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 »

One of the world’s most sophisticated plant research facilities – opened in Adelaide last week – is expected to make significant advances in international agricultural sustainability and deliver pronounced benefits to Australia’s agriculture and horticulture industries, according to researchers. Based at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus, the $30 million facility known as ‘The Plant Accelerator’ is the largest and most advanced public facility of... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest grocery chain has informed the market that they have reduced the shelf price of 3,500 products Australia-wide. The “long term shelf price reduction strategy” has been made possible due to “business efficiencies”, the company said. “3,500 everyday grocery products have had their standard shelf price reduced over the last few months and are now cheaper than they were a year ago,” Woolworths said in a statement. “These lower prices... ...Read more »

The level of food inflation in Australia has risen to 1.4% in the December quarter, although it remains moderate when compared to the rapid price hikes of the first half of 2008. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released their figures this morning, with food one of the main contributors to a 0.5% increase to the CPI. The food group inflation of 1.4% was noticeably higher than recent quarters, with the full year-on-year figure at just 1.9%. The most significant contributors to the increase were... ...Read more »

The Agriculture Council of the European Union is looking at ways to improve the food supply chain to ensure value is more evenly distributed across the chain and food price fluctuations are not as severe. Speaking in a press conference at the end of the Council, which was held on Monday, Spanish Minister for the Environment Elena Espinosa said that all the ministers had welcomed the ideas raised. According to the Spanish minister, several states, including Spain, have a price observatory, although... ...Read more »

Price-fixing scandals in the food industry are seemingly popping up all across Europe with Germany’s competition authority the latest to issue an investigation into alleged price-fixing amongst food manufacturers and retailers. Metro, Edeka, and Rewe have admitted to being among 11 German retailers raided by the German Federal Cartel Office and police in the price-fixing probe, according to Bloomberg. Federal Cartel Office employees, together dozens of police officers, have searched the premises... ...Read more »

Sugar, dairy and oils were the catalysts for growth in global food prices last month, according to the latest release of the FAO Food Price Index, while cereals and meat prices remained stagnant. The Index now sits at a 15-month high. The Index of a basket of food commodities (sugar, dairy, meat, cereals and oils and fats) reached 171.9 points last month, up 29 points year-on-year and 33 from the lowest point during the downturn (February). “The main drivers were sugar, oilseeds and dairy which... ...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 »

Tea prices reached record levels this year but should ease in 2010 as weather patterns returned to normal in the main tea-producing regions of Asia and Africa, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has advised.The FAO Tea Composite price, the indicative world price for black tea, reached a high of $3.18 a kilogramme in September amid droughts in India, Sri Lanka and Kenya and underpinned by increased demand, compared to an average price of $2.38 per kilogramme in 2008. The concern is that... ...Read more »

Global food prices are on the ascent again with the FAO Food Price Index – a food basket composed of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar – registering four straight monthly rises. Fortunately, market conditions are different from those that triggered the food price crisis that started two years ago, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its December Food Outlook report published overnight (Australian time). The index averaged 168 points in November, the highest... ...Read more »