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Global Poultry Industry at Risk: Bird Flu Outbreak in Brazil Could Cause Supply Shortage and Price Increases
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EU Poultry Production Faces Uncertainty Amidst Ukraine/Russia War, But Signs of Recovery Emerge
Meat, Dairy & Seafood Company News
ADM
ADM reported increased revenue and operating profits in Q1 2023, with the Agricultural Services and Oilseeds segment achieving strong results due to record soybean crops and biofuel demand. The company reported net earnings of $ 1.2 billion and earnings per share of $ 2.12, with the Oilseeds segment revenue reaching $ 18.58 billion. However, the Nutrition segment struggled due to demand fulfillment challenges and destocking in certain categories, with Animal Nutrition results underperforming due to low margins in amino acids. ADM is seeking strategic partnerships to drive innovation and propel the development and commercialization of products, having recently entered alliances with Believer Meats and Brightseed.
Agropur
Agropur, a Canadian dairy cooperative, has received approval from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. The company plans to reduce 30% of the GHG emissions generated by its plants in Canada and the United States by 2031, and reduce GHG emissions across its value chain by 24% per kg of milk processed by the same year. Agropur is also working with dairy industry leaders to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and plans to increase energy efficiency and the percentage of renewable energy sourced to achieve its targets.
Alltech
Alltech has appointed Dr. Curtis Novak as the new general manager of its US poultry division. In his role, Novak will lead Alltech’s poultry team, aligning all business units, including research and development and account management. Alltech’s President and CEO, Dr. Mark Lyons, expressed confidence in Novak’s leadership and believes that his expertise and commitment to customers will enable the poultry team to provide more value to customers.
Beyond Meat
Beyond Meat has expanded its plant-based meat offerings with the introduction of chicken- style products, including the Beyond Burger chicken-style, Beyond fillet, and Beyond nuggets. The new items are made from plant-based ingredients and are designed to look, cook, and taste like their animal equivalents. The products are available in Waitrose stores now, with all three products set to be available in select Sainsbury’s branches from early May. Beyond Meat’s latest product launch follows a study from the Good Food Institute (GFI) showing sales of plant-based meat across Europe have grown by 21% from 2020 to 2022.
Cargill
Cargill Philippines has said that modernisation is key to the sustainable repopulation of the country’s swine industry as the African Swine Fever lingers. Cargill Philippines Country President Sonny Catacutan said that animal nutrition, data collection and biosecurity technologies could help Filipino farmers thrive despite challenges including the ASF. The company has released its “ASF Playbook”, which shares best practices and new technologies to help farmers become more resilient. Catacutan said stakeholders such as Cargill, hog producers and the government are working together to encourage hog raisers to modernise their productions and repopulate sustainably.
Danish Crown
The decrease in the number of pigs available for slaughter in Denmark has caused Danish Crown to carry out a significant restructuring, which unfortunately includes the closure of the slaughterhouse in Saeby. This will result in around 800 employees losing their jobs, while up to 450 new employees will be needed at the group’s other slaughterhouses in Denmark.
Danone
Danone’s corporate venture arm, Danone Manifesto Ventures, has taken a minority stake in Imagindairy, an Israeli startup that makes ‘animal-free’ dairy proteins via precision fermentation. Imagindairy has raised $ 28m to date and plans to bring beta-lactoglobulin to the US market. The company is also working on a range of other milk proteins. Danone plans to bring “strategic and operational support to accelerate our growth,” while Imagindairy said the partnership would “pave the way to future collaborations.”
Danone, the world’s largest yogurt maker, has raised its 2023 outlook after experiencing the fastest first-quarter sales growth in a decade. The company, which increased prices by 10.3% during the quarter, reported sales growth of 10.5% to € 6.96bn ( $ 7.68bn), beating analysts’ expectations. All three of Danone’s businesses contributed to growth and the company expects like-for-like sales growth of between 4% and 6% in 2023, up from its previous forecast of 3%-5%. Danone has increased prices to cope with higher commodity and supply chain costs but faces the challenge of judging how much prices can rise before affluent shoppers stop buying.
HKScan
HKScan is set to invest EUR4.6 million (US $ 5.1 million) in its poultry cutting department at its Rauma, Finland plant, through the installation of automation equipment. As a result of the investment, the company will be reducing the workforce at the facility. The decision to invest was made as part of the company’s efforts to improve profitability and competitiveness, following recent statutory negotiations that began in March. The reorganization will entail staff adjustments, renewal of working practices, and changes to over 200 jobs, with up to 35 jobs at the Rauma plant being eliminated. The job reductions will include retirements and department transfers and will be implemented in H1 2024. The statutory negotiations affected 225 blue-collar employees.
Nestle
Nestle has been committed to a no deforestation policy since 2010 and has now developed a “Forest Positive” strategy to protect and restore forests, respect human rights for all, and promote sustainable livelihoods. They plan to be 100% deforestation-free by 2022 for palm oil, sugar, soy, meat, pulp and paper, and by 2025 for coffee and cocoa. Nestle will reduce its emissions by 20% by 2025, halve them by 2030, and reach net zero by 2050. They plan to plant 200 million trees by 2030 in and around farms where they source ingredients.
Nueva Pescanova
Nueva Pescanova considers Cooke as the perfect partner to support the company’s future growth, according to CEO Ignacio González. Abanca, the owner of Nueva Pescanova, exclusively negotiates the sale of 80% of the fishing firm’s ownership with Cooke. González revealed that the sale process should be viewed as “natural,” and that the decision-making center would remain in Galicia and the brand would continue to be Pescanova. He emphasized that the partnership would benefit both companies, with Cooke being very strong in North America and Asia, and Nueva Pescanova having a significant presence in Europe. González added that the project to build an aquaculture farm in the Canary Islands for octopus farming is continuing its course.
Purina
In Q1 2023, Purina PetCare remained the largest contributor to Nestle’s organic growth, with sales reaching CHF 4,669 million and real internal growth of 3.5%. Purina ONE, Purina Pro Plan, and Friskies saw strong momentum for science-based and premium brands, driving growth. In North America, Purina PetCare gained market share, with broad-based demand across channels, particularly e-commerce. In Europe and Asia, Purina PetCare also gained market share, with premium brands Felix, Friskies, and Gourmet driving growth. Overall Nestle sales increased by 5.6% to CHF 23.5 billion, with Purina PetCare leading growth worldwide for Nestle in FY22.
Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland reported a 2% increase in revenue and a 3% net profit, amounting to DKK 5.8 billion ( $ 856m) and DKK 186 million ( $ 27.5m) respectively in 2022. The company credited the “satisfactory result” to the performance of its core Greenlandic species despite “challenging international markets”.
Sysco
Sysco is transforming its distribution center in Riverside, California, into an electric vehicle hub, with 40 dual-port DC fast-charging stations, 40 electric vehicles, and 40 electric refrigerated trailers. The company aims to add 2,800 electric vehicles to its US fleet by 2030 and reduce direct emissions by 27.5% by the same year. Sysco also plans to electrify 35% of its US tractor fleet and source 100% renewable energy by 2030. The Riverside facility will have 4 megawatt hours of battery storage and 1.5 megawatts of increased solar power generation.
Cold Storage, Transport & Container Shipping Company News
C H Robinson
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, an American freight transportation and logistics company, has reported its first-quarter financial results for the period ended March 31, 2023. The results show that the company’s gross profits declined by 24.7% to $ 678.3m, while income from operations decreased by 53.4% to $ 161.0m. Meanwhile, diluted earnings per share decreased by 53.2% to $ 0.96, and adjusted EPS decreased by 52.2% to $ 0.98. Scott Anderson, the Interim CEO of C.H. Robinson, said that the results reflect the softening market conditions in the freight transportation market over the past 12 months. He also stated that they are taking steps to foster profitable growth through cycles and are executing on the restructuring plan initiated in November.
Cosco
COSCO Shipping Ports’ revenue remained flat in the first quarter of 2023 due to weaker global demand, resulting in a slight drop in turnover. However, the company’s “lean operation strategy” helped increase gross profit by 11% to US $ 90m. Total container throughput across the company’s portfolio remained flat at 30.3m teu, while it decreased by 3% on an equity basis to 9.6m teu. COSCO Shipping Ports is pinning its hopes on the Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal following recent acquisitions.
Evergreen Marine
Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine Corporation is seeking to build up to 24 methanol dual-fuelled container ships of 16,000 teu capacity. The newbuilds are likely to be deployed on Asia to Europe services, with delivery set to start in 2026. Evergreen has invited shipyards from China, Japan and South Korea to submit quotes for the vessels, which will have to undergo sea trials and be fueled with green methanol to meet ESG requirements. The company has not disclosed where it plans to deploy the ships, but they are expected to be suitable for Mediterranean lanes, given the region’s emphasis on carbon neutrality.
Maersk
Maersk Growth, the venture arm of AP Moller-Maersk, has invested in Danish technology company Kvasir Technologies, which has developed a method of producing carbon-neutral biofuels from non-edible biowaste material. The latest investment round raised EUR 2.15 million. Lasse Truels Köhler, Senior Associate at Maersk Growth, stated that scaling up production of low carbon fuels would play an essential role in achieving the decarbonisation targets of AP Moller-Maersk and the maritime industry.
Maersk, the container shipping company, has announced that it has suspended bookings for goods to Sudan due to the ongoing violence in the country. The company is monitoring the situation and searching for solutions to stabilise its supply chain services in Sudan.
