Industry News - wk ending 25 Mar '22
Potato News - North America
Food, farm production costs on the rise; Ukraine, drought add more uncertainty for Idaho farmers
Overall production costs for Idaho potato growers rose by 15-18% last year, said Ben Eborn, president of North American Potato Market News. Those costs are expected to increase by about another 18 percent in 2022, he adds.
USDA: Prince Edward Island table stock potato imports to resume into the United States
USDA says in a press release that as a result of the U.S. and Canada reaching an understanding about the risk of table stock potato imports from PEI, Canada will lift its ban while APHIS plans to publish a federal order outlining additional required mitigations to protect the U.S. potato industry.
Idaho farmers pessimistic after a dry January and February
Farmers are already planning around this by planting more crops that need less water to survive. However, things still could change with a wet spring.
CPAC: Strong potato prices could be eaten up by war in Ukraine, inflation
A heatwave in the summer of 2021 impacted potato yields in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Washington, Ehrlich said. Washington primarily produces processed potatoes for French fries.
“Their yields were way down,” Ehrlich says. “So, they went out and tried to buy fresh market potatoes in Idaho to fill that void.”
And that created more demand for fresh potatoes from the San Luis Valley.
Potato News - Overseas
EUPPA releases special report highlighting environmental sustainability, ‘green ambitions’
The European potato processing industry welcomes the green ambitions and wants to play its part in the shift to greater sustainability. For this, the sector needs an adequate and coherent policy framework to meet the targets set by EU legislators.
War in Europe: NEPG notes rising production costs, continued global need for potato products
“But there is no reason why open market prices or sales of processed products in the European Union and abroad should change much. The processing activity in the NEPG area is good, operating at the maximum of its current potential and processors still need potatoes,” the European industry body says.
Logistics News
Fuel price surge pushes cost of running empty higher
The cost of running empty just went up again. Nonrevenue, or empty miles, are nothing new. Carriers don’t get paid when they’re not loaded. While the cost bucket was up alongside fuel prices last year, it’s already up significantly in 2022.
Sky-high shipping costs could keep prices surging until mid-2023
Shipping costs remain elevated, and it usually takes 12 to 18 months for those higher costs to made their way to the prices Americans pay, Nicholas Sly, an economist at the Kansas City Fed, told The New York Times in a story published Monday. That means pricey shipping could keep inflation at worryingly high levels well into 2023 even if container prices start to fall.
Trucking Sees Little Benefit to Diesel Tax Relief Plans
Trade groups representing truckers argue that the suspensions won’t have much benefit to them and that it would mean less money to maintain the roads that they must travel.
Small Trucking Companies Are Getting Squeezed by Soaring Diesel Prices
Fuel costs have spiked at an unprecedented pace following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, posing a challenge for freight haulers operating on tight margins and light capital
Food Industry News
Sugar users expect to see strong prices
Fourteen-year highs in crude oil prices are expected to be one of the indirect impacts on sugar values. As energy prices rise, demand for sugar-based ethanol (mainly in Brazil) could increase and leave less sugar for export. Brazil, the world’s largest sugar producer and exporter, uses about 55% of its cane production to make ethanol and about 45% for sugar, most of which is exported. Brazil’s state-run energy company Petrobras had resisted raising fuel prices until March 10 when it announced a 19% increase in gasoline and a 25% increase in diesel fuel prices. New York world raw sugar futures moved higher in response to the news.
New foodservice guide from Ingredion focuses on clean label
Purchases of food and beverage products with natural claims grew by 42% in 2020 while purchases of such products with no additive claims increased by 32%, according to Atlas/Ingredion proprietary research. Claims preferred by consumers in North America include natural/all-natural, no artificial ingredients and no additives.
Oil derived from microalgae shows promise as palm oil alternative
Oil extracted from a common type of microalgae could be used to replace palm oil, leading to health benefits and sustainability benefits, according to researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Results of their work appeared in the February issue of Journal of Applied Phycology.
ABA quoted in Fox News clip: 'War in Ukraine threatens to blow U.S. food costs sky high'
Fox News recently released a news clip entitled "War in Ukraine threatens to blow U.S. food costs sky high," and the American Bakers Association (ABA) was featured in it.
SEC proposes climate-change rules
The proposed rule change would require the registrant to disclose information about its governance of climate-related risks and relevant risk management processes; how any climate-related risks identified by the registrant have had or are likely to have a material impact on its business and consolidated financial statements; how any identified climate-related risks have affected or are likely to affect the registrant’s strategy, business model and outlook; and the impact of climate-related events (severe weather events and other natural conditions) and transition activities on the line items of a registrant’s consolidated financial statements, as well as on the financial estimates and assumptions used in the financial statements.