Category: Grains, Milling, Baking & Feed

Zambia to register bumper corn harvest in 2021/22 increasing export volumes to 700,000 tons

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ZAMBIA – Zambia’s production of its single most important crop, corn, is set to reach an all-time high record in the Marketing Year (MY) 2021/22 reaching 3.6 million tons. The bumper harvest follows its production of 3.4 million tons in 2020/21 and 2 million tons in 2019/20. The steady rise in production is attributed to increase area put under production and productivity courtesy of availability and adoption of improved production technologies like higher-potential hybrid seeds and fertilizer. However, the cultivation of genetically engineered corn is still prohibited in the country.…

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US sugar supply to tighten in 2022 as wheat carryover falls to the lowest level since 2008

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USA – The US Department of Agriculture has lowered its for 2021-22 sugar ending stocks as lower imports and lower cane sugar production more than offset higher beginning stocks and higher beet sugar production.    In its recently released World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, USDA forecast ending stocks for 2021-22 at 1,627,000 tons, down 38,361 tons from September.  For 2020-21, which ended Sept. 30, the USDA lowered domestic cane sugar production by about 20,000 tons, raw value, as a late start to the sugar cane harvest in Louisiana pushed more…

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Nigeria consents open cultivation of genetically modified TELA maize with drought, pest resistance attributes

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NIGERIA – The Federal Government of Nigeria has granted environmental approval for evaluation and open cultivation of TELA maize, a new maize variety genetically modified to tolerate moderate drought and resist the fall armyworm and stem borer. This development now places Nigeria one step closer to commercializing the biotech maize following in the footsteps of South Africa and Egypt. The TELA maize project builds on progress made from a decade of excellent breeding work under the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project.  WEMA’s purpose was to develop drought-tolerant and…

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EG group diversifies into bakery manufacturing with acquisition of Cooplands bakery chain

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UK – British retailer and operator of fast food outlets and petrol station Euro Garages (EG) has acquired baked goods manufacturer and retail bakery chain Cooplands for an undisclosed sum.  Founded by Frederick and Alice Coopland in 1885, Cooplands employs more than 1,600 colleagues and reportedly is the UK’s second-largest bakery chain.  The purchase includes three bakeries that process ingredients and manufactures fresh food which is distributed through its supply chain and logistics network to about 180 stores and cafes.  Following the acquisition, EG plans to diversify the Cooplands brand into the…

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China to import more feed grains as demand from an expanding poultry sector surges

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CHINA – The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is expected to import more feed grains to meet increased demand from the poultry industry that is recovering from multiple disease outbreaks.  According to the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), China’s chicken meat production is forecast to rebound by 2 percent to 14.3 MMT in 2022 as large-scale white feather (“broiler”) producers utilize expanded production facilities.  Additionally, hog production is expected to be concentrated in large-scale operations using professional feed formulas.   Cattle and beef production…

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USAID funded Trade Hub supports Senegalese Agro Boye, Guinea’s La Petite Damba to increase capacity

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WEST AFRICA – Senegal-based agribusiness firm Agro Boye, has received a US$1.1 million co-investment grant from the USAID-funded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub), to increase its production capacity of horticultural products, helping to reduce food insecurity and import-dependency in the country. The investment comes three years after its partnership with the Trade Hub on building a successful pilot project that the agribusiness implemented in 2019 to boost its potato cultivation using 30 hectares of land. At that time, Agro Boye first invested around US$260,000 and produced 900…

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Kenyan food processor SimpliFine enters baked goods market following acquisition of Ennsvalley Bakery

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KENYA – SimpliFine, a food production company offering fresh, locally-sourced meat, vegetables, baked goods, and other foods to restaurants, hotels, and retailers across East Africa has completed the acquisition of Kenyan based Ennsvalley Bakery.  SimpliFine has taken full ownership of the premium baked goods manufacturer Ennsvalley, from Kenya’s leading milling company, Unga Group, in a deal that was entered through its cold chain logistic firm BigCold. With the acquisition, SimpliFine is set to inject US$500,000 worth of investment in the next six months into the operations. The investment is earmarked…

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Alapala named Turkey’s number 1 exporter of Food Machinery

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TURKEY – Turkish supplier of milling and handling system technologies Alapala has been listed among ‘Top 1000 exporters of Turkey’ in 2020 by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM).  Through 4 companies, Alapala Group which exports milling machinery, equipment, and parts to the world from Turkey, ranked 636th in this year’s ranking, a great improvement from last year where it ranked 824th.   The group which has successfully completed over 600 turn-key projects in four continents and trades as ‘Alapala Foreign Trade’ also emerged 13th in the ‘Machinery and Parts’ category.  It also maintained its position as the lead…

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Kenyan rice farmers to benefit from newly installed rice mill by Lake Basin Development Authority

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KENYA – The Lake Basin Development Authority of Kenya has purchased a new rice milling equipment for the Lake Basin Rice Mill in Kisumu County in a move to boost production of the crop in the Western region. The new equipment worth Ksh 65 million (US$588,000) will be installed at the Kibos Factory is aimed to end the dependence on the old and inefficient machine that has been in use since the early 90’s. Due to aging, the old machine’s capacity had stalled output from 3 to 1.1 tonnes per…

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Unga Group benefits from past business dealings increasing its full year profit by 344%

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KENYA – Kenya’s leading milling company, Unga Group Plc, has seen its full-year profit for the year ended June 2021 grow by three-fold to Ksh.293.5 million (US$2.66m) from Ksh.66.2 million (US$599,000) attained the previous corresponding period. The 344% rise in earnings, is largely anchored on a 24.8% decline in finance costs to Ksh.150.6 million (US$1.36m) following a restructure of its bank facilities, reports Citizen News. At the same time, the processing company received payment for grain supplied in support of the government-led subsidy program in 2017. “The interest element of…

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