A 'low sugar' claim does not necessarily mean 'low calorie' or
'better for you', said the US Sugar Association, in its latest
attempt to recapture a part of the market lost to the growing
popularity of...
Central and Eastern European sugar processors are bearing the brunt
of new EU reforms due to dominant Western European companies within
the industry acting in a political and not economic manner, claims
an agricultural expert.
Associated British Foods (ABF) yesterday blamed a drop in operating
profits of 21 per cent to £413m (€612.9m) before on higher energy
costs and instability arising from EU sugar reforms.
Supplier Buhler has boosted machinery supplies to facilities in
Ghana, enabling operations in the country to not only harvest the
beans but process them into cocoa butter and powder.
Barry Callebaut has produced a new website entirely devoted to
promoting the nutritional benefits of cocoa in an effort to
counteract the increasingly unhealthy image of chocolate products
and their unpopularity in a health-conscious...
Blending palm kernel oil, extracted by supercritical carbon
dioxide, and palm oil leads to new cocoa butter replacers (CBR),
offering cheaper alternatives with good physical and chemical
properties.
The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) has revised its gloomy
cocoa estimate of a 5,000 tonne deficit to predict a global surplus
of 80,000 tonnes of cocoa in the coming year, assuring
manufacturers of a steady supply.
The sugar industry must take greater responsibility to ensure the
successful restructuring of the EU market, said the European
Commissioner for agriculture.
A new trend for cocoa-based cosmetics could prove advantageous to
chocolate manufacturers as confectionery giant Nestlé leads the way
- joining forces with beauty group L'Oreal.
Associated British Foods (ABF) yesterday blamed a 21 per cent drop
in operating profit on European sugar industry reform and
significantly higher energy costs.
Singapore-based cocoa bean supplier Olam has jointly acquired the
Cameroon cocoa processor Usicam with ADM, the world's largest cocoa
processor, giving both firms greater economy of scale in the
African market.
China will remove the import duty on Indonesian cocoa from 1
January next year, a move likely to increase demand for the beans
from the world's third biggest producer.
Cote d'Ivoire cocoa growers have downed tools over pay
disagreements, beginning a strike which could dramatically cut
supplies to chocolate manufacturers.
Ingredients giant Tate and Lyle could be set to cease its sugar
processing operations in Central Europe, as producers look to lower
quotas in light of new EU sugar reforms.
Chocolate companies are uniting with the World Cocoa Foundation
(WCF) to encourage sustainable cocoa production in West Africa and
therefore strengthen the supply chain to Western manufacturers.
Tate & Lyle has formed a joint enterprise to build and operate
a sugar plant in Israel, a move that will partially replace
traditional sugar imports from the European Union.
Cocoa bean producer Pan Sino International has announced plans to
build Singapore's largest cocoa processing plant, increasing cocoa
bean supply for manufacturers.
The UK's food and farming minister has revealed how almost £500
million of additional support for sugar reform will be incorporated
within the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) over the next seven years.
US scientists think they may have found a natural alternative to
pesticides used by sugar beet growers to fend off their biggest
enemy - the sugar beet root maggot.
The burgeoning organic chocolate market is taking off thanks to an
increase in ethical consumerism and the willingness of
confectionery makers worldwide to exploit the trend.
Despite extensive company restructuring and the imminent sale of
its sugar division, Netherlands-based ingredients group CSM today
announced strong profits in the first half and is optimistic the
upward trend will continue.
Singapore-based coffee, nuts and cocoa group Olam reported much
improved profits for 2006, thanks to significantly higher volumes
across all its segments as well as better product pricing.
British sugar growers can breathe a sigh of relief after learning
that one of the country's foremost beet producers will not be
closing facilities as originally thought.
A moth with a penchant for cocoa may not sound too great an
ecological threat, but the Cocoa Pod Borer (CPB) is threatening to
ruin Papua New Guinea's entire crop.
The heart health of the baby-boom generation could benefit from
flavanol-rich cocoa, reports a study co-funded by Mars, but
independent experts warn against confusion with commercial
chocolate snacks.
European sugar giant Suedzucker expects a revenue increase of 5 per
cent in 2006 / 07, underlining the group's confidence in the future
of the EU sugar sector.
Confectionary giant Mars has lauded recently published research as
further evidence of the benefits of flavanols from cocoa for a wide
range of health conditions, and looks set to lead to a new wave of
cocoa flavanol-enriched products...
The chairman of Kraft Foods, the world's second biggest food
company, Roger Deromedi, has launched an attack on EU and US trade
barriers that are driving up the price of commodity ingredients
such as sugar and coffee.
Sugar prices on China's futures market fell sharply this week as
the government announced that it would auction 552,000 tons, mostly
from its reserve stocks, to stabilise prices.
Agrana, which claims to be the leading sugar and starch producer in
Central and Eastern Europe, plans to expand its activities towards
the Western Balkans.
ABF's offer to acquire 51 per cent of Illovo, Africa's largest
sugar producer, underlines how the new EU sugar regime has forced
European sugar producers to think truly globally.