{"id":704,"date":"2018-07-26T07:32:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-26T07:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/?p=704"},"modified":"2018-10-31T09:51:12","modified_gmt":"2018-10-31T09:51:12","slug":"commodity-conversations-weekly-press-summary-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/2018\/07\/26\/commodity-conversations-weekly-press-summary-30\/","title":{"rendered":"Commodity Conversations Weekly Press Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The US-China trade spate has resulted in the doubling of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.agweb.com\/article\/us-turning-into-top-eu-soybean-supplier\/\"><span class=\"s2\">premium for Brazilian soybeans\u00a0<\/span><\/a>in one month, as China may have to replace some 4 million mt of US soybean imports in the fourth quarter with Brazilian origin. An analyst at Rabobank said that the EU, which is the world\u2019s second largest importer of the crop, is likely to shift to the cheaper US origin as a result, after buying mainly from South America for the past few years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Meanwhile, traders in Brazil are worried that the recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/brazil-grains-transportation\/new-brazil-freight-policy-will-harm-grains-trade-boost-costs-cargill-idUSL5N1UK62B\"><span class=\"s2\">implemented minimum road freight rates<\/span><\/a> will push commodity prices higher. The minimum rates were put into place after a countrywide strike by truck drivers. Cargill has warned that trade houses might have to start buying grains delivered at port, instead of ex-farm or from elevators as is currently the case. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Sources say that <a href=\"https:\/\/economia.uol.com.br\/noticias\/bloomberg\/2018\/07\/19\/bunge-negocia-venda-de-parte-de-trading-de-acucar-fontes.htm\"><span class=\"s2\">Bunge is in talks to sell parts of its sugar trading unit <\/span><\/a>to Wilmar. The talks are apparently focusing on the Asian trading unit, which would give Wilmar better access to Thailand\u2019s exports. In Argentina, meanwhile, Bunge is reportedly going to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/grains-argentina-bunge\/bunge-to-close-argentine-soybean-mill-lay-off-60-workers-union-idUSL1N1UL02J\"><span class=\"s2\">close down its soybean mill complex <\/span><\/a>at the Ramallo port, according to the mill\u2019s workers\u2019 union. The trade house did not confirm the news, but the union has threatened to strike at some of the other port complexes as a result. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foodingredientsfirst.com\/news\/adm-acquires-vanilla-ingredients-supplier-rodelle-expands-capabilites-in-madagascar.html\">ADM announced it will buy premium vanilla producer Rodelle in Madagascar<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s1\">. The company said that Rodelle was unique in that it had a vertically integrated supply chain which allowed it to supply large scale volumes of certified organic vanilla at lower costs. ADM also said it was keen to secure vanilla supply, especially as a shortage of the product lead to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kare11.com\/article\/news\/vanilla-shortage-may-impact-your-favorite-sweet-treat-this-summer\/89-573851930\"><span class=\"s2\">recent surge in the price of vanilla extract<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Separately, ADM and Vedan have got together to create <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foodbev.com\/news\/adm-and-vedan-create-new-line-of-speciality-tapioca-starches\/\"><span class=\"s2\">tapioca starches<\/span><\/a> and tapioca maltodextrin ingredients for manufacturers that are non-GMO and organic. The company said food companies were increasingly looking for plant-based and \u2018clean\u2019 ingredients in response to changing consumer demands. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-china-fertilizer-sdic-aquisition\/chinas-sdic-to-buy-nutriens-majority-stake-in-arab-potash-idUSKBN1KD1IB\">China\u2019s State Development and Investment Corp<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> (SDIC) will become the majority shareholder in Arab Potash Co after it buys an additional 28% stake from Canadian fertilizer supplier Nutrien. This will help China &#8211; the world\u2019s main consumer of potash &#8211; to guarantee supply. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Staying on the topic of fertilisers, an estimated 58% of the nitrogen applied to crops runs off from farms and emits nitrous oxide, which in turns produces half of the greenhouse gas in the US agriculture sector. However,<a href=\"https:\/\/thebreakthrough.org\/index.php\/issues\/the-future-of-food\/cutting-nitrogen-pollution\"><span class=\"s2\"> a recent report suggested that switching everything to organic farming was not the solution<\/span><\/a>. Part of the reason is that all manure &#8211; whether organic or synthetic &#8211; releases more nitrogen than the plants can absorb. The answer would be to focus on developing more efficient ways to use nitrogen so that we need to use less of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Starbucks and McDonald\u2019s have announced a NextGen Cup Challenge through which they have invited ideas to create fully <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/food-drink\/2018\/07\/18\/starbucks-and-mcdonalds-teaming-up-to-create-sustainable-cup.html\"><span class=\"s2\">recyclable and compostable cups<\/span><\/a>. The rival companies will contribute USD 5 million to the winners of the challenge to create a prototype, which will then be replicated across their stores. The two companies intend to phase out plastic cups within the next three years. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s3\">In Canada, meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.environmentalleader.com\/2018\/07\/mcdonalds-certified-sustainable-canada\/\"><span class=\"s4\">McDonald\u2019s plans to purchase beef from farms and ranches which are Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef<\/span><\/a> (CRSB) certified. The company serves over 20 million Angus burgers every year. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/morning-agriculture\/2018\/07\/20\/navarro-discounts-trade-wars-negative-impact-285969\">Major meat and dairy producers <\/a><\/span><span class=\"s1\">such as JBS, Fonterra, Dairy Farmers of America, Tyson Foods and Cargill could account for 81% of the world\u2019s emissions by 2050 if they make no changes to their supply chain and continue growing at the same pace. That would be more than emissions from oil producers Exxon, Shell and BP. The findings were published in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grain.org\/article\/entries\/5976-emissions-impossible-how-big-meat-and-dairy-are-heating-up-the-planet\"><span class=\"s2\">report<\/span><\/a> which said it was difficult to find the data to make these assessments because of the lack of reporting. Only 14 out of the 35 companies analysed said they were planning to reduce emissions, but less than a third of those included emissions from the whole supply chain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Similarly, a Food FW survey found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foodmanufacture.co.uk\/Article\/2018\/07\/18\/Sustainability-strategies-needed-in-food-sector\"><span class=\"s2\">53% of the UK companies surveyed did not carry any sustainability information<\/span><\/a> on their websites, and only 7% of the companies in the sector have made investments in sustainability. The report conceded that companies may be hesitant to disclose their sustainability strategies as it could be held against them. However, it added, that mentioning sustainability credentials would benefit the company in the long run.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Finally, in Indonesia, the government has had to intervene as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-07-20\/ripple-effect-of-fifa-world-cup-eggs-get-costlier-in-indonesia?cmpid=BBD072018_MKT&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_term=180720&amp;utm_campaign=markets\"><span class=\"s2\">domestic egg prices in June-July rallied to a 2-year high<\/span><\/a>. The price rise was due to the high consumption of instant noodles with eggs during the FIFA football World Cup. A poultry farmers association secretary-general added that the price was also influenced by lower egg supply as farmers sold their hens because the demand for meat was higher.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This summary was prepared by <a href=\"http:\/\/ecruu.com\">ECRUU<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ecruu.com\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-660\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Screen-Shot-2018-06-28-at-7.47.44-am.png?resize=525%2C157&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"157\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US-China trade spate has resulted in the doubling of the\u00a0premium for Brazilian soybeans\u00a0in one month, as China may have to replace some 4 million mt of US soybean imports in the fourth quarter with Brazilian origin. An analyst at Rabobank said that the EU, which is the world\u2019s second largest importer of the crop, &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/2018\/07\/26\/commodity-conversations-weekly-press-summary-30\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Commodity Conversations Weekly Press Summary&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-summary"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9fIT3-bm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878,"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions\/878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commodityconversations.com\/wordpress2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}