A larger than expected supply of cocoa beans from West Africa will add to high buffer stocks and push cocoa prices down by 4%, according to financial service provider Rabobank.
Tetra Pak has launched an upgrade for its Tetra Albrix sugar dissolving unit that it has claimed lowers costs and reduces energy consumption on previous versions.
The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation over the proposed acquisition of the world’s second largest sugar trader ED&F MAN by Europe’s largest sugar producer Südzucker as it fears it could impact competition in Central Europe...
Mars chocolate bars in the Netherlands are to carry UTZ certified marks from Feburary 2012 as Mars sets targets for its cocoa to be fully sustainable worldwide by 2020.
Cocoa production in Germany has risen by 36% on the same quarter last year due to an improved political situation in Ivory Coast, according to the Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI).
German ingredients group Südzucker reports a sharp rise in profits for the first half of its financial year, citing gains from its sugar and fruit segments as being particular growth drivers.
It will take every tool in the box to combat the effect of climate change on cocoa production, warn industry experts following the publication of research into the impact of rising temperatures on farmers in West Africa.
The Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) has withdrawn from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which currently offers the only international audit scheme for producers of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO).
A call from the Netherlands to end European import duty on sustainably produced palm oil has been welcomed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The proposal is designed to encourage the uptake of sustainable palm oil by offsetting some of...
EU sugar supplies are at their most critical levels since the 2005 sugar reform and are causing ‘extreme volatility, instability and disruption’ to the European food and drink industry.
Inflated US sugar prices are threatening jobs throughout the country’s confectionery industry, warned the National Confectioners Association (NCA) in a letter to the US Department of Agriculture.
Surging cocoa supplies did little to prevent front month prices for cocoa (cocoa futures) creeping up by 4 per cent throughout August, according to Euromonitor. “The big surprise has been that this rise has taken place on the back of strong supply projections,”...
The first one million hectares of certified land for sustainable palm production marks ‘a turning point’ for industry, according to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
The palm oil labelling bill in Australia is entering its next phase, with the House of Representatives set to vote on whether it becomes law – and the current government saying it intends to oppose it.
Sugar stocks should rise significantly from their current low levels, with analysts forecasting a global sugar surplus of around 9.5m tonnes in the 2011/12 (October-September) crop year, on the back of increased production in Europe and Asia.
Cargill’s drive to secure a good quality and sustainable supply of cocoa beans is filtering down to famers in Cote d'Ivoire as it has just made premium payments totalling more than US $2.2m.
The European Commission will consider boosting the availability of sugar at its next tonnage tender meeting on August 25 after sharp rises in prices and calls from food manufacturers for it to increase sugar quotas or abandon them.
A novel sucrose enhancer that could help firms slash sugar in products by up to 50 percent has been moved into the development phase at San-Diego-based flavor innovator Senomyx.
There will be no dramatic drop in cocoa prices in the coming months as forecast by numerous speculators hoping to cash in on a downward trend, reports a cocoa market specialist.
Indonesia is the focus of an extension of Nestlé’s sustainable Cocoa Plan initiative, with the Swiss food group aiming to pump $4m (€2.7m) into bean production in that country.
Nestlé said it has increased its donations of disease-resistant cocoa trees to farmers in Ivory Coast in a bid to boost the quality of the beans that are produced in the country.
Cargill’s Cocoa and Chocolate division is rolling out its Ivory Coast UTZ certification farmer training programme in Cameroon - a move the processor anticipates will dramatically boost sustainable cocoa output in the fourth largest producer country.
Cargill has upped the ante in the sustainable palm oil stakes with a commitment that all palm oil products (excluding palm kernel oil products) it supplies to Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable...
The Indonesian cocoa processing sector is ripe for further investment from multinational food manufacturers, a spokesperson from the country’s investment authority said.
An Australian bill requiring palm oil to be explicitly labelled has come in for harsh criticism from food industry representatives, after it was passed by the Senate last week.
Confectionery giant Mars predicts a major cocoa shortage by 2020 and reveals harmonization of global cocoa certification programmes to ensure meaningful income hikes for farmers is one of its sustainable cocoa project goals.
Food manufacturers are using certified sustainable palm oil in their products – and making claims about it – when they are not members of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and have not have their facilities RSPO audited and certified, one...
Lacklustre demand for cocoa in Europe and North America and expectations of an average crop next season will see cocoa prices remain steady over the coming months, claims a market analyst.
A new education and training scheme in Ghana that aims to develop the country’s cocoa supply chain is the “first of its kind” for Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), says the firm.
Leading cocoa processor Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has announced it is kick-starting its Ivory Coast sustainable cocoa initiative – Serap – in Indonesia in a bid to boost cocoa quality from growers in that region.
Cargill has received the first ever shipment of UTZ cocoa in North America, a move which will be followed by other sustainable cocoa developments in the region, said the certifying body, as momentum gathers in the US market.
A new logo allows confectionery, biscuit and other food producers show their commitment to sustainable palm oil, which in turn will boost global demand, says the RSPO.
Prolonged drought in northern Europe has already capped yields of cereals and sugar beet and, without significant rainfall over the next two months, could significantly boost prices, warn analysts.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is to source UTZ certified cocoa for the first time, after Nigeria was granted sustainable recognition for its beans.
A new deal is set to result in a huge injection of palm oil from certified sustainable sources into Europe and could spell the death knell for green certificates, said New Britain Palm Oil Limited.
Barry Callebaut reports that it has resumed its exports from the Ivory Coast, following the recent resolution of the six-month long political crisis in the West African cocoa powerhouse.
Ivory Coast’s cocoa trade has been normalised, but uncertainly remains about the mid-crop, and and all eyes are now on the weather for the main crop, to be harvested this autumn, notes commodities specialist Rabobank it its latest review.
Ivory Coast cocoa exports are unlikely to resume by this week, said Mintel, in response to reports that the country will start shipping the commodity from the beginning of May.
Cargill’s takeover of Schwartauer KVB has been cleared by the European Commission, giving the US giant the green light to phase in the operations of the German semi-finished cocoa supplier.
Barry Callebaut, in a bid to meet its strategic need to diversify its cocoa origin and boost the viability of cocoa production in Malaysia, has announced a new research programme.
Another milestone has been achieved in the UTZ certified sustainable cocoa programme, with the first-ever shipment of cocoa beans from Ghana that meets that standard’s economic, environmental and social criteria.
Leading industrial chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut has opened its first cocoa pilot plant in North America, a move that follows its reported objective to grow its chocolate volume sales by between 6 to 8 per cent up to 2013.
The food industry and cocoa traders have welcomed the EU decision to lift sanctions on the Ivory Coast ports and other Ivorian entities following an end to the crisis in the cocoa growing country.
