Retail News
U.S.
retail and foodservice sales of specialty foods and beverages increased 6.9% in
2011, topping $75 billion, according to NASFT's The State of the Specialty
Food Industry 2012 report. Cheese claimed the top spot in spending for specialty
foods, with $3.44 billion in retail sales last year. The next largest retail sales
categories are: meats, poultry and seafood; chips, pretzels and snacks; coffee,
coffee substitutes and cocoa; and bread and baked goods. Functional beverages
are the fastest-growing segment, followed by yogurt and kefir. Full
Story
Whole Foods Market will no longer carry red-rated wild-caught
fish in its seafood departments beginning Apr. 22. Fish species including
Atlantic halibut, grey sole and skate will no longer be available. Full
Story New Jersey has a substantial untapped demand for food stores
and does not have enough supermarkets in lower-income areas, according to a report
from the New Jersey Food Marketing Task Force. Full
Report Valero will introduce an additional 50 private label SKUs
to its Corner Stores during 2012. Upcoming products include an extension of
the company's salty snacks line, a new line of energy shots and an extension of
Valero's sports drink line that will include flavors such as coconut water, reported
Convenience Store News. Full
Story Manufacturer News
Bremner Food Group
will close its 250,000-sq. ft. snack food plant in Poteau, OK on June 29 and
plans to move its operation to Kentucky. Bremner, owned by Ralcorp, has seven
facilities that produce crackers, sugar wafers, sandwich cookies and other snacks,
reported NewsOK.com. Full
Story
Approximately 14% of Kraft Foods' annual chocolate revenue
is related to Easter sales. More consumers purchase chocolate during Easter
than any other season, according to the company. Top international markets leading
Kraft Foods Easter chocolate sales are the UK, Brazil, Germany and Australia.
Full
Story Sargento Foods Inc. plans to close its 65,000-sq. ft. Bellingham,
WA facility in the next nine to 16 months, with a final closing date to be
announced later this spring. The decision to close was due to several factors
including the plant's primary customer not renewing its contract with Sargento.
The contract expires at the end of the year, reported The Bellingham Herald.
Full
Story Foodservice News
Wendy's
and Smashburger
added items incorporating avocado and guacamole to their menus for a limited
time.
Washington News
The Northeast Seafood Coalition urged
the governors of New England's coastal states and New York and New Jersey to issue
a joint request for a federal "fisheries failure" declaration nearly two years
into an experiment in catch share fisheries management. Such a finding would make
federal financial aid available for assessing and mitigating economic and social
dislocations, reported The Gloucester Times. Full
Story
Mosul Kubba initiated a voluntary recall of approximately
1,100-lbs. of stuffed, layered beef products due to possible contamination with
Listeria monocytogenes. Full
Story Topnotch Cookies & Cakes initiated a voluntary recall of
550 Chocolate Chip Chunk Cookies because they may contain undeclared traces of
milk in the "butter vanilla flavor" "containing milk ingredients." Full
Story Castellini Company LLC initiated a voluntary recall of
certain jalapeno peppers distributed from its Wilder, KY facility because they
have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. Full
Story 
Global
News
Maple Leaf Foods will build a 282,000-sq. ft. distribution
center in Puslinch Township, Ontario. The facility will operate as the company's
prepared meats distribution hub for central and eastern Canada. Full
Story
Target detailed its confirmed stores in Canada. The company
will open 13 stores in Alberta; 13 stores in British Columbia; three stores in
Manitoba; one store in Nova Scotia; 32 stores in Ontario; 12 stores in Quebec
and two stores in Saskatchewan. Full
Story The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) revealed a series of grain contracts
that the board will offer farmers this year. The board also reached a grain-handling
agreement with Cargill, which will take delivery and handle CWB contracts for
a fee. The board hopes to enter into deals with other handlers including Viterra,
reported The Globe and Mail. Full
Story (Free Registration Required) Sobeys Inc. expanded the
capabilities and utility of its customer insights initiatives, utilizing
Self Serve, a customer analytics tool through its strategic partnership with Aimia.
The tool allows Sobeys to work more broadly and collaboratively with suppliers.
Full
Story KFC represents almost half of the roughly 37,000 restaurants
Yum! Brands operates in 120 countries. China was home to 3,701 KFC outlets
at the end of last year; McDonald's had 1,464, reported Bloomberg Businessweek.
Full
Story PepsiCo, Inc. and Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp. received
all necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals required to complete their
transaction to create a strategic beverage alliance in China. Full
Story Stevia Corp. signed a letter of intent with Fish International
Sourcing House Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based international seafood company with
processing facilities and offices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand.
Full
Story Market News
Corn growers intend to plant 95.9 million
acres of corn for all purposes in 2012, up 4% from last year and 9% higher
than in 2010. If realized, this will represent the highest planted acreage in
the U.S. since 1937. Soybean planted area for 2012 is estimated at 73.9 million
acres, down 1% from last year and down 5% from 2010. All wheat planted area is
estimated at 55.9 million acres, up 3% from 2011. USDA
Report
The Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative produced 3.1 million tons
of sugarcane grown on 68,456 acres of land primarily in Palm Beach County,
FL, yielding 374,266 short tons raw value sugar and 18 million gallons of blackstrap
molasses. Sugar yields were at 11.65%, nearing the record high of 11.73% set in
the 2002-03 crop season. Full
Story Two days of frost in parts of Michigan likely damaged
fruit crops. Damage of peaches and cherries is expected in west central
and northern Michigan from a Monday frost, while damage from a Tuesday frost is
projected in the eastern part of the state, reported The Detroit News.
Full
Story Strawberries made an early appearance in South Carolina
due to warm temperatures. Traditionally, the first crops of strawberries appear
between Apr. 1 and Apr. 15, reported The State. Full
Story New bee research suggests that exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides
did not kill bees directly, but changed their behavior in harmful ways. The
studies, published in Science, also found that in particular, the insecticide
made the honeybees and bumblebees somewhat less able to forage for food and return
with it to their hives, reported The Washington Post. Full
Story (Free Registration Required) NASS will release its Honey
report on Mar. 30 at 3 p.m. (EST). Full
Story California's San Joaquin Valley stone fruit production
is in transition. An oversupply of peaches, nectarines and plums in 2008
prompted some grower-packer-shippers to take action, ranging from removing unprofitable
orchards to getting out of the business altogether. Peach and nectarine crops
appeared normal, however it is too early to tell about plums, reported The
Packer Online. Full
Story CASS will release its Grape Acreage Summary Report report
on Mar. 30 at 3 p.m. (EST). Full
Story ERS will release its Vegetables and Melons Outlook report
on Mar. 30 at 4 p.m. (EST). Full
Story ERS will release its Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook report
on Mar. 30 at 4 p.m. (EST). Full
Story NASS will release its Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report
on Mar. 30 at 3 p.m. (EST). Full
Story Chile's agricultural sector increased 11% in 2011 over
the previous year. Strong growth in the fruit sector led the pack, followed by
forestry and agriculture; fruit production increased in three of the four quarters
of 2011. USDA
Report The Commerce Department issued several proposals regarding
seafood in the Mar. 30 Federal Register. The proposals are: Atlantic
Highly Migratory Species: Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2006 Consolidated
Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan; Amendment. Full
Notice; Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2012 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota
Specifications. Full
Notice; Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper-Grouper
Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment. Full
Notice; and Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment. Full
Notice According to the Apr. 2 Federal Register, the Department
of Commerce will announce plans to conduct administrative reviews of the antidumping
duty orders on certain frozen warmwater shrimp from Brazil, India and Thailand
(Full
Notice) as well as certain preserved mushrooms from China.
Full Notice 
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