The CEO and CFO of Louis Dreyfus both resigned this week, while the chief strategy officer will become the new CEO. He recently was the head of the group’s Edesia Asset Management. Sources told the Financial Times that the departure was probably due to a disagreement over the investment plans of Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, whose stake in the company is expected to increase to 96.9%, from 80% currently, after buying shares from other family members. The new CEO reassured that the move was not a sign of an internal crisis, as he revealed that the group was seeing better financial results this year, partly thanks to the current trade volatility.
Similarly, Sucden announced that the current general manager will step down in January 2019, although he will still oversee some projects, and be replaced by the head of Sucden Americas.
Not much progress was made in international trade talks this week, as the EU and the US could not agree on agricultural tariffs. The EU previously committed to buying more US soybean, but US politicians now argue that a trade deal needs to account for all agricultural products. The proposal was quickly shot down by many in the EU who said that agriculture was never meant to be part of a deal. EU representatives added that the issue of food standards would have to be addressed first, such as whether to allow US chlorine-rinsed chickens or hormone-reared beef.
Little progress was made with China either, as the US imposed another series of duties without really looking to engage in negotiations with their Chinese counterparts. The head of Cargill warned that a protracted trade war could drastically change the landscape of US agriculture. He mentioned that the US would no longer be seen as a reliable trading partner, while the Chinese were unlikely to back down in order to protect their pride. The whole US soybean industry is at risk, he explained, as Chinese importers can switch to other protein sources.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace activists protested against Wilmar’s palm oil refinery in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The NGO accused Wilmar of breaking its 2013 commitment of ‘no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation’ (NDPE) after it was found to be buying palm oil from producers that have been linked to deforestation.
Indonesia’s president signed a 3-year temporary ban on new palm oil development, three years after the original ban was announced. Local administrations have been instructed to review permits and delay new ones, in part to reduce land rights conflicts between villagers and plantation owners.
Environmentalists welcomed the announcement, which comes just two months after India’s Solvent Extractors Association signed an agreement with the Indonesian Palm Oil Board and Solidaridad which recognised the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) as well as the Indian Palm Oil Sustainability (IPOS) Framework as legitimate sustainability frameworks for palm oil production and trade between Indonesia and India.
Over 70 companies in the UK, including Tesco, Nestle and Coca-Cola, have committed to reducing by half their food wastage “from farm to fork” by 2030 – a waste currently estimated to be close to 10 million mt every year. This is part of a voluntary government initiative asking the companies involved to publish data on wastage as well as action plans.
On a global level, Coca-Cola was also among the companies that committed last week to support the Ocean Plastics Charter, which aims to reduce plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
In California, the Governor gave the green light for the state’s first set of Plastic Pollution Reduction Bills, which include a plan to phase out non-recyclable food packaging.
Another Californian bill requires adopting a statewide microplastics strategy. Microplastics have become all the more concerning after a study found that aquatic insects, which include mosquitoes, carry microplastics which were ingested at the egg stage in water.
This week, the Swiss voted against proposals that could have given Switzerland the strictest food standards in Europe. The proposals were designed to promote ethical and sustainable food through measures such as state support for family farms and higher import tariffs for food. An estimated 1,000 family farms close each year in the country, many of which are traditional dairy farms. If voted, however, the proposals would have resulted in higher food prices.
While the Jury is still out on whether the Swiss event means that people are not willing to pay more for sustainable food, several NGOs have filed a lawsuit against the Pret A Manger restaurant chain in the US. The chain is accused of knowingly misleading customers into believing their food is “natural,” on the basis they will be willing to pay more for it, when in fact traces of the weedkiller glyphosate were found in some of their products.
This summary was produced by ECRUU
