Paris | Reuters — China is set to overtake Britain and France to become the world’s second-largest wine consumer by value behind the U.S. by 2020 as consumers turn to more middle-range wines, the International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR) organization said Thursday. In a study for wine fair Vinexpo it forecast Chinese wine consumption […] Read more
China seen set to become world’s second-biggest wine market
Maple Leaf posts higher-than-expected profit
Reuters — Meat-packing company Maple Leaf Foods reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, driven by increased retail sales in Canada and higher exports. The company, whose brands include Schneiders and namesake Maple Leaf, said adjusted operating earnings rose 10 per cent to $59 million in the first quarter ended March 31. Maple Leaf, which is Canada’s […] Read more
BASF still out for ag chem deals
Frankfurt | Reuters –– German chemicals giant BASF said it would continue to push for acquisitions to shore up its crop protection business, after the antitrust-related sale of assets from the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont left it empty-handed. “We are generally interested in strengthening our business further, acquisitions are part of that, that […] Read more
Tyson Foods beefs up prepared foods with AdvancePierre buy
Reuters – Tyson Foods Inc, the No. 1 U.S. meat processor, said on Tuesday it would buy packaged sandwich supplier AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc for about $3.2 billion in cash, to expand its fast-growing portfolio of prepared food brands. Demand for meat-based snacks has been growing as Americans shun candy and overly processed foods. This […] Read more
Subway says it shut hundreds of U.S. restaurants last year
Reuters — U.S. sandwich chain Subway Restaurants said on Thursday it shut 359 restaurants in the U.S. last year, amid stiff competition in a highly fragmented fast-food industry. Subway, owned by Doctor’s Associates, is the world’s largest fast-food chain by number of restaurants. It had 26,744 locations operating in the U.S. at the end of […] Read more
Brazil’s JBS to resume slaughtering at six idle beef units next week
São Paulo/Reuters – The world’s largest meatpacker JBS SA will next week resume slaughtering at six out of 10 beef processing units after sending workers on temporary leave earlier this month, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Another four units will restart operations on May 2 after “reforms, operating adjustments and the modernization […] Read more
China to work off corn stockpile in three to five years
Beijing/Reuters – China will work off its corn stockpile in the next three to five years, said an executive at one of the country’s top corn processing firms on Wednesday, as firms ramp up processing capacity to use up the old stocks of grain. COFCO Biochemical, a listed subsidiary of the state-owned Chinese grains trader […] Read more
China clears ChemChina’s Syngenta deal
Zurich | Reuters — ChemChina’s US$43 billion planned takeover of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta has received approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the two companies said Wednesday. “This represents a further step towards the closing of the transaction, which is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2017,” they said […] Read more
Lactalis still short in bid to delist Parmalat
Milan | Reuters — France’s Lactalis has not secured the 90 per cent stake in Parmalat it needed to press ahead with plans to delist the Italian food company, a filing showed Tuesday. On the last day of an extended bid on shares it did not already own, the French dairy group reached an overall […] Read more
Ford recalls F-250s that could roll while in park
New York | Reuters — Ford Motor Co. is recalling about 52,600 F-250 pickup trucks sold in the U.S. and Canada because the vehicles could roll after the driver moves the automatic transmission lever into park position, the company said on Saturday. The recall, the third announced by Ford this week, affects 2017 model year […] Read more
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