Industry News - wk ending 13 May '22
Potato News - North America
Canada: New provincial support available for Prince Edward Island seed producers
The Department of Agriculture and Land says in a press release that the “Soil Building for Seed Producers Project” is a $3 million provincial investment into Prince Edward Island’s seed sector funded through the Potato Emergency Contingency Program and will focus on the continued implementation of Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) on fields currently used for seed potato production.
POTATO RETAIL SALES VALUE UP IN Q3
During the third quarter of Potatoes USA’s Marketing Year 2022 (January – March 2022), potato sales increased in dollars by 7.2% but decreased in volume by 5%, compared to the same period in 2021. Elevated prices in grocery stores lead to an increase in dollar sales compared to 2021. Volume sales were below 2020 when panic buying started but remained higher than in 2019. Prices grew by 12.8% compared to 2021, averaging $2.02 per pound for total store potatoes.
U.S. fresh potatoes begin export to Mexico beyond 26-kilometer border zone
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Mexico’s national plant protection organization (SENASICA) announce that the United States has begun exporting potatoes beyond the 26-kilometer border zone that previously marked the limit of their export.
Potato News - Overseas
Ukrainian farmers dodge landmines and rockets as world’s farmers offer help
Destruction and devastation litter the Ukrainian countryside. Farms have turned into battlegrounds as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stretches into another month, as Clinton Griffiths reports for The Scoop.
Less risks and good returns for the grower
Varieties in the market that reduce the risks in cultivation and achieve a good return. This is the most important objective at potato trading house Den Hartigh BV from Emmeloord. With more than twenty varieties on the variety list and cultivation and logistics in and to about fifty countries, the success of the own breeding company is paid for. In addition to growth brilliance such as Prada, Gaya, Edison and Connect, King Russet has been embraced by the market since its introduction in 2018. And it has even more potential. No reason to rest on laurels. “Crossing in resistances remains a challenge. We are looking for varieties that are more or less vandal-proof.”
Logistics News
Oil jumps 4% as U.S. gasoline prices hit record high
Oil prices rose about 4% on Friday as U.S. gasoline prices jumped to a record high, China looked ready to ease pandemic restrictions and investors worried supplies will tighten if the European Union bans Russian oil.
Diesel, Gas Refining Capacity Too Low to Meet Demand
More than 1 million barrels a day of the country’s oil refining capacity — or about 5% overall — has shut since the beginning of the pandemic. Elsewhere in the world, capacity has shrunk by 2.13 million additional barrels a day, energy consultancy Turner, Mason & Co. estimates. And with no plans to bring new U.S. plants online, even though refiners are reaping record profits, the supply squeeze is only going to get worse.
Food Industry News
Wheat Promotion Checkoff Being Withdrawn
An effort underway for at least six years to create a checkoff program to promote wheat-based grain foods is being recalled by the body that proposed it.
Inflation and Image
Setting prices during a period of inflation has got to be one of the most nerve-wracking processes in business, especially food & beverage. Yes, there are formulas that allow all sorts of factors to be accounted for, but at the end of the day, raising prices is a gamble – an educated one, but a gamble nonetheless. Set them too low and you’ll lose money; too high and you’ll lose business.
Hard red winter wheat production down 21% from 2021
In the first survey-based projection of the 2022 crop, the US Department of Agriculture in its May 12 Crop Production report forecast winter wheat production in 2022 at 1,173,547,000 bus, down 103,818,000, or 8%, from 1,277,365,000 bus in 2021.
Food and Energy Price Shocks from Ukraine War Could Last for Years
The war in Ukraine has dealt a major shock to commodity markets, altering global patterns of trade, production, and consumption in ways that will keep prices at historically high levels through the end of 2024, according to the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook report.
USDA lifts sugar carryover by 16% from April
The US Department of Agriculture in its May 12 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report lowered from April its forecast for 2021-22 US sugar production and raised deliveries, but both were more than offset by sharply higher imports, resulting in a stocks-to-use ratio of 14.4% compared with 12.5% in April and with 13.8% in 2020-21.
Producer Prices Surge 11% in April as Food Prices Jump
U.S. producer prices soared 11% in April from a year earlier, a hefty gain that indicates high inflation will remain a burden for consumers and businesses in the months ahead.
Russia, Ukraine conflict may drive some prices beyond historic highs
The roster of countries employing export bans of specific commodities to protect domestic markets is growing and will further disrupt supply chains striving to recover from lockdowns incurred during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. If more countries embrace these strategies, the situation may devolve from mere supply chain disruptions into a threat to global trade and economic growth that will push costs higher around the world.