Sugar producers from Serbia and Montenegro will once again benefit
from preferential access to the European Union market, following
the EU's recent lifting of a 15-month ban on duty-free sugar
imports from the country - a move...
Serbia appears to be flavour of the month for investors, as the
race to bag the country's leading mineral water bottler, Knjaz
Milos, intensifies following a late but serious bid from Serbian
national and LA Lakers basketball...
The US government science agency has made available a new tool to
help food scientists undergoing research into the burgeoning field
of phytonutrients, used increasingly by food makers looking to grab
a share of the growing health...
Despite reporting that a vintage harvest is in store for the
Hungarian wine industry, a leading industry expert claims that
progress is being hampered by poor marketing, which is impacting
marketability outside of Hungary.
Polish food oils manufacturer Elstar Oils has confirmed that it is
starting a joint venture company with the Malaysian palm oil giant
Premium Nutrients Berhadze.
The Polish Securities and Exchange Commission has given the go
ahead for newly formed Saturn Nordic to take a control of more than
50 per cent of the voting shares in leading Polish meat processor
Sokolów.
Profits continue to fall for Russian dairy giant Wimm-Bill-Dann,
despite recording a healthy jump in sales for the first six months
of the year. The company said that both gross margins and net
income were hit by rising costs attributed...
Plans to sell German food ingredients business Nutrinova are on
hold as chemical company Celanese opts to keep the producer of
Sunett sweetener, for now.
Despite tough new rules on GM food labels, food makers will stick
to non-GM alternatives as new evidence from the UK shows British
consumers will continue to refuse to buy foods containing biotech
ingredients.
In a move to focus on its retail business, Swiss baking aid firm
Hero has sold UK bakery ingredients division Renshaw Scott to UK
sugar ingredients company Napier Brown Foods.
Swedish oils and fats firm Karlshamns, which saw its profits slip
at the end of 2003, has acquired UK flaked fats company Kelanco,
and with it a drive into value-added speciality fats for the
booming UK convenience food market.
Reform of the European Union's milk policy will mean a drop in
prices for skimmed milk powder, prompting Danish dairy group Arla
to take action to counter the expected decrease.
The UK Food Standards Agency is advising people not to eat a
limited number of jars and packets of pickles, sauces and preserved
vegetables imported from Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and India,
following a survey that showed that these...
Britons are already the Europeans most likely to skip meals on a
regular basis - a trend which has made them the snacking champions
of Europe - but a new report suggests that irregular mealtimes are
likely to become even more widespread...
The future of Spanish meat processor Campofrio Alimentacion's
operations in central and eastern Europe has been thrown into doubt
following reports that its Russian business interest, CampoMos, is
about to be restructured in...
Polish soft drinks manufacturer Hoop, a significant player in the
European soft drinks market, has announced a drop in profits for
the financial year 2003 following an increase in expenditure
related to the enhancement of production...
The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided
to pursue its investigation into alleged dumping of the
hydrocolloid ingredient purified carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) after
an initial complaint by Aqualan, a division...
The news from Hungary includes the latest on the division of the
Bábolna business, Kaiser Food upgrading its processing operations
and Hungarian wine producers looking towards a vintage year.
Food ingredients sales at Irish dairy firm Glanbia jumped 20 per
cent during the first half and lifted profits 49 per cent higher
than the previous year, reported the company, which is targeting
strong growth for its ingredients business...
First half sales at Aarhus United fell 3 per cent, eroded by price
competition in bulk oils, but improved volumes, particularly in
Mexico, and reduced costs helped it generate solid operating
profits.
The sale of shares in Serbian mineral water bottler Knjaz Milos has
attracted considerable attention from a succession of foreign
companies, with France's Group Danone, Cayman Islands registered
FPP Balkan, Hungarian-based Jaminca...
Baltika
continues its strong performance in the Russian beer market after
announcing a double digit increase in its sales volumes for the
first six months of the year. But increased expenditure on
advertising and packaging...
Ongoing demand for healthy products helped Irish food and
ingredients firm Kerry to a strong first half performance. And with
recent acquisitions pushing it into other high growth sectors,
there is little to stop the group from making...
A government report published this month reveals that UK industry
spends £2.6 billion a year on environmental protection, with food
and drink manufacturing the highest spending sector at £429
million, writes Anthony Fletcher.
CSM, the Dutch food ingredients company, is considering the sale of
its sugar confectionery unit in order to concentrate on its core
bakery supplies and sugar operations - despite a very poor
performance from the bakery unit in the...
The continuing popularity of yoghurt - and in particular its health
benefits - has led to a raft of new product innovation as companies
in market sectors outside the dairy industry seek to capitalise on
yoghurt's reputation....
Tesco, Britain's number one food retailer, and J Sainsbury, the
third largest supermarket operator, have streamlined their milk
supply operations, reducing the number of suppliers from three to
two. The moves echo a similar streamlining...
Premium Nutrients, a Malaysian producer of oils and fats, is
looking to step up its investment in the EU over the next three to
four years, with a resulting 10 per cent increase in turnover to
around RM56 million in 2005.
Dutch ingredients company DSM revealed yesterday that its muscle
recovery ingredient PeptoPro will be marketed in a new range of
products worldwide by Europe's biggest sports nutrition company
Haleko.
Consumer demand for ethical products is growing steadily across
Europe and the major food manufacturers and retailers have
inevitably begun to step up their product offering in this area.
But a new study of consumer attitudes suggests...
With the market for certified organic products continuing to grow,
demand for organic hydrocolloids has also expanded - prompting the
leading supplier of hydrocolloids to the US food industry to launch
an organic version of its guar...
Nearly four months on from Poland's accession to the European
Union, the country's dairy sector is reporting such heavy demand
for its products that it is struggling to keep up with demands.
The news from the Polish food and beverage sector include details
about 130,000 milk suppliers gearing up for EU certification, pork
producers aiming to increase exports to South Korea and Grupa
Zywiec moving closer to buying Kujawiak...
Baltika,
Russia's leading beer brewery, has announced the start of
production at its newly constructed malt processing facility in
Tula, central European Russia. The project aims to up the company's
own supply of...
The world's number two vitamin maker BASF opened a new production
plant for the chemical citral yesterday, the key building block for
vitamins A and E, as well as the carotenoids beta-carotene and
canthaxanthin.
Parmalat, the Italian dairy company which has been in the hands of
the administrators since collapsing with massive debts last year -
has continued to take legal action against a number of leading
financial institutions in a bid to...
Food manufacturer Heinz has reported a 7.8 per cent rise in
first-quarter profit excluding a year-earlier tax benefit, as
demand for frozen food products continues to drive profits. But is
the company investing in the wrong type of...
Lindt & Sprüngli, the Swiss confectionery group, has ended the
first half of 2004 in the black - the first time the company has
completed the first six months of the year in profit. Increased
marketing expenditure - helped by...
Earmarked as the next major competitor to soybean as a high protein
source, lupin flour, a food ingredient used in pasta and bread
products, has attracted attention from food safety officials in
Australia following reports of severe...
Thailand's tropical climate has fuelled the country's thirst for
soft drinks, with consumption growing steadily in recent years,
according to market analysts Canadean. Bottled water and
other 'healthy' drinks are...
Britain boasts more than 400 different varieties of cheese, but the
UK has never been particularly known for its goat's cheese - until
now. Goat's cheese is now so popular, claims supermarket group
Tesco, that goat farmers...
Glenmorangie, the UK's most popular malt whisky brand, is on the
verge of changing hands, with the confirmation today that the
company's leading shareholders, the Macdonald family, are looking
to offload their shares.
Italy is western Europe’s biggest bottled water market, with both
the highest overall volumes and the largest per capita intake. But
despite this flood of water, the market is far from reaching
saturation as Italians turn increasingly...
Dairy products remain an important growth driver for Swiss food and
beverages group Nestlé, despite the disposal of a number of assets
and poor weather conditions which affected sales during the first
half. But organic growth was...
Convenience stores and hypermarkets - formats at opposite ends of
the retail spectrum - will be the main drivers of growth in the
British food retail market over the next five years, according to
grocery think tank IGD. The UK market...
Leading Polish meat processor Animex says it is investing $20 million
(€16.25m) to upgrade its production facilities in an attempt to
meet its projections of anticipated demands in its export markets.
Despite a cold winter and spring, Russia's soft drinks market
continued to grow healthily in 2003, helped primarily by the
booming nectars category, where consumption is now almost eleven
times greater than it was in 1994, according...
Food retailers often find themselves accused of preying on other
players the food chain - exerting undue pressure on suppliers,
destroying local community jobs by opening new stores and impacting
the environment by opening them in...
Brazil, a leading exporter of soybeans and key competitor with the
US, is worried that rising production costs for soybeans could eat
into local farm profits next season, while global stocks rise,
according to fresh figures from the...