of public spending have resulted in rising poverty and marginalisation. But in every crisis some see opportunity, and this time, it is crime groups. With drug-trafficking expanding in the barrios, analysts warn of new complex dynamics in the long run.

by Josefina Salomon*, In.Visibles

CLEAR WAY FOR IMPORTS

Milei government opens up food imports in bid to curb price hikes

12-03-2024 12:38 Argentina’s government orders full opening of food imports in an attempt to curb an inflationary spike and introduce more “competitive” prices.

8M Rally

'We will be a tsunami' – Green tide fills streets surrounding Congress on 8M

09-03-2024 19:48 Thousands of women of all ages demonstrated near Congress to make their slogans against sexist violence heard.

by Sabrina Chemen

IMPACT OF AUSTERITY

Financing the fiscal surplus: Stories behind reduction in state spending

08-03-2024 08:52 Argentina recorded its first monthly budget surplus in nearly 12 years in January, President Milei’s first month in office. But according to one analysis, a third of those spending cuts came from a refusal to update pension payments for inflation. A look at the faces behind the figures.

by Agustina Bordigoni

INFLATION

Food prices have risen by up to 70% over last three months

06-03-2024 15:24 Hikes were driven by grocery products, fruits and vegetables, and meats, according to a private report.

#8M: WOMEN'S RIGHTS

Feminists ready to rally for rights in face of Milei pushback

06-03-2024 09:37 International Women’s Day takes place this week and feminists across Argentina are ready to take to the streets to highlight the food crisis, the right to abortion, the pay gap, gender violence and much more.

by Ashton Goren

ECONOMIC CRISIS

Multiple demonstrations in Argentina to claim food aid

23-02-2024 17:49 Thousands of people marched on Friday across cities in Argentina to demand extra ood aid for soup kitchens and to reject severe austerity policies.

INFLATION WOES

Latin America’s inflation progress tempered by soaring food price pressures

08-02-2024 14:28 Consumer price readings underscore challenges facing Latin American policymakers as they calibrate future interest rate cuts. Most of the region’s major inflation-targeting central banks have already begun reducing borrowing costs

PROTESTERS CHALLENGE PETTOVELLO

Huge 'hunger line' in Buenos Aires challenges Milei's minister

06-02-2024 00:03 Sandra Pettovello’s claim she would attend to the hungry “one by one” backfires as hundreds of demonstrators form long queues outside her Human Capital Ministry, demanding greater state assistance in the face of a food emergency.

GRIPPED BY CRISIS

In danger of extinction? Middle class slammed by crisis and austerity measures

16-01-2024 17:16 The removal of subsidies, rising rent and the increased costs of prepaid healthcare schemes and private schools are slamming the middle class, specialists warn. March will be a difficult month with the start of classes and the billing of basic public services shooting up.

by Agustina Bordigoni

Living with inflation

Runaway inflation sends food prices soaring in Argentina

11-01-2024 18:29 Consumer prices have soared more than 200% in Argentina over the last 12 months, with food leading the way. Some items increased by more than 600%.

by Ramiro Speranza

WINE PRODUCTION

Global wine production hits lowest level since 1961

07-11-2023 12:41 Global wine production falls to its lowest level in six decades due to frost and droughts; Argentine wine production reached only 8.8 million hectolitres – a slump of 23 percent and one of the lowest volumes ever recorded in recent history.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Private study says food prices surged almost 13% in September

03-10-2023 17:24 Food prices increased by 12.8% on average in September, according to a new private study; Some items like sugar have soared by more than 280% in last year, reports Focus Market consultancy firm.

FOOD & DRINK

'Anonymous' Michelin visit two provinces, seeking 'stars' of local gastronomy

25-07-2023 13:54 The prestigious gastronomic guide, considered 'The Bible' of good cuisine, expands to Argentina.

FOOD & DRINK

Argentina’s Catena Zapata tops ranking of world’s 50 best vineyards to visit

12-07-2023 23:39 Argentina’s Catena Zapata crowned the number one wine estate in the world to go experience firsthand.

MIGRATION & HUMAN RIGHTS

Migration 'only option' for many in Latin America, says food aid chief

05-07-2023 12:19 Many people in Latin America see migration as "the only option they have" after enduring successive crises of climate change, Covid and spiking food prices, says World Food Programme's head for the region Lola Castro.

FOOD & DRINK

Asado championship brings beef to centre of Buenos Aires

23-06-2023 01:04 Fifth Federal Asado Championship brings crowds to Avenida 9 de Julio, with Formosa’s Germán Caballero crowned as winner.

by Jiayi Zhang

FOOD & DRINK

Francis Mallmann, Argentina’s ‘King of Fire,’ on finding his own style

19-05-2023 08:05 Legendary chef Francis Mallmann – a lover of nature, fire, Patagonia and potatoes – on going back to his roots and finding his own language in the kitchen.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Food leads price surges as experts forecast 126% inflation rate

12-05-2023 10:42 Latest Central Bank survey estimates a 7.5% jump in prices for last month and a 126.4% annual increase; Argentina suffered second-highest jump in food costs over past year, according to World Bank.

POLITICS

‘Plan Platita II’? Government to stuff pockets as inflation bites

18-04-2023 14:02 To mitigate the coalition friendly fire that has been rekindled by the confirmation of accelerating price hikes, Serio Massa’s economic cabinet is drawing up a new programme to stimulate consumption.

FOOD & DRINK

Empanadas are Argentina's third most consumed food, says industry group

10-04-2023 15:38 According to a report, the podium of most favoured flavours is made up of carne suave empanadas on 20%, followed by ham and cheese, with 19%, and in third place, chicken, with 11%.

by Claudio Corsalini

EXCHANGE RATE SCHEME

Governors push back on criticism of Massa’s ‘dolár agro’ scheme

06-04-2023 19:27 New plan offers a rate of 300 pesos per greenback for agro-industrial exports; Governors push back from criticism from agricultural producers.

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Mixed reaction as Massa looks to boost reserves with ‘dolár agro’ rate

06-04-2023 01:09 Economy minister unveils Programa de Incremento Exportador, otherwise known as a third incarnation of the ‘soy dollar’ scheme; New plan will offer a rate of 300 pesos per greenback for agro-industrial exports and introduce automatic benefits for producers affected by drought.

DOLAR AGRO

Argentina rolls out special exchange rate to prop up reserves

05-04-2023 19:16 Argentina will once again introduce a temporary exchange rate for soybean exports and other products in an elaborate attempt to shore up dwindling Central Bank reserves amid a devastating drought.

FOOD & DRINK

More plaudits for parrilla: Don Julio voted world’s greatest steakhouse

28-03-2023 15:11 Barely a week after a visit from Lionel Messi took the Palermo parrilla viral, famed Buenos Aires steakhouse Don Julio continues to receive global recognition.

DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN POLICY

Ibero-American Summit: Leaders sign deal on LatAm food crisis, migration

26-03-2023 17:53 Leaders at Ibero-American Summit commit to fight food insecurity in Latin America, improve migration controls and negotiate more financial support for the region's struggling economies.

BLOOMBERG

Shortage of cooking oil looms as biofuels gain global appeal

22-03-2023 12:30 A global biofuel boom is set to drive a shortage of vegetable oils — used for cooking and now increasingly to power trucks and planes — intensifying a debate over food versus fuel.

Agriculture

Report: Drought to slash Argentina’s exports by US$20 billion

06-03-2023 13:50 Technical report by the CREA agricultural group projects soy harvest will fall 38% from last season, with maize down 30% and wheat down 37%.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Analysts: Inflation rate in Q1 will overshoot government targets

28-02-2023 15:49 Private estimates agree that prices are likely to rise 20% in the first quarter of 2022, with inflation set to accelerate next month, pushing Sergio Massa’s stated 3% target for April way out of reach.

by Santiago Escobar

FOOD & DRINK

Vegetables are taking Argentina’s carnivorous capital by storm

24-02-2023 10:00 Fear not, vegans. Whether you want plant-based pizza, elaborate fishless sushi, or a vegetarian-take on Argentine classics, Buenos Aires has something for even the pickiest herbivore.

by Erica Davis

ECONOMY & SOCIETY

Beef relief for butchers in Argentina? No more carrying half a cow

18-01-2023 12:27 Street scenes of butchers weighed down by half a cow carcass on their back could be a thing of the past after a new government ruling.

AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY

Argentine grain harvests threatened by persistent drought

16-01-2023 17:53 Drought fears realised as Argentina loses half of soybean crop in main growing area; Experts warn that "economic losses will be substantial," with grain exports expected to slump by 21% in "best-case" scenario.