canned and tomato 2018 · bets all on red 22 global peach canning: ... because food canners ......

Powered by FoodNews

Canned and Tomato 2018

IEG Vu

Don't risk your supply chain

CANNED FRUITS/ CANNED ARTICHOKES/ FRUIT PULPS/ FRUIT CUPS ASEPTIC FRUIT DICES/ TOMATO SAUCE AND KETCHUP

FROZEN RTE FRUITS & VEGETABLES

Contact: Hector Arriagada Export Manager [email protected] www.aconcaguafoods.cl CHILE

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.aconcaguafoods.cl

IEG Vu | Canned and Tomato 2018 / 3www.ieg-vu.com

IEG Vu

Publishing Director IEG Vu & IEG Policy Adam Sharpe Tel: +44 20 7017 7587 Email: [email protected]

Senior Analyst: Dried Fruit & Nuts/Spices & Exotics Julian Gale Tel: +44 20 7017 7539 Email: [email protected]

Agribusiness Intelligence | Informa UK Ltd. | Christchurch Court | London EC1A 7AZ | UK Telephone: +44 20 7017 7500IEG Vu

Principal Analyst: Beverages Neil Murray Tel: +44 20 7017 7553 Email: [email protected]

Head of Advertising Sales Ben Watkins Tel: +44 20 3377 3911 Email: [email protected]

Advertising Sales Richard Jewels Tel: +44 20 337 73163 Email: [email protected]

Subscription & Marketing Enquiries Email: [email protected]

Agribusiness Intelligence Client Services Team EMEA: +44 20 7017 6242 (9am-5pm BST) APAC: +61 287 056 966 (9am-5pm AEST) NORTH AMERICA and LATAM: +1 21 26 52 53 22 (9am-5pm EDT) Email: [email protected]

www.ieg-vu.com© Informa UK Ltd 2018

News Analyst: Tomato Products/Frozen Foods Cristina Nanni Tel: +44 20 7017 5174 Email: [email protected]

News Analyst: Canned Products Estela Cuesta Tel: +44 20 7017 4549 Email: [email protected]

News Analyst: Dried Fruit & Nuts/Spices & Exotics Jose Gutierrez Tel: +44 20 3377 3704 Email: [email protected]

Contents Canned food, it is time for a changeCanned food has survived two centuries and as many World Wars, but this old-fashioned product may succumb to millennials’ health and environmental-oriented consumption trends.

By Cristina Nanni

Sales are shrinking and dragging down prices across the entire sector. About 425 million cans of peaches earmarked for the retail sector are sitting on a Chinese sales online platform with little success: sales and profit are close to zero. A late frost has helped the European canned peach industry to get back on track after 2017’s oversupply. The balance between supply and demand should work the magic and help raw material prices to increase. The weather assisted the volatile Ecuadorian tuna market as La Niña caused a reduction in catches. In California, where climate change did not curb production of canned peaches, growers were asked to remove contracted orchards to avoid over-supply.

The sharp drop in sales of the iconic Campbell Soup in the US, including its organic range, is the tip of the iceberg of another issue the sector has to face: its containers. Researches about potential

adverse health effects of bisphenol-A (BPA) on pregnant women and babies has steered the industry towards a new generation of tins and can-makers are exploring several new material options.

Canned food has a great potential, as it is a staple food for a wide range of countries’ culinary traditions. It is a reinterpretation of home-made preserved food that prompted the industry to readapt in resistant containers to be used in any condition, including a war. The future of this sector will depend on the industry’s ability to refresh its image and its production range. The reassuringly low prices-high volume sales equation, which has rewarded the canned industry in the past (statistics show that consumption of canned food increase during economic recession cycles), is not directing consumer demand anymore. It is time for the industry to prove it can do better: it is a good time for a change.

04 Canning at the crossroads

07 Tomato paste sector at a turning point

11 Tomato market does best it can

16 Technology gets under tomato skin

20 Tomato Foundation bets all on red

22 Global peach canning: Sorting the disorder

25 Canned pear market looking at China

27 Contemporary times for Chinese canned fruits

28 The tuna industry carousel

30 Manta and Bangkok in relay race

32 Poland to end European reliance on Chinese canned mushroom

34 “We are the largest modern mushroom farm in China”


4 www.ieg-vu.com/ Canned and Tomato 2018 | IEG Vu

While the use of metal cans for food is a first choice for many fruit, vegetable and meat products around the world, in the more developed markets the preference by millennials for more ‘healthy’ and fresh-tasting products has taken the big brands off guard.

For example, Campbell Soup has been struggling to arrest volume decline in its core soup business with launches of revived ranges… and the USD5.0 billion Snyder’s-Lance acquisition in snacks, which is on the up.

Yet North Americans still regard Campbell highly. Amongst the top 10 ‘Most loved brands in America’ recently ranked by researcher Morning Consult, it was 10th in a list populated by the likes of Google, YouTube, UPS and Amazon, the other consumer goods names being Pillsbury (of Green Giant canned corn fame), Betty Crocker and Kellogg’s. Campbell Soup must be doing something right.

No doubt many food packers view the idea of metal cans and their century-old heritage with amusement, choosing, more often than not nowadays, plastics and paper-based packaging for its flexibility in application and labelling, and its transparent ability to show the product to the consumer on retail shelves.

Indeed, this feature has been exploited in a hybrid can first revealed in 2016 by Micralon. Called the Klear Can, a co-injection moulded, polypropylene-EVOH can, closed with a full-aperture tinplate easy-open end, in October 2017 it was launched commercially in Asia by S&W Fine Foods International, a division of Del Monte, for a range of pineapple chunks and slices sold in Seoul, South Korea and Shanghai, China.

But one of the key benefits of the metal can, either tinplate or aluminium, has been its ability to protect the product from light and oxygen, be easily batch processed in retorts, and to be shipped through the supply chain without the need for energy-hungry chilling systems. It is a reliable, safe and well-proven process for delivering processed products with the minimum of waste.

Despite the benefits of the traditional metal can, there has been a long-standing campaign – particularly in North America– to cast doubt on the health risks associated with the internal coatings used by many brands. Campaigners have been successful in persuading both consumers and politicians that bisphenol-A (BPA) – a chemical used in the manufacture of high-performance epoxy phenolic coatings – poses a threat to pregnant mothers and babies, even though research over the years has failed to identify problems at the microscopic levels found in food products.

That has all changed, because food canners have rightly taken notice of what consumers want, rather than simply rely on science, and have taken up new technologies developed by the coatings manufacturers over the past 10 years.

Big names like ConAgra Brands and Seneca Foods proudly announced that their canned products were BPA-free many years ago and almost all others have adopted similar stances.

So comprehensive has this change been that a North American industry group, the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), confidently announced at the beginning of 2018 that more than nine out of 10 food cans were BPA-free.

Referring to work by companies such as

Changing demographics, a reaction against plastics, and newly launched processes with low environmental impact could breathe new life into the food canning markets.

By John Nutting

Canning at the crossroads

IEG Vu | Canned and Tomato 2018 / 5www.ieg-vu.com 5

AkzoNobel, Valspar (now Sherwin-Williams), Dow and PPG Industries, the CMI said that years of research, rejection of almost 100 possibilities, and extensive safety tests have led to a new reality: today more than 90% of food cans in the US have ‘next-generation’ linings, and that percentage continues to increase.

“We listened to consumers and developed can linings that are completely different from their predecessors,” said CMI president Robert Budway. “They achieve our top priority of safety while maintaining the quality and freshness of food without using BPA.”

“The development of safe and effective linings is an intensive, comprehensive undertaking,” Budway added. “The entire process can take five to seven years and every step is important to ensure food safety and protect public health.

“Next generation linings are typically made from acrylic and polyester materials, which are subject to intense scrutiny. Before can linings are taken to market, they undergo extensive testing, analysis and regulatory clearances.”

The trouble is that there is no visible difference between the traditional cans and their ‘next-generation’ counterparts, so it will take a while before consumers get the message. And it is against a long-standing decline in the shipments of cans to food manufacturers in the US. In 1970, some 34.6 billion food cans were shipped, of which 10.5 bln were for vegetables. The numbers have since slipped and, apart from a revival in 2003, last year in 2017 the total was 26.6 bln cans of which 9.34 bln were for vegetables.

In contrast, shipments of cans for pet products have more than doubled in the almost half century from 3.4 bln to 7.7 bln.

That is still a relatively slow growth rate in a consumer market for packaged pet foods which is now several orders of magnitude larger, with the take up of plastic pouches for wet foods and highly-decorated kraft bags for dry.

If the market for canned foods is to grow, then their positive benefits, along with a better recognition of consumer habits, such as the use of smaller serving sizes, will have to be exploited by the marketing people.

Hope is on the horizon though, and that is the growing feeling that plastics packaging has its own problems, as highlighted by Sir David Attenborough in his Blue Planet television series which showed how plastic waste is accumulating in the world’s oceans and the food chain.

In the UK, it was a game-changer and politicians jumped on the bandwagon, even though only a small proportion of plastic

waste in the seas originates from Europe. The target is single-use plastic bottles for drinks and, as proposals for deposit systems on single-serve packs are being formulated, some entrepreneurs have already been exploiting the use of cans because they are ‘plastics-free’, a move that could spill into the canned food sector.

In the meantime, can manufacturing technology is being taken up to enable brand owners to respond fast to market demand for wider ranges of can sizes.

For food cans, the process for their manufacture is traditionally been three-piece fabrication, using a cylindrical body with a welded seam and two lids (‘ends’). As markets grew and there was a need for large volumes of standard tinplate cans, so the faster D&I (drawn and wall ironed) process for two-piece cans was more widely adopted, first in the US and more recently in Europe. Typically, the most recent investment in such a plant was last year by Silgan Containers in the US at Burlington, Iowa, the better to serve customers in the mid-west.


Three-piece fabrication was a bit more flexible, enabling different diameters and heights to be made on the same production line, but size changes also impact productivity. Now, however, equipment manufacturers such as Soudronic and Can-Man in Switzerland have been introducing features that speed up change-over times, along with Industry 4.0 initiatives that make the monitoring of the processes more transparent through the supply chain. This follows similar developments in the coating and printing systems that make them almost ‘plug-and-play’ for operators.

The technology is available, so how are customers in the food industry responding? An early example was launched last year in Australia when Heinz canned beans were relaunched in a range of four sizes of cans, each to suit different ‘eating occasions’.

Research showed that consumers wanted a wider variety of cans: 130g providing a meal for a young child; 220g that would be ideal as a side serve for a teenager; 300g for young singles and couples; and 555g for a family, the two larger sizes being new for Heinz.

And in a first for the food and beverages giant, the brand released a Pixar-style animated film to launch its ‘Can Size for Every Aussie’ campaign.

Announcing the campaign in September 2017, Kraft Heinz Australia commercial president Elkin Jackson, based in Melbourne, said: “We’re extremely excited for the launch of this campaign as it is unique to Kraft Heinz in many ways. Creating a three-minute animated film is a first for our business.”

The new range of three-piece welded tinplate cans was supplied by Australia-based Jamestrong Packaging from its Hastings canmaking plant in New Zealand.

Environmental issues are behind a project at Indian-based industrial group Tata to offer polyester-coated two-piece steel cans to food manufacturers. At Tata Packaging Steel’s mill at IJmuiden in the Netherlands, it has been continuing the development of the steels which, because they do not require the application of solvent-based coatings that need thermal curing, offer a simplified manufacturing process with lower energy consumption.

Polyester-laminated steel and aluminium have been used for many years in Japan for drinks cans, and in the US north-west for salmon cans, but in food cans elsewhere the applications have been almost non-existent.

Tata wants to change that and revolutionise the food can business. Last year it unveiled its film production line and later this year it will be showing off its pilot two-piece D&I canmaking line using Protact laminated steels in the hope that brand owners will catch on to the strong environmental message.

Tata also sees opportunities with the technology to help farmers anywhere in the world to process and preserve their produce on site using the latest can designs with low environmental impact.

Tata’s mobile canning system is a modern version of a process that has been used in India by mango farmers, in which flattened

can bodies are reformed into cylinders, flanged and seamed in a truck-mounted line that arrives in time for the harvest, taking the filled cans away for distribution. On a smaller scale craft brewers are using mobile canning contractors to enable them to sell canned beers in small and manageable volumes.

Tata’s mobile canning system could also help reduce the third of all food production that, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, is lost or wasted before it even reaches consumers, including the post-harvest handling, storage, processing, packaging and distribution stages. Last year, India’s minister for food Harsimat Kaur Badal said that just 7% of India’s agricultural produce was processed due to lack of facilities, infrastructure and technology.

Badal highlighted the growing demand for processed food from India’s 1.3 bln population. The domestic food and grocery market in India is predicted to be worth USD915 bln by 2020, she reported.

“Today in India we have very high [25-30% food] waste because of the lack of infrastructure,” reported Badal. “We are putting up the infrastructure now, but we need the know-how to bring down that waste.”

Tata Steel’s mobile canning line is one approach that could help to reduce this waste problem. It will allow producers to call up the production line to make cans and fill them with fruit or vegetables on site. It will mean that crops can be preserved quickly before they spoil, thus reducing food losses.

“We definitely view the mobile canmaking and canning concept as a partnership and are currently in discussion with a number of interested parties in different regions,” said Steven Dijkstra, head of marketing for Packaging & Nordics at Tata Steel in Europe.

Tata Steel says the amount of food losses during harvest in India are even higher than suggested by the Indian food minister as a whole because of the nation’s poor infrastructure.

“In India, 44% of food harvested is lost before it reaches consumers through the post-harvest stages, often because it simply cannot be packaged and preserved quickly enough,” says Dijkstra.


The Chinese tomato industry artillery turned to be a terracotta army, paralysed by high stock levels, low market prices and a feeble demand. Chinese tomato processors Cofco and Chalkis, respectably the second and third largest processors in the world, will drastically reduce their productions.

Chalkis has contracted no raw material yet. On May 5, the Chalkis Health Industry Co Ltd group, which includes the tomato segment, halted the share trade and announced major restructuring operations. Some sources believe that the group will quit the tomato sector to focus on the chemicals market.

In the first quarter of 2018, Chalkis reported a net loss of CNY20.8 million (USD3.2 mln). The company has put dozens of factories for sale or rent. Four of them have been recently sold: three in Xinjiang processing tomato in bulk, which have been inactive for a few years, and one canned tomato factory in Tianjin.

A similar scenario can be pictured for Cofco, which had unaudited losses of CNY17.75

mln. In March 2017, Cofco started an internal restructuring separating its sugar and tomato business into two subsidiaries: Cofco Tunhe Sugar and Cofco Tunhe Tomato Co. The operation, as suggested by IEG Vu at the time, was a sign of the financial difficulties suffered by the tomato segment. More recently, Cofco has sold 38.89% share of Cofcotunhe Tomato to three foundations of industry investment for CNY0.27billion and has offered the remaining shares for sale. Also in this case, a few factories were sold or will not produce this season.

The reassuring low prices-high volume sales equation, the Chinese Trojan Horse on the global markets, was disrupted by the loss of its main trading partners. In 2017, the steep drop in oil prices cut off from China’s exports map a substantial part of Middle East countries and African, including China’s largest tomato consumer, Nigeria. As labour costs and raw material prices started to increase, the narrow profit margin was not enough to keep the Chinese industry afloat.

This season, Chinese tomato production

Projected lower production in China should reduce global tomato output, but high stocks are keeping prices flat and could postpone the long-awaited market recovery.

By Cristina Nanni

Tomato paste sector at a turning point

The reassuring low prices-high volume sales equation, the Chinese Trojan Horse on the global markets, was disrupted by the loss of its main trading partners


could be below 4.0 mln tonnes, 22% less than initially estimated and an impressive 38% fall in production compared with 2017, after the 21% cut initially announced this March. The smaller volume in China reduced global production weight from last year’s 37.8 mln tonnes.

This is welcome news for Spain, where some companies are struggling with high stocks of tomato paste. Despite a delay in the start of the season that, at the time of writing (May 10), is estimated at two weeks, asking prices for tomato paste in Spain remain low and in the range of EUR630-650 (USD741-764) per tonne.

Sources reported some old stocks of 28/30% brix sold below EUR600/tonne in bulk for reprocessing. “It consists mostly of old stocks sold by companies in need of fresh cashflow for the coming season,” one source said, adding that products from the 2016 crop from several origins are presently being offered on the market.

Prices from Andalusia could be higher than in Extremadura as the raw material was costlier and growers are struggling with drought. In Andalusia, processors have to live with the spectre of growers’ exodus from tomato to more profitable crops, as happened in Turkey, where production this year will be 21% less.

Keeping growers within the tomato sector is becoming a common issue. This is one of the reasons why north Italian processors acceded to growers’ request to keep raw material prices at the same level of 2017 at EUR79.75/tonne. The same scenario occurred in Spain where negotiations closed in Extremadura at EUR70-71/tonne ex-field, as in 2017. In Portugal and Andalusia, prices grew y-o-y to EUR74-76/tonne delivered and EUR72-74/tonne ex-field, respectively. In California, Stanislaus Food Products offered its farmers a generous increment of USD5.00, but negotiations for other processors stalled as the USD75/ton proposed by Stanislaus seemed (and seems, as an agreement has not been reached yet) too high.

California’s processors are not reassured by the projected lower global production and 16% decline in tomato stocks in the US to 8.8 million (short) tons, at pre-2016 levels. US inventory levels are lower than in 2017, but still above average, as a trusted source told IEG Vu: the industry economics are still depressed.

Stocks are high both in Europe (mostly Spain) and China, and are not expected to normalise in the short term. Overseas domestic consumption is projected to remain flat and the US does not want to lose export opportunities by increasing its product costs. The dollar exchange rate is now lower compared with one year ago and some European processors did not hide their fear of an “aggressive move from overseas on the continental market”. For now, prices from the US are stable and slightly above the 2017 level, but the new season market has not yet fully opened.

Chinese tomato paste fob price 36/38% brix (USD/tonne)

650

700

750

800

850

900

950

1,000

1,050

1,100

1,150

1,200

01/05

/2018

01/03

/2018

01/01

/2018

01/11

/2017

01/09

/2017

01/07

/2017

01/05

/2017

01/03

/2017

01/01

/2017

01/11

/2016

01/09

/2016

01/07

/2016

01/05

/2016

01/03

/2016

01/01

/2016

01/11

/2015

01/09

/2015

01/07

/2015

01/05

/2015

01/03

/2015

01/01

/2015

01/11

/2014

01/09

/2014

01/07

/2014

01/05

/2014

Source IEG Vu

Chinese tomato paste fob price 36/38% brix (USD/tonne)

Tomato paste export volumes Jan-March 2018 (metrictonnes)

Chi

naU

nite

d S

tate

s

0 20K 40K 60K 80K 100K 120K 140K 160K 180K 200K 220K 240K 260K 280K

210,068

238,732

206,529

170,708

151,872

117,690

105,944

81,258

2014 2015 2016 2017

Source GTT

Tomato paste export volumes Jan-March 2018 (metric tonnes)

We sell only top quality raw materialsto the European fruit juice industry, from friendly and reliable producers to friendly and reliable customers

SELLING THE BEST TO THE BEST !

We have audited and chosen the mostreliable suppliers of fruit juices and purees

from ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA, COSTA RICA, ECUADOR, FLORIDA, GERMANY, GREECE, INDIA, INDONESIA,

ISRAEL, ITALY, KENYA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN, THAILAND, TURKEY…

for their quality products and reliability

2013Our 40th anniversary

In France fruit juice means Levy Group InternationalMember of Unijus

Levy Group International - 31 bis, rue des longs prés, 92100 Boulogne - FRANCETel: +33. (0)1.46.03.82.44Fax: +33. (0)1.46.03.84.00Email : [email protected]

COMPETITIVES PRICES - QUALITY SERVICE – RESPONSIBILITY

are key to the success of Levy Group International

The “Juice People” since 1973.

Celebrating over 40 years of excellence

In France fruit juice means LEVY GROUP INTERNATIONALMember of Unijus

QUALITY - RELIABILITY - PARTNERSHIP

are key to the success of Levy Group International

“The Juice Architects” since 1973

SELLING THE BEST TO THE BEST !

Levy Group International - 92 avenue du Général Leclerc, 92100 Boulogne Billancourt - FRANCETel: +33. (0)1.46.03.82.44Fax: +33. (0)1.46.03.84.00

Email: [email protected]

We sell only top quality raw materials to the European fruit juice industry, from friendly and reliable producers to friendly and reliable customers

We have audited and chosen the most reliable suppliers of fruit juices and purees

from ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA, COSTA RICA, ECUADOR, FLORIDA, GERMANY, GREECE, INDIA, INDONESIA,

ISRAEL, ITALY, KENYA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN, THAILAND, TURKEY...

for their quality products and reliability

Levy-FP-Ad-2016.indd 1 04/08/2016 09:13:01


http://www.djpl.fr


Concerning exports, some upward movements were recorded by China and the US in the first three months of 2018. China again entered the African market, almost doubling its shipments to Algeria, Nigeria and Togo. Chinese export figures remain negative in Russia where the government is pursuing an agricultural self-sufficiency plan, which includes processed tomato. The US increased its exports by just 2% to 82,000 tonnes. Volumes for both countries are well below the 2015-16 levels, the golden age of the tomato industry.

At this stage there are no figures available for other main processing countries.

Global production is expected to be below 37 mln tonnes, almost 5% less than in 2018, the lowest since 2014. On this figure weigh a smaller Chinese crop and a contraction of the output in Spain (-19%) and Portugal (-10%), where transplanting operations were delayed by heavy rain: a delay which could be hard to recover during the summer due to the autumn temperatures in these areas.

Ukrainian production keeps growing (+15%) but at a “bearable pace” as some sources noted, while the 63% increase of Iran’s production is a false-positive, considering that the country realigned its output to average figures after a 14% drop of production in 2017. Turkish production could be even smaller than predicted, given the raw material shortage, and the same applies for Spain and Portugal whose harvests will be at the mercy of autumn temperatures.

OutlookThe main question for sector professionals is: will the current drop in production be enough to help prices to increase? Tomato paste demand is flat and the long-awaited consumption boost from new markets like Africa and Asia is not due to happen any time soon. In the first three months of 2018, Chinese exports of tomato paste to north Africa grew compared with 2017, but they are still below 2015/16 levels. Tomato processors euphorically welcomed the news of Chinese lower production in 2018, but markets did not follow suit. Currently, prices are just above latest year’s level, indicating sellers’ urgency of unloading their stocks and some scepticism about Chinese production figures. Chalkis has not officially confirmed that it will halt its tomato production and markets do not trust rumours.

A price improvement at the start of the season cannot be ruled out, but a full market recovery at pre-2017 level seems to be postponed to 2019. History teaches that the tomato market moves in economic cycles of two years of highs and two of lows. The real question is whether the sector wants to maintain the status quo, at the mercy of economic cycles, or start to look beyond the economies of scale (higher processing volume/lower production costs) and work to meet demand from the consumers’ new generation on organic, PGI or more appealing products. Something is moving within the sector and the risk is that a few years of “highs” will put aside any effort of innovation.

Tomato paste ex-works prices 28/30% brix (EUR/tonne)

550

600

650

700

750

800

850

900

950

1000

01/05

/2018

01/03

/2018

01/01

/2018

01/11

/2017

01/09

/2017

01/07

/2017

01/05

/2017

01/03

/2017

01/01

/2017

01/11

/2016

01/09

/2016

01/07

/2016

01/05

/2016

01/03

/2016

01/01

/2016

01/11

/2015

01/09

/2015

01/07

/2015

01/05

/2015

01/03

/2015

01/01

/2015

01/11

/2014

01/09

/2014

01/07

/2014

01/05

/2014

Spain Italy

Source IEG Vu

Tomato paste ex-works prices 28/30% brix (EUR/tonne)

Tomato production volume ('000 metric tonnes)

45,000

40,000

35,000

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

8009

1025

9

8580

1014

3

9553

1012

4

8658

8933

1112

885

77

1414

211

499

1264

697

4247

97

1188

783

20

1286

410

590

4806

1456

288

8554

77

1636

111

180

7454

1550

992

9660

82

1233

596

4368

49

1336

511

513

7333

1510

311

280

8810

1695

412

568

1135

0

1451

711

621

9704

1467

011

493

9757

1394

011

960

5801

1326

811

342

6889

1570

213

044

9357

1742

413

411

8858

1603

311

926

8358

1645

099

18

1576

311

760

7219

AMITOM North America Rest of the World Non Members

Source WPTC

Tomato production volume (‘000 metric tonnes)Currently, prices are just above latest year’s level, indicating sellers’ urgency of unloading their stocks


In 2017, Italy defended its leadership as the largest exporter of canned tomato in the world, accounting for 78% of all trading movements with about 1.3 million tonnes delivered worldwide. The first destination was the UK whose intake increased by 6% year-on-year to 250,000 tonnes, followed by 208,500 tonnes for Germany, 113,000 tonnes for the US (+2.7%) and 92,000 tonnes for Japan.

Germany and Japan imported slightly less Italian tomato-based products compared with the year before, -1.6% and -4.3%, respectively. German buyers seemed to prefer cheaper origins like Greece and Poland, while Japan sourced consistent volumes (+84% y-o-y) from the US. This comes with little surprise, considering that in the last two years, Californian tomato processors have focused on the Asian market in an attempt to unload stocks without underpricing them. Export figures confirm US traders’ efforts as South Korea

became its second-largest trading partner after Canada with 6,500 tonnes (+56%) and before Italy and Mexico.

The second largest exporter of canned tomato is Spain with 124,000 tonnes traded, just 7% of the global exports. Unlike all the other main processing countries, Spain recorded a decline in shipments (-7%) linked to a dwindling of demand from the UK (-2.5%) and France (-8%) as both preferred the Portuguese origin.

“Spain hasn’t got a strong canned industry. Most of the production for retail is for internal consumption and the sector is focused on production in bulk for industrial reprocessing,” one source pointed out, suggesting that the Portuguese success was linked to higher demand in both retail and foodservice sector.

Exports of canned tomatoes from Portugal showed a double-digit increase

While tomato paste exports declined by 3% in volume and 8% in value, the canned market endured the economic debacle in the sector, showing no sign of decline in terms of shipments and prices. Italy is the undisputed leader in this sector and it is fighting tooth and nail to protect its market share.

By Cristina Nanni

Tomato market does best it can

“Spain hasn’t got a strong canned industry. Most of the production for retail is for internal consumption and the sector is focused on production in bulk for industrial reprocessing”


for the third consecutive year, hitting 36,272 tonnes (+13% y-o-y) just behind Greece at 36,900 tonnes. The main element behind Portugal’s steady growth is an increase in intake from the UK which reduced its imports from Spain and Greece (-13%). Portuguese freight costs are lower than those from Greece, due to a shorter distance from the UK and the proximity of several tomato factories to Lisbon port. In addition, 2017 was a difficult season for Greek processors who closed the year harvesting 9% less than expected and who also experienced higher production costs.

Securing the market Canned tomato is mostly produced in the south of Italy and it is scrupulously protected by the local industry. Last January, the industrial tomato organisation Anicav forwarded the request for a PGI for whole peeled long tomato to be called ’Pomodoro Napoli’(Naples tomato), to discourage any attempt to replicate this production in other countries. The proposal ran aground on the opposition of Apulia farmers, where this variety is grown to be transferred in the Campania region for processing.

Italy accounts for 85% of the global traded volume of peeled tomato which remains the most traded product from the south of the country despite having recorded a 2% decline of the exports in 2017. This fall was caused by an increase

in demand for ready-made sauces from a new generation of consumers, a sector where Italian big brands are redirecting larger volumes of raw material. Beside defending their canned products from competitors, Italian processors are working to strengthen the ’Made in Italy‘ brand to overcome existing and potential obstacles to their market expansion. Unlikel tomato paste, Italian canned tomatoes have been at the centre of several trade disputes.

In 2013, following an investigation prompted by Australia’s largest processor of tomato ADC, the Australian government imposed anti-dumping tariffs between 3.25 and 26.35% on almost all Italian processors of canned tomatoes (chopped/diced, crushed, peeled whole, with or without added ingredients in pack not exceeding 1.14 litres in volume) with the only exception of La Doria.

Despite all these restrictions, exports of Italian canned tomato to the country remained strong. After a 1.62% decline in 2014 and 5% in 2016, exports came back to grow last year by 2.3% to 60,000 tonnes. This was partly due to a smaller crop in Australia, but it also confirms the appealing of Italian brands abroad.

Australia is not an exception. In Argentina, canned tomato is subject to import quotas and in March 2018, Argentine tomato processors asked the government to increase reimbursements calculated as export incentives for canned tomato products. The request came from the tomato organisation Association Tomate 2000, which noted that imports of peeled tomato, in particular from Italy, grew exponentially compared with 2014 (146% in 2015, 971% in 2016 and 187% in 2017), reaching 10,000 tonnes last year.

The request was openly rejected by the Argentine government. Some sources explained to IEG Vu that the main reason behind the fluctuation of the imports was the low peso-dollar exchange rate, so there were no protective tariffs which could have make the domestic product any cheaper. The request of the tomato industry was interpreted as blackmail to receive state aids in exchange for tomato contracts. In 2016, Argentine growers were left empty-handed as processors chose to import tomato by-products from Chile rather than sourcing raw material locally.

The recent trade dispute between EU representatives and the US president Donald Trump, has triggered the response of Italian tomato processors, making the EU-Trump trade spat another blow for the sector.

Not only exportsThe canned tomato market is an attractive sector also because of its price stability. While in 2017 Italian tomato paste hit a record low, starting from EUR650 per tonne for the 28/30 brix, canned chopped tomato 24x400g can easy-open (EOL) prices rose from EUR6.48 to EUR6.96 where they remained for the duration of the whole season.

The price increase was due to initial forecasts pegging volumes below the 2016 level, and also because of lower stock levels than the industry thought.

For the 2018 season, Italian processors expect a 4-5% decline in production in the south (“some growers did not transplant this season”). At the time of writing (May 5) prices have not been agreed. Italian growers do not seem keen to accept any price reduction for long

Canned tomato export volumes Jan-Dec (metric tonnes)

Italy Spain United States Greece Portugal

1,18

7,30

1

1,22

4,87

0

1,29

6,11

3

1,31

5,84

9

161,

138

145,

230

133,

230

124,

031

69,9

06

59,0

36

57,9

20

65,6

41

41,6

81

36,9

32

36,2

58

36,9

45

24,5

49

26,6

31

30,7

70

36,2

72

2014 2015 2016 2017

Source GTT

Canned tomato export volumes Jan-Dec (metric tonnes)

Italy accounts for 85% of the global traded volume of peeled tomato

NEWPRODUCT


http://www.kronos.com.gr


tomato to EUR95/tonne from EUR97/tonne of last season as proposed by the industry.

“I find it quite contradictory that on the one hand we talk about the enhancement of the product and the recognition of the peeled tomato for the PGI, and on the other we do not want to recognise the agricultural price as an appropriate price that protects the income of farmers and preserves them from the risk of producing

below cost,” noted the president of the Alliance of Agri-food Cooperatives, Giorgio Mercuri. Industry representatives instead believe that proposed prices take into consideration the difference in the cost of harvesting and processing of the two varieties: long and round tomato.

Production of canned tomato could also drop a bit in the north of Spain and “prices will have to increase,” a source noted.

Tin and can manufacturers raised prices by 7% last year and a new 7-8% increase has been announced for the season to start. “Last season, we supported the extra costs,” a tomato canner told IEG Vu, “but now prices need to go up otherwise it will be difficult to survive. How can manufacturers support a 15% increase in tinplate, which represents almost 50% of the total production costs?” The increase in tin prices will affect the whole canned tomato market. Greek and Italians believe that, at this point, a price increase on the final product is the only way to cover the extra costs. However, processors in the south of Italy who increased prices last year might go upstream. “Last June, production in the south was expected to be lower, so we increased prices: last year’s profit margin should be enough to cover the forecast rise in costs,” one said.

In 2017, fob prices for all canned tomato products were about EUR451/tonne in Spain against EUR675/tonne for Italy and EUR559/tonne for Greece. Portuguese prices were lower than Spanish and in the range of EUR398/tonne. This situation might change for the coming season, given the announced decline of the production in Portugal (-10% to 1.4 mln tonnes).

Fob price for canned tomato (EUR/tonnes)

350

400

450

500

550

600

650

700

750

2014 2015 2016 2017

United States Italy Greece Spain Portugal

Source GTT

Fob price for canned tomato (EUR/tonnes)

Canned tomato import volumes Jan-Dec (metric tonnes)

Uni

ted

Kin

gdom

Ger

man

y

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

Fran

ce

Japa

n

Net

herla

nds

Aus

tralia

302,

509

297,

896

317,

198

331,

245

211,

085

215,

447

232,

743

234,

417

122,

401

132,

742

136,

698

137,

062

134,

530

123,

998

121,

835

125,

906

102,

036

97,2

9310

3,23

510

0,96

9

56,1

5472

,090

72,4

2773

,864

63,4

6065

,177

62,4

6362

,793

2014 2015 2016 2017

Source GTT

Canned tomato import volumes Jan-Dec (metric tonnes)

Tin and can manufacturers raised prices by 7% last year

VITOM S.A. - Koufalia: 3ο km. Κoufalia - Prochoma, 571 00, Κoufalia, T. +30 23910 52.352, F. +30 23910 52.353 COMMERCIAL OFFICE - Athens: 29 Paradisou Str., Marousi, 151 25, Athens, Greece, T. +30 210 68.36.860, F. +30 210 68.36.850, e. [email protected]

www.chb.gr/en

VITOM S.A.More info

Tailor made to your needs!


http://www.chb.gr/en


New technologies give a second life to tomato peels that today are part of processing plants waste. IEG Vu has interviewed Gianpiero Pataro, assistant professor of Chemical Plants at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Salerno (Italy). He is working with the interuniversity research centre ProdAl Scarl on the FieldFood-Horizon 2020 research project to assess the effect of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) on tomato processing sustainability and on the extraction of nutritional compounds from tomato peels to be reprocessed into food supplements and cosmetic products.

CN: What is the main target of your research project?

GP: Our research project has the aim to evaluate through on-site activities the potential applications of Pulsed Electric Fields technology in the food industry and in particular in the tomato peeling process. Currently, industry uses two methods for peeling tomatoes: a chemical one, the hot lye solution (sodium hydroxide), or pressurised steam coupled with cold water or vacuum cooling. The first does not affect fruit quality, but it can cause food chemical contamination, has high water and energy consumption rate, and results in a large amount of peel wastage to dispose of. The second method consists of heating tomatoes with pressurised steam to weaken tomato skin and facilitate the vapourisation of the water under the skin. After, the fruit goes through a vacuum cooling step, the pressure of the vapour causes the peel to crack allowing its mechanical removal with pinch rollers.

Although this method, unlike hot lye peeling, does not cause serious environmental issues, it has high consumption rate of water and energy.

Whatever the chosen method, the peeling stage generates large amounts of wastage, including peels which represent 2-5% of the weight of processed tomatoes. Currently, peels have low-added value usage as animal feed and fertilisers, or are directly sent to landfil, although they are a rich source of valuable compounds and constitute a primary source of several carotenoids (Lycopene). Thus, through on-site tests, our research assessed the potential of PEF technology to facilitate the peeling phase, reduce industry’s energy and water demand and improve the recovery of carotenoids from tomato peels.

CN: You have used the PEF technology on an industrial scale for your research. In short, how does this technology work and how did you apply it to your research?

GP: PEF is a non-thermal technology for food processing based on the application of repetitive short pulses of electric field to biological cells of plant tissues. The effect of PEF pre-treatment is the permeabilisation of the cell membranes, which can improve the mass transport of

By Cristina Nanni

Technology gets under tomato skin

“EF is already used by some, really a few, food companies for fruit juice extraction and pasteurisation”


intracellular compounds (e.g., water, juices and solutes) in several processes of food industry (e.g., drying, extraction) upon the application of electric field of moderate intensity (<10 kV/cm) and relatively low energy (<10 kJ/kg of product). In tomato processing, PEF is used to pre-treat fruit before steam-peeling it and this additional passage has an estimated energy consumption rate below 0.0001 kWh/kg. The exposure to electric pulses weaken the external peel tissue and enhance the availability of water under the tomato peel. During the combined steam heating – vacuum cooling phases, the greater pressure difference across the tomato skin facilitates the formation of cracks on peel before the fruit enter the pinch rollers system. This facilitates the peel removal step, reducing steam pressure and energy.

CN: Is PEF already used in the food industry?

GP: PEF is already used by some, really a few, food companies for fruit juice extraction and pasteurisation. However, the main application is in cutting potatoes for producing French fries. Currently more than 80 PEF plants are operating all over the world, reducing wastage, the heavy wear of the blades used for cutting potatoes, and improving the quality of the final product.

CN: What are the potential benefits to the tomato industry?

GP: PEF-assisted steam tomato peeling facilitates peel removal, avoiding fruit overheating. The main gain is water and

energy saving with a reduction in steam pressure and energy consumption up to 20-30%. At the same time, peeling losses are reduced and shape and texture of the fruits are preserved. Interestingly, the exposure of tomato fruits to PEF increase the bio-availability of lycopene content in the final canned product, adding value and health benefits.

CN: How can this technology contribute to recover tomato waste?

GP: A company equipped with PEF technology can potentially use the same generator to process tomato peels, which are rich in lycopene and other carotenoids, but that currently have low-added value uses. We have demonstrated that the application of PEF technology improves yield and purity of lycopene and other carotenoids recovered by tomato peels compared with conventional extraction techniques.

CN: What are the possible applications of tomato waste?

GP: In the last decade the global market of carotenoids showed impressive growth and it is expected to reach around USD1.53 billion in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.78% between 2016 and 2021. This is due to the benefits associated with tomato’s strong antioxidant compounds, which are widely used in food and cosmetic products to improve sport performance, maintain health and wellbeing, as well as to prevent skin ageing.

CN: Is any company interested in the reuse of tomato waste in the field of cosmetics and to produce food supplements?

GP: Some companies showed interest in the use of extracts from tomato processing waste and other food processing by-products for their use as supplements or nutraceutical in the food and cosmetics sector.

CN: Why is this segment still underdeveloped and how is the research helping to increase the use of tomato waste as a by-product?

GP: First of all, there is not yet enough awareness of the economic, environmental and social benefits of re-using tomato waste and agri-food wastes in general. In addition, there are logistic issues linked to the costs of installing PEF machinery in processing plants that work only seasonally and that require skilled personnel. We do not have figures about potential revenues, but any company will certainly gain from selling a by-product that in the past was given away for free or disposed with additional costs and serious environmental impact. Here in the Salerno area, where there are several companies involved in the tomato processing, one option could be to create a consortium in charge of the collection and processing of tomato waste produced from all the processing plants in the area. Moreover, this consortium could also use the same innovative extraction plant to process other agriculture and processed food wastes, in order to exploit their plant throughout the year and diversify their production.

Gianpiero Pataro

Global carotenoids market revenue, 2015-21 (USD billion)

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

1.23

1.52

Source: Zion Research Analysis 2016

Global carotenoids market revenue, 2015-21 (USD billion)

Goodpack’s in-depth knowledge of the global Food & Beverage packing and shipping business is a distinct advantage to their customers. Goodpack understands Food & Beverage companies are under constant pressure to reduce operating costs, improve top-line revenue, manage procurement volatility due to seasonality and better integrate planning and execution. This is the reason Goodpack containers are specifically designed to maximise efficiency and volume, giving customers the most cost-effective and sustainable approach to transporting product.

When directly compared to other packaging, the resulting cost savings to customers is clearly evident.

For example, with Goodpack, you can:

• Pack up to 31% more product in a 20-ft. sea container versus wood or plastic bins for export shipments

• Save 12-40% in transportation/freight costs over alternate bins or drums

• Save 15-25% in warehouse labour costs

• Pack 7-10% more product in a rail car for U.S. domestic shipments than standard plywood or plastic bins

• Experience flexible and cost-efficient term and trip lease options

The efficient, space-saving design of Goodpack containers makes them easy to stack when full or empty. They set up or knock down in minutes, lowering labour and supply chain costs.

• Goodpack MB5s hold 6,000 litres per pallet space vs. 2,400 litres with drums

• MB5s stack 4 pallets high (laden/filled) vs. 2-3 pallets high for drums

• MB5s have 90% more efficient empty storage vs. drums

Goodpack is committed to providing customers with efficient containers coupled with a global network for delivery and collection from any supplier or bottling location.

SUPPLY CHAIN EFFICIENCY Goodpacks can be easily integrated into a customer’s supply chain. These containers are made of galvanised steel and feature a convenient built-in pallet with four-way entry for forklift handling. They can be collapsed within seconds to save on warehouse space. Unlike wood and corrugated bins, they do not require structural strapping. The stackable, interlocking design when full or empty offers efficiency in storage, especially over drums. One MB5 is equivalent to seven-and-a-half 200-litre drums, creating inherent efficiencies throughout the supply chain. Goodpack containers are suitable for shipping in both dry and refrigerated 20-foot and 40-foot sea containers.


ADVERTORIAL ADVERTORIAL

You Can Fit 24,000 Litres of Product in a 20-Ft. Sea Container with GOODPACK


ADVERTORIAL ADVERTORIAL

SINGLE-SOURCE RENTAL Goodpack makes renting easy by delivering, collecting and managing the entire rental process. The Goodpack rental system eliminates the need for capex and is perfect for managing volume fluctuations during season.

“We have a structurally strong product; but, more importantly, we help companies save costs through our rental program,” said George McFarlin, Senior Vice President – Global and Strategic Accounts at Goodpack. Because Goodpack owns and operates the world’s largest fleet of containers, this allows them to provide one-way trip rentals to most export destinations.

The inherent inefficiencies of plastic or steel drums, such as the high cost of storage, disposal and transit, make Goodpack bulk packaging the best option.

GREEN AND LEANCompared to other conventional containers and drums, returnable Goodpacks have the lowest environmental impact and lowest carbon footprint, which makes them a truly superior packaging solution. According to McFarlin, “Every year, the Goodpack fleet saves the equivalent of over seven million trees from being harvested to make disposable boxes.” Goodpack containers reduce the impact of expendable packaging and eliminate waste for a greener supply chain, helping Goodpack customers gain a competitive advantage.

The Goodpack model has shown that cost efficiency does not have to be achieved at the expense of sustainability.

Goodpack offers a solution that satisfies today’s environmental concerns through:

• Waste minimisation (no bins, drums or pallets to dispose of)

• Reusable packaging (no recycling needed – Goodpack containers are collected and reused)

• Lower carbon emissions and environmental impact (no energy required for recycling, disposal or landfill)

“Reusing is a step ahead of recycling,” said McFarlin, highlighting that if both practices are aimed at reducing landfill waste, reusing containers also cuts down on the energy and water required for recycling. The life cycle of a Goodpack container is much longer since it can simply be used again and again.

VERSATILE FOOD-SAFE PACKAGINGHygienic and food safe, Goodpack containers help companies achieve HACCP by eliminating wood contamination. Aseptic and non-aseptic bags are available to fit the large-capacity Goodpack MB5. Their bulk containers have the strength-of-steel construction and a flexibility of design that is perfect for a wide range of food products, including:

• Aseptic diced tomato and tomato paste

• Aseptic tropicals, including banana purée, mango and coconut water

• Aseptic apple juice, grape juice and pineapple juice concentrate

• Frozen concentrated orange juice

• Aseptic NFC pineapple juice, orange juice and apple juice

• Aseptic fruit pulps

• All types of edible oils

Goodpack containers remove the need for fumigation and heat treatment, putting them in high demand with Food & Beverage customers. Problems related to wooden boxes, such as mold, rotting wood, wood chips and other HACCP-related issues, are eliminated. Goodpacks are also functional in wet wash-down environments. They help customers meet certain environmental standards, such as ISPM 15 and ISO 14000.

Goodpack MB5s have a large, 1.65 MT/1,500 litre capacity and can be fitted with a hygienic food-grade barrier or non-barrier plastic bladder. During unpacking, the MB5s can be rotated to empty the product; or the top of the bag can be cut open, allowing product to be pumped from the top, making them perfect for juices, concentrates and other food products.

ABOUT GOODPACKGoodpack owns and operates the world’s largest fleet of patented, steel containers. This multimodal, reusable metal box system provides packaging, transporting and storage rental solutions to the Food & Beverage industry. Headquartered in Singapore, Goodpack operates through a continually growing global network of subsidiaries and regional offices in 77 countries. With over 3.6 million containers and more than 7,700 collection and delivery points, customers can hire and dehire Goodpacks just about anywhere in the world.

For more information, visit: www.goodpack.com

IMPROVING THE SUPPLY CHAIN Goodpack has developed an Intelligent Digital Supply Chain (IDSC) to provide customers with much greater visibility of their global supply chain. This IDSC is designed for flexibility so it can be adapted to the specific needs of Goodpack customers.

20 www.ieg-vu.com

In 2009, EFSA recognised the benefits for the cardiovascular system linked to a food supplement made from tomato paste called Fruitlow. Today, the Tomato Foundation is working to see if the same claim can be recognised for processed tomatoes. In particular, the organisation believes that bioactive compounds in tomato act as a natural blood thinner, which may help to improve blood flow and prevent or treat cardiovascular events like strokes, thrombosis or heart attacks.

CN: What is the aim of the Tomato Foundation and how has this project started?

DS: The Foundation was formed as a legacy of the EU public health nutrition project Lycocard, which ran from 2006 till 2011. That project looked at how increased

consumption of tomato lycopene could help reduce cardiovascular disease. We are leveraging our tomato science experience to focus on gaining an EFSA health claim for tomato paste and simple tomato products like purée, passata and so on. Fresh produce cannot win a health claim because of variability, ripeness, variety, whereas tomato paste and processing are standardised. There is an EFSA health claim for a supplement made from tomato paste – so our question is: why isn’t there a health claim for the tomato paste it is made from? Winning an EFSA health claim will drive consumer interest towards tomato products.

CN: Why should tomato companies support the Foundation?

DS: We live in an age when consumers’ choice to buy, or not, a product is based on it

Last year will be remembered as the annus horribilis of the tomato industry: low prices, sluggish demand, high level of stocks, all elements which weighed heavily on processors’ finance. A relaunch of tomato product as superfood could be the exit-strategy from the crisis. We interviewed David Sutherland, founder and general manager of the Tomato Foundation, an organisation which is now working to obtain a health claim for tomato products from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

By Cristina Nanni

Tomato Foundation bets all on red


“Winning an EFSA health claim will drive consumer interest towards tomato products”


being planet-friendly. Many major brands are seeing reduced market share as new players present healthy and environmentally-friendly products. For the tomato processing industry, in my opinion, they are sitting on the best of the best as far as traditional preserved food go. Canned tomato, tomato purée, crushed diced, soup or juice: these are some of the oldest packaged food products in existence, dating back 150 years. And that is their advantage. They are almost unchanged after all that time. Passata is passata and whole canned is whole canned; same as they ever were. Some say these food products are boring or lack innovation, but good is good and I believe they are set to see a massive comeback, because they are so unchanged by time.

CN: Why did you get involved in the project?

DS: There is a personal element in all this. I have always loved tomatoes since I was a little kid helping harvest fresh crunchy fruits in the garden and then cooking them into soups and sauces for bottling. I was hooked by the flavour and texture. I became a fan. When I worked as a chef in London restaurants in the 90s I saw how almost all chefs use canned tomato as an easy fall-back if something goes wrong, a burned casserole or dropped pot – just reach out for the canned tomatoes and you can save the day by making soup or a curry in 20 minutes easy.

In 2001, I started a scientific publishing company and published the first ever summaries of the international conferences on lycopene and sold 44,000 copies. In 2006 my company Caledonian Science Press Ltd published the world’s first independent book of scientific reviews on every aspect of lycopene and human health, with 28 of the world’s opinion leading scientists in that field. The experience told me one major truth. Nobody buys more tomato purée because of a nice cooking video or sexy article about improved skin health. That is why we are focused on winning an EFSA health claim. Only an officially sanctioned, independently certified health claim from a major food safety authority will be enough to convince consumers that the science is really true.

CN: At which stage is the Health Claim Project in Europe? What were the findings of the feasibility study?

DS: We are now into the second stage of

our project. The first step was in mid-2016 to complete an independent feasibility study. Nizo Food Research BV compiled the study and gave us a very high chance of success. The same bioactive compounds contained in a single dose of Fruitflow correspond to 70 ml of tomato juice, half a glass, roughly three spoons of tomato soup.

Now we are organising a tomato paste and consumer product sample study to establish the level of the bioactive compounds regardless of the raw material origin. We are trying to raise EUR270,000 (USD318,926) for this work: the word is out as we’ve already raised EUR79,500. There is also a good chance that following favourable study results, the EU Commission may support the cost of the human trials for the final stage of the project. It makes perfect sense as well. For just EUR2.5-3.0 million the EU could do something with potentially enormous positive impact for the Mediterranean agricultural sectors.

CN: What is the situation outside the EU?

DS: Once the green light is received from EFSA, similar recognition outside the EU will automatically follow in other countries like the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as EFSA has higher standards to grant approval for health claims. Japan has recognised the increase of HDL (good) cholesterol linked to tomato consumption. However, our health claim is more appealing to consumers and in order to be added to the existing one, human trials need to be carried out in the country.

CN: Why it is so important to assess the health claim about tomato products?

DS: A health claim for optimised or

improved blood flow is easy to understand. Consumers who are already taking blood thinning medications (200 mln daily worldwide) will certainly consider a natural, healthy, tasty alternative. And healthy blood flow is everything from serious to sexy. From anti-thrombosis and anti-stroke, to keeping the heart pumping and enjoying life.

CN: How can official EFSA recognition help the tomato industry?

DS: The Foundation is not doing this for the tomato processing industry. Our primary and only concern is the welfare of people, the public. Any benefit to industry will simply be a consequence of consumers recognising the added value of their favourite tomato juice or passata and they’ll buy more or tell their friends and family to buy more. This is how the Foundation fulfils its social obligation to help people improve their diets to improve their health. Only a very small number of responsible companies have seen the true potential of this project and supported us without expecting anything in return. Companies like Morning Star in the US, Kagome in Japan and Mutti in Europe have been totally supportive since the beginning, even without any guarantee that our project will work.

CN: Why does recognition of a food supplement based on a fruit/vegetables not apply automatically to the raw material?

DS: Health claim recognition is based on the content of bioactive compounds in that product and more importantly, how it’s made. These are copyright issues strictly linked to the product’s patent.

CN: Do you have any projection about potential increase in tomato consumption?

DS: Yes, a scientific article published in Japan a few years caused a 1,000% increase in purchases of tomato juice for several months and even now, years later, that level is still seven times higher than before. I estimate a similar or more powerful effect. I doubt current production levels will be able to meet demand in a few years if this project is successful. Traditional boring old canned tomato could become a massive surprise winner. It won’t need to change anything. I’m betting it all on red.

David Sutherland


The northern hemisphere is due to start its peach harvesting with optimistic forecasts despite the latest frosts that affected European crops through February and March. Both peach growers and processors are awaiting the final outcome bearing in mind last year’s oversupply that lowered raw material and end product prices to ease clearing stocks.

Current peach production season in Spain, France and Italy is expected to drop between 10-20% due to the overall European frost damage.

Global peach prices for both the industry and the fresh market fell last season, due to an imbalance between supply and demand.

GreeceThe world´s largest producer of canned peaches, Greece, last year produced 13.5 million cartons of the fruit. Raw material prices for canning were between EUR240-260 per tonne (USD290-310/tonne), back to normal levels after poor outcomes in previous years. The harvesting season is starting again in June. “Until now, conditions are good so far but it is too early to do any forecast,” added the president of the Greek canners association Costas Apostolou, who granted an interview to IEG Vu for this supplement.

EC – What are your highlights for season 2017-18? CA – The last peach season in Greece was quite a regular year. Of course, as it is known, we lost a quantity of peaches because of three days of very heavy rain during production season. As far as growers are concerned, it was a very calm year, with no tension in the relations between growers and industry. The great problem for growers is the very heavy load of taxes and mandatory health care and pension schemes imposed on them by the Greek government.

EC – What was the volume exported for each canned peach sizes? CA – There is no available data for how much of each can size is produced. Almost the

whole production (about 98%) is exported. However, I can tell you that we export all kind of can sizes and also drums.

EC – Which canned peach product is the best seller? CA – The 850 ml tin, which is mostly sold in cartons of 12x850ml. Its major market is Germany. There are some stocks, enough to take us to the beginning of next season.

EC – Are there any stocks left from last season? CA – All products are sold out, so there has been no action for some time now. Stocks refer to products already sold, but not shipped yet.

EC – According to customs data, Greece exported from January 2017 to December 2017, about 214,000 tonnes of canned peach (HS200870). Does it match with your industry estimates?

CA – Yes, it matches, more or less.

EC – 2017’s figure is about 8% less than in 2016 and about 10% less than in 2015. Does it actually reflect the season’s outcome? CA – I wouldn’t say that. Yearly data does not compare with seasonal data and this makes it difficult to produce conclusions. However, I would say that it is mostly affected by each season’s production. For example, in 2015 we produced 10.5 million cartons and in 2016 8.5 mln. The 2017 figure is affected by the low production of 2016.

EC – Exports to Peru, Paraguay and Colombia are rising, averaging 5,000-6,000 tonnes exported last year. Are the Greek

peach canners working on developing these new markets? CA – Yes, Greek canners are very active in these markets, especially after the EU free trade agreements with them. We always follow on agreements made by the EU.

EC – However, canned peach exports to the US last year decreased by 55% compared with the same period in 2016, from 20,000 tonnes in 2016 to 9,000 tonnes in 2017, according to customs data. What is the reason for that? CA – The strong competition of Chinese imports to the US market.

EC – The organic trend is expanding all along Europe. Are Greek canners thinking of producing organic canned peaches or puree? CA – I am not aware of any efforts in that direction.

EC – Is there any new market to conquer this year? CA – We always try to be active in pursuing new markets. Currently, we are doing promotion actions in Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico, Bolivia and Canada.

EC – What is the state of the things with the Mercosur agreement?

CA – We do not have anything specific, yet. Negotiations are still ongoing. We hope for the best, but we do not expect any agreement to be finalised before the next year.

SpainIn Spain, early estimates for the peach season starting in late May suggest this stone fruit crop will be slightly shorter than last year, despite the frosts that affected the major growing areas in the country along February and March this year. Latest industry estimates set total outcome at around 1.5 mln tonnes of fruit: “It will be a normal harvest, although around 200,000 tonnes will be missing,” told the Spanish growers’ organisation UPA representative, Antonio Moreno, to IEG Vu.

By Estela Cuesta

Global peach canning: Sorting the disorder


http://www.carozzi.cl


Of that total of 1.5 mln tonnes of stonefruit, around 300,000 tonnes of raw material will be processed by the canning and juice industry (80% and 20% respectively). Last season’s outcome was 125,000 tonnes of end product. Fob prices for the canned fruit averaged EUR19-23 (USD22.5-27.3) per 24x1kg carton Choice quality.

Peach raw material prices for the canning industry last year averaged EUR0.15 per kilo and EUR0.28 for the fresh market, “both prices under the production costs,” claimed Moreno. “Those prices were not justified and reflect a serious speculation and dominance by large European multinational trading companies that is leading us to ruin,” he added.

“There is a feeling there will be less peaches than last year. I believe peach raw material prices for canning will rebound this season,” stated the president of the canning industry association AGRUPAL José García Gómez.

ChinaIn February this year, IEG Vu heard the first estimates for the peach production in the Asian country, are expected to be around 13 mln tonnes of which about 1.0 mln tonnes of fruit would be destined for canning.

However, local sources contacted by the time this supplement was written in mid-May said the peach output could also be less than expected, due to the severe late frost that struck key Chinese growing regions such as the apple crop in

north-western provinces. An executive of a cannery in Anhui province told IEG Vu that 30% of this season’s peach production in Shanxi province was lost. Another Chinese source also confirmed by mid-May that “local apricot and peach production for canning will definitely be much worse than last year.”

China ranks as the second-biggest exporter of canned peaches after Greece and before Spain. The peach harvest season in China will run from July to September, the same timeframe as its competitors.

ItalyItaly is also expected to increase its peach and nectarine production this year by 8% to 1.36 mln tonnes. Although most of that will be consumed in the domestic fresh market, peach raw material for canning is forecast to increase by 24% to almost 85,000 tonnes.

Although Italy is not a big exporter of canned peaches, in 2017 exports increased by 48% compared with the previous year to 18,600 tonnes, Germany, Austria and Hungary being its major markets.

CaliforniaCalifornian growers are currently being paid around USD3,000 per acre removed from some of the contracted orchards as one of the three Californian canners, Seneca Foods, closed its canning business earlier this year.

The total Californian peach production for canning this year will be taken by the only two canners that remain in this business: the Californian processors Del Monte Foods and Pacific Coast Producers.

South Africa’s shrinkageLast season, South African canneries processed 80,545 tonnes of canned peaches, 15% less than in previous year and 20% less than two years ago.

The clingstone peach harvesting started 14 days later than usual. Total clingstone peach harvest totaled 142,142 tonnes, down by 17% compared with 170,665 tonnes last year. “The smaller peach size, due to drought, also had a shorter holding capacity. It was a challenging season for all,” said the president of the South Africa Canning Fruit Producer’s Association, Wiehahn Victor. Final payment for farmers will conclude in October 2018, depending on sale prices and exchange rates. This year payment to farmers is expected to be between 10-12% lower than the previous season, IEG Vu learned in May.

A peach forecastLast season’s canned peach supply flooded the market after two previous years of shortages – Clingstone peach production in Greece last year increased by 40% compared with the previous year, lowering peach raw material prices for the industry up to EUR0.15 per kilo in Spain, as already reported in this supplement.

The Russian ban on all agricultural exports from Europe imposed in 2014 also exacerbated this market stagnation. Customs data shows Greece, as the second canned peach supplier to Russia after China, saw exports to the country decreasing from 6,000 tonnes in 2013 to 2,200 tonnes last year. However, as the Greek canners president told IEG Vu, the local canning industry is focusing now on finding new markets in South America, Asia and Canada.

In California, canned peach production is also expected to decrease next season as some contracted orchards are being removed to avoid surplus; and China has reported dramatic losses in the apricot and peach harvest, although volume damage has to be confirmed yet.

Upcoming peach production in the northern hemisphere is seen with optimism. Despite the effects of the frost in some European growing areas and China, harvest volume estimates in Spain and Greece are forecast, so far, to be similar to those of last year.

The slightly shorter harvest volumes in some production areas, plus the recent market relocation to cope with difficult times, would be the chance for the market to find its balance.

GREEK PEACH RAW MATERIAL PRICES HISTORICAL (EUR/KG)

Year Peach for canning Peach for puree

2011 0.25 0.12

2012 0.25 0.12

2013 0.33-0.36 0.15-0.18

2014 0.24-0.27 0.13-0.15

2015 0.28-0.31-0.40 0.13-0.15

2016 0.30-0.34 0.13-0.15

2017 0.24 0.08

Source: Greek Canners’ Association (EKE)

“There is a feeling there will be less peaches than last year. I believe peach raw material prices for canning will rebound this season”


Chinese fresh pear prices for the fresh local market are expected to increase due to a reduced crop after April frosts that impacted the northern provinces in the country. Pear prices for canning in China are also expected to rise due to the shortages in the fresh market, industry sources forecast.

The pear crop in the district of Yuncheng, in

Shanxi province, will be reduced by 80% this season due to the latest frost suffered in the northern part of the country, local industry sources in the area confirmed to IEG Vu on May 9. “Especially in Lingqi, the situation was so bad that there is no crop expected this season,” said one source, who added that raw material prices will increase this year. These pear crops are traditionally sold on the local fresh market.

Canned pear market looking at China

Chinese fresh pear prices for the fresh local market are expected to increase due to a reduced crop after April frosts that impacted the northern provinces in the country

GLOBAL-LARGEST CANNED PEAR EXPORTERS (TONNES)

Country 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

China 50,678 68,694 57,971 55,482 58,200 51,961

Italy 36,341 25,452 27,411 35,099 36,359 34,750

South Africa 22,124 29,373 31,821 31,810 22,349 16,554

Spain 9,458 13,879 15,697 14,097 17,182 16,331

United States 9,084 6,211 5,858 4,194 6,118 8,134

Netherlands 3,123 2,284 4,373 4,029 4,725 4,305

Thailand 1,541 1,856 1,448 3,397 4,135 3,201

Germany 4,121 4,243 4,283 3,271 3,455 2,654

France 1,894 3,413 2,808 2,237 1,584 1,593

Reporting Total 150,920 165,591 159,200 162,748 162,418 147,813

Source: IEG Vu customs data

China, the world’s largest canned pear supplier, is forecast to suffer raw material shortages next season due to bad weather conditions.

By Estela Cuesta


The Suly pear variety, the one destined for the canning industry in China, is harvested and processed in the south-eastern Anhui province. Although this area was less affected by the severe April frost, industry sources contacted agreed on raw material prices for canning are expected to increase this season.

Professor Yuanwen Teng, at the College of Agriculture and Biotechnology in Zhejiang University, explained to IEG Vu ‘Suli’ pear is one of the leading crops of this fruit in China, but its growing area is decreasing every year because it is replaced by new crops of better quality and value in the market. He confirmed ‘Suli’ pear was damaged in some areas due to the frost, “however, there is not any official report on frost-related

disasters, which is a problem of the pear industry in China.”

The pear harvest in China begins in late July and the pear production starts in September, “so far too early for a raw material pricing though,” said industry sources located in China.

Last season, fob prices for canned pear halves in juice 6x820g carton were around USD3.50-4.00, according to one European trader.

China’s pear production in 2017/18 was over 19 mln tonnes. Pear acreages began to decrease in 2016/17: “Overproduction has caused market returns to decline for pear growers,” reported the USDA in its fresh deciduous fruit annual report from last year.

Chinese canned pears key markets (Tonnes)

US Thailand Germany Japan Canada Spain Greece UK Others

22,593

4,563 4,3353,298 2,969 2,329

1,641 1,442

8,794

Chinese canned pears key markets (Tonnes)


A huge portfolio of canned fruits and, overall, 425 million cans of canned peaches are currently being sold at Taobao, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group which could be described as China’s version of the online shopping website eBay in Europe and the US.

Industry sources contacted have the feeling that canned peach production for retail is quickly increasing as there are more channels in which to sell, but not matched by consumer demand.

Recently, IEG Vu has heard that Chinese industry sources operating in the canned fruit sector, especially peach canners, have started to worry about sales of these products at low prices on the online shopping website.

Industry sources contacted in May agreed that some business in China invested millions of yuan in ordering 425ml cans of yellow peaches thinking that it would be profitable, but after two or three years, the cans remain unsold: “Prices are cheaper on Taobao. For instance, if the buying cost is RMB3.0 (USD0.46) per can, they should sell it at RMB3.5-4.0 per unit to get some profit. However, some sellers even offer at RMB2.8-2.9 to increase market share. As the consumer pays that price, the rest of the market has to follow it. We can buy cheap things on Taobao, but some sellers might be crying later or just quit.”

A China-based canned peach exporter IEG Vu met at the Alimentaria trade show held in Barcelona this April commented upon

this new market phenomenon: “Taobao helps factories to sell, to a certain degree. Personally I think it can’t change peoples’ habits. Chinese people seldom buy canned yellow peaches here. If they didn’t buy it before Taobao was launched in 2003, they will not buy it after.”

Another industry source in China added: “Some factories are too optimistic, thinking the sales to the bakery industry will increase, but it is actually not so big – the favourite canned peaches in halves for the bakery industry are the ones from Greece.”

Although Taobao sells in the domestic market, sources believe fob prices could also be affected by the retail price downtrend: “It will affect a little, because if people cannot sell enough at Taobao , then they will find a channel to sell the surplus left to Russia at a cheaper price than on online shopping websites,” explained one China industry source. China, as the world’s second-largest exporter of canned peaches after Greece, is currently the key supplier to the Russian market after its ban on European agricultural product imports since 2014.

Another source involved in the peach canning industry added: “I am not optimistic. The micro economy situation is not good. The whole society is investing in housing, but factories can’t get enough credit and the selling price is very cheap. No profit. People focus on new ways of business, but not on the quality, price or technical improvements in our sector.”

By Estela Cuesta

Contemporary times for Chinese canned fruits


EC – Skipjack raw material prices started to increase by April last year, reaching USD2,400 per tonne in October. What was the reason for this hike?

JA - After three consecutive years of low raw material prices (2013-16) due to high catches and good inventories at the canning factories, the global skipjack market entered 2017 with higher

prices due to lower catches that started in previous year and therefore, a demand increase.

EC – From January to June 2017, Bangkok’s prices remained higher than Manta’s. What was the market situation at that time?

JA - In the first six months of the year, skipjack catches in the western Pacific

Lower skipjack tuna catches in the last two years have determined the global market condition, continuously challenging traders and tuna canners to find the best value. Even skipjack purse seine transhipments at Majuro Port, in the Marshall Islands, were down last year by 35% compared with the previous year. The tuna analyst at the Ecuadorian fishing industry board, Jimmy Anastacio, identifies in this interview granted to IEG Vu the key points of the global tuna market in recent times.

By Estela Cuesta

The tuna industry carousel

“On average, during this first six months of the year, prices in Manta were 12% higher than in the previous year’

GLOBAL SKIPJACK CATCHES 2010-2017 (TONNES)

Region 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Western and Central Pacific 1,610,578 1,539,485 1,760,121 1,844,569 1,983,302 1,831,440 1,740,300 N/A

East Pacific 170,700 278,294 269,939 275,465 262,417 327,033 329,770 324,157

Indian Ocean 420,727 383,205 338,718 434,292 421,430 393,955 446,723 N/A

East and West Atlantic 204,399 235,764 267,000 251,304 232,551 228,756 246,000 N/A

East Atlantic 181,359 203,368 229,650 222,039 206,091 209,038 217,400 N/A

Western Atlantic 23,000 32,383 32,857 29,164 26,317 19,718 28,600 N/A

World Total 2,362,385 2,665,797 2,826,935 3,027,229 2,985,914 2,822,012 3,017,223


Ocean were 8.5% higher than in the eastern, with a price differential to the benefit of the Ecuadorian canners.

On average, during this first six months of the year, prices in Manta were 12% higher than in the previous year, whereas prices in Bangkok rose by 18%. Bangkok prices

were 10% higher than Manta´s between January and June.

EC – However, in the second semester, Manta’s price overtook Bangkok’s, being over USD100-150 per tonne.

JA - Yes, and the competitive advantage of

the Ecuadorian canners started to dilute. The reason for that was lower catches by the Ecuadorian fleet in the second semester, which was also affected by the La Niña phenomenon.

EC – How does La Niña influence the raw material prices?

JA – La Niña is an oceanographic phenomenon that started in 2016, with hikes and drops, that tend to cool the water. As a result, tuna fish move to tropical and warmer waters, which vessels can’t access so easily, affecting the productivity. This situation remained for the three first months of 2018 and now is weakening. Catches are expected to go up.

EC – Historically, skipjack tuna catches in the eastern Pacific have progressively increased year by year, specially between 2014 and 2015. What is the reason for it?

JA – There was a jump from the 262,400 tonnes captured in 2014 to 327,000 tonnes in 2015. It was a good fishing year, even globally. Prices those years dropped dramatically due to the raw material surplus of skipjack tuna in the global market.

EC – Is there any skipjack forecast for 2018?

JA – I am just working on a report about it. I believe in the possibility that catches this year could be lower than in 2017, taking into account the first three months of the year with such a low catch due to the La Niña phenomenon.

EPO skipjack catches so farTuna catches in the eastern Pacific Ocean from January 1 to February 25 this year decreased by 27% to 81,600 tonnes, compared with the same period in 2017.

Catches for skipjack tuna, the major tuna specie captured in the EPO, decreased by 39% during this period, totalling 63,600 tonnes, according to the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

Skipjack raw material prices 2017-2018: Manta and Bangkok(USD/tonne)

1,400

1,500

1,600

1,700

1,800

1,900

2,000

2,100

2,200

2,300

2,400

2,500

2017 Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep Oct

Nov

Dec

2018 Jan

Feb

Mar

ch

Apr

il

Apr

il

May

Manta Bangkok

Source: IEG Vu industry sources

Skipjack raw material prices 2017-2018: Manta and Bangkok (USD/tonne)

Bangkok's skipjack price historical, 2012-2017 (USD/tonne)

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

2,200

2,400

Janu

ary

Febr

uary

Mar

ch

Apr

il

May

June

July

Aug

ust

Sep

tem

ber

Oct

ober

Nov

embe

r

Dec

embe

r

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Source: IEG Vu industry sources

Bangkok’s skipjack price historical 2012-2017 (USD/tonne)

GLOBAL SKIPJACK CATCHES 2010-2017 (TONNES)

Region 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Western and Central Pacific 1,610,578 1,539,485 1,760,121 1,844,569 1,983,302 1,831,440 1,740,300 N/A

East Pacific 170,700 278,294 269,939 275,465 262,417 327,033 329,770 324,157

Indian Ocean 420,727 383,205 338,718 434,292 421,430 393,955 446,723 N/A

East and West Atlantic 204,399 235,764 267,000 251,304 232,551 228,756 246,000 N/A

East Atlantic 181,359 203,368 229,650 222,039 206,091 209,038 217,400 N/A

Western Atlantic 23,000 32,383 32,857 29,164 26,317 19,718 28,600 N/A

World Total 2,362,385 2,665,797 2,826,935 3,027,229 2,985,914 2,822,012 3,017,223

“Prices those years dropped dramatically due to the raw material surplus”


Tuna industry sources contacted in December 2017 accurately predicted that prices for January could drop even lower and they did, to USD1,470/tonne in Bangkok and USD1,650/tonne in Manta. The processing industry was on alert: a Thailand-based fish processor claimed to have heard customers saying they would only buy finished canned products at a USD1,100-1,200/tonne raw material equivalent price. A knowledgeable IEG Vu source explained to IEG Vu: “This has been happening over the past year or so, and it is the main reason so many processors are having difficulty, because traders seem to control raw material prices and buyers control finished product prices.”

The new year 2018 started as sources predicted in December the previous year: skipjack prices set at the beginning of the new year dropped USD200/tonne in both Manta and Bangkok markets, compared with prices registered in mid-December. Actually, the price in Bangkok´s market reached its lowest in the last 12 months, at USD1,470 per tonne and USD1,650-tonne in Manta. The drop in raw material prices, a Manta-based source explained, was due to good stocks in canneries at that time.

On January 30 2018, IEG Vu reported there were some signs of a price uptrend in eastern Pacific skipjack for the first time in

four months. In Manta, the price set at USD1,700/tonne was expected to hold until the end of February, and it did. In Bangkok, prices dropped to USD1,470/ tonne and one source said that China was short of fish and traders were aware of it, and added: “Maybe we hit the bottom already,” and the source was right.

In February, the price in Bangkok’s market showed a slight increase, breaking for the first time the downtrend started in October last year, to USD1,500 per tonne. However, the price in Manta remained the same as for the last month at USD1,700/tonne and would stay there for one month more.

On March 7 2018, raw material prices remained the same as in the previous month, with some hinting that supply for canneries was currently low. “There is very little fish available in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) right now,” confirmed one source. Meanwhile, in the Western Pacific Ocean (WPO), skipjack raw material landings were also lower than expected because, according to two different sources, the fish was being delivered to

Skipjack raw material prices in October last year reached a five-year peak of USD2,350-2,400/tonne. Since then, a price downtrend started until the beginning of the current year. “The global tuna market is not giving us any chance: catches are low and prices are increasing so quickly that it complicates a lot the business,” stated a Thailand-based tuna canner at the April Alimentaria food trade show in Barcelona.

By Estela Cuesta

Manta and Bangkok in relay race

“The quality of WPO fish is not as good as EPO fish for a variety of reasons”


other Eastern Pacific Ocean ports in the pursuit of higher prices as there were raw material shortages there. However, a third source noted: “The quality of WPO fish is not as good as EPO fish for a variety of reasons. Processors hate working with it and I suspect that most will not purchase it unless they have absolutely no other option… certainly not at a higher price.”

One day later, IEG Vu heard one source saying: “Demand is higher than supply. Skipjack raw material prices will go up sharply when everybody recognises the real situation.” A recent report from the Parties to the Nauru Agreement confirmed skipjack landings in Bangkok had recently decreased by 13%, to which one source said: “If Thai processors end up short of fish, this is what will influence the price they are willing to pay and the price traders offer to them.”

By mid-March, skipjack tuna raw material prices in both Manta and Bangkok markets showed a USD50/tonne increase after two months of stagnation. Prices reported at that time in Manta’s market were set at USD1,750/tonne. “There are even a few plants already offering USD1,800/tonne to

scoop up all the fish that arrives in port,” added one industry source. The price in Bangkok increased to USD1,550/tonne.

In late April, raw material landings in the eastern Pacific reached USD1,700/tonne, the same as reported in April last year. In the western Pacific, the price in Manta followed Bangkok’s rise, up to USD1,825/tonne: “Here canneries are literally fighting for the tuna raw material landings at the port. We hope the catch volume increases soon so vessels don’t have the power of negotiation they currently have,” one Manta-based industry source told IEG Vu at that time.

Analysis As IEG Vu accurately forecasted on December last year for the 2018 Global

Outlook, the gap between both markets widened by February this year, being Manta’s price above Bangkok’s, as a result of the raw material shortages.

The latest price update dated on May 15, before this supplement went to print, set Bangkok’s skipjack tuna price already at USD1,800/tonne, up from USD1,700/tonne reported in the previous month. Despite this jump in the west, Manta’s price reported at that time was unchanged from April, at USD1,850/tonne.

A second industry source noted that prices may slip back soon and predicted a lack of demand. IEG Vu agrees with this estimate, as the natural cycle of La Niña, a phenomenon that took place last year in the Pacific Ocean cooling the waters and making the fish move to other tropical waters, is already diminishing, as stated by the subject of the following interview.

Prices in both markets Bangkok and Manta will be equal for one month more before slowly starting the price downtrend at similar levels from mid-June.

“Demand is higher than supply. Skipjack raw material prices will go up sharply when everybody recognises the real situation”

ING.A.ROSSI Group Parma (Italy) - Ph.: [email protected] - www.ingarossi.com

ARONPAKReggio Emilia (Italy) - Ph.: [email protected] - www.aronpak.com

Your Global Partners for Food and Beverage Industry

Processing & PackagingS P E C I A L I S T


http://www.ingarossi.com


http://www.aronpak.com


Of the whole bulk of canned mushroom trade last year in the world China exported 47%, Netherlands 20.5%, Poland 13.5% and Spain 8%. Whereas China has progressively reduced its presence in the global market, Poland has tripled it.

In the last decade, Chinese canned mushroom exports to the European market started a progressive and

dramatic downtrend, to 15,000 tonnes exported last year from 41,300 tonnes exported in 2016, according to IEG Vu customs data. Fob prices per tonne also followed this tendency (graph 1).

“China is losing advantage in the European market on the canned mushroom supply because of the increasing production in Poland and the

Poland to end European reliance on Chinese canned mushroom By Estela Cuesta

Chinese canned mushroom exports to Europe: Volume andprice

0

5K

10K

15K

20K

25K

30K

35K

40K

45K

0

222

444

667

889

1,111

1,333

1,556

1,778

2,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Chi

na e

xpor

t vol

ume

(Ton

nes)

Chi

na fo

b pr

ice

(US

D/T

onne

)

China export volume (Tonnes) China fob price (USD/Tonne)

Graph 1: Chinese canned mushroom exports to Europe – volume and price


Netherlands,” a Chinese industry source said at the Alimentaria trade show held in Barcelona this April (graph 2).

The European market: 2012Germany, France, Italy and Belgium are the main canned mushroom markets in Europe. Last year, the four countries imported 70% of the total trade volume in Europe, that reached 190,000 tonnes (Customs data Intra Trade).

On the supply side, Netherlands, Poland and Spain are currently the main canned mushroom traders in the continent, exporting last year to European countries 83% of the total bulk.

However, exports from the Netherlands as the major European export country (40% of the exported bulk), started falling six years ago, reducing its trade from almost 230,000 tonnes in 2012 to barely 89,300 tonnes last year. “I would have reckoned Dutch producers shifted production to Poland,” a western European canned vegetable distributor told IEG Vu at that time.

Accordingly, IEG Vu customs data shows Polish canned mushroom exports, especially to European markets, have quintupled in the last decade, from 19,500 tonnes in 2011 to 58,692 tonnes last year (graph 2).

New entries: Poland and SpainBetween 2013-2015, Dutch canned mushroom exports to its two traditional largest markets, Germany and France, plummeted from 123,000 tonnes exported in 2012 to less than 30,000 tonnes last year.

In 2013, Germany as the first consumer country of canned mushrooms in Europe, left behind the Chinese – although not completely – and placed Poland as its second supplier after the Netherlands. Around 90% of Polish canned mushrooms are exported to Germany.

France, as the second major consumer country of canned mushrooms in Europe, started to import bigger volumes from Spain. French imports of Dutch and Spanish canned mushrooms currently equally share 60% of the total supply, and Poland ranks in third place, representing 18% of the French imports.

Global canned mushroom exports 2009-2017 (Tonnes)

200,000

315,000

430,000

545,000

660,000

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Global canned mushroom exports 2009-2017 (tonnes)

Canned mushroom global suppliers 2009-2017 (Tonnes)

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

270,

885

144,

058

16,8

3924

,819

312,

834

156,

127

21,8

82 35,7

22

308,

877

175,

818

19,4

7079

,494

289,

490

229,

406

27,7

5336

,842

250,

698

202,

598

37,4

4132

,819

238,

164

205,

071

41,7

6040

,022

219,

996

113,

151

52,1

9240

,000

215,

746

113,

629

63,4

3739

,027

204,

971

89,2

7658

,692

35,1

10

China Netherlands Poland Spain

Source: IEG Vu customs data

Graph 2: Canned mushroom global suppliers 2009-2017 (tonnes)

GERMANY AND FRANCE: CANNED MUSHROOM SUPPLIERS (TONNES)

French Imports 2016 2017 German Imports 2016 2017 2017

Netherlands 9,751 9,463 Netherlands 30,231 25,706 51,961

Spain 11,490 8,819 Poland 17,351 19,384 34,750

Poland 7,884 5,243 China 6,842 6,185 16,554

Belgium 209 2,203 Belgium 6 2,752 16,331

Germany 1,987 1,296 France 2,121 1,624 8,134

Total Imports 32,827 29,158 Total Imports 57,557 56,712 4,305

Imports HS 200310 mushrooms “agaricus” prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid. Source: IEG Vu customs data

34 www.ieg-vu.com

Modern Agricultural Park is a mushroom farm located in Guannan county, in the Chinese province of Jiangsu. It started operations in China in 2010 with technology and equipment imported from Holland. Mushrooms are grown and processed all the year round, reaching annual production volumes of 40,000 tonnes from an area of 1,032mu (170 acres approx.). IEG Vu met the company at the Fruit Logistica trade fair held in Berlin this February.

EC – What are the advantages of a modern mushroom factory?

JW – We are the largest modern mushroom growing farm in China. As we grow mushrooms by ourselves, we also control the raw material output, so the factory can be operating 365 days of the year, champignon mushrooms. Another advantage is that we don’t use pesticide in planting, which is very important for food safety regulations.

EC – In what markets does Modern Agricultural Park operate?

JW – Of the 40,000 tonnes of raw material processed per year, 80% is consumed by the Chinese domestic market as fresh and 20% is exported as canned all around the world.

EC – Where do you export your canned mushrooms?

JW – We mostly export to the US and Canada, but also to Japan, Korea, Russia,

south-east Asia, South America and Europe, using our label and also customers’ own label upon request.

EC – Is the market demanding organic canned mushrooms?

JW – We have noticed a higher demand for organic canned mushrooms from the international market and a few customers have already asked for it. In our mushroom farm, as it has been said, there is no use of any pesticide and we already have China’s organic certification. However, this doesn’t comply with the international requirements for organic, so we have recently started to think about getting international organic certification.

EC – What is the size of the mushrooms grown by Modern Agricultural Park?

JW – Mushrooms grown for the fresh market are sized between 3.0-7.0 cm, and mushrooms for canning are usually between 2.0-5.0 cm.

EC – What is the mushroom market cycle in China?

JW – Although prices in the mushroom market are usually stable in China, there is usually a price fluctuation every year influenced by raw material prices and the packaging cost. Every year, when the mushroom harvesting starts by December in Fujian province – the main mushroom grower region – new raw material prices are set according to the market. Our factory is also affected by that quotation, of course. All Chinese mushroom canneries will wait until then to see what is the ‘new year’s price’ for mushroom raw materials.

By Estela Cuesta

“We are the largest modern mushroom farm in China”


“We have noticed a higher demand for organic canned mushrooms”

CONEX_FP_ad.indd 1 18/05/2018 11:33:16

http://www.conexfruit.com



http://www.quicornac.com

http://www.passionfruitconcentrate.com

http://www.passionfruitjuice.com

canned and tomato 2018 · bets all on red 22 global peach canning: ... because food canners ......

Documents