China is now the world's largest beer producer, however its output
of barley has dropped and barley's price has risen by a margin of
10 per cent in one year.
Philippine food firm RFM Corp said on July 26 that its board has
approved in principle the sale of a stake in Cosmos Bottling Corp
to the country's food and beverage conglomerate, San Miguel Corp.
Burger King Corp. said that parent company Diageo Plc will transfer
some foreign assets to Burger King in the event of a public
offering of the hamburger chain's stock, in order to ease the
company's transition to independence.
French food group Danone reported a 6.5 per cent rise in first-half
profit on Wednesday and an advance in operating margins despite
higher raw materials costs.
French dairy cooperative Groupe Sodiaal on Wednesday denied media
reports it was planning to sell its Yoplait yoghurt business and
had contracted bankers Rothschild & Cie to see through a sale.
H. J. Heinz Company and Kagome Company Limited of Japan signed
agreements for a strategic alliance whose goal is to enable both
companies to explore ways to align their global operations and
product portfolios to accelerate sales...
Cadbury Schweppes Plc, British confectionery and soft drinks group,
wrapped up on July 24 an expected deal to buy Spain's La Casera
from the Iberian Beverages Group for Euro 117 million.
17 US states said they have entered into a second agreement with
the French-German biotechnology group Aventis CropScience to
compensate farmers whose corn was tainted by the company's
gene-altered StarLink variety.
Merko Gida, the Turkish food and beverage producer announced on
July 24 that it would establish a joint venture with French
beverage group Pernod Ricard.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. said on Monday that fiscal
fourth-quarter net earnings fell 6 per cent as the company took a
hit on higher energy costs and losses from some securities
transactions.
The Philippines' leading food conglomerate San Miguel Corp said on
Tuesday it was still discussing the purchase of soft drinks firm
Cosmos Bottling Corp with RFM Corp.
Cott Corporation announced on July 23 that it has completed its
acquisition of certain Royal Crown assets from Cadbury Schweppes
plc for approximately $94 million.
Solid results in its soft-drinks bottling business were expected to
offset weakness in packaging and retail units to give Mexican
brewer and bottler Femsa moderate second-quarter growth, analysts
said.
PepsiCo, Inc. announced that it completed its plan to acquire
Tasali Snack Foods, the leader of the Saudi Arabian salty snack
market, from Savola Snack Foods.
Wine lovers should soon be able to profit from their passion for
France's favorite tipple with the launch on the Paris stock
exchange of a futures contract for fine Bordeaux wines.
Dutch food group Koninklijke Wessanen nv announced the acquisition
of Canadian health food company Preisco Foods Ltd. and Jentash
Specialty Foods Limited Partnership.
Saint Louis Sucre (SLS) said it would fight in court to force the
Polish state treasury to sell it Poland's biggest sugar group,
Slaska Spolka Cukrowa, under a deal signed last year.
Leading Mexican beer brewer Grupo Modelo will likely show moderate
earnings growth for the second quarter of this year, with U.S.
sales offsetting a flat domestic market.
Shares in Kamps AG, the largest German bakery chain, shed more than
40 per cent on Wednesday, after the company cut its 2001 operating
profit forecast by 31 per cent.
Philippine conglomerate RFM Corp said it would focus on its core
food business after the sale of its lucrative soft drinks
subsidiary Cosmos Bottling Corp to a joint venture of Coca-Cola and
San Miguel Corp.
Mainland China flower and vegetable producer Euro-Asia Agricultural
(Holdings) Co Ltd said this week that the retail slice of its
initial public offering in Hong Kong had been about 79 times
subscribed.
On July 17, British and German agriculture ministers said they
would push for radical restructuring of the European Union's
agricultural policy to take account of the environment as well as
food production.
The Australian brewer Lion Nathan has suffered further blows in its
hopes to beat the British liquor group Allied Domecq and to regain
a controlling stake in New Zealand's winemaker Montana.
The Japanese unit of Procter & Gamble Co (P&G) said on
Tuesday it would recall some 800,000 packs of its Pringles potato
chips that were found to contain unapproved genetically modified
(GM) potatoes.
Dutch supermarkets group Koninklijke Ahold NV said on Monday it
will launch a tender offer for the remaining outstanding 42 per
cent of its Internet grocery unit Peapod Inc.
H. J. Heinz Company, the American food company, has completed the
acquisition of the pasta sauce and dry bouillon and soup businesses
of Borden Foods Corporation.
Monsanto announced that GM wheat should be available for sale
within five years. However, Canadian farmers are reluctant to this
development as Europe, their largest export market, is opposed to
GMOs.
An American federal judge dismissed a 6-year-old civil lawsuit
alleging that several American agribusiness groups were involved in
a conspiracy to fix the price of high-fructose corn syrup.
Creditors of South Korea's Haitai Confectionery will arrange $304.3
million in loans to sweeten the sale of the insolvent company to a
UBS Capital-led group.
In the first four months of the year, Malaysia's worldwide exports
of food products reached Euro 363 m. The figure for the entire year
is set to increase beyond last year's figure of Euro 1.14 bn.
On July 12, Mexico's Federal Comptroller said that sugar giant
Consorcio Azucarero Escorpion (CAZE) made false statements to
receive about $11.1 million in export subsidies between 1997 and
1999.
AmBev, the Brazilian drinks group, launched its Guarana Antarctica
soft drink in Portugal on July 12 in what it said was a cautious
first step toward its ambition to make the brand a global player.
Dole Food Co. Inc., the largest U.S.fresh fruit and vegetable
producer, reported that higher banana prices, fresh fruit sales and
cost-cutting upped second-quarter profits, but warned that the
third quarter might not meet forecasts.
The French beverage group Pernod Ricard has received seven offers
for BWG, its Irish and British wholesale distribution business, in
a deal that could be worth up to Euro350m.
Diageo, the UK drink company, reported strong sales and volumes at
its premium drinks business but warned of a poor second half for
both Pillsbury and Burger King.
Hong Kong food and beverage companies Fairwood Holdings and Vitasoy
International reported worse-than-expected results on July 12, as
newly-enforced mandatory pension benefits and foreign expansion ate
into their bottom lines.
US soft drink giant Pepsico Inc has teamed up with the Carlyle
global investment group to try to outbid San Miguel Corp in the
race to acquire Philippine soft drink firm Cosmos Bottling Corp.
French herb specialist Darégal announced this week that from July 1
2001 it has taken over the frozen aromatic herbs activity of French
food company Gyma
The Philippine's food and beverage company San Miguel Corp said on
July 11 that it hoped to clinch a deal by next month to buy Cosmos
Bottling Corporation (CBC).
Figures released on July 11 showed that Kirin Brewery and Asahi
Breweries, the two largest Japanese brewing companies, were
neck-and-neck in beer market share for the first half of the year.
Miller Brewing Co. and Royal Grolsch NV agreed on a alliance
regarding the brewing, bottling, sales, marketing and distribution
on Miller Genuine Draft in several Western European countries.