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.
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.
Reflecting the continuing industry trend toward outsourcing, Barry Callebaut said a new supply deal it has agreed with Hershey will put its annual deliveries beyond the current 80,000 metric tonnes.
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.
French supplier Roquette says recent positive health claim opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) linking sugar replacers with dental health, are applicable to soluble fibres.
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.
ADM Cocoa has opened a new technical centre in Germany, where its customers can go to experiment with flavour, mouthfeel and shelf-life of their chocolate-containing products.
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.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Monday that it will increase sugar imports by 325,000 short tons in fiscal 2011 – a move that has been welcomed by sweetener users.
Cocoa farming has been a contributor to deforestation and degradation in West Africa due to limited fertilizer use as well as outdated crop husbandry methods, claim two research groups in a newly published study in Environmental Management.
Sugar policy reform is back on the US legislative agenda, as two new bills that aim to end the sugar price support program have attracted broad food industry support.
Fears that almost 500,000 tonnes of cocoa beans stored in warehouses in the Ivory Coast would deteriorate are now subsiding with the perception that a political resolution is imminent in the cocoa growing country, according to Rabobank
Strong performance in emerging markets and a strategic focus on customer segmentation rather than individual products have driven Barry Callebaut to record half year profits.
There is still sufficient cocoa available on the market, despite political turmoil in the Ivory Coast situation, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) said yesterday, although there are concerns over cocoa damage over long storage periods.
The recent Ghana-Liberia agriculture pact is unlikely to have a major impact on the global cocoa industry; whereas Nigeria is a region to watch, according to Euromonitor.
EU food industry representatives have termed ‘premature’ the proposal by the European Commission (EC) to allow 650,000 tonnes of out of quota sugar exports from October.
Alkali processing causes a loss of up to 98 per cent on epicatechin in the final chocolate based product, claims Hershey company based scientists evaluating the effect of conventional production methods of cocoa beans on flavanols levels.
Leading cocoa processor and exporter, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), said it has suspended cocoa plant operations in the Ivory Coast and is shifting production elsewhere, due to heightened political tensions in the West African producer country.
The potential of polyphenol compounds in cocoa to reduce blood pressure is related to genotype, suggests a new nutrigenomic study that deepens our understanding of the cardiovascular benefits of cocoa.
As the market and industry weighs the impact of turmoil in Ivory Coast on cocoa supply and tightness in sugar trade continues, we talk to Rabobank analyst Keith Flury to see whether there will be any let up in commodity commotion in 2011.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco has overturned a previous ruling to destroy genetically modified (GM) sugar beets, ruling in favor of Monsanto and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The market for the sweetener sucralose is poised for growth, with global production expected to top 15,000 tonnes by 2018, according to the world’s second largest sucralose producer.
A European Commission initiative to release 500,000 tonnes of out of quota sugar onto the EU market has been backed by member states in the EU sugar management committee today.
The delivery of Cargill’s first UTZ Certified beans from Vietnam marks an important milestone for the company in its bid to establish the region as a new origin country for cocoa, said the ingredients giant.
Sugar supplier to the bakery and confectionery industry, Ragus, said it expects further commodity price hikes and contests whether proposed EC intervention on import duty tariff reductions would have the desired effect on the deficit in the EU market.
Industrial chocolate supplier, Blommer Chocolate, said it is set to receive a record-breaking shipment of cocoa beans containing a large percentage of sustainably farmed and Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa, despite political turmoil in the region.
New research from Spain finds that polyphenol-enriched cocoa powder could be used as a functional ingredient to reduce oxidative stress in the elderly.
The NutraSweet Company's sales of high intensity sweetener neotame grew by 20 per cent between 2009 and 2010 – and the same percentage is expected this year as sugar prices are expected to keep rising due to short supplies.
Cocoa prices have remained stable over the past two weeks despite the Ivory Coast export ban with industry analysts citing good industry supply cover and access to plentiful crop from Ghana as factors for the lack of price volatility.
A novel cocoa cultivation method and a new approach to fermentation are resulting in cocoa beans with enhanced quality, claims industrial chocolate supplier, Barry Callebaut.
The food and drink sugar users lobby has warned the European Commission that any further delays in intervention to remedy the sugar deficit in the market could result in even greater supply repercussions this autumn.
Leading cocoa supplier, Archer Daniel Midlands (ADM), has confirmed that it is keeping its cocoa processing plant in Kumasi, Ghana open in spite of challenges related to acquiring light crop beans for processing.
The European Commission, in a policy about face, said it may open the import quota or allow the sale of out-of-quota sugar into the bloc - a move that would bring relief for bakers and other food makers set to negotiate new sugar contracts.
US Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced a new bipartisan bill in the Senate this week intended to phase out the sugar support program, claiming sugar prices are artificially high and cost American jobs.
The deficit in the EU sugar supply could put production at risk for confectioners and other food and drink industry users of the commodity if market intervention does not occur, said Irish trade body FDII, who are calling on the EC to keep out-of-quota...
The potential heart health benefits of polyphenol-rich cocoa powder may be related to a ‘novel mechanism’ of boosting HDL (good) cholesterol, says a new study from Japan.
Leading maker of bulk chocolate, Barry Callebaut, has bought and exported the cocoa beans it needs to fulfill its processing needs, said a company spokesperson in reaction to the suspension of Ivory Coast exports.
Lack of clarity on the implications for the cocoa industry of the financial penalities imposed by the EU on the Ivory Coast has prompted trade representatives in the bloc to seek additional information from the Commission.
