Agrifood for Thought

Simon Duke opens with a brief news round-up: USMCA non-renewal in favour of bilateral US trade deals with Canada and Mexico, EU Deforestation Regulation expansion to include coffee and palm oil derivatives, and Fourth of July grilling demand dynamics. The episode's focus, however, is on current grain and oilseed market dynamics. Murphy Campbell (Grains and Oilseeds Reporter, Expana) covers the USD...

Simon Duke opens with a brief news round-up: USMCA non-renewal in favour of bilateral US trade deals with Canada and Mexico, EU Deforestation Regulation expansion to include coffee and palm oil derivatives, and Fourth of July grilling demand dynamics. The episode's focus, however, is on current grain and oilseed market dynamics. Murphy Campbell (Grains and Oilseeds Reporter, Expana) covers the USD...

Consumers are demanding more protein... in everything. Food companies are responding to the challenge. Listen now.

In episode 40 of Agri-Food for Thought, we return with a new format, featuring guests. We kick off with a news round-up (Middle East conflict situation, Super El Nino). Then follows a FIFA Football 2026 World Cup update (featuring guests Jaime Almeida, Market Reporter - Beef at Expana, talking about Mexican trends; Ryan Gallagher, Editor at Expana, discussing US beer trends; and an account of a re...

PODCAST: Ep. 39 - Innovation and Adaptation at Fruit Logistica by Expana

In this episode of Agri-food for Thought, host Simon Duke welcomes Expana Editorial team member Fei Thompson to discuss the dynamic and challenging landscape of the food additives sector in early 2026. They begin with the global infant formula recalls triggered by cereulide toxin found in arachidonic acid (ARA) oil supplied to major manufacturers like Nestlé, Danone, and Lactalis. The contaminatio...

In this episode, we dive into Expana's Thanksgiving Dinner Index for 2025.

On today's episode, we welcome Malcolm Harrison, an international board-level executive with expertise in general management, operations, procurement, and sales. He has worked in diverse business environments across Brazil, China, France, Gulf states, the UK, the US, and West Africa. A veteran and engaging leader, Malcolm has always sought to improve business performance through growth and efficie...

Today we discuss the role of procurement, and how Procurement Decisions Turn Market Insight into Business Advantage. This is a complex issue, a lot more than one may think. Procurement professionals operate in a high-pressure environment characterized by aggressive goals, tight deadlines, and complex supply chains. But there are ways to stay ahead of the game. On today's episode, I welcome Janet L...

Today we explore something different. A trend that is definitely here to stay and one that we are all integrating into our workflows. This transformative trend, however, is only in the infancy stages of its huge potential, and many of us, it is fair to say, are struggling to realize how to use it, and some of us even fear it… I’m talking about AI, of course.  On today's episode of Agri-Food for Th...

Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. Today, we bring you up to speed with merger & acquisition activity in the global agrifood landscape that occurred in August 2025 as part of the monthly M&A focus series.  This episode breaks down the deals by segment, covering most of the 23 agricultural commodity categories tracked on Expana....

Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. Today, we bring you up to speed with merger & acquisition activity in the global agrifood landscape that occurred in July 2025 as part of the monthly M&A focus series. July 2025 M&A activity somewhat slowed down compared to previous months. The ongoing tariffs situation, the global focus o...

Jamie gets the scoop from Market Analyst Pete Iridoy on how pork is benefitting at retail amidst high beef prices.

Episode 30 - M&A in the Global Agri-Food Industry - June 2025 by Expana Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. Today, we bring you up to speed with merger & acquisition activity in the global agrifood landscape that occurred in June 2025 as part of the monthly M&A focus series. June 2025 M&A activity picked up marginally co...

Episode 29 - M&A in the Global Agri-Food Industry - May 2025 Overview by Expana Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. Today, we bring you up to speed with merger & acquisition activity in the global agrifood landscape that occurred in May 2025 as part of the monthly M&A focus series. May 2025 was generally quieter in terms of...

Episode 28 - M&A in the Global Agri-Food Industry - April 2025 Overview by Expana Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. M&A in the global agri-food industry is an ongoing and very regular trend. Although many companies are hitting the brakes on M&A as they face tariffs and market uncertainty, hundreds of deals continue to take...

Episode 27 - VIV Asia, a Mirror of APAC Market Sentiment? Feat. Lydia Ma & Fei Thompson by Expana Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. On today's episode of Agri-Food for Thought, we discuss market sentiment picked up at VIV Asia 2025, a leading trade show for the feed-to-food industry in Asia. Held from March 12-14 in Bangkok, the e...

Episode 26 - M&A in the Global Agri-Food Industry - March 2025 Overview by Expana Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. M&A in the global agri-food industry is an ongoing and very regular trend. Although many companies are putting the brakes on M&A as they face tariffs and market uncertainty, hundreds of deals continue to take...

Just in time for March Madness, Jamie sits down with chicken market analyst, Matt Busardo, to dissect the driving forces behind this consumer-favorite category.

Episode 24 - M&A in the Global Agri-Food Industry - February 2025 Overview by Expana Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. On today's episode of Agri-Food for Thought, we showcase selected mergers and acquisitions in the agri-food sector that took place in February 2025.M&A in the global agri-food industry is an ongoing and very r...

Episode 23 - Looking Back at Agri-Food Europe & WFA, feat. Thess Mostoles by Expana Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. Last week, Expana hosted its inaugural European content-driven event under the new brand identity, Agri-Food Europe 2025. Held at the Okura Hotel in Amsterdam, the event brought together approximately 300 guests an...

Episode 22 - The Road to Amsterdam and Agri-Food Europe 2025, feat. Olympia Theocharous by Expana Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. Next month, Agri-Food Europe 2025, Expana’s first European content-driven event, is taking place in Amsterdam (February 25-27). With ongoing challenges like disruptive weather, animal diseases, supply cha...

Main topics in the agri-food space as we begin 2025 Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. In this episode we look at geopolitics, tariffs, and regulations; supply chain issues and logistics; tackling extreme weather and the environmental impact of production; as well as demand from health-conscious consumers. 2025 promises to be another y...

Episode 20 - Christmas Food Trends by Expana In this episode, we look at the cost of commodities for Christmas Dinner 2024. Featuring special guests from the beef and cattle sector, analyzing trends in this key category as we head into the new year. From Jamie and Simon, thank you to all our listeners for joining us in 2024, we can't wait to show you what we have in store for 2025! 

Episode 19: Produce Markets Exposed to Extreme Weather, Volatility, and Political Unrest, feat. Ibi Idoniboye by Expana Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals. Agri-Food for Thought covers the latest news in food and agricu​lture. Listen now as Simon and special guest Ibi Idoniboye, from the Expana EMEA newsroom, discuss the Produce categor...