No-nonsense, no-frills news stories from around the world
Market and consumer data analytics company A-INSIGHTS has published its latest monthly MarketMonitor report on trends in the Frozen Potato Products industry, titled “July Insights“. Analysts at the company report that global frozen potato trade volumes have stabilized in July, with the year-to-date volume remaining 0.5% above the pre-COVID levels of 2019. They further report that low priced imports from Belgium gain share in US imports.
McCain Foods (GB) recently announced the appointment of James Young, who will be joining the UK senior leadership team as Agriculture Director. In his new role, he will take overall responsibility for McCain’s crucial raw material – potatoes. Young will also continue to develop McCain’s strong relationship with its 250 strong grower community and enhance the integration from field to factory, as well as leading the brand’s sustainable farming efforts.
Idaho Steel is excited to participate the 2021 ‘Coolest Thing Made in Idaho’ Campaign. In celebration of National Manufacturing Day and Idaho Manufacturing Month in October, the Idaho Manufacturing Alliance (IMA) is presenting a virtual campaign to spotlight some of the great manufacturers in the state. Idaho Steel has been nominated for the Nex-Gem Rotary Former.
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.’s top and bottom lines headed in different directions during the first quarter of fiscal 2022. Sales rose 13% as foodservice and institutional businesses recovered around the world, but the company’s net income fell 67% for the quarter. “In the US, we continue to be encouraged by the pace of recovery in restaurant traffic and demand for fries,” Thomas P. Werner, president and chief executive officer said.
McCain Foods is set to modernize its Béthune plant in Pas-de-Calais, to produce new packaging more suited to mass distribution and to “strengthen its competitiveness”, thanks to an investment of EUR17m. “This investment in Béthune is the first in a series that will be deployed by McCain by 2026” to evolve towards “more modern and sustainable industrial production”, Erwin Pardon, president of McCain Europe, noted.
Packaged food startup Farther Farms, backed with $10 million in capital from the National Science Foundation, has created a new food preservation process that it hopes could make the cold chain moot for traditionally frozen or refrigerated packaged food products. The company’s first product, a precut, ready-to-fry French fry, which uses a CO2 food pasteurization technology to keep the fry shelf-stable for months without requiring a freezer or refrigerator.
According to a recent report issued by the USDA’s Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN), China’s MY2021/22 frozen French fries production is forecast higher by 20 percent at 420,000 metric tons (MT). According to industry sources, a new french fry production line will be put into production in MY2021/22 in Inner Mongolia. Frozen French fry producers in China are expected to expand their production as much as possible to make up for the reduction of imports.
Pepsico last week commissioned the country’s largest greenfield food plant in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The plant is built at a cost of Rs 814 crore (USD110m), with the aim to fulfill the company’s goal of doubling its snack business by 2022. The plant will cater for the demand of the company’s Lays potato chips business, connecting with over 5,000 local potato farmers.
Market and consumer data analytics company A-INSIGHTS has published its latest monthly MarketMonitor report on trends in the Frozen Potato Products industry, titled “June Insights“. Analysts at the company conclude that global trade volume is up 0.5%YTD compared to 2019. Aside from the U.S., France, and New Zealand, all major exporters saw volumes increase compared to 2019. With a monthly import volume of 107.9 thousand tonnes in June, U.S. imports are up 26.2% compared to 2019.
PepsiCo UK recently announced it is investing £24 million (about US$33 million) in their Lincoln snack factory to upgrade their facilities, meet the growing consumer demand, and secure the building’s future. The investment will see existing machinery at their long-standing city center site replaced by new equipment – including a compact packaging machine – creating training opportunities for employees including their apprentices, some of whom will be upskilled in using the state-of-the-art equipment and technology.
RMA-Techniek acquired the product SolEye on 1 September. SolEye is a product by Solentum B.V. (a former subsidiary of HZPC Holdings). Herman Verveld, Commercial Director at HZPC said: “Here at HZPC we are pleased with this agreement. We could not have found a better company to take over than RMA-Techniek. The company is familiar with the potato business and well known to existing and potential new customers worldwide. Moreover, the use and development of the SolEye will be further expanded”.
Market and consumer data analytics company A-INSIGHTS last week published its latest monthly newsletter on trends in the Frozen Potato Products industry, titled “May Insights”. Sector analysts at the company say global trade volume down 3.3%YTD compared to 2019, with prices down 3.5%YTD.
Heat and Control, Inc., world renowned equipment manufacturer and food/non-food processing industry supplier, is constructing a new facility in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The new site will expand support for the North American manufacturing industry and will meet the increased needs of pre-sale and after-market needs, including product/equipment testing, demonstrations, service support, and training.
Advanced Coating Solutions, headquartered in Kirkland, WA in the US produces a thin insulation coating material that works by blocking heat transfer. Instead of using mass to work as a heat sink and absorb heat (fiberglass), the thin insulation coating works like the ‘Low E’ window concept, where thin oxide coatings diffuse infrared radiation.
“The potato processing market has been steadily increasing in the last years and this trend is expected to continue. Following this growth, many companies working in this field have presented different innovations in the recent years: new storage options, new pretreatments, new fryers, and new cutting systems.” So says Emerson Jiménez Barajas, Application Director, FAM & Stumabo International.
It’s a risky crop, but Sisters Creek potato farmer Leigh Elphinstone in Tasmania wouldn’t have it any other way, reports Meg Powell in this news story for The Advocate. And the multi-generational farmer’s passion for the simple spud seems to have paid off, helping secure growers like himself an additional $9 a tonne deal with major food manufacturer Simplot over the coming financial year.
Last year, a total of 55.3 million tons of potatoes were harvested in the European Union. Most were harvested in Germany and end up as crisp or frozen chips. Germany was the largest producer and accounted for 21.2 per cent of EU production. The overall value of EU processed potato production reached € 9.1 billion in 2019.
It takes 120 days from planting to harvesting to create a product that can be consumed within minutes, but the journey of these spuds stretches back even further. Farmer Jason Menegazzo’s family has been growing potatoes for 50 years, and for the past two decades have been solely supplying The Smith’s Snackfood Company. Introduced from England in 1931, the Smith’s brand now celebrates 90 years of manufacturing in Australia.
The Daily Mail reports that the UK is facing a shortage of chips due to high demand for British potatoes from the Continent. According to the report, experts predict the British crop will be in short supply after floods decimated potato production in Europe. A report revealed frozen chips are likely to be particularly affected – with a warning of steep price rises.
Red Rock Deli in Australia and New Zealand has teamed up with Colin Fassnidge, using his culinary creativity to inspire three new, restaurant quality flavours as part of Red Rock Deli Chef Series range. Colin has a famous philosophy with food, creating rich flavours and always pushing the boundaries. PepsiCo Australia & New Zealand’s Hind Simhairi, Senior Brand Manager, said the collaboration with Colin was a natural fit.
Market and consumer data analytics company A-INSIGHTS last week published its latest monthly newsletter on trends in the Frozen Potato Products industry, titled ‘April Insights’. The company reports that global trade volume trended down 3.1%YTD compared to 2019, with prices down 5.8%YTD.
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. is expanding. During the past five months the company has announced three significant capital projects in markets around the world that will increase its scale and capitalize on global consumer demand for value-added potato products. The investments come in the wake of what Thomas P. Werner, president and chief executive officer, called “the most challenging operating environment in our company’s history.”
Lamb Weston Holdings posted robust fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 results, as both top and bottom lines increased year over year. Results were largely aided by demand recovery for frozen potato products, with curbs being lifted and restaurant traffic improving. Demand in Europe and key export markets is likely to improve with the increased availability of vaccines in the regions.
Lamb Weston / Meijer (LW/M) announced plans today to build a new french fry plant, expanding its existing production facility in Kruiningen, the Netherlands. The new plant is designed to process potatoes with a minimum amount of water and energy, fitting Lamb Weston / Meijer’s 2030 Sustainability Agenda.
Canadian supermarkets are soon to be stocking Indigenous-owned potato chip brand Tomahawk Chips. In just over five years an Indigenous business owner has taken an upstart potato chip business from humble roots in rural Manitoba, to a distribution deal that will now see his chips sold all across the country.
Anti-dumping tariffs on frozen French fries imported from the Netherlands and Germany have expired, leaving the South African potato industry vulnerable to ‘dumping’. Willie Jacobs, CEO of Potatoes South Africa (Potatoes SA), said “The previous protection mechanism [proved] to be effective in ensuring the sustainability [of the local industry], and there is more than significant case law to suggest it to be necessary.”
