The European Commission (EC) has authorised eight GMOs for food and feed use in the EU for 10 years.

Global food and agribusiness Olam International announced on 20 January that it is re-organising its business portfolio to create two new operating groups focused on food ingredients and global agribusiness.

Cargill Brazil has launched a new fat that can reduce the saturated fat content in ice cream, creams and dairy drinks by up to 30%, says DairyReporter.

Fears over a drop in Chinese demand for key commodities due to the coronavirus outbreak has pushed down prices of soyabeans, vegetable oils, corn and wheat, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on 29 January.

Global pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca is abandoning a fish oil-based drug trial because of its “low likelihood” of benefitting patients with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, the company announced on 13 January.

Italian oil and gas company Eni Spa has been fined US$5.6M for deceiving consumers over its ‘green’ diesel in TV, newspaper, digital media and petrol station advertisements, Biofuels International reported on 20 January.

Switzerland-headquartered Glencore Agriculture has become the majority owner of Argentinian soyabean processor Renova through the acquisition of a further 16.67% stake in the firm from its joint venture partner, Vicentin, World Grain reported on 13 January.

China’s soyabean purchases from the USA as expected to reach over 40M tonnes/year as a result of the ‘phase-one’ trade agreement it signed on 15 January, Rabobank says.

Thousands of tonnes of refined palm oil were delayed or stuck at various Indian ports after the world’s biggest edible oil buyer introduced restrictions on refined palm oil imports, according to Reuters.

Australia’s unprecedentedly large wildfires have largely left olive groves undamaged but could have unforeseen effects on the upcoming harvest, reported Olive Oil Times on 13 January.

Brazil is expected to surpass the USA to become the leading global soyabean producer in 2019/20, according to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report.

ChemChina and Sinochem have announced a mega merger of their agricultural assets to form a new holding company called Syngenta Group, Global AgInvesting reported on 7 January.

Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is in advanced talks to sell or turn its ethanol dry mills into a joint venture, reports Bloomberg.