Food and personal care giant Unilever said it will increase prices on some of its products in a bid to recoup higher commodity costs. A spokesperson for the firm told just-food that globally, its prices will increase between now and the end of this calendar year, partly due to an increase in input costs. “For 2010 overall, we are expecting commodity cost inflation of about 2%,” the spokesperson said. “Every business within the consumer goods industry will be affected by these volatilities... ...Read more »

The French and Brazilian governments have forged an unusual European-emerging market alliance, calling for increased co-ordination among G20 states during food supply crises, and tighter regulation of the global food market. They issued a joint communiqué on Thursday (14 October) calling for the creation of global and regional food stocks, close monitoring of global cereal stocks especially, greater regulation of food market derivatives, and the creation of financial mechanisms (including price... ...Read more »

US chain Starbucks Coffee has responded to the recent dramatic increases in the price of green arabica coffee, currently close to a 13-year high, as well as significant volatility in the price of other key raw ingredients, including dairy, sugar and cocoa. Starbucks announced that while it has no plans to raise prices of beverages or packaged coffee sold in Starbucks U.S. or international stores across-the-board, it does plan to implement targeted price adjustments on certain beverages in certain... ...Read more »

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has reported a fall in milk-powder prices in its latest internet auction as concerns over supplies started to ease. The price of skim milk powder fell 11.8%, while the price of whole milk powder dropped 14.8% in the latest globalDairyTrade auction. The price of anhydrous milk fat fell 14.1%. Paul Grave, globalDairyTrade manager, said the results reflected an increase in global supplies in response to “a very strong price signal” over recent months. Concerns... ...Read more »

Australian sugar prices have recently reached levels not seen for 30 years, driven by high demand from India and poor harvest progress in Brazil. According to a prediction in the latest NAB Rural Communities Wrap released today, the price of sugar will remain strong in the short term due to the tight supply/demand situation.  Import demand is expected to lift mid 2010, and the medium term price outlook will depend of the 2010-11 crop conditions in both Australia and Brazil. Khan Horne, NAB Agribusiness... ...Read more »

Global dairy giant Fonterra has seen the average price for Whole Milk Powder drop 1.6% via its monthly internet-based sales platform globalDairyTrade – the second consecutive monthly decline after five months of consistent growth. The dairy market remains much stronger than it was this time last year, however. The trading manager, CRA International, advised that the average price achieved across all contracts and contract periods for Whole Milk Powder (WMP) was US$3,256 per tonne FAS. Prices... ...Read more »

The price of sugar continues to rise after a strong 2009 when it outshone all other major food commodities. White sugar reached a new record, while ICE raw sugar futures soared to a 29-year high amid bullish market sentiment and continued concern about the balance of supply and demand. Prices more than doubled in the raw sugar futures market last year and analysts are forecasting further gains beyond current levels (27.43 cents/lb) . “I think we will see 28 cents a pound very soon,” one... ...Read more »

The National Australia Bank (NAB) Agribusiness Commodities Wrap released today forecasts the Australian dollar to peak above parity with the US dollar, limiting the impact of rising soft commodity prices. Commodity prices have begun to rise again in US dollar terms but gains for Australian farmers are being wiped out by the strength of our currency. In commodities, NAB expects total farm production to remain unchanged in 2009-10, however wheat production has been revised down by two million tonnes... ...Read more »

The latest release the Westpac-NFF Commodity Index has shown that commodity prices remain 16.2 per cent below last year’s data, despite a 2.5 per cent rise in October. Commodity prices that lifted during October, according to the Index, included wool (4.6%), cotton (3.0%), wheat (3.3%), barley (12.5%), dairy (7.6%), and beef (0.3%). International commodity prices easing during the month were canola (-4.6%) and sugar (-6.5%) – although sugar’s fall follows a strong run-up on the... ...Read more »

The price trend of food commodities has been broadly upwards this year, but prices continue to show significant volatility, according to the Westpac-NFF Commodity Index. During September 2009, the Westpac-NFF Commodity Index decreased 1.4% and is now 17.2% lower than a year ago. International commodity prices easing during the month were wheat (-10.8%), barley (-7.6%), canola (-10.5%), cotton (-0.8%), and beef (-2.4%). Commodity prices that lifted during September included sugar (1.5%), wool (4.2%).... ...Read more »