The Consumer Price Index for baked foods and cereal products fell 0.3% in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The index for all food at home also decreased, easing 0.3%. Of the 18 items followed by Milling & Baking News, 14 posted month-over-month declines while 4 finished higher. The June index for… Read more »
The increasing cost in some ingredients and in cargo transportation is forcing the most recognized candies and chocolate manufacturers in the United States to raise the prices of their products in 2019. Mondelez, makers of Oreo cookies and Hershey Co., announced they will increase the price of their products and candies at the beginning of 2019, while Nestlé USA is… Read more »
The Consumer Price Index for baked foods and cereal products rose 0.2% in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The index for all food at home, meanwhile, decreased 0.1%. Of the 18 items followed by Milling & Baking News, a sister publication of World Grain, 11 posted month-over-month increases and 7 finished… Read more »
If you’ve ever used the words “plain” or “boring” to describe vanilla, it’s definitely time to pull out the thesaurus to look for some new adjectives. That’s because increasing global demand for vanilla, a recent cyclone off the coast of Africa and other geopolitical events happening half a world away have caused a massive vanilla price spike and supply shortage… Read more »
Shaky consumer confidence, stiff competition and increased transparency offered by the internet are forcing organisations to reappraise how they price their goods and services, says a new report from PwC entitled ‘The power of pricing’.
Confectionery giants Nestle and Mars have been charged by Canada’s Competition Bureau for alleged criminal conspiracy to fix the prices of chocolate products in the country. The Bureau said a five-year inquiry uncovered evidence suggesting the two companies “conspired, agreed or arranged” to fix prices of chocolate products. The charges also include ITWAL, a network of independent wholesale distributors.
Turns out that concern for the current stateand future of the environment are on the rise in 2013 (38 percent vs. 31 percent in 2012) even as economic indicators point to all-time stock market highs and a solid housing market recovery. However, as Americans start to feel better about reaching into their pockets, they still may not be ready to dish out the extra green on organic items. Turns out that more than half (59 percent) agree that labeling food or other products as organic is just an excuse to charge more.
In his keynote address Tuesday at the FT Commodities Summit in Switzerland, Cargill CEO Greg Page delivered a plain message: “Price is one of the most powerful signals on earth, and to be a communicator or disseminator of that price means we must accept huge responsibility.” Page urged the commodity trading world to be accountable for the social, environmental and economic consequences of business decisions. With technology making communication both global and nearly instantaneous, he said, there is nowhere for companies to hide. Nor should they seek to hide. Pointing to recent government action in the banking industry, Page called for good policy frameworks that don’t hinder the essential work of getting crops and other raw materials to where they’re needed: “We can either earn and embrace the governance and regulation we want and need, or ignore our ethical, behavioral and societal obligations and then accept the governance that all others may impose upon us.”
This summer’s lingering drought—the worst in at least 50 years, with over 1,000 counties in 26 states currently qualifying for disaster relief—will inevitably cause a spike in food prices. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, corn is now 22% more expensive than at the beginning of the year, and soybeans are up 32% (see in “For Food, It’s the Bad and the Ugly”).
The global battle for natural resources – from food and water to energy and precious metals – is only beginning, and will intensify to proportions that could mean enormous upheavals for every country, leading academics and business figures told a conference in Oxford.
