China exported 65,290 tonnes of AJC in March this year, its highest figure for 11 years: in March 2007, a boom year, China exported over 103,000 tonnes. This brings the seasonal total (starting in August) to 500,680 tonnes.

The Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) has delisted its Apple Juice Concentrate Futures and options contract, with immediate effect, saying: “There is no open interest in these products”.

UK organic re-exporters will face a hard situation due to Brexit after losing the EU regulation umbrella with their main markets, the manager of the UK organic wholegrain packer Nick Saltmarsh, said at a panel at the Natural & Organics Products Europe in London on April 23.

The Argentine grocery company Ledesma has opened a new fruit essential oil factory in the North Eastern region of Jujuy, one of the main national lemon and orange growing areas.

Brazil exported nearly 400,000 tonnes of NFC orange juice in January-March this year, the highest total for at least seven years and quite possibly its highest Q1 export figure yet. In the first quarter of 2016, Brazil managed to export some 385,000 tonnes.

Nissin Foods and Kagome have formed a joint venture to market vegetable juices in Hong Kong and Macau.

The Spanish traditional fruit and vegetable canner Cofrusa expects to launch a ready-to-eat range of fresh fruit products for the European market, IEG Vu was told this week.

The UK organic vegetable packer Mr Organic has just launched a new line of four-pack 400 gram canned chopped tomatoes, which will sell through the retailer Ocado

The EU, as part of an operation called OPSON VII conducted with the support of the EU Food Fraud Network, has successfully shut down a fraud scheme which was passing off tuna destined for canning as fresh.

UK organic re-exporters will face a hard situation due to Brexit after losing the EU regulation umbrella with their main markets, the manager of the UK organic wholegrain packer Nick Saltmarsh, said at a panel at the Natural & Organics Products Europe in London on April 23.

The price for skipjack tuna raw material landings in Manta's market is "definitely in uptrend", industry sources contacted yesterday concurred.

Demand for frozen potatoes remains high in the UK, a net importer of this commodity, while trading figures for crisps and canned potato show encouraging signs of increasing exports.

As the World Cocoa Conference (WCC) in Berlin comes to a close, executive director of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) Dr Jean-Marc Anga, spoke to IEG Vu on the side-lines, to reflect on the event and what lies in store for the cocoa sector looking ahead.

Cocoa futures in New York rallied by 4% on Tuesday’s (April 24) close, while London values also increased.

The sustainability of the cocoa sector and more crucially, the cocoa farmer, continues to be crucial, with the industry failing to react accordingly to prior warnings. Frank Mars, of Mars Incorporated, gave a rousing speech at this year's World Cocoa Conference in Berlin, outlining what needs to be done before the sector disappears. 

Deforestation has been labelled as the key problem in the cocoa sector with its effects being detrimental to both the global and local climates.

Futures in London and New York started the week sluggishly with a lack of fresh fundamental news following last week's cocoa grinding data results.

The recurrent word used at this year's World Cocoa Conference (WCC) is "sustainability", albeit with more of a focus on producer price plight than actual trees.

Whitbread, the owner of the UK’s largest coffee chain Costa Coffee, has announced it will spin off the business “as fast as practical and appropriate”.

The July arabica coffee contract settled up 1.50¢ at 120.45¢/lb, in dealings between 118.50 and 120.80¢.

Arabica futures are consolidating above the two-year low reached at the beginning of last week.

Swiss food and beverages giant Nestlé confirmed its full-year guidance after sales and volume growth accelerated in the first quarter of 2018.

EU markets witnessed a breakthrough in sales of skimmed milk powder (SMP) last week, but it was a mixed few days for US wheat and cocoa futures. Spanish artichoke prices are tumbling in the face of oversupply while prices for Polish frozen blackcurrants have eased back from recent highs. Meanwhile, hopes of a recovery in Brazilian poultry prices suffered a fresh setback as the EU confirmed new import curbs.

Singapore-based commodities firm Olam International has bought a 29% stake in Guzman Coffee & Nuts (GC&N).

With a rise in global demand for infant milk formula, Russia has become the latest country to invest in domestic production, and reduce import dependency.

Europe’s dairy sector looks like facing something of a re-run of 2017 this year, as butter prices begin to ramp up again.

 

Organic produce is in high demand, but as well as it is in the traditional dairy, innovation drives demand too, IEG Vu found out at the Natural & Organic Products Europe this week.

Brazilian cheesemakers are stepping up production to meet a projected 2.5% rise in domestic consumption this year thanks to what is claimed to be a rise in disposable incomes.

 

Continuing strong demand from China's "baby boomers" helped boost Danone sales in the first quarter of 2018.

Lower milk supplies from Brazilian farms has resulted in keener prices on the Brazilian dairy commodities market – but not higher imports.

 

Social media is an important tool for any industry looking to optimise its exposure, and advice on how to maximise its potential was presented to delegates at the International Peanut Forum in Athens earlier this month.

This was evident from a panel discussion during the International Peanut Forum in Athens earlier this month.

The cashew kernel buyers have been quiet in the second half of April, having covered their short-term demands and prices are steady after a temporary rise in the previous weeks.

Prices of Thompson raisins from Turkey have risen over the course of the season by about USD1,000 per tonne.

UK organic re-exporters will face a hard situation due to Brexit after losing the EU regulation umbrella with their main markets, the manager of the UK organic wholegrain packer Nick Saltmarsh, said at a panel at the Natural & Organics Products Europe in London on April 23.

The Turkish hazelnut market remains stable at TRY20.5 (USD5.00) per kilo for graded 11-13 mm kernels. This is despite the announcement last week that the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for 2019, will now take place this summer, on June 24.

The Spanish traditional fruit and vegetable canner Cofrusa expects to launch a ready-to-eat range of fresh fruit products for the European market, IEG Vu was told this week.

Peruvian fruit grower TALSA and its joint venture Hortifrut-TAL exported around 19,000 tonnes of blueberries, after harvesting some 21,000 tonnes of the crop in 2017/18.

Blueberry producers in Mesopotamia have decided to start early prevention against the pest that has already expanded in wine-producing areas.

Over the last nine seasons, the price for dessert apples in Ukraine fell to a quarter, while the producers say that in the next season they can drop further.

Following a proposal of the US Mango Board, the USDA is seeking comments on a proposed expansion of the national research and promotion program to include coverage of frozen mangos.

UK organic re-exporters will face a hard situation due to Brexit after losing the EU regulation umbrella with their main markets, the manager of the UK organic wholegrain packer Nick Saltmarsh, said at a panel at the Natural & Organics Products Europe in London on April 23.

Peruvian fruit grower TALSA and its joint venture Hortifrut-TAL exported around 19,000 tonnes of blueberries, after harvesting some 21,000 tonnes of the crop in 2017/18.

Blueberry producers in Mesopotamia have decided to start early prevention against the pest that has already expanded in wine-producing areas.

Following a proposal of the US Mango Board, the USDA is seeking comments on a proposed expansion of the national research and promotion program to include coverage of frozen mangos.

Chile’s frozen blueberry industry opened 2018 with a sharp increase in exports compared with last season. A good performance was also recorded in frozen raspberry, whose movements were driven up by demand for organic.

The cold snap that hit China between April 4-7 has caused prices of fresh strawberries to increase, including fruit earmarked for processing, IEG Vu has learned. In the meantime, the crop of the more popular American 13 has started.

Demand for frozen potatoes remains high in the UK, a net importer of this commodity, while trading figures for crisps and canned potato show encouraging signs of increasing exports.

US wheat futures posted another round of gains, with Chicago May futures up 13 3/4¢ at USD4.86 1/4.

Corn futures posted gains as trade attention turned to slow US corn planting, sending May futures up 5 1/4¢ cents at USD3.86 1/2.

This was evident from a panel discussion during the International Peanut Forum in Athens earlier this month.

China’s 179% anti-dumping deposit on US sorghum imports has led to a 30 million bushel reduction in sister title Informa Economics IEG’s US sorghum export forecast.

July corn futures traded 1¾¢ higher in the overnight session at USD3.91¾.

May soybean futures were 3½¢ higher at USD10.25¾ per bushel.

EU farming organisations have praised the EU’s decision to ban imports from 20 Brazilian meat plants, saying recent developments show why the bloc should take a tough line in ongoing EU-Mercosur trade talks.

Brazil’s animal feed industry is lowering its growth forecasts for 2018 as EU poultry import restrictions add to problems faced by some sectors of the country’s animal protein industry.

A set of EU animal welfare rules has led to improvements in the housing and management of broilers, which had a positive influence on the health and welfare of the birds, a Commission report has found.

The EU this week finished gathering feedback on a roadmap to renegotiate quotas for hormone-free beef. A flurry of comments submitted just before the April 24 deadline shows just how difficult it will be to satisfy the US while at the same time avoiding problems with other important trading partners in Australasia and South America.

Brazil has announced two new meat and livestock deals that should help free up trade with neighbouring South American countries.

French MPs have voted in favour of legislation that bans producers from labelling plant-based products with meat-related names. The law will effectively ban foods marketed as vegetarian “steaks” and vegan “cheese”.

Prices of sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia have risen by around 4% over the past two months, partly driven by lower shipments from Ukraine, the world’s top exporter of the oil.

July corn futures traded 1¾¢ higher in the overnight session at USD3.91¾.

May soybean futures were 3½¢ higher at USD10.25¾ per bushel.

Soybean futures managed to finish higher, with May closing up 1 1/2¢ at USD10.22 1/4.

May soybean futures were 1½¢ lower at USD10.19¼ per bushel in the overnight session.

The proposed EU ban on palm oil in biofuels from 2020 will do nothing to reduce deforestation and instead punish sustainable palm oil producers, analysis by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) claims.

Gum Arabic is not only an exotic commodity but also has the power to drive development in the African nations that produce it, some of them the poorest nations in the world.

UK organic re-exporters will face a hard situation due to Brexit after losing the EU regulation umbrella with their main markets, the manager of the UK organic wholegrain packer Nick Saltmarsh, said at a panel at the Natural & Organics Products Europe in London on April 23.

The Argentine grocery company Ledesma has opened a new fruit essential oil factory in the North Eastern region of Jujuy, one of the main national lemon and orange growing areas.

The manuka honey processor Comvita, which is listed in the New Zealand stock market (NZX), has started to expand its honey-based products in the US and China, the general manager of Comvita Emea, Rashda Ali told IEG Vu in the Natural & Organic Products Europe exhibition in London on March 23.

The Indian government recently lifted the ban on Turkish white poppyseed imports into India, which had been in place for 20 months. However, demand remains sluggish.

EU markets witnessed a breakthrough in sales of skimmed milk powder (SMP) last week, but it was a mixed few days for US wheat and cocoa futures. Spanish artichoke prices are tumbling in the face of oversupply while prices for Polish frozen blackcurrants have eased back from recent highs. Meanwhile, hopes of a recovery in Brazilian poultry prices suffered a fresh setback as the EU confirmed new import curbs.

The government's Commodity Supply Corporation (Conab) cut its estimate for the country's total sugar production in its fourth estimate for the 2017/18 crop to 37.87 mln tonnes, tel quel, from 39.46 mln in the previous forecast just before Christmas, which would be down 2.1% from 38.69 mln a year ago.

 

Local analyst Datagro cut its estimate of sugar production in Brazil's Centre/South during the current 2018/19 (Apr/Mar) season further to 30.8 mln tonnes, tel quel, from 31.6 mln previously, president Plinio Nastari said in an online briefing, according to Reuters.

No. 11 raw sugar futures extended losses as the front-month contract fell below 11¢/lb for the first time since September 2015.

 

As expected, Thailand's sugarcane crush re-accelerated during the past week after almost coming to a standstill during the Thai New Year (Songkran) festival from April 13-15, official data showed.

Sugar production in the week ended April 8 amounted to 77,457 tonnes, raw value, compared with 59,408 tonnes produced in the same period a year ago, SRA data show.

Imposition of a cess on sugar, a production subsidy to sugarcane farmers and reducing goods and services tax on ethanol to 5% are some of the suggestions put forward by a group of ministers looking into rising sugarcane arrears, according to local press reports.