Issue #3 March 31, 2015 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Message from Chip Smith, President:

Well, the world is awash in sugar and the northeast is awash in snow. I'm sure that many hope that the market is not left in a long New England style "mud season". This month's newsletter contains items on the current market, along with the new dietary guidelines and other matters. Please enjoy them, as always.

As mentioned in last month's newsletter, our Sugar Week luncheon will again be held at Smith and Wollensky's Steakhouse in Manhattan. Mike Gorrell of Imperial Sugar will be the speaker and we are hoping that you will all join us. Please RSVP to Bruce Penner at penner@cass.net and send in your checks. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Best Regards,

Chip Smith, President

Also in this issue: (Click on the Headline, or scroll down to the document)

00/00 - Sugar Club Week events 00/00 - NSIMA Annual New York City Luncheon Invitation 03/03 - Domino Foods Introduces Born Sweet Zing Stevia Sweetener 03/04 - WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among adults and children 03/04 - Sugar Association Statement on WHO Guideline on Sugars 03/05 - Global food price index declines to 55-month low, led by sugar 03/06 - Academics and industry clash over WHO sugar advice 03/09 - Mexico to tender 9 state-held sugar mills in late March 03/10 - Ontario Sugarbeet Growers' Association wants to grow industry 03/10 - DGAC 2015 report "demonizes" sugar, meat and potatoes, former committee members say 03/10 - China should control sugar imports, says Bright executive 03/11 - GMO labeling efforts continue in the Northeast 03/13 - Chocolate makers can’t expect higher cocoa yields under short-term contracts 03/13 - (India's) Mills seek government incentives to export white sugar 03/16 - March issue of the SUGAR AND SWEETENERS OUTLOOK 03/17 - Diet soda linked to increases in belly fat in older adults 03/17 - Unprecedented Sugar Glut Expanding as World Output Soars 03/18 - Why buyers are an important partner in sustainable cocoa 03/19 - US-Mexico sugar pact gets US trade commission okay 03/19 - Sugar trade deal strikes big blow to U.S. refiners, candymakers 03/23 - Beet piles in RRV survive early warm weather 03/24 - More U.S. soybean acres favored in 2015 03/24 - Sugar Association's Dr. Gaine 'Raises Concerns' About Dietary Guidelines Process at Public Hearing 03/25 - Canadian tariff threat would impact U.S. confectioners 03/27 - Louis Dreyfus owner increases stake in company

The Sugar Club 67th Annual Banquet

Wednesday, May 13, 2015 March 24, 2015

Dear Sugar Club Member: We are pleased to announce that the 67th Annual Sugar Club Banquet will take place on

Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City (Park Avenue & 49th Street). The black-tie event will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the East Foyer, followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m.

in the Grand Ballroom. Our guest speaker will be announced shortly. BANQUET RESERVATIONS. Reservations will be accepted on a “first-come, first served”

basis until May 1 and must include payment in U.S. funds. The price is $300.00 per person and $3,000.00 per table of ten. Checks, wire transfers and ACH payments will be accepted.

No credit cards are accepted. If paying by check, make payable to The Sugar Club and mail the attached reservation form and

check to: The Sugar Club

c/o Trudy Kominus 8215 Donset Drive

Springfield, Virginia 22152 If paying by wire transfer or ACH payment, include an additional $25.00 per domestic

wire or $50.00 per international wire through: People’s United Bank

14 Mamaroneck Avenue White Plains, New York 10601

The Sugar Club Account Number: 6500333111

ABA: 221172186 Send an e-mail notification with the date and amount of the wire transfer and the attached

reservation form to: TheSugarClubNYC@gmail.com. Your reservation will not be held unless the applicable wire fee is included in your payment.

HOTEL ROOM RESERVATIONS. The Waldorf Astoria is holding a block of rooms for the Sugar Club Banquet on May 13

at a special rate of $369.00 single/double occupancy and several Executive Suites for $519.00. To ensure your room reservation at the special group rate, please

call the Waldorf at 1 877 GROUP WA and mention the Sugar Club group code: SUG. The cutoff date for the group rate is Wednesday, April 23. Guests making reservations from overseas should contact

1 800 HILTONS. Sincerely,

Rick Pasco, Secretary, The Sugar Club

2015 SUGAR CLUB BANQUET RESERVATION FORM $300.00 per person, $3,000.00/table of ten

Company Name: _________________________________ Number of seats _____ Contact: ________________________________________ [if less than 10]

Telephone #: ____________________________________ Number of tables _____ E-mail: _________________________________________

Please print the attendees names in capital letters by table in alphabetical order by last name. Send additional forms, if you require more than two tables.

If names are not provided by May 1 they will be listed as “guests” of your organization. TABLE _____ TABLE _____

LAST NAME FIRST NAME LAST NAME FIRST NAME 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. 6. 6. 7. 7. 8. 8. 9. 9.

10. 10. PAYMENT $ ________ CHECK ONE: [ ] CHECK [ ] WIRE TRANSFER

ONCE PAYMENT IS RECEIVED YOUR RESERVATION WILL BE CONFIRMED BY E-MAIL. TABLES WILL BE ASSIGNED THE WEEK BEFORE THE BANQUET.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CALL (703) 451-6444 OR E-MAIL: TheSugarClubNYC@gmail.com

SUGAR WEEK EVENTS Monday, May 11, 2015

- 13th Sugar and Ethanol Seminar sponsored by JSG Commodities and Job Economia. Executive Conference Center, New York City. The

Seminar will analyze the new NAFTA sugar complex and the markets in turmoil. It will also cover prospects for the new crop in Brazil and its global competiveness in the face of increasing costs and the weak Real.

For more information contact: bea@jsgcom.com.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015 ˗ ISO Datagro Sugar and Ethanol Conference. Waldorf Astoria, New York City.

The program will include sessions on global trends and perspectives for sugar and ethanol; sugar in Central and South America;

sugar and ethanol in Brazil; the EU; lessons learned from the NAFTA dispute; and the impact of biotech beet sugar production.

For more information contact: isodatagroconferences.com

˗ NSIMA Annual Luncheon. Smith & Wollensky Restaurant, New York City. The speaker will be Mike Gorrell, President and CEO, Imperial Sugar Company.

For more information contact Bruce Penner at: penner@cass.net.

The National Sweetener and Ingredient Marketing Association (NSIMA) will hold our annual luncheon at the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant,

located at 49th St. & 3rd Ave, New York City, NY on Wednesday May 13, 2015 beginning at 11:30am.

Smith & Wollensky’s is a world famous upscale steakhouse.

We will be two blocks from the Waldorf.

The cost is $115.00 in advance, $125.00 at the door.

Our guest speaker will be Mr. Mike Gorrell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Sugar Company.

We feel this will be an outstanding event,

and urge RSVP as soon as possible due to limited seating. We are sure Mr. Gorrell’s presentation will be

timely, topical, entertaining, and thought provoking. A "don't miss" event !

To make reservations, please either call the Association at 989-205-6007,

e-mail the Association at penner@cass.net, or USPS Postal mail us at:

NSIMA 8088 Bay Court

Temperance, MI 48182

We look forward to seeing you in New York !

*****Reservation Form***** NSlMA Luncheon Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Smith & Wollensky Restaurant, located at 797 3rd Ave, New York, NY Time: 11:30am

$115.00 each in advance, $125.00 at the Door

Company: _____________________________________________________ Attendees: _____________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Make checks payable to and mail to:

NSIMA, 8088 Bay Court, Temperance, MI 48182

http://www.groceryheadquarters.com/2015/03/domino-foods-introduces-born-sweet-zing-stevia-sweetener/

Mar 3, 2015: by Richard Turcsik, GroceryHeadquarters.com

Domino Foods Introduces Born Sweet Zing Stevia Sweetener

Victory is here for sugar substitute users seeking perfectly sweet, real product solutions for their daily sweetening needs.

According to the manufacturer, Zing Zero Calorie stevia sweetener will delight consumers with its delicious, clean, sweet taste. It provides a great tasting, zero calorie sweetener, made with only real ingredients of high quality stevia leaf extract and dextrose – nothing artificial. Available in packets and in an easy-spoon jar, Zing™ Zero Calorie stevia sweetener is perfect for mixing into and sprinkling onto favorite beverages and foods every day.

For those consumers who choose to bake with a sugar substitute made from real ingredients, Zing Baking Blend provides a delicious option. At only five calories per serving, Zing Baking Blend, a stevia and pure cane sugar blend, is for calorie-conscious baking enthusiasts looking for a sweetening alternative. A convenient, easy-pour canister makes for quick measuring and will delight bakers with its exceptional performance, baking and browning just like sugar and with pure sweet taste.

“We are certain that these new stevia sweeteners will appeal to the youthful, calorie-concerned, and wellness-informed consumer who demands great tasting food and beverages. Both the Zing Zero Calorie stevia sweetener and the Zing Baking Blend are for those who want to cut back on calories when sweetening, without sacrificing delicious taste,” says Brian O’Malley, Chief Executive Officer and President of Yonkers, N.Y.-based Domino Foods, Inc. “Domino Foods, Inc. has a long tradition of providing outstanding products in the sweetener category and we believe Zing Stevia Sweeteners are no exception. Our expectations are that the new sweeteners will become an essential part of daily routines as well as holiday baking experiences for years to come.”

Domino Foods, Inc. is part of ASR Group, the world’s largest cane sugar refiner.

For additional information, please visit www.zingstevia.com

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/

March 04, 2015: Press release

WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among adults and children

4 March 2015 ¦ Geneva - A new WHO guideline recommends adults and children reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake. A further reduction to below 5% or roughly 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day would provide additional health benefits.

Guideline on sugars intake for adult and children

Free sugars refer to monosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose) and disaccharides (such as sucrose or table sugar) added to foods and drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.

“We have solid evidence that keeping intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake reduces the risk of overweight, obesity and tooth decay,” says Dr Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development. “Making policy changes to support this will be key if countries are to live up to their commitments to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases.”

The WHO guideline does not refer to the sugars in fresh fruits and vegetables, and sugars naturally present in milk, because there is no reported evidence of adverse effects of consuming these sugars.

Much of the sugars consumed today are “hidden” in processed foods that are not usually seen as sweets. For example, 1 tablespoon of ketchup contains around 4 grams (around 1 teaspoon) of free sugars. A single can of sugar-sweetened soda contains up to 40 grams (around 10 teaspoons) of free sugars.

Worldwide intake of free sugars varies by age, setting and country. In Europe, intake in adults ranges from about 7-8% of total energy intake in countries like Hungary and Norway, to 16-17% in countries like Spain and the United Kingdom. Intake is much higher among children, ranging from about 12% in countries like Denmark, Slovenia and Sweden, to nearly 25% in Portugal. There are also rural/urban differences. In rural communities in South Africa intake is 7.5%, while in the urban population it is 10.3%.

Reducing sugars intake to less than 10% of total energy: a strong recommendation

The recommendations are based on analysis of the latest scientific evidence. This evidence shows, first, that adults who consume less sugars have lower body weight and, second, that increasing the amount of sugars in the diet is associated with a weight increase. In addition, research shows that children with the highest intakes of sugar-sweetened drinks are more likely to be overweight or obese than children with a low intake of sugar-sweetened drinks.

The recommendation is further supported by evidence showing higher rates of dental caries (commonly referred to as tooth decay) when the intake of free sugars is above 10% of total energy intake compared with an intake of free sugars below 10% of total energy intake.

Based on the quality of supporting evidence, these recommendations are ranked by WHO as “strong”. This means they can be adopted as policy in most situations.

Further reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake: a conditional recommendation

Given the nature of existing studies, the recommendation of reducing intake of free sugars to below 5% of total energy is presented as “conditional” in the WHO system for issuing evidence-based guidance.

Few epidemiological studies have been undertaken in populations with a low sugars intake. Only three national population-wide studies allow a comparison of dental caries with sugars intakes of less than 5% of total energy intake versus more than 5% but less than 10% of total energy intake.

These population-based ecological studies were conducted during a period when sugars availability dropped dramatically from 15kg per person per year before the Second World War to a low of 0.2kg per person per year in 1946. This “natural experiment”, which demonstrated a reduction in dental caries, provides the basis for the recommendation that reducing the intake of free sugars below 5% of total energy intake would provide additional health benefits in the form of reduced dental caries.

WHO issues conditional recommendations even when the quality of evidence may not be strong on issues of public health importance. A conditional recommendation is one where the desirable effects of adhering to the recommendation probably outweigh the undesirable effects but these trade-offs need to be clarified; therefore, stakeholder dialogue and consultations are needed before the recommendation is implemented as policy.

Updating the guideline on free sugars intake is part of WHO's ongoing efforts to update existing dietary goals to prevent NCDs. The sugars guidelines should be used in conjunction with other nutrient guidelines and dietary goals, in particular those related to fats and fatty acids, including saturated fat and trans-fat.

In March 2014, WHO opened a public consultation on the then draft sugars guideline to seek inputs from all stakeholders. More than 170 comments were received from representatives of government agencies, United Nations agencies, nongovernmental organizations, industries and academic institutions as well as other interested individuals. An expert peer review process was also undertaken in 2014. The final guideline was prepared taking into account comments received from the public consultation and expert peer review.

Countries can translate the recommendations into food-based dietary guidelines that consider locally available food and customs. Additionally, some countries are implementing other public health interventions to reduce free sugars intake. These include nutrition labelling of food products, restricting marketing to children of food and non-alcoholic drinks that are high in free sugars, fiscal policies targeting foods and beverages high in free sugars, and dialogue with food manufacturers to reduce free sugars in processed foods.

Note to editors

Reducing free sugars intake to less than 10% of total daily energy intake was recommended by the WHO Study Group for the first time in 1989 and was further elaborated by a joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation in 2002. This new updated WHO guideline calls for further reduction of free sugars intake to less than 5% of total energy intake if possible.

Promoting healthy diet was a key theme of the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) convened jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WHO in November 2014. At ICN2, more than 170 countries adopted the Rome Declaration on Nutrition, and a Framework for Action, which highlight the need for global action to end all forms of malnutrition, including obesity and diet-related NCDs.

The sugars guideline is also part of WHO’s effort to reach targets set by the Global Action Plan for NCDs 2013-2020 to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity and reduce the burden of premature deaths due to NCDs by 25% by 2025. Similarly, the sugars guideline contributes to the work of WHO’s Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, which aims to raise awareness and build momentum for action to address childhood obesity.

http://www.sugar.org/

Sugar Association Statement on WHO Guideline on Sugars: It’s Misleading for ‘Strong’ Guidelines to be Backed By Only ‘Moderate,’ ‘Low’ and ‘Very Low’ Evidence

The Sugar Association appreciates the World Health Organization’s (WHO) efforts to address obesity and dental caries around the world. However, WHO’s “strong” recommendations regarding sugars intake are not backed by “strong” evidence, a fact acknowledged by the organization itself, albeit in small print. The report footnotes reveal that the quality of evidence supporting the recommendations is “moderate,” “low,” and “very low” and indicate the evidence proves a modest level of confidence, at best, that the recommendations will have the desired effect. This forces one to question how they derived these “strong” recommendations. Unfortunately, this is a documented pattern by WHO. As we outlined in our filing with the WHO in March 2014, as well as in a letter to Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General, in September 2014, the preponderance of science and the data on caloric sweeteners do not support the suggested limit on sugars intake. Overlooked by WHO is the fact that other organizations have considered intake limits with different conclusions: a report by the U.S. Institute of Medicine proclaimed there was no conclusive evidence to justify establishing an intake limit for ”added sugars.” The European Food Safety Authority reaffirmed the same conclusion in 2010. Both of these substantial reviews were totally ignored by the WHO, again bringing into question the scientific basis for this misguided Guideline on Sugars. In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also determined that the science does not support a quantitative intake recommendation for “added sugars” in its Proposed Rule, Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, FDA-2010-N-1210. This guideline misleads consumers by its use of poor-quality, weak and inconsistent data to link a level of sugars intake with reduced disease risk. Such a claim is serious, and requires high-quality data, particularly given the potential for consumer confusion and the likelihood that the economic impact to developing countries will be severe.

http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/279377/icode/ March 5, 2015: FAO Press Release

Global food price index declines to 55-month low, led by sugar Rome, 5 March, 2015 - The FAO Food Price Index declined to a 55-month low in February, dropping 1.0 percent from January and 14 percent below its level a year earlier.

Lower prices for cereals, meat and especially sugar more than offset an increase in milk and palm oil prices.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 179.4 points in February, down from 181.2 points in January and 208.6 points in February 2014.

Its ongoing decline - to its lowest level since July 2010 - reflects robust supply conditions as well as ongoing weakness in many currencies versus the U.S. dollar, which appear set to continue, said Michael Griffin, FAO's dairy and livestock market expert.

"The first thing to flag is the favorable outlook for production of a number of crops in 2015," he said. "Stocks are also very strong" for most cereals, he added.

FAO's Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index that tracks prices of five major food commodity groups on international markets. It aggregates price sub-indices of cereals, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar. Wheat and sugar prices drop, powdered milk and palm oil rise The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 171.7 points in February, down 3.2 percent from January, with booming prospects for wheat output explaining the bulk of the decline. Rice prices were more stable, with aromatic rice quotations increasing markedly, compensating for much the declines observed in the other rice varieties.

The FAO Sugar Price Index averaged 207.1 points in February, down 4.9 percent from January, the sharpest move of any commodity. The drop reflected optimism on production prospects in Brazil after recent rainfalls, as well as India's announcement it will subsidize exports to boost sugar sales abroad.

The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 187.4 points in February, down 1.4 percent from its revised January value. Beef and mutton prices declined, largely due to a stronger U.S. dollar against the Brazilian real and the Australian dollar. Pigmeat prices rose for the first time in eight months, helped up by the European Union's decision to provide aid for private storage in the sector.

The FAO Dairy Price Index rose for the first time in a year, averaging 181.8 points in February, representing a 4.6 percent increase from the previous month. The increase was driven by milk powders and reflects both a seasonal slowdown in European output as the quota for the season draws to a close and a crimped supply from New Zealand and Australia. Cheese quotations remained largely unchanged.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 156.6 points, up 0.4 percent from January. This reflected a sizeable rise in palm oil prices - resulting from recent floods in Malaysia and from a hike in Indonesian domestic biofuel subsidies expected to stoke demand - even as soy oil prices continued to decline given prospects of bumper soybean harvests in South America.

2015 wheat output seen dipping slightly from record 2014 level FAO has further raised its estimate of 2014 world cereal production, now seen at 2.542 billion tonnes, amounting to 20 million tonnes or one percent higher than in 2013. The bulk of the increase reflects wheat production gains in Argentina, Central Asia and Europe.

With the 2015 winter wheat crop already developing in the northern hemisphere, FAO forecasts that production for the year would amount to 720 million tonnes, or one percent below the record output of 2014, discounting normal yields in the European Union and Central Asia after strong levels last season.

Globally, 1.107 billion tonnes of cereals are forecast to be used for food consumption in 2014/15, resulting in a slight increase in average per capita intake to 153.3 kilograms. Cereals used for animal feed are anticipated to grow by 4.0 percent and account for 877 million tonnes.

FAO forecast for world cereal stocks at the close of the 2014/15 crop seasons has been raised by about 8 million tonnes since last month to a 15-year high of 631 million tonnes, with part of the revision resulting from reviewed estimates of previous years' stock levels in China and Ukraine.

For more details, see FAO's latest Cereal Supply and Demand brief.

http://www.confectionerynews.com/content/view/print/1059632

Mar 06, 2015: By Joyeeta Basu, Confectionerynews.com

Academics and industry clash over WHO sugar advice

Academics have welcomed the WHO’s recommendation to slash added sugar intake to 5-10% Of calories – but the food industry has said it is misleading and based on weak evidence.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) made the recommendations in a new report “Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children”. Dr Francesco Branca, director of WHO's Department of Nutrition for Health and Development said sugar is a major public health concern for many countries. “Making policy changes to support this will be key if countries are to live up to their commitments to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases,” he added. Keeping added sugars to below 5% of daily calories — about six teaspoons of sugar — would have additional health benefits, the agency added. The guideline released Wednesday was prepared taking into account comments received from a public consultation and expert peer review. Evidence-based guidelines The guidelines finalized the WHO’s draft recommendations , first published in 2014, and do not relate to sugars found naturally in fruits, vegetables and unsweetened dairy products, it said. They however included table sugar, honey, molasses, high-fructose corn syrup, glucose and sucrose under as added sugars or “free sugars”. “We have solid evidence that keeping intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake reduces the risk of overweight, obesity and tooth decay,” added Dr. Branca. The research in addition showed that children with the highest intakes of sugar-sweetened drinks were more likely to be overweight than children with a low intake of such drinks . Worldwide response While academics have come out in support of the guidelines, the sugar industry felt the evidence backing WHO’s suggestions was not strong enough. Dr Nita Forouhi, MRC Nutritional Epidemiology Programme Leader and Public Health Physician, University of Cambridge, supported the report and called it a “win-win” situation. She said it sent out a clear message that “less is better” while allowing room for stakeholder and policymaker consultation. Its strengths lay in its “evidence-based approach and the acknowledgement that the guidelines should not be used in isolation but with other dietary goals”, she said. Professor emeritus of Nutrition and Dietetics, King’s College London Tom Sanders also backed the report. He felt said the 10% target could be “easily met” but the conditional recommendation of 5% to prevent dental caries was much harder, “because it would involve not eating cakes, biscuits, confectionary and all sugar sweetened beverages including fruit juice”, he said. The sugar industry however, slammed the report calling it “misleading” and backed by “low evidence”. The US Sugar Association spokesperson Tonya Allen said, “This guideline misleads consumers. Such a claim is serious, and requires high-quality data, particularly given the potential for consumer confusion and the likelihood that the economic impact to developing countries will be severe.”

There was a need for extensive debate, especially before the 5% value was included in official recommendations, said the European Committee of Sugar Manufacturers (CEFS). “Especially because the data this value is based on was deemed to be of very low quality by both WHO and the dental health review authors,” it said. Sugar in isolation The sugar industry said that sugar in isolation could not be blamed for obesity and asked people to focus on what the WHO defined as the primary cause of obesity: an imbalance between calories and activity. Head of Advocacy, a subsidiary of retail group Associated British Foods Katharine Teague said: “What’s required is collaborative action to find real and workable solutions to the obesity crisis. We are committed to playing our part.” The International Council of Beverages Associations said it welcomed the opportunity to work with the WHO and other stakeholders for practical solutions to health issues. “The solutions should focus on collective efforts across government, civil society and industry that promote balanced diets, regular physical activity and proper oral hygiene,” it said. Food and Drink Europe also promoted a healthy lifestyle above all else. In a statement it said it remained committed to working in partnership with policy-makers and other stakeholders, “to support consumers in making informed food choices and recognise that it is vital to take a coherent approach to tackling obesity and non-communicable diseases, including by promoting physical activity and nutrition education”. Registered Nutritionist at Association for Nutrition, Jenny Rosborough felt an active approach was the need of the hour. “We're not yet meeting 10% recommendation, and it's been around for a while. So need to focus now on getting people to work towards it,” she said. Children’s health Zoe Griffiths, Registered Nutritionist in the UK said a National Diet and Nutrition Survey showed that the current intake of sugar among children is much higher (15.2%) than the recommended levels (10%) while the levels for adults were also high (11.6%). The director general of European consumer organisation BEUC, Monique Goyens added the report was reassuring. She hoped that the guidelines would inspire the food industry and policy makers to take bold actions to tackle obesity “especially among children”.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/09/mexico-sugar-idUSL1N0WB1GM20150309 ]

Mar 9, 2015: by Adriana Barrera, REUTERS

Mexico to tender 9 state-held sugar mills in late March The Mexican government is planning to launch a tender for 9 state-held sugar mills toward the end of this month and announce the winners in June, a source close to the process told Reuters.

The move will mark the latest step in a attempt to unwind the expropriation of mills in 2001.

The mills will be auctioned in clusters rather than as a single block, to prevent one buyer from controlling all of the mills and ensure balanced output of refined and standard sugar, the source said.

Mexico expropriated 27 mills in 2001 due to severe financial problems and has since been gradually selling the plants to private operators.

The FEESA governmental fund runs Mexico's nine remaining state-owned sugar mills, which together produce about a quarter of the country's annual output.

http://www.theobserver.ca/2015/03/10/ontario-sugarbeet-growers-association-wants-to-grow-industry

March 10, 2015: By Ellwood Shreve, Chatham Daily News

Ontario Sugarbeet Growers' Association wants to grow industry If the Ontario Sugarbeet Growers' Association can find a way to unlock the high-energy carbohydrates naturally produced in sugar beets, the industry is poised to soar – literally. Association chairman Mark Lumley told those attending Tuesday's annual meeting that Rhode Island-based Forbes Energy – which in the business of developing renewable, sustainable fuels – has indicated it believes Sarnia is a the best place to build a new jet fuel facility. This type of interest in the green energy potential of sugar beets is why the association is working hard to secure research funding to utilize this natural high-energy source with the goal of increasing the crop’s acreage.

Lumley, who spoke to The Chatham Daily News Tuesday before heading to Queen's Park in search of provincial funding, said there are a number of companies interested in using sugar beet juice as feed stock for their processes. He said Forbes has done a lot of their pre-work and are close to ready to go. “Nobody, to our knowledge, has gone this far,” he added. What's needed, said Lumley, is some capitalization grants so the association can help companies interested in using sugar beets as a fuel source do their fiscal due diligence in order to get processing facilities built.

What makes sugar beets so attractive, he said, is the plant is an efficient converter of sunlight to energy, even better than corn. “It gets carbohydrates concentrated in that sugar beet really high, so it doesn't take as many acres of sugar beets as it would some other crop . . . to get a lot of carbohydrates in one spot at one time,” Lumley said.

The association has also made application to the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for research money to figure out the cost of building a sugar beet slicing plant to extract the juice.

“What we need to do is figure out how to build half a sugar factory,” Lumley said, noting the beets don't need to be refined to the point where it becomes white sugar. He said the goal is to have a pilot plant built at the Western University Research Park in Sarnia. This is where the science can be tested to see if the process works, which leads to building a full-scale plant, he added.

Currently, there are 10,000 acres of sugar beets grown by association members, all of it in Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton, which are sold to the Michigan Sugar Company.

“We have agricultural capacity to easily double our acreage in Ontario,” Lumley said. The reason 20,000 acres of sugar beets aren't being grown for Michigan Sugar is its processing facility north of Port Huron is maxed out, he added. Growers will benefit if sugar beet acreage increases, because it is a high value crop than corn, soybeans and wheat, Lumley said. “So more sugar beet acres means more profitability and more money into the local infrastructure . . . like almost double compared to some of the other crops,” Lumley said.

Dresden-area farmer Mark Richards, who sits on the co-op board for Michigan Sugar, reported during the meeting that a strategic initiative is to penetrate the Canadian market. “We want to sell sugar where we produce sugar,” he said.

However, there are a few hurdles to get over, including the stiff competition from the only two sugar companies in the market – Red Path and Lantic.

Richards said the board has been looking into such initiatives as providing private label sugar to retailers and co-packs where Michigan Sugar is used in a food products such as cake mix.

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/content/view/print/1055161

Mar 10, 2015: By Elizabeth Crawford, FOODnavigator-usa.com

DGAC 2015 report “demonizes” sugar, meat and potatoes, former committee members say

Sugar, meat and potatoes – common staples in the American diet – are “demonized” by the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, according to several former committee members.

The current committee submitted last month its suggestions for what the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture should include in the updated 2015 dietary guidelines due out later this year. The report includes “convoluted,” “conflicting” and “demonizing” recommendations about how much sugar, meat and potatoes Americans should eat and if codified by the government in the final report could have “unintended consequences” on American’s health, former DGAC members said during a conference call coordinated by the International Food Information Council. However, other health advocates lauded the committee members’ recommendations as bold and blunt. “Over the years, the pressures from industry have had undo influence on the guidelines. It is refreshing to see the committee put forth guidelines to reduce added sugar and red and processed meat. The science certainly supports them,” said Jim Painter, a registered dietitian and a professor at the School of Family and Consumer Sciences at Eastern Illinois University. Marion Nestle, a professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, added that the recommendations were “courageous,” given the predictable negative response from the meat industry. Confusion around meat recommendations The recommendations to lower consumption of red and processed meat was particularly confusing, Theresa Nicklas, a 2005 DGAC member and professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, said during the IFIC call. Echoing the meat industry, she said the recommendation seems to contradict the committee’s acknowledgement in a footnote that lean meat can be part of a healthy diet. She explained that lean cuts of meat were unfairly cast in a negative light by the overly broad recommendation to reduce consumption of red meat, which includes both fatty and lean cuts that cannot be separated out. “It is important to keep in mind that today over 65% of beef cuts sold at retail meet the government standard for lean,” and the research shows that most people eat amounts of meat in line with the suggested guidance, she said. Current DGAC member Marian Neuhouser, who also is a registered dietician at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, disagreed that most people eat amounts of meat within the current guidelines. “If one were adhere to the dietary guidelines in their past iteration, using the healthy eating index, you would be at about 12.5 ounces of lean meat per week,” and the current recommendations simply encourage Americans to come in line with that recommendation, she said at the Partnership for a Healthier America’s annual summit in Washington Feb. 27. This “is not a point to get twisted about because lean meat has always been the recommendation” and contrary to some media reports, the DGAC does not advocate for a vegan diet, she added.

Value of data for determining sugar debated The committee’s recommendation that Americans should consume no more than 10% of their total calories from added sugar per day seem unfounded, as are its recommendations on how to encourage compliance, said Roger Clemens, a 2010 DGAC member and adjunct professor at the University of Southern California. He said the recommendation is based on epidemiological data and not randomized control trials, which are the gold standard. In addition, he said, the committee “overstepped its bounds,” when it suggested instituting a tax on sugar sweetened beverages. And, he said, the 2015 DGAC should have considered that 24 of the 26 European Union countries that instated such taxes later repealed them because they were ineffective. Neuhouser acknowledged that the suggestions regarding sugar were based on a socio-ecological model, which says policies and environment influence diet and physical activity. Because they used this model, the committee could not “disentangle” dietary recommendations from policy recommendations. In addition, she noted: “We were specifically tasked with writing implications from the science,” which cannot be done in a vacuum and, therefore, sometimes include making policy recommendations. However, she said, “just to be clear, the dietary guidelines advisory committee knows that they are not responsible for writing the policy documented. That is the responsibility of the HHS and USDA staff. … So, actually writing policy is out of our purview,” even though “we couldn’t divorce the science from what might be recommended at the policy level.” The report also casts safety doubts on some artificial sweeteners by recommending that they are not used instead of sugar, but rather that Americans should be weaned from sweets. “The science is quite clear [that nonnutritive sweeteners] are quite safe …. I think we need to put things in perspective,” Clemens added. Potatoes take a hit Finally, the government should be careful in how it interprets the committee’s multiple references to potatoes throughout the report, Clemens said. “Potatoes get hit quite a bit” in the report and are frequently associated with frying, creating “the implication that all potatoes should be demonized,” Clemens said. “But we know that the Institute of Medicine is changing its position on potatoes,” and should include them in the school lunch and the women, infant and children supplement food program, he said, citing some unreleased research. “Potatoes provide fiber, vitamin B and importantly, potassium,” which is a short fall nutrient, he added. Ultimately, they all agreed that change cannot happen by singling out individual foods or food groups as bad, but rather through more systemic changes to overall eating patterns.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/03/10/china-parliament-sugar-idINL4N0WC1UB20150310

Mar 10, 2015: By Dominique Patton, REUTERS

China should control sugar imports, says Bright executive China needs to introduce measures to strictly control sugar imports, with low tariffs and cheap overseas shipments damaging the local industry, an executive at a large Chinese sugar processor said.

China's sugar mills, caught between state-set prices for sugar cane to support farmers and cheap imports of raw product, lost a combined 9.8 billion yuan ($1.56 billion) in 2014, said Ge Junjie, vice president of state-owned Bright Food Group Co.

"Global sugar imports have already damaged China's sugar industry. I believe there needs to be measures to strictly control imports," he told Reuters, without directly calling for a raising of the tariff.

China imported 3.49 million tonnes of sugar in 2014, with the first 1.94 million tonnes at a tariff rate of 15 percent as part of the country's commitments to the World Trade Organisation.

The tariff for non-quota imports is 50 percent, but this was below the global average for sugar tariffs of 97 percent, he said.

Ge, who is a delegate to the National People's Congress, the government's legislative arm currently meeting for its annual parliament session, said an automatic import licensing system recently introduced by the Ministry of Commerce would help to control imports.

He also called for an investigation of trade remedies. China's sugar sector has previously lobbied for an anti-dumping investigation into imports but the government has not yet taken any action to support the demand.

Shanghai-based Bright, one of China's biggest food companies with a focus on dairy, confectionery and wine, has a sugar processing capacity of 1.5 million tonnes and boosted its share of the domestic milling sector with a purchase of a Guangxi mill last year.

China was the world's top sugar importer in 2013, but imports fell 23 percent last year after a fall in local prices boosted demand for homegrown sugar.

Ge also called for further support for cane growers, including more subsidies.

Chinese farmers produce 4 tonnes of cane per mu (equal to 1/15th of a hectare) compared with 10 tonnes in Brazil, according to Bright data.

Ge said China's sugar consumption will reach about 14 million tonnes this year, and said Bright plans to use its presence in China's top cane growing regions, Guangxi and Yunnan, to build a national distribution network

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/03/northeast-continues-to-be-a-hotspot-for-gmo-labeling-bills/#.VQ8vWns1GrE

March 11, 2015: By Dan Flynn, FoodSafetyNews.com

GMO labeling efforts continue in the Northeast Mark Lynas, the British environmentalist and author, recently wrote in the Washington Post that activists should not be more convincing than scientists when it comes to issues like GMO food. But in Massachusetts, activists from organizations such as the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group and MA Right to Know GMOs aren’t letting such concerns stop them.

Instead, they’ve been popping champagne corks because they’ve convinced three out of four Massachusetts lawmakers to sign on as sponsors to House Docket 369, “An Act establishing the genetic engineering transparence food and seed labeling act.” They’ve enlisted 125 state representatives and 29 state senators to help sponsor the GMO-labeling bill, for a total of 154 out of 200 state lawmakers.

“We are extremely lucky to have so many incredible legislators supporting this effort here in Massachusetts,” said Martin Dagoberto, of MA Right to Know GMOs. “The level of support from both the House and Senate, as well as from residents from across the state, speaks to the momentum behind passing a GMO labeling bill this session.”

New England states have been a hotspot for GMO food-labeling bills in the past. Vermont has the only standalone law, which is being challenged in federal court. Maine and Connecticut have adopted GMO laws which are contingent on enough surrounding states passing similar laws in order to take effect.

This legislative session, neighboring Rhode Island is again considering two GMO-labeling bills, Senate Bill 549 and Senate Bill 557. They differ in their implementation dates.

SB 549 would become law on Jan. 1, 2017. SB 557 would not become effective until four other states, including one adjacent to Rhode Island with a combined population totaling 20 million, adopt similar laws.

Except for the assignment of the bill number and title, the actual language for the Massachusetts bill is not yet available.

Outside the Northeast region, the campaign for state-required GMO labeling has fallen short again and again. Four states — California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — have now seen voters shoot down GMO-labeling initiatives, usually by slim margins after massive spending by the anti-labeling side. Legislative bills outside the Northeast have usually been quickly killed by agriculture committees.

After hearing oral arguments in January, a federal judge in Vermont has taken under advisement motions ranging from a temporary or permanent injunction against the labeling law to dismissal of the lawsuit against it. The main parties in that case are the Grocery Manufacturing Association and the State of Vermont.

Lynas, a former anti-GMO activist whose mind was changed by science, warns that “science deniers are on the march” on issues such as climate, vaccines and GMO food. However, TV’s Bill Nye (the Science Guy) recently indicated that he, too, may have changed his mind about GMO food after talking with more scientists about it, including some at Monsanto.

http://www.confectionerynews.com/content/view/print/1063677

Mar 13, 2015: By Oliver Nieburg+, Confectionerynews.com

Chocolate makers can’t expect higher cocoa yields under short-term contracts

The chocolate industry must commit to longer sourcing agreements if it expects farmers to be able to invest In cocoa productivity and quality, according to a leading farming cooperative in Côte d’Ivoire.

ECOOKIM, a 2,800-member co-op in the world’s premier cocoa growing nation, says chocolate manufacturers and cocoa processors must enter into longer term deals with cocoa traders. It says this will allow cocoa traders to forge lengthier agreements with farmers, allowing farming cooperatives to boost productivity and invest in social projects. Three-year minimum contracts Speaking through a translator, Aminata Bamba, sustainable development manager at ECOOKIM, said that contracts between cooperatives and traders should be a minimum of three years. “If you have a one-year contract, you do a one year contract, but for us to make a development plan and realize projects for the future, we need a long-term commitment. We can’t deliver in one year what our members need,” said Bamba. “It’s not obvious to us why the partners struggle to make a long-term commitment.” Enabling productivity investments She said three-year minimum contracts would prove the chocolate industry is committed to helping farmers and would allow cooperatives to invest in boosting yields, cocoa quality and in unlawful child labor prevention projects such as school-building. “The first element that is the most important is productivity because if there is no cocoa there is not chocolate.” ECOOKIM farmers have been working on a geo-traceability system that they believe is important for the chocolate industry, but Bamba said the project required investment. A report by Fairtrade last year found that farmers chose to spend 36% of their Fairtrade premium on productivity and quality improvement projects – far above Fairtrade International’s suggested 25% minimum. Is industry investment being felt on the ground? Major chocolate players - such as Mondelēz International, Mars and Nestlé - and cocoa processors, including Barry Callebaut and Cargill, have upped investments in cocoa sustainability projects in recent years. We asked Bamba if the effects were felt by farmers and cooperatives. “There are certain things that have improved but it’s not sufficient,” she said. “It’s obvious on the ground that it’s still not enough…There are still lots of challenges.” She continued: “We teach good agricultural practice and when farmers put this into practice, the yield goes up. So obviously in turn their revenue goes up. But it’s not enough and we need more.” According to Oxfam, most cocoa farmers live below the poverty line, earning under $2 a day. A consortium of NGOs, including Oxfam and the VOICE Network, said in the recently published 2015 Cocoa Barometer that the chocolate industry was fixated on boosting cocoa productivity and missed the core of the problem: extreme poverty.

Where are the buyers for Fairtrade cocoa? Bamba said certified premiums helped ECOOKIM farmers earn improved incomes, but members were still struggling to find buyers for certified produce. Seven of ECOOKIM’s farmer organizations are Fairtrade-certified, but the cooperative only sells around 30% volumes on Fairtrade terms. Her organization can produce 30,000 metric tons (MT) of cocoa a year, but it only has contracts in Fairtrade for 8,500 MT. Many major companies such as Mars, Ferrero and Hershey have committed to fully Fairtrade-certified cocoa by 2020. How can it be that farmers and cooperatives struggle to find a buyer for certified produce? “It seems there are many more actors in the chocolate industry than just the ones who have made the major commitments – maybe it’s for them to make some commitments and look at sourcing certified cocoa,” said Bamba. Up premiums for certified cocoa, says co-op Around 16% of global chocolate sold in 2015 is expected to use cocoa from a certified farm, according to the 2015 Cocoa Barometer. That’s up from 2% in 2009, yet the vast majority of chocolate is still sold using uncertified cocoa, for which farmers are paid no premium. Bamba also urged the chocolate industry to pay higher premiums for certified cocoa. She said most companies purchased Fairtrade cocoa for the guaranteed minimum premium of $200 per MT. “When a partner comes and sees the reality of the ground that’s often when they decided to look at a negotiated higher premium,” she said. [*Each certifier produces its own figures, which does not account for farms that are double or triple certified. This means the total could be higher than 35%.]

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/03/13/india-sugar-exports-idINKBN0M90SG20150313

Mar 13, 2015: By Mayank Bhardwaj, REUTERS

Mills seek government incentives to export white sugar India's money-losing sugar mills are looking for another round of government incentives to export refined products as a supply glut hammers global and local prices, with no end in sight.

Trade minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday agreed with the producers body, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) that exports had become uneconomical due to record output in top producers Brazil, India and Thailand.

Also, weak crude oil prices mean a lower diversion of cane towards ethanol, bumping up sugar supplies, Sitharaman said replying to a question in the lower house of parliament.

To overcome the problem, the government should give an incentive for exports of up to 2 million tonnes of white sugar as millers are struggling to export raw sugar despite a subsidy, A. Vellayan, ISMA president, told a news conference.

The government last month decided to give mills a subsidy of 4,000 rupees ($64) a tonne for exports of up to 1.4 million tonnes in an effort to reduce stockpiles after five straight years of surplus output. Despite that sales have been slack.

Although India's decision to subsidize raw sugar exports is in line with World Trade Organization rules, incentives for white sugar could attract complaints from other WTO members.

A sharp drop in the Brazilian real has thwarted India's efforts to step up raw sugar exports despite the subsidies to boost shipments.

Mills have so far been able to sign export deals for only about 70,000 tonnes of raw sugar.

"Our raw sugar exports will be viable only if global prices reach 14.4 cents per lb," Vellayan said.

Benchmark New York raw sugar futures steadied on Thursday by settling up 0.01 cent, or 0.1 percent, at 13.15 cents a lb, having dipped on Wednesday to 12.97 cents, the lowest for the spot contract since April.

But global prices risk falling further if the Brazilian real weakens against the dollar.

The outlook for local prices is no better.

Current ex-mill sugar prices are the lowest in three years.

Output in India, the world's biggest producer behind Brazil, is estimated at 26.5 million tonnes in 2014/15 against 24.4 million in the previous year, according to the food ministry.

Local consumption is estimated at about 24.8 million tonnes, and on Oct. 1, when the new season began, mills' carryover stocks from the previous year totaled 7.5 million tonnes.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/sssm-sugar-and-sweeteners-outlook.aspx Sugar and Sweeteners Outlook: March 2015 SSSM-319, March 16, 2015 The Sugar and Sweeteners Outlook for March 2015 reviews the sugar and sweetener market conditions for the United States and Mexico based on changes to the March World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. Additionally, the report highlights some of the key results of Mexico sugar supply and use projections from the USDA Long-term Agricultural Projections that fed into the U.S. sugar estimates.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150317093142.htm

March 17, 2015: ScienceDaily.com

Diet soda linked to increases in belly fat in older adults

A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society shows that increasing diet soda intake is directly linked to greater abdominal obesity in adults 65 years of age and older. Findings raise concerns about the safety of chronic diet soda consumption, which may increase belly fat and contribute to greater risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases.

Metabolic syndrome--a combination of risk factors that may lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke--is one of the results of the obesity epidemic. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.9 billion adults were overweight (body mass index [BMI] of 25 or more) in 2014. Of this group, 600 million people fell into the obese range (BMI of 30 or more)--a figure that has more than doubled since 1980.

In an effort to combat obesity, many adults try to reduce sugar intake by turning to nonnutritive or artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, saccharin, or sucralose. Previous research shows that in the past 30 years, artificial sweeteners and diet soda intake have increased, yet the prevalence of obesity has also seen a dramatic increase in the same time period. Many of the studies exploring diet soda consumption and cardiometabolic diseases have focused on middle-aged and younger adults.

"Our study seeks to fill the age gap by exploring the adverse health effects of diet soda intake in individuals 65 years of age and older," explains lead author Sharon Fowler, MPH, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. "The burden of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, along with healthcare costs, is great in the ever-increasing senior population."

The San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging (SALSA) enrolled 749 Mexican- and European-Americans who were aged 65 and older at the start of the study (1992-96). Diet soda intake, waist circumference, height, and weight were measured at study onset, and at three follow-ups in 2000-01, 2001-03, and 2003-04, for a total of 9.4 follow-up years. At the first follow-up there were 474 (79.1%) surviving participants; there were 413 (73.4%) at the second follow-up and 375 (71.0%) at the third follow-up.

Findings indicate that the increase in waist circumference among diet soda drinkers, per follow-up interval, was almost triple that among non-users: 2.11 cm versus 0.77 cm, respectively. After adjustment for multiple potential confounders, interval waist circumference increases were 0.77 cm for non-users, 1.76 cm for occasional users, and 3.04 cm for daily users. This translates to waist circumference increases of 0.80 inches for non-users, 1.83 inches for occasional users, and 3.16 inches for daily users over the total 9.4-year SALSA follow-up period.

"The SALSA study shows that increasing diet soda intake was associated with escalating abdominal obesity, which may increase cardiometabolic risk in older adults," Fowler concludes. The authors recommend that older individuals who drink diet soda daily, particularly those at high cardiometabolic risk, should try to curb their consumption of artificially sweetened drinks.

http://ingredientnews.com/articles/unprecedented-sugar-glut-expanding-as-world-output-soars/

March 17th, 2015: By: Bloomberg, Ingredientnews.com

Unprecedented Sugar Glut Expanding as World Output Soars The world has never been so awash in sugar.

Just as cane harvests expand in India and Thailand, farmers in Brazil, the world’s largest producer, are ramping up exports to take advantage of a tumble in the exchange rate that has swelled their profit margins. And crops that were hurt by drought last year have been revived by rain. Global output is set to exceed demand for a fifth straight year, leaving the biggest stockpiles on record, the International Sugar Organization said.

All of that sugar signals global prices, already down 50 percent in three years, are poised to fall further, cutting costs for buyers like Krispy Kreme Donuts Inc. and Mondelez International Inc., the maker of Cadbury chocolates and Oreos. New York sugar futures probably will slide 6.2 percent by July to 12.02 cents a pound, the lowest since January 2009, a Bloomberg survey of nine analysts showed.

“The fundamentals are absolutely bearish,” said Donald Selkin, who helps manage about $3 billion of assets as chief market strategist at National Securities Corp. in New York. “Supplies are very extensive. The good growing season and the weak currency in Brazil are also making their exports more attractive.”

Raw sugar for May delivery has tumbled 12 percent this year to 12.81 cents on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, among the biggest declines of the 22 raw materials tracked by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, which fell 7.2 percent. The MSCI All-Country World Index of equities rose 1.4 percent, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 7.5 percent.

Fifth Surplus

Global production in the year ending Sept. 30 will exceed demand by 620,000 metric tons, leaving record stockpiles of 79.89 million tons, or almost enough to supply the world’s top seven consuming countries, data from the London-based sugar organization show. India, the second-largest producer, will have the biggest harvest in three years at 26 million tons, a Bloomberg survey showed. A Thai industry group estimated cane output rose 6.1 percent this season.

In Brazil, which supplies one-fifth of the world’s sugar, the incentive to sell more overseas has increased in the past few months, as budget deficits and a stalled economy sent the real plunging to the lowest in almost 11 years against the dollar. In the week ended March 11, domestic cargoes waiting to be shipped jumped 33 percent from a week earlier, according to Recife, Brazil-based Williams Servicos Maritimos Ltda.

“With the Brazilian real down, it’s hard to put a floor on prices,” said Claudiu Covrig, senior agricultural analyst for sugar researcher Kingsman SA in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Supply Shift

Two decades of uninterrupted consumption growth and four years of slumping prices may leave less supply than forecast. In Europe, people ate on average 37.1 kilograms (81.8 pounds) of sugar in 2013, up from 35.1 kilos in 2011, while Americans consumed 32.5 kilos, up from 31 kilos, the sugar organization estimates. The global average is 23 kilos.

Rather than expanding reserves, the world will see a production deficit in the current season of 2 million tons, widening to 4 million next year, Societe Generale said Feb. 24.

“By the end of June, the market will be shifting from surplus to a more balanced, small-deficit situation,” which should boost prices, said Bruno Lima, a risk-management consultant for INTL FCStone in Campinas, Brazil. “China has been and should continue to be a hungry buyer.”

The government of Brazil, where half the cane harvest is used to make ethanol for cars, mandated increased use of the fuel, leaving less to make sugar. Vehicles must use fuel with 27 percent ethanol, up from 25 percent, Energy Minister Eduardo Braga said March 4.

U.S. Limits

Food makers may not see much benefit in the U.S., where the government limits sugar imports. Domestic futures, which trade at a premium to the world price, are up 9.6 percent from a year ago. Mondelez raised prices to cover higher costs for cocoa, milk and sugar.

Commodities got cheaper in recent months, but they “are all still up year-over-year,” Chief Executive Officer Irene B. Rosenfeld said on a Feb. 11 conference call. “The market basket of inputs for our chocolate business are among the highest,” which is why the Deerfield, Illinois-based company made $1.6 billion of price increases last year, she said.

While sugar was “mostly favorable for us” in 2014, the benefit was “overwhelmingly offset” by cocoa, dairy, packaging costs, Michael Mitchell, a Mondelez spokesman, said in a March 16 e-mail.

Cheaper Food

The trend for commodities is down, including a plunge in crude oil that has increased the risk of deflation from Japan to China to the Europe Union. With rising agricultural output, global food costs tracked by the United Nations are the lowest in four years, including a sugar index that last month was the lowest since 2009.

Cheaper sugar already is helping to reduce commodity costs by $3 million in the next fiscal year at Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Krispy Kreme, Vice President G. Price Cooper said on a March 11 conference call. The 1,000-store chain specializes in donuts glazed under a waterfall of mostly sugar and milk.

More sugar is on the way. India, the second-largest producer, has approved subsidies for exports of as much as 1.4 million tons of raw sugar to help mills pay debt to farmers. Maharashtra, the top producing state, is seeking approval for additional aid to ship product abroad.

Brazil’s Center South, the main growing region, may crush as much as 585 million tons of cane in the year that starts April 1, up 2.6 percent from a year earlier, industry consultant JOB Economia e Planejamento said. Agroconsult, based in Florianopolis, Brazil, projects an even bigger cane crush.

“We’ve had several years in a row where output exceeded consumption and massive stocks have been accumulated,” said Stefan Uhlenbrock, senior analyst for commodity researcher F.O. Licht in Ratzeburg, Germany

http://www.confectionerynews.com/content/view/print/1065463

Mar 18, 2015: By Antoine Boudib, Confectionerynews.com

Why buyers are an important partner in sustainable cocoa

Cocoa buying companies are the main intermediaries between the chocolate industry and farmers and should not be forgotten in the pursuit of sustainable cocoa, writes one of the largest licensed cocoa buyers in West Africa Finatrade.

The latest Cocoa Barometer highlights some serious problems in the cocoa chain but it is not drafted from an African point of view. It focuses on the role of farmers and the marketing board yet omits the critical role of the intermediaries.

What about the intermediaries? The private sector plays a big role in the procurement side of the chain. If this sector is not rewarded adequately and more resources offered to them, they won’t have the ability to drive production from the farmers’ side. It is time for the confectionery industry to allow the voice of the producing countries to be heard: without the farmers, the procurement companies, and the marketing boards there will be no cocoa at all! The concerns of the cocoa procurement industry should be considered alongside the sustainability and the human due diligence requirements of the cocoa sector.

Incentives to invest in productivity We urge the cocoa industry to ask for a partial payment of the taxes attributed to the chocolate industry (VAT, duty or sales tax) to be routed back to origin, and in addition a fixed percentage of the marketing budgets allocated for chocolate to be channeled into a special funding program to be redistributed to both procurers and farmers, based on their sales. Intermediary companies play a major role in effective cocoa production, and if properly incentivized they can in turn share more profits with farmers and help them to produce more cocoa. One of the important roles of intermediary firms is to enhance efficiency at all levels, monitor the application of inputs into the cocoa industry like fertilizers and training, and most importantly ensure that the resources offered are implemented in the right place.

Financial constraints These companies are private entities and are reliant on profits to stay in business. Their aim is solely to increase the cocoa volumes in order to earn more in an efficient manner. But they are facing a profit squeeze and are further at the mercy of banks for their capital requirements. The private cocoa buying sector is seeking financial assistance and not donations; the lending terms set by local banks makes it difficult to sustain profits and hence the decline in offerings made by these companies to the farmers. When working capital attracts between 25-30% interest, imagine the outcome if these entities are offered the same financing terms as other private entities in the supply chain (typically paying 3-4%).

Economic realities and farmer pay In Africa, the real problem that both farmers and the procurement companies face is the fact that the macroeconomic trend for the past decade has been double digit inflation, and the local currency has always posed a major threat due to its huge fluctuations. Cocoa intermediaries and farmers trade in local currencies, hence the underlying currency risks are huge. For example, farmers will start the year typically earning $2,000 per metric ton - and will end the year in real purchasing power terms (after computing inflation and currency devaluation) at $1,600 USD in the best case scenarios. No doubt the farmers’ earnings need to be looked at, but most importantly their living conditions should be ameliorated. If this industry wants to sustain and grow the interest of the farmers in this business then the procurement companies should be rewarded for their efforts order to be able to sustain this industry at such a critical juncture. As the Cocoa Barometer mentions, the industry spends millions of dollars in order to promote chocolate to consumers (using marketing companies), and the same support should be offered to those procurement companies which will market the vital skills and materials needed by the farmers to grow more cocoa and to sustain their interest in this business.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/19/usa-sugar-mexico-idUSL2N0WL18P20150319

Mar 19, 2015: by Krista Hughes in Washington; Writing by Chris Prentice in New York, REUTERS

US-Mexico sugar pact gets US trade commission okay U.S. regulators on Thursday approved a controversial trade deal with Mexico that imposes a quota on sugar imports and sets minimum prices, rejecting challenges from domestic cane refiners and bringing a year-long trade battle closer to resolution.

The decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission paved the way for a suspension agreement between the U.S. and Mexican governments that establishes floor values and puts a caps on volumes for imports from Mexico.

The commissioners voted 6-0 in favor of the agreement, responding to challenges from two U.S. refiners, Louis Dreyfus Commodities' Imperial Sugar Co and AmCane Sugar LLC, that said they would be harmed by the agreed-upon restrictions.

The dispute has roiled North American trade flows of the sweetener since late March 2014, when a group representing U.S. sugar companies and growers petitioned the U.S. government for anti-dumping, anti-subsidy duties.

The refiners have separately requested the U.S. Department of Commerce continue the investigation, which was suspended when the pact was finalized in late December. The agency has not yet decided on whether the two companies, neither of which was on the original petition, are in a position to make that request.

Lawyers for Imperial and AmCane did not respond immediately to calls for comment. (Reporting by Krista Hughes in Washington; Writing by Chris Prentice in New York

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/19/usa-sugar-mexico-refiners-idUSL2N0WL2F120150319

Mar 19, 2015: by Chris Prentice, REUTERS

Sugar trade deal strikes big blow to U.S. refiners, candymakers U.S. regulators' decision to approve a controversial trade deal with Mexico has struck a major blow to sugarcane refiners, who will struggle to source supplies, and confectioners, who will pay higher sugar prices.

The U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday rejected challenges from Louis Dreyfus Commodities' Imperial Sugar and AmCane Sugar LLC, pushing ahead an agreement that sets floor prices and caps on imports from Mexico.

The deal rescinds the free sugar trade access for the two countries through NAFTA and ends a year-long spat over the $6 billion U.S. market.

The ruling is a victory for U.S. sugar beet growers and companies who complained a year ago that cheap Mexican sugar is flooding the market. The United States is a net importer of sugar and Mexico is one of its largest suppliers.

But for refiners, the deal will restrict raw-sugar supplies, and the price floors may crimp their margins.

Tighter margins due to higher costs will put refiners at a "substantial disadvantage" to sugarbeet processors and Mexican millers, said Frank Jenkins, president of JSG Commodities in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Refiners' margins will be below "a living wage," he said.

Imperial and AmCane did not respond immediately to requests for comment. They have also asked the U.S. Department of Commerce continue its probe.

An Imperial executive had previously said an earlier version of the deal would threaten refining capacity.

Other U.S. cane refiners that include Domino Sugar owner ASR Group, a Cargill Inc. and Louisiana Sugar Growers and Refiners' Louisiana Sugar Refining, and U.S. Sugar Corp also source raw sugar domestically.

Restrictions on supplies will also help maintain the U.S. sugar price's premium, even as world prices languish at six-year lows amid a global oversupply.

"Prices are up this year, and they're going to be up 20 percent next year," said Kirk Vashaw, Chief Executive Officer of Spangler Candy Co., a sweets manufacturer in Bryan, Ohio, and with operations in Mexico.

One supplier last week hiked prices on a long-term contract, he said. Spangler, which makes Dum Dums lollipops and some 500 million candy canes a year, uses more than 20 million pounds of sugar each year.

U.S. domestic raw-sugar prices on ICE Futures U.S. finished flat on Thursday, recouping all its 4.5-percent losses after the vote. U.S. prices had been dropping due to soaring imports from Mexico and a global supply glut

http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/25368/

March 23, 2015: By: Mikkel Pates,AGWEEK.com

Beet piles in RRV survive early warm weather

GEORGETOWN, N.D. — Despite a December warm-up and out-of-season high temperatures in mid-March, the region’s sugar beet piles remain in surprisingly good shape, officials say. - See more at: http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/25368/#sthash.Byi2C0Ex.dpuf

Brian Ingulsrud, vice president of agriculture at American Crystal Sugar Co. in Moorhead, Minn., says the temperatures in early March, 41 degrees above normal so far, had only a minor effect on storage losses. “They’re hanging in there, doing just fine,” Ingulsrud said March 16. The company hasn’t seen any big change in the quality of beets delivered to the factory. American Crystal has about 1.5 million tons of beets yet to be sliced, about 14 percent of the crop that was brought in last fall. That pace is ahead of normal for this time of year. “You don’t wish for a small crop, but the fact that we did have a small crop is probably a fortunate situation, considering the storage situation,” Ingulsrud says.

The company deep-freezes about a third of its crop, which means piles are ventilated and the company uses extra-cold outside air, when it’s available. Dan Gowan, American Crystal’s director of agriculture, adds that beet piles were initially affected by low temperatures on Nov. 11, 2014. In December, it warmed up and rained. The freeze-thaw cycle creates some deteriorated beets on the outside surface of the piles. These “rim” beets are typically 6 inches deep, up to 12 to 18 in some places. Much of that damage occurred in November and December. “Those (previously damaged) beets are the ones most affected by these latest warm temperatures,” Ingulsrud says. “Not a lot of extra damage is being done now.”

Similarly, Tom Knudsen, vice president of agriculture for Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative of Wahpeton, N.D., says the higher temperatures are not a positive, but his company has not seen excessive losses. Knudsen says the co-op harvests and piles about 2.4 million tons of beets. About 55 percent of Minn-Dak’s beets are protected with deep-freeze technology, including 225,000 tons in sheds and under insulation blankets to keep them in the best shape through the end of processing.

Others are done: Meanwhile, other sugar companies in the region have ended their slice campaigns.

Sidney Sugars Inc., of Sidney, Mont., finished its campaign on Feb. 18. Russ Fullmer, an agronomist for the wholly owned subsidiary of American Crystal, says that factory had to discard 3,000 tons out of a total crop of about 890,000 tons. “It’s more than I’d like to throw out,” Fullmer says, but notes it is not a big amount and was less than others he’d heard of.

J. Kent Wimmer, director of shareholder relations and governmental affairs at Western Sugar Cooperative in Denver, Colo., says his company has just finished. “We had a difficult year this year, but we are complete with our campaign slicing operations,” Wimmer says. He says his growers experienced a warm harvest, an extreme cool-down in November, followed by a warm-up in December, and two freeze cycles through late December and January. “We had a difficult storage,” he says. “We had an excellent crop, just couldn’t take it (all of it) all the way through.”

Officials at Southern Minnesota beet sugar cooperative didn’t immediately respond to an Agweek interview request. One Southern Minnesota Beet grower contacted by Agweek says the processing season for a below-normal 2014 crop had ended in Renville, Minn., and there were not excessive beet storage losses. As the companies approach the end of the slice campaign, farmers are also thinking about planting, Knudsen says. Typically, farmers want to start planting beets around April 20 to comply with the crop insurance deadlines and to avoid frost damage for seedlings.

http://www.world-grain.com/articles/news_home/World_Grain_News/2015/03/More_US_soybean_acres_favored.aspx?ID={59F35314-C045-4C01-9D13-C4F148824931}&cck=1

3/24/2015 - by World Grain Staff, WORLD-GRAIN.com

More U.S. soybean acres favored in 2015 MANHATTAN, KANSAS, U.S. — The probability is 60% that U.S. soybean planted acres will increase to 85.7 million this spring, up 2 million acres from 2014, said Kansas State University’s (KSU) research and extension service in a March 20 report. KSU researchers indicated a probability of 40% that acres planted to soybeans will be about the same as in 2014 — 83.7 million.

The KSU outlook was at odds with the recent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) projections made at its 2015 Agricultural Outlook Forum last February. At that time, the USDA preliminarily forecast 2015 soybean acreage at 83.5 million acres, about unchanged from the previous year. Also forecast at the forum were 82.6 million harvested acres of soybeans in 2015, a 46 bushel-per-acre yield, a 2016 soybean carryover of 430 million bushels and an average farm price of $9 a bushel in 2015-16, KSU said.

In the university extension service’s 2015-16 scenario, including increased soybean plantings of 2 million acres, forecast harvested acres at 84.7 million, trend-line yields at 45.1 bushels an acre, a 2016 carryover of 458 million bushels and an average cash price of about $9.60 a bushel.

Market observers expected the March 31 release of the USDA’s Prospective Plantings report to help answer the lingering question of whether, because of low prices, farmers plan to switch some corn acres to other more profitable crops, such as soybeans.

“The March 31 USDA Prospective Plantings report is likely to have a major impact on U.S. soybean prices, providing direction as to whether the USDA expectations of no increase in 2015 soybean acres or that of market analysts expecting a 1-million-to-4-million-acre increase is correct,” KSU said.

Futures prices of both corn and soybeans hit temporary lows in mid-March but have since rallied. Nonetheless, prices of both commodities have declined significantly since the beginning of 2015, reflecting a strengthening dollar, and, especially in the case of soybeans, burgeoning world supplies from the advancing South American harvest.

http://www.sugar.org/sugar-associations-dr-gaine-raises-concerns-about-dietary-guidelines-process-at-public-hearing/

March 24, 2015: by The Sugar Association

Sugar Association’s Dr. Gaine ‘Raises Concerns’ About Dietary Guidelines Process at Public Hearing The Sugar Association questioned the 2015 Dietary Guidelines process in public testimony delivered today, noting that the Committee has taken “added sugars” recommendations into unchartered territory, raising serious concerns about timing, consistency and potential biases.

“Sugars guidance has appeared in every version of the Guidelines and ‘added sugars’ intake is a major topic of scientific debate. So, we ask how is it possible that this important topic wasn’t addressed early in this process?” Courtney Gaine, PhD, RD, vice president of scientific affairs with The Sugar Association, questioned the Committee.

Dr. Gaine noted that The Added Sugars Working Group wasn’t formed until September 2014. Yet, this short duration of time seems to be the explanation as to why the Working Group conducted only one Nutrition Evidence Library (NEL) review to inform its four conclusions on “added sugars,” despite the known importance of the NEL process to reducing bias and increasing transparency and ensuring that all literature is considered.

“After decades of debate, two months’ time is certainly not long enough to adequately evaluate this important body of research,” Dr. Gaine said.

Dr. Gaine emphasized that the Committee’s use of hand-picked pre-existing systematic reviews to develop its other three conclusions raises a number of concerns, as the Committee is not privy to all of the limitations and design elements of the studies included in these reviews and, even when available, the Committee in its report ignored many of the limitations and qualifying statements that are found in these reviews.

Dr. Gaine said that while systematic reviews are helpful research tools, they should not be used as the sole basis for strong dietary recommendations. There are several published papers raising this issue, given biases and errors inherent to conducting these analyses and that findings from meta-analyses on the same topic often contradict each other.

“We contend that consistent use of NEL reviews, such as performed in 2010, would have ensured that all studies were given consistent, transparent and unbiased consideration. But, instead, the 2015 process raises concerns that the Committee selected science to support its pre-determined conclusions,” Dr. Gaine told the Committee.

“The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommendations for ‘added sugars’ are not based on the preponderance of new scientific information; therefore, we request the Secretaries maintain the 2010 Dietary Guidelines on ‘added sugars,'” Dr. Gaine concluded.

To view Dr. Gaine’s testimony in its entirety, click here

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/us-businesses-plead-with-lawmakers-to-avoid-trade-war-with-canada/article23621233/

Mar. 25 2015: by Alexander Panetta, The Canadian Press

Canadian tariff threat would impact U.S. confectioners Business interests are pleading with the U.S. Congress to avert a trade war with Canada that could squeeze Florida orange-growers, put a cork in California wine exports and sour the sales of American chocolate.

Several groups Wednesday asked lawmakers to undo legislation that’s caused trade tensions with U.S. neighbors, prompting Canada and Mexico to threaten widespread retaliation. They urged a House of Representatives committee to change the country-of-origin meat-labeling rules before it causes blowback for all sorts of American industries.

“This is a dark cloud that is forming over U.S. exporters,” said Christopher Wenk of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “This is a very urgent topic.”

Canada has already listed a series of products that could be slapped with tariffs, should it and Mexico follow up their recent successes at the World Trade Organization with a win in the final round.

But proponents of U.S. country-of-origin rules say consumers deserve to know where their meat comes from. Those mandatory U.S. labels explain where livestock was born, raised and slaughtered. Opponents say those labels do nothing to affect safety standards, cause headaches for businesses during processing, and amount to a protectionist measure that has slashed Canadian meat exports to the U.S. by half.

The Canadian government has expressed optimism that there might be more sympathy for its position in the new, Republican-dominated Congress – even though the issue doesn’t fall neatly along partisan lines. It certainly sounded Canada-and-Mexico-friendly on Wednesday. The politicians who spoke at the House agriculture committee hearing, as well as the people invited to testify, almost all supported repealing the law.

“Clearly there’s no upside to this (rule),” said Republican Vicky Hartzler of Missouri. “It’s not good for America, it’s not good for the producers, the processors, and it’s not good for the mom that goes to the grocery store that has to pay more for products. So we really do need repealing.”

Linda Dempsey of the National Manufacturers Association warned: “Time is running out. It is imperative that Congress act quickly.”

The vice-president of California’s Wine Institute, Tom LaFaille, warned that producers lost 50 per cent of their exports to Mexico a decade ago because of retaliatory measures and it took years to rebuild. LaFaille said he doesn’t want a repeat. Wine is on Canada’s lengthy hit list for possible tariffs.

Congressman Ted Yoho of Florida expressed fear for his state: “Canada is Florida’s largest trading partner also – it would be tough for us. We ship a lot of citrus up there.”

American candy-makers aren’t too sweet on a trade war, either. Alison Bodor, the vice-president of their lobby group, the National Confectioners Association, noted that Canada’s published list of potential tariffs includes different types of chocolate and sugar-free sweeteners. “Many American-made chocolates will disappear from Canadian shelves,” she said. “That loss of business will impact U.S. confectionery companies, their workers, and importantly also their communities.”

A rare voice in support of national meat-labeling Wednesday was the National Farmers Union. The group’s president, Roger Johnson, urged lawmakers to be patient.

http://www.world-grain.com/articles/news_home/World_Grain_News/2015/03/Louis_Dreyfus_owner_increases.aspx?ID={999DC1D0-4A86-4368-9589-D1E4F3C80FDB}&cck=1

3/27/2015: by World Grain Staff, WORLD-GRAIN.com

Louis Dreyfus owner increases stake in company

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS — Akira, the family trust of Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, has increased its stake in Louis Dreyfus Holding to 80% from 65%, Louis-Dreyfus said on March 26. Louis-Dreyfus also said she expects the company to name a new chief executive officer by the end of year.

The Louis-Dreyfus family has maintained control of the group since its founding in 1851. Margarita Louis-Dreyfus has been increasing her stake in the company since her husband’s death in 2009.

The Akira family trust deal is expected to close in June. Louis-Dreyfus would not say how much she paid for the increased stake, which will give Akira a “supermajority” in the holding company’s decision making.

“One of Akira’s main goals to is keep family control of the company, and with 80 percent we have complete control,” said Louis-Dreyfus, told media outlets. “Gaining a supermajority was important.”

While there were no plans to acquire the remaining 20% of the shares, she said Akira would be willing to buy additional stock if more family members wanted to sell