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.
A French chocolate industry body has recognised CIRAD for its
pioneering work within the cocoa commodity chain and its
groundbreaking research into cocoa.
A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by McNeil
Nutritionals, the marketer of Splenda, against the Sugar
Association, accusing it of false advertising.
Food and beverage firms making premium products will cope best with
the current surge in price of both Chinese and imported sugar, with
higher margins to cover the rise in costs.
Greencore, the ingredients and food service group, said EU sugar
reform would force it to pull out of the sugar sector this year,
effectively spelling the end of sugar processing in Ireland.
Danisco says that the finalisation of the new EU sugar regime and
the recently announced transitional measures will not affect the
firm's planned efficiency drive.
Regular eating of flavonol-rich chocolate can cut the risk of death
from cardiovascular disease (CVD) by half, reports a long-term
study of elderly men.
Thousands of confectionery industry jobs have been lost as a result
of manufacturers relocating due to high sugar prices, according to
the US Department of Commerce.
