Budget 2017 - Canada to capitalize on agri-food for innovation and growth.

Michael Graydon, Chief Executive Officer of FCPC with Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture 

TORONTO , March 22, 2017 /CNW/ - Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) applauds the government for highlighting agri-food as one of three industries in Canada with "great potential for growth and job creation" and featured as a key component of the Innovation Agenda in the 2017 federal budget. The government stated, " Canada is in a uniquely strong position to capitalize on global agri-food growth." 

"We are very pleased with the government's bold strategy to grow the agri-food sector," says Michael Graydon , CEO. "Budget 2017 reflects FCPC's efforts over the years with the federal government to highlight the sector's importance and proactively position the industry as a partner in driving innovation and inclusive growth."

We also support the investment of up to $950 million over five years, to drive business-led innovation "superclusters", in industries such as agri-food that have potential to accelerate economic growth. We are pleased to see the government addressing trade issues by announcing an ambitious target to grow Canada's agri-food exports to at least $75 billion annually by 2025, and recognizing "room for further growth" that can be achieved with the development of value-added products.

The recognition of the importance of regulatory cooperation as a key element in fostering international trade and providing Canadian consumers with greater choice was also appreciated. We are excited to see the Treasury Board Secretariat provided with $6 million over three years to continue its efforts in supporting business growth by promoting regulatory alignment with Canada's trade partners.

In addition, we are pleased that the budget highlights the importance of the next funding framework for agriculture and agri-food, and specifically recognizes "the importance of strengthening the sector as a whole and enhancing value-added exports."

We would like to take the opportunity to thank the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development for their strategic focus and recognition of the important role of food manufacturing to Canadian farmers and middle-class families, across the country.

While Canada is already internationally recognized as a global leader in food safety, we appreciate Budget 2017's new investments to further strength food safety in Canada . We look forward to further collaborating with the government to grow the food and consumer product industry in Canada and build a more innovative, competitive and inclusive economy. 

SOURCE Food & Consumer Products of Canada

"Our strategy in Africa is to grow our beers fast and our spirits faster" says - Diageo Africa president John O'Keeffe - Focus

Late last week, Diageo's Africa president John O'Keeffe hosted a conference call with analysts. According to Societe Generale analyst Laurence Whyatt, Africa represents 12% of Diageo's group sales, with around 60% coming from beer, 30% from spirits and 10% from RTDs.
Here, just-drinks takes a look at the key themes from the call, as well as analyst reaction.

"Our strategy in Africa is to grow our beers fast and our spirits faster," says O'Keeffe. The president also outlines a symbiotic relationship between the two categories - and one, he believes, Diageo is uniquely placed to capitalize upon.
"Over five years ending fiscal-2016 (to end of June), we delivered more than double the growth rate of spirits in our markets with an established beer platform, compared to those with a majority spirits business," he says. "And, the operational synergies are significant."

Analyst Chris Wickham from Whitman Howard adds: "In the company's opinion, beer opens up the African market to all of Diageo." He says that going forward, beer will continue to grow "but spirits are expected to be the main driver of faster growth".
Diageo's O'Keeffe notes that consumers are increasingly including spirits in their repertoire and switching between beer and spirits. "More than 40% of beer consumers ... consumed spirits in the last four weeks," he says.

According to O'Keeffe, international premium spirits are "out of reach for most Africans" at the moment. However, he maintains that they are an "important" part of the company's growth agenda in the region, as it looks to participate across all price points.

"GDP growth has slowed down sharply in the last two years among oil exporters, of which Nigeria is the most relevant to Diageo's Africa business," O'Keeffe says. "In Nigeria, currency scarcity and devaluation are driving a high inflationary environment, making affordability even more important to consumers."
Digging into the detail, SocGen's Whyatt notes that Diageo is competing not just with other alcohol producers. "The macro is still tough, with inflation running at 17% and weak disposable income meaning that beer is competing with other discretionary expenditure, such as mobile phones," he says.
At the moment, 70% of Diageo's COGs in Nigeria are locally-sourced, protecting the firm against transaction exposure. "The target is 80%," notes Whyatt.
The firm is investing at the mainstream end of the market - in both beer and spirits - in response to greater consumer demand.
"Historically, our beer business has centred around premium beer," says O'Keeffe. "In recent years, we've seen consumers migrate to value beers in a number of countries. Nigeria is a good illustration of this, where over the last 2.5 years, the value beer segment has increased volume share from 26% to almost 50%."
O'Keeffe also highlighted several cost-saving initiatives in Nigeria, including "right-sizing" the brewery workforce, improving efficiency and reducing waste, energy and water usage.
"Diageo took price over the last nine months [in Nigeria]," note Exane analysts. "The company expects Nigeria to play its fair share in operating margin expansion in Africa. Guinness Nigeria is undertaking a rights issue to de-leverage its balance sheet. Diageo is participating in the rights issue. Diageo will focus its capital investment on expanding mainstream spirits.".


Throughout the call, O'Keeffe outlines several recent launches in various African markets. Here's a run-down:

• Meta beer re-launched in Ethiopia
• Low-sugar Malta Guinness Herbs Lite rolled out to Nigeria
• Value beer Ngule launched in Uganda
• Lager Azmera, made with local ingredients, made its debut in Ethiopia
• Value malt Dubic Malt launched in Nigeria
• Black Bell - "a rich and flavourful beer targeted at Millennials" - rolled out in Uganda
• Tusker Premium Cider and Smirnoff Ice Electric Guarana and Ginseng launched in Kenya
• Sparkling, palm wine-inspired Tappers Palms appeared in Ghana
• 5cl Orijin Bitters sachets rolled out to Ghana and Nigeria
• Kenya Cane Coconut flavour launched to "re-energise the Kenya Cane franchise" in Kenya
• In Nigeria, spirits launches included locally-manufactured Smirnoff X1, McDowell's No. 1 and a new flavour of Gordon's Gin

CRedit: www.just-drinks.com

President Trump set to cut the US Department of Agriculture budget by over a fifth.

President Trump has set out plans to cut the discretionary spending at the US Department of Agriculture by over a fifth, prompting criticism from the industry and lawmakers from the Democrat and Republican Parties.

Trump's 2018 budget has requested $17.9bn for the USDA, down $4.7bn, or 21%, on 2017.
"The budget request supports core departmental and mission critical activities while streamlining, reducing, or eliminating duplicative, redundant, or lower priority programmes where the federal role competes with the private sector or other levels of government," the budget plans, announced yesterday (16 March), read.

President Trump.

However, Republican Representative Mike Conaway, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, issued a note of caution on the plans.
"America's farmers and ranchers are struggling, and we need to be extremely careful not to exacerbate these conditions," Conaway said.

A Democrat Senator, Debbie Stabenow, a ranking member of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, said she "strongly" opposed the plans.
"It's deeply troubling that the Trump administration targets the Department of Agriculture for cuts averaging 21 percent - the third largest cut to any federal agency," Stabenow said.

"This proposal undermines job creation by eliminating access to credit for small businesses and completely ends rural water infrastructure programmes that could leave small towns without clean drinking water or safe sewer systems.
"The Trump administration neglects to clarify all of the areas that will be cut. This puts a target on hundreds of critical USDA programmes and services that rely on annually appropriated funds, and could lead to cuts as high as 33% to agriculture research and extension, conservation planning, wildfire prevention, and efforts to fight avian influenza and other threats to our food system.".

Credit: http://www.just-food.com

PepsiCo lines up closure of UK Walkers crisps factory.

PepsiCo is planning to close a Walkers crisps plant in north-eastern England.
The US food and beverage giant is looking to shut its facility in Peterlee in Country Durham and transfer production to other UK sites.
Tracey Foster, manufacturing director at the site, said: "In order to improve the efficiency of our UK snacks manufacturing operations, we are proposing the closure of our factory at Peterlee.
"Peterlee has been an important site for our business but the changes we are proposing present significant productivity and efficiency savings crucial for ensuring the long-term sustainable growth of our business in the UK."
Foster did not comment on media reports that said around 400 jobs could be lost as a result of the closure. However, she said: "We appreciate this is upsetting news for everyone at the Peterlee site. It is a difficult proposal for us to put forward and we want to make clear that it in no way reflects the performance of our colleagues at Peterlee, who we are grateful to for their hard work and commitment.
"No decisions will be made without first consulting employees and their representatives. We would also like to reassure colleagues that we will be providing on-going support and assistance from this point onwards."


CREDIT. www/just-food.com

IN INDIA SUMMER AND MANGOES GO HAND IN HAND

PIC CREDIT: WISEGEEK

One of Delhi’s most popular events is the International Mango Festival which celebrates everything about the King of all tropical fruits, ‘Mango’.

The International Mango Festival is held every year at the Delhi Haat Pitampura in Delhi. Hosted by Delhi Tourism in alliance with the Delhi Government, According by the organizers the festival aims to showcase the specialties of mangoes from different states of India, it will interest you to know that apart from this festival there many other mango festivals  held across India during the same time.

The International Mango Festival in Delhi features an array of recreational events and activities associated with mango, like mango eating competitions, quizzes, mango slogan writing, mango carving, children’s shows, mango folk performances, mango tasting, and plenty of mangoes to go around with varieties of the fruit on display.

One gets to savour over 1100 varieties of mangoes and some rare species of the sumptuous fruit. Some of the traditional and exceptional mango varieties are Langda, Dasheri, Alphonso, Fasli, Bombay Green, Chausa, Sindheri, and many more hybrid species of the fruit. The Delhi International Mango Festival is one opportunity to taste them all for free and relish the appetising experience.

The Delhi International Mango Festival also carries sale of processed mango items. This includes products like pickles, jam, chutney, mango pulp, mango juice, jelly, aam papad, and aam panna. One can also buy mango plants. The festival encourages trading of the fruit and has buyers from all over the world. The dates will be announce before the month runs to an end.

More info from: http://journeymart.com

YAM POTTAGE BEST ENJOYED WITH COLD EBA.

Pic credit: Sisi Jemimah

Ikokore, also known as Ifokore, is a Nigerian  Yam Pottage dish  made with Water Yam  (Isu Ewura) instead of the normal Puna/ White Yam. It is a pottage recipe from the Ijebu people in Ogun State and Lagos state in Nigeria.  Ikokore remains a staple in many Ijebu homes across board. To really enjoy Ikokore, one would  need to incorporate as much proteins as  possibly  to enrich it. Here are some of the most favorite:  Shaki, Ponmo, Chicken, Goat meat, Gizzard, Smoked Turkey, Smoked Fish, Eja Shawa, Panla, Eja Kika etc.

Ingredients::
Half Tuber Water yam,2 Cooking spoons Palm Oil,3 Cups Chicken or Beef Stock/ Water,1 Shombo/Tatashe or 3 Tablespoons dry ground pepper (Atagungun),1-2 Scotch Bonnet (Aa tRodo)
1-2 Smoked Fish (Eja Kika) or Shawa (Bonga fish)Shredded  (Optional),1-2 Pieces Dried Fish (Panla) Shredded (Optional),2 Cups Shredded cooked Meats (I’m using Shaki and Ponmo),3 Tablespoons Crayfish,1/2 Cup Smoked Prawns (Optional),1 Teaspoon Ogiri Ijebu (Fermented Locust Beans),2 Seasoning Cubes and Salt to taste.

Preparation: Slice your water yam into small pieces. Peel each piece then grate using the smallest part of your grater,When you’re done grating the Water Yam, add Seasoning or Salt, 1 tablespoon Crayfish and mix together, if you can tolerate hotness, you can add some Pepper as well. Then set aside blend the Shombo/Tatashe and Scotch Bonnet till smooth and set aside.

If you’re using just Scotch Bonnet, just blend it on it’s own,get a medium size pot and place on a hob on medium heat. When it’s hot, add the palm oil, then  add my Locust Beans at this stage. Sauté the Locust Beans for a minute, then add the blended Pepper, then the seasoning cubes and Salt to taste. If you’re using Stock, do not add salt as your stock is already seasoned.Leave to fry till oil floats to the top. This should take 10 minutes thereabouts, stir every now and then to prevent burning, add the Shredded Cooked Meats, Fish and Smoked Prawns, any other proteins you’re using, then the Ogiri, leave to cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove all the meat and fish from the stew, leaving just the stew in the pot.

Turn the heat down to low, now scoop the grated yam into the stew, do this in both big and small lumps. The small lumps will dissolve in the stew, forming a mushy type consistency while the bigger lumps will create the lumpy Ikokore consistency. Do not stir, leave the contents to boil for 8-10 minutes on low heat.

Then you can stir a bit using a wooden spoon. Stir and break up clumps if you find it too clumpy or leave as it is if you don’t mind, I don’t like mine too clumpy, half and half more like. Now, taste for salt and seasoning, adjust if necessary, Transfer the cooked meats and fish back into the pot, add the rest of the crayfish and combine gently, be careful when doing this so you don’t break the clumps leave to simmer for 3 – 5 minutes and it’s ready, serve Ikokore on its own or with Cold Eba (Eba Tutu), the typical Ijebu way.


First Published by: http://sisijemimah.com

Organic food sales in France "exceed expectations"

PIC=COURTESY:WWW.GOOGLE.COM

Collective sales of organic products across France exceeded EUR7bn (US$7.4bn) as of the end of 2016, marking a 20% increase over the previous year, according to latest figures from the French agency for the development and promotion of organic agriculture.
Agence Bio said the increase in sales, compared to the EUR5.76bn booked in 2015, "exceeded all expectations and show organic foods are now firmly rooted in the daily lives of the French".
Meanwhile, the agency said its latest survey of the take-up of organic products in France indicates almost nine out of 10 (89%) consumed organic food in 2016, while 69% of respondents said they consumed organic products "at least once a month".

The agency said its first survey on the subject, conducted in 2003, indicated 46% of French had never consumed organic products.

"This evolution takes place in a context in which the French increasingly attach importance to the preservation of the environment in their purchasing actions (92%), compared to 89% in 2015 and 67% in 2007," the agency said in a statement. "Faced with this strong demand, organic production is increasing in France to reach historical levels," the agency added. "At the end of 2016, there were a total of 47,185 operators undertaking organic activities, an increase of 11.5% over 2015, including 32,326 organic farmers - an increase of 12% compared to 2015."

The French federation of industrial charcuteries, caterers and meat processors, FICT, said France produces only 20,000 tonnes of organic pork "while French pork butchers use more than 80,000 tonnes to satisfy consumer demand", buying in organic pork from other European countries.

P.S: If you liked this article, you might enjoy the just-food newsletter.
Receive our latest content delivered right to your inbox.

 Written by:John Shepherd. Copied from:www.just-food.com