Trending Now

Building a Resilient Supply Chain with Advanced Predictive…

New Articles

The U.S. Lactose Export Prices Soar

lactose
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Imports/Exports, News

The U.S. Lactose Export Prices Soar

Leave a comment

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘U.S. – Lactose And Lactose Syrup – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The U.S. remains the leading supplier of lactose and lactose syrup with a 36%-share in global exports. While the volume of lactose shipments from the U.S. was almost unchanged from the previous year, exports in value terms jumped by 8% to $396, as the average exports price has significantly risen. Despite the trade tensions, China remains the key importer of lactose from the U.S., followed by New Zealand and Japan.

Exports from the U.S. by Country

The U.S. remains the largest exporter of lactose and lactose syrup worldwide, accounting for 36% of the global exports. In 2020, lactose exports from the U.S. fell modestly to 379K tonnes, standing approx. at the year before. In value terms, lactose exports expanded rapidly by +8.2% to $396M (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

In 2020, the average lactose export price amounted to $1,045 per tonne, with an increase of +8.3% against the previous year. There were significant differences in the average prices for the major export markets. In 2020, the country with the highest price was Canada ($1,314 per tonne), while the average price for exports to Viet Nam ($857 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was recorded for supplies to Viet Nam, while the prices for the other major destinations experienced more modest paces of growth.

China (69K tonnes), New Zealand (46K tonnes) and Japan (42K tonnes) were the main destinations of lactose exports from the U.S., together comprising 41% of total exports. Mexico, Indonesia, Viet Nam, the Philippines, South Korea, India, Singapore, Thailand, Canada and Brazil lagged somewhat behind, together accounting for a further 46%.

In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of shipments, amongst the main countries of destination, was attained by Thailand, while exports for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, China ($74M), New Zealand ($48M) and Japan ($41M) were the largest markets for lactose exported from the U.S. worldwide, together accounting for 41% of total exports. Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, India, the Philippines, Viet Nam, Thailand, Singapore, Canada and Brazil lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 44%.

Source: IndexBox Platform

raspberry
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Raspberry and Blackberry Imports in North America and Europe Grow Tangibly

Leave a comment

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Raspberries And Blackberries – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Global imports of raspberry and blackberry jumped by +7% y-o-y to $3.4B in 2020. The U.S. remains the largest importer with the fastest-growing volume of imports. The Netherlands, Spain and Canada also feature solid gains in the imported volume. The average raspberry and blackberry import price dropped by -2.7% y-o-y in 2020. Mexico emerges as the largest exporter of raspberry and blackberry worldwide, dominating the U.S. import market.  

Global Raspberry and Blackberry Imports

In value terms, raspberry and blackberry imports rose by +7.1% y-o-y to $3.4B in 2020 (IndexBox estimates). Global imports of raspberries and blackberries rose significantly to 467K tonnes, increasing by +10% compared with 2019 figures.

In value terms, the U.S. ($1.5B) constitutes the largest market for imported raspberries and blackberries worldwide, comprising 45% of global imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Canada ($322M), with a 9.5% share of global imports. It was followed by Germany, with a 9.1% share.

In 2020, the U.S. (208K tonnes) represented the main importer of raspberries and blackberries, mixing up 45% of total imports. The U.S. was the fastest-growing in terms of raspberries and blackberries imports, with a +21.9%-increase. In 2020, the U.S. (+4.3 p.p.) significantly strengthened its position in terms of the global imports.

Canada (44K tonnes) took the second position in the ranking, followed by Germany (42K tonnes), the UK (37K tonnes), Spain (35K tonnes), the Netherlands (24K tonnes) and France (22K tonnes). All these countries together took near 44% share of total imports. In 2020, the Netherlands (+11.8% y-o-y), Spain (+10.5% y-o-y) and Canada (+5.5%y-o-y) displayed positive paces of growth in terms of import volume.

The average raspberry and blackberry import price stood at $7,273 per tonne in 2020, dropping by -2.7% against the previous year. Average prices varied noticeably amongst the major importing countries. In 2020, major importing countries recorded the following prices: in the UK ($7,669 per tonne) and the Netherlands ($7,508 per tonne), while France ($6,289 per tonne) and Spain ($6,301 per tonne) were amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Germany, while the other global leaders experienced mixed trends in the import price figures.

Major Suppliers of Raspberry and Blackberry Worldwide

Mexico (95K tonnes), Spain (64K tonnes), the U.S. (47K tonnes), Morocco (36K tonnes), Portugal (29K tonnes) and the Netherlands (24K tonnes) represented roughly 89% of total exports of raspberries and blackberries in 2020. In value terms, Spain ($516M), Mexico ($445M) and the U.S. ($346M) constituted the countries with the highest levels of exports in 2020, with a combined 58% share of global exports.

In 2020, Mexico (205K tonnes) was the main raspberry and blackberry supplier to the U.S. with a 99%-share of total imports. Mexican and American suppliers occupied the Canadian import market.

Source: IndexBox Platform

food supply
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

Using Technology to Improve Food Supply Chain Visibility

Leave a comment

As they address the issues of 2020 and try to avoid repeating the same mistakes, food and beverage companies embrace more technology to help them gain higher levels of supply chain visibility. Here is how.

 

Supply chain visibility has become a hot button for corporate leaders as a result of the pandemic, which left many companies reassessing how they obtain, share, and disseminate data with their trading partners. According to PwC, visibility enables companies to know at any given time where a product is in the supply chain.

 

“This enhances decision making agility for production and distribution decisions,” PwC points out. “Food supply chain visibility is increasingly a standard expectation for consumers, especially with an emerging middle class.”

 

A Bigger Spotlight on Visibility

 

Where stockouts of critical supplies early in the pandemic—plus ongoing supply shortages—forced companies to pay more attention to this aspect of their operations in 2020, the food supply chain has always been held to a higher level of scrutiny. Pre-COVID, for example, food and beverage companies were already strengthening efforts around “farm to fork” traceability while complying with new government regulations in this area.

 

This was partly driven by the introduction of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which in 2011 shifted the focus from “responding” to foodborne illness to “preventing” it. When it became a law, FSMA expanded the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the food supply to many different points in the global supply chain (for both human and animal food). Last year, pandemic-related challenges pushed the food industry even further down the road to securing high levels of supply chain visibility across manufacturers, farmers, distributors, restaurants, and grocers.

 

These new obstacles pushed companies to rethink their approaches to supply chain visibility, traceability, and transparency. Where in the past the most popular reaction was to increase inventory levels, this approach consumes working capital, requires extra physical space, and often leaves food companies “holding the bag” on inventory that’s perishable or in danger of expiring. Instead, companies are choosing to implement supply chain solutions such a WMS, MES and TMS that ensure a real time visibility on all inventory and advanced traceability capabilities to pinpoint the origins of a given ingredient quickly and efficiently.

 

Supply Chain, Disrupted

 

In Food Processing, Robert Swientek explains how the COVID-19 pandemic triggered panic buying and food hoarding that subsequently disrupted the world’s food supply chains. This exposed defects in the industry, leaving some store shelves empty right at a time when an oversupply of food animals crowded farms. Concurrently, goods that would normally be distributed to restaurants had no place to go due to mandatory shutdowns.

 

“The food supply chain is one of the most critical supply chains in any economy,” Adroit North America’s Richard Sides told Food Processing. “Other events have shaken the food supply chain, like tariffs and foodborne outbreaks, but COVID-19 had a greater impact because it affected the entire process—from the field to the consumer.”

 

According to Swientek, the nuts and bolts of productive supply chains can be found at the organizational level and in manufacturing plants. “Gaining a better understanding and grasp of your production capabilities, processes and data platforms, demand forecasting, procurement and sourcing and inventory management,” he writes, “can help you optimize your upstream supply chains.”

 

Now, more companies are turning to supply chain software and platforms that enable end-to-end visibility. “The pandemic has brought a renewed focus for manufacturers in making sure they are becoming more transparent and agile within their supply chain processes,” Niels Anderson writes in Food Safety Tech.

 

“They are realizing thanks to this disruption that suppliers can’t always deliver and a backup plan is crucial to keep things moving,” Anderson continues. “One option is to implement technology that helps track visibility and transparency to better assess what is needed and to offer alternative suppliers. Having supply chain transparency requires companies to know what is happening upstream in the supply chain and communicate this knowledge both internally and externally.”

 

Managing Costs and Identifying New Solutions

 

Supply chain visibility is about more than just understanding where raw materials and finished goods are at any point in the global supply chain. It’s also about becoming more efficient and profitable. In How Supply Chain Visibility Helps Restaurants Improve Their Business, CH Robinson points to supply chain visibility as being key to managing costs and identifying solutions in the food sector.

 

“While it has always been important, visibility is now an essential element of successful supply chains,” the transportation provider writes. “Insight to shipment status is only one aspect of true supply chain visibility. Complex supply chains often combine costs, which can impede clear understanding when changes to costs do occur.”

 

The transportation provider also says that the foodservice industry needs “connected” supply chains. “Simply managing the supply chain isn’t enough in today’s market,” CH Robinson adds. “As the foodservice industry continues to evolve for the future, it’s critical that the supply chain is viewed as a roadmap. Continuous improvement and ongoing supply chain optimization strategies will continue to differentiate acceptable foodservice companies from superior ones.”

 

Generix Group North America provides a series of solutions within our Supply Chain Hub product suite to create efficiencies across an entire supply chain. Our solutions are in use around the world and our experience is second-to-none. We invite you to contact us to learn more.

cameron's coffee
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

How Cameron’s Coffee Tracks Their Products from Bean to Carton with a WMS

Leave a comment

Cameron’s Specialty Coffee and their Mission:

A smooth cup: Part of Cameron’s mission is to provide a smooth cup of coffee by handpicking the best beans in the world. However, their mission goes beyond that.

All around the world: Cameron’s Specialty Coffee is directly involved with the farmers supplying them with their coffee beans. Members of their team go around the world to meet farmers and their families to build a relationship based on social responsibility. Cameron’s is therefore dedicated to help their farmers grow in a healthy environment.

A Green Company: Cameron’s feels responsible not only for its partners but for the environment. Therefore, they strive for eco-friendly processes. They are dedicated to minimizing their footprint through big and small actions such as minimizing water consumption and using recyclable materials.

 

Cameron’s Specialty Coffee’s Supply Chain Needs

 

To accomplish their goals, Cameron’s Coffee had to overcome three challenges, all of which required a change to their inventory management.

-Responding to growing eCommerce demand

-Responding to growing expectations for traceability in the Food and Beverage industry

-Replacing their paper-based processes

By first replacing their paper-based process to an electronic one, we can simultaneously resolve their other challenges.  Adapting inventory processes enables employees to be more efficient, and the reduction in error would equip Cameron’s Specialty Coffee with the right strategy to satisfy their online customers. The same goes for satisfying visibility standards by tracing all ingredients, where use of real-time data instead of paper processes would yield greater inventory visibility and traceability.

Sustaining growth: Cameron’s saw much growth in the last few years. eCommerce grew particularly fast during the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, Cameron’s was purchased by a larger Colombian company, which also increased the scale of their operations.

 

Using a WMS

 

Cameron’s Coffee turned to Generix to automate their processes and implemented WMS Solochain.

Managing growth: As a result of a 50% growth in demand, they had to enlarge their warehouse space by more than 25% between 2018 and 2020. Switching from paper-based processes to a WMS and automation made sure that Cameron’s could absorb all this growth without being overwhelmed by it. The implementation of the WMS also enabled them to do more with less: they did not have to increase the headcount of their finance department. They simply made it more efficient.

 

Attracting the New Generation of Warehouse Employees

 

Opting for the WMS solution also allowed smooth integration of the new processes with the warehouse employees as well as with those from finance. Employees prefer using tablets and computers to stacks of paper because they are polyvalent and interactive. It also relieves them from having to carry around a lot of material such as pens, notepads, and clipboards and all while operating warehouse equipment such as forklifts. The tablet replaces all those objects and are easy to carry.

To maximize efficiency, the system also needs to be user-friendly. The employees from Cameron’s Specialty Coffee reported that they adjusted quickly and easily to their new tool. Learning the ways of the warehouse was also made easier on new employees since processes are clearer in the WMS display than learning every corner of the warehouse by heart.

Warehouse automation also made work easier for people in the finance team since they could easily understand all the warehouse workflows and processes. Gone are the times of having to read people’s handwriting on sheets of paper.

In the end, automating the processes by making everyone’s job easier, eliminated most errors, whether they be found in the production chain, inventory count, or in shipping.

 

Optimized Processes

 

Thanks to the visibility offered by the WMS, Cameron’s Coffee is now able to reduce waste in its production chain by repurposing coffee beans. For example, if by mistake a batch is over-roasted, it can be easily re-routed to be utilized in the production of a darker roast. The WMS helps ensure that the correct type of bean and roasting degree is respected.

Amy Fitzgerald spoke to us about the implementation process and how enthusiastic the end-users were about switching to a more automated process: “Everyone likes to use electronics, it’s just exciting”, she said. The switch to high tech was also welcomed by end-users since it provided more accuracy for their tasks, leading them directly to locations and preventing errors. This made everyone’s day brighter.

Cameron’s Specialty Coffee had goal-specific challenges which were solved by streamlining processes and optimizing their warehousing operations and production by implementing the WMS and MES.

Generix Group North America provides a series of solutions within our Supply Chain Hub product suite to create efficiencies across an entire supply chain. From Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Transportation Management Systems (TMS) to Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), such platforms can deliver a wide range of benefits that ultimately flow to the warehouse operator’s bottom line. Our solutions are in use around the world and our experience is second-to-none. We invite you to contact us to learn more. 

warehouse
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

5 KEY FACTORS TO IMPROVE WAREHOUSE WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

Leave a comment

The global e-commerce industry could grow up to $2.7 trillion by the end of 2021. Jobs must be filled, and warehouse operations will likely accelerate at an unprecedented pace. Yes, robotics and automation technology can improve the efficiency of the workforce, but the people working in these warehouses still represent the backbone of the industry. 

The five factors that follow are vitally important if you wish to improve your management scheme and enhance morale in the workplace. Do not be afraid to make changes—even if you manage a “well-oiled” machine. Society is changing by the second, and making progress at work requires a few changes from time to time.

Focus on Employee Engagement and Retention

Given the recent boom in demand for warehousing, attracting and retaining talent has become increasingly more difficult. What’s more, this comes down to a lot more factors than simply salary and benefits.  

The more intangible factors include recognition, personal development and opportunities. Or in other words, engagement. An emerging trend in this field is the gamification of warehouse work. Similar to fitness tracker apps, these digital platforms have goals and milestones for employees to achieve. Once achieved, they’re rewarded with both virtual recognition, such as topping a leader board or gaining badges, as well as more tangible perks such as reserved parking spaces and gift cards. 

The idea is to provide positive reinforcement to workers, so instead of doing the minimum required for their paycheck, they go the extra mile and earn lots of small perks along the way.

Aside from the more fun and inventive engagement tactics such as gamification, managers shouldn’t forget the basics. Being present on the warehouse floor for a portion of each shift pattern, and taking a bit of time to check in with staff, is still one of the best ways to build rapport. This also helps nip in the bud any issues that workers may have, before potentially becoming a bigger problem. 

Forming Strategic Partnerships with Staffing Agencies

As warehousing demands continue to increase and seasonality continues to drive peaks, forming strategic partnerships with staffing agencies is becoming more crucial. A good agency that you have a long-term and trusted relationship with can be relied upon to provide quality hires as you ramp up to manage increases in order cycles. 

The more agencies you partner with, the more you’re spreading your risk. Think about an extreme but possible staffing scenario, where order volumes spike to the near physical capacity of the facility. How many additional hires would you need to manage this? How many hires could each of the staffing agencies you partner with be able to provide within a few weeks to a few months? 

This is also where building strategic relationships with the staffing agencies you work with are crucial, so you have confidence that they’ll prioritize your needs above other operators that are also trying to staff for seasonal peaks. 

When it comes to striking the optimal balance between permanent, directly employed workers, and agency temps, the 80/20 rule is a good one to work to. This ensures that the majority of the workforce are committed permanent members of staff “in it for the long haul,” while the remaining 20 percent allows you to easily scale up or down with seasonality. 

Implement COVID-19 Screening and Security

With all warehouse operators having spent the past 12 months getting their premises COVID-19 secure, now is a great time to think about your screening regimen and any improvements you should make.

A debate you may be having right now is what the best type of screening process is for your operations, especially seeing as experts expect COVID-19 to continue having an impact on our daily lives for the whole of 2022.  

There are two broad options available here: symptom screening or virus testing. Symptom screening is the far more affordable option compared to testing and has the least impact on your employee scheduling. App-based screening platforms enable employees to self-screen for symptoms before they leave their homes for the start of each shift. This can also be supplemented by temperature checks on arrival. 

Virus testing, on the other hand, will detect asymptomatic cases and early infections, but the costs can be prohibitive for many warehouse operators. And of course, you need to plan regular testing around shift patterns and consider what the pay implications are of asking employees to report to work 30 minutes before their shift starts to receive an on-site rapid test.

It’s little surprise then that screening employees for COVID-19 symptoms is a more practical solution for many warehouse operators, who are looking for a cost-effective way to protect staff while also lowering a business’s risk of litigation and, potentially, its insurance premiums.  

Reassess Demand and Reoptimize Processes 

Demand for specific goods has shifted enormously over the past 12 months, which has had a big impact on warehouse product velocity. So, the products that were moved most frequently in the recent past may no longer be the case. Therefore, operators need to ensure they’re regularly reassessing their velocity slotting, at a much greater frequency than perhaps they were pre-pandemic, given how volatile demand has been for certain products since. 

As demand levels shift, distribution centers must become a lot more agile, quickly reassigning priority shelving and circulation flows, and relaying this information to employees as part of the process. Employees will then have an easier job on their hands hitting targets if products are being more frequently reassigned to shelving based on up-to-date movement flows.  

Invest in Enhanced Labor Management Systems

With the high demand for warehouse staff pushing up wages, especially with the likes of Amazon paying above average and inflating wages in the areas where they’re based, cost savings will become more crucial than ever throughout 2021. To this end, many operators are focusing on enhanced labor management systems (LMS) to deliver much of these savings.

With the ethos shifting from using these systems to identify underperformers, to instead uncover ways to optimize the workforce, an intelligently deployed LMS can help distribution centers to achieve more with less.

A big focus now with LMS is measuring and comparing the performance metrics across different facilities within the same organization. A few years ago, this would have been prohibitively expensive for many, but thanks to cloud computing and SaaS pay-as-you-go models, this is now easily affordable. And once you can measure something, you can improve it, such as focusing efforts on underperforming facilities.  

But of course, it’s not just at the macro level that LMS are increasingly being used to measure performance; the focus is also on the level of the employee. AI is helping managers to demand forecast in real-time better than ever before, based on pick counts and other KPIs during each shift. So, 2021 could be the year that we start to see fewer managers moving staff around on the fly and instead begin to rely on predictive modeling.    

Ultimately, the past 12 months were focused on survival and rapid-adaption for many businesses. Now we’ve made it through the tough part, it’s time to take a pause, take stock, reassess processes, and then begin optimizing for the new normal. And focusing much of that attention on workforce management improvements is a great investment for any distribution center.

________________________________________________________________

Adam Day is president & CEO of Time Rack, a time & attendance, payroll integration, and HR SaaS platform that provides warehouse time & attendance systems and HR administration services that create work-life harmony. Visit timerack.com to learn more.

garlic
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Global Garlic Imports Surged But Record Chinese Exports Curb Price Growth

Leave a comment

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Garlic – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Global garlic imports rose by 13% to 2.5M tonnes in 2020, boosted by the increased popularity of home cooking and a widespread reputation that the product helps to strengthen immunity. Indonesia remains the largest global importer, followed by Viet Nam and Malaysia. China dominates global garlic exports, supplying 89% of the total volume. Chinese manufacturers managed to ramp up exports which led to a drop in prices. 

Global Garlic Imports

In 2020, approx. 2.5M tonnes of garlic were imported worldwide; increasing by 13% compared with the previous year. The total import volume increased at an average annual rate of +5.5% from 2012 to 2020. In value terms, garlic imports totaled $3B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

In 2020, Indonesia (624K tonnes), distantly followed by Viet Nam (254K tonnes), Malaysia (118K tonnes) and Brazil (118K tonnes) represented the major importers of garlic, together making up 44% of total imports. The following importers – Bangladesh (103K tonnes), the U.S. (102K tonnes), Pakistan (101K tonnes), the Philippines (87K tonnes), the United Arab Emirates (70K tonnes), Russia (59K tonnes), Saudi Arabia (53K tonnes), the Netherlands (46K tonnes) and the UK (41K tonnes) – together made up 26% of total imports.

In value terms, Indonesia ($460M), Viet Nam ($305M) and the U.S. ($235M) appeared to be the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2020, with a combined 33% share of global imports. Brazil, Malaysia, Pakistan, the UK, the Netherlands, Russia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 27%.

Pakistan saw the highest growth rate of the value of imports, in terms of the main importing countries over the period under review, while purchases for the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

China dominates the global exports, supplying 89% of the total volume. Chinese garlic supplies hit record highs of near $2B which provides a solid base for the global surge in demand. The Indonesian market for imported garlic is almost entirely met by supplies from China.

The average garlic import price stood at $1,185 per tonne in 2020, falling by -7.1% against the previous year. From 2012 to 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by the U.S., while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Platform

Frozen Crustaceans
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Spain, France and Italy Comprise Over a Half of $4.6B European Frozen Crustacean Imports

Leave a comment

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘EU – Frozen Crustaceans – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The pandemic-related restrictions insignificantly affected the EU trade of frozen crustaceans. In 2020, imports in the EU countries decreased by -6% y-o-y to $4.6B due to supply chain disruptions and limitations of the HoReCa segment. Spain, France and Italy remain the largest importers of frozen crustaceans in the EU, with a combined share of over 50% of the total value. Germany, Netherlands and France increased their imports in 2020, while most other importers experienced slight declines in supplies. 

Frozen Crustaceans Imports in the EU

In 2020, frozen crustaceans imports in the European Union reduced to 601K tonnes, which is down by -2.7% on the year before. In value terms, frozen crustaceans imports dropped to $4.6B in 2020 (IndexBox estimates).

The countries with the highest levels of frozen crustaceans imports in 2020 were Spain (163K tonnes), France (112K tonnes) and Italy (80K tonnes), together amounting to 59% of total import. The Netherlands (53K tonnes) ranks next in terms of total imports with an 8.8% share, followed by Denmark (8.8%) and Germany (6.8%). Belgium (25K tonnes) held a relatively small share of total imports.

In 2020, Germany (+10.7% y-o-y), Netherlands (+6.6% y-o-y) and France (+5.2% y-o-y) increased their imports, while in most other countries they experienced a negative dynamic.

Over the period from 2012 to 2020, the biggest increases were in the Netherlands, while purchases for the other leaders experienced a decline in the imports figures.

In value terms, Spain ($1.1B), France ($907M) and Italy ($578M) were the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2020, together accounting for 57% of total imports. The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Belgium lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 31%.

The frozen crustaceans import price in the European Union stood at $7,653 per tonne in 2020, falling by -2.6% against the previous year. Over the period from 2012 to 2020, it increased at an average annual rate of +1.0%.

There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2020, the country with the highest price was Germany ($9,845 per tonne), while Denmark ($5,919 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

Source: IndexBox Platform

global buckwheat
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Russian Export Ban Could Lead to a Shortage on the Global Buckwheat Market

Leave a comment

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Buckwheat – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

In the immediate term, the global buckwheat market may face a shortage due to an export ban introduced in Russia. The country, being the largest producer and exporter of buckwheat, restricted exporting unprocessed buckwheat, coarsely ground buckwheat groats, and crushed buckwheat grain from June 5, 2021, to August 31. Russia took this step to preserve the volumes of the buckwheat grain for its domestic consumption and prevent a spike in prices inside the country. China, Latvia and Ukraine featured the most prominent increases in imports from Russia in 2021. 

Global Buckwheat Imports

In 2020, overseas purchases of buckwheat decreased by -4.4% to 174K tonnes, falling for the second year in a row after two years of growth. In general, total imports indicated notable growth from 2012 to 2020: its volume increased at an average annual rate of +4.5% over the last eight years. In value terms, buckwheat imports skyrocketed to $112M in 2020.

In 2020, Ukraine (32K tonnes) and Japan (32K tonnes) represented the largest importers of buckwheat in the world, together recording approx. 37% of total imports.

In value terms, Japan ($23M), Ukraine ($15M) and Italy ($8.4M) were the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2020, together accounting for 41% of global imports.

In 2020, the average buckwheat import price amounted to $640 per tonne, growing by 23% against the previous year. There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2020, the country with the highest price was the U.S. ($929 per tonne), while Lithuania ($309 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

Buckwheat Exports from Russia

In 2020, shipments abroad of buckwheat decreased by -8.1% to 59K tonnes, falling for the second consecutive year after two years of growth. In value terms, buckwheat exports surged to $29M in 2020.

Ukraine (16K tonnes), Latvia (12K tonnes) and China (6.8K tonnes) were the main destinations of buckwheat exports from Russia, together comprising 58% of total exports.

In value terms, Latvia ($6.9M), Ukraine ($6.3M) and Japan ($3.7M) appeared to be the largest markets for buckwheat exported from Russia worldwide, with a combined 59% share of total exports.

The average buckwheat export price stood at $489 per tonne in 2020, picking up by 67% against the previous year.

Source: IndexBox Platform

banana
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Despite Record Exports from Ecuador, Banana Prices Continue to Rise on Robust Demand

Leave a comment

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Bananas – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The demand for bananas remained robust amidst the pandemic. Despite record exports from Ecuador, which remains the world’s largest banana supplier, prices in the largest import markets are rising due to strong demand and local COVID-related imbalances in supply chains. Driven by the growing population, the global banana market could reach 143M tonnes by 2030. The increasing epidemic of the TR4 fungus could reduce the growth potential and accelerate the rise in prices.

Key Trends and Insights

Bananas confidently retain their position as the most sought-after fruit in the world. Consumption in 2020 reached 124M tonnes, which is 6% more than the previous year. The increase in demand for bananas in the context of a growing world population will stimulate a market expansion of up to 143M tonnes by 2030.

During the pandemic, demand for bananas remained high in most countries. According to Eurostat, imports to EU countries rose by 5.6% y-o-y in 2020. Banana imports to the U.S. remained at the same level of the previous year (4.7M tonnes), while imports to China fell by 10% to 1.7M tonnes. Despite this, product consumption in China increased by 2.4% amid an increase in domestic production by 3.4% and a decrease in exports by 38.7%.

Strong demand amid supply chain disruptions during a period of tight constraints led to price increases in 2020 that varied from country to country. Bananas have gone up in price most significantly in Russia. In the first quarter of 2021, prices increased by one and a half times more compared to the previous year due to a combination of factors of stable demand within the country, a weakening of the ruble and a local shortage of supplies from Ecuador. The average annual banana price in the EU rose from $0.88 per kg in 2019 to $0.90 per kg in 2020, and in the U.S. it went from $1.14 per kg in 2019 to $1.22 per kg in 2020.

Ecuador remains the world’s largest banana supplier, accounting for 18.4% of the global export market. Despite labor shortages during a period of tight constraints and disruption to supply chains, the country increased banana exports by 7% y-o-y in 2020, driven by increased U.S. shipments and increased production from expanding acreage.

The threat to the global banana market comes not only from the COVID-19 pandemic, but also from the growing epidemic of the TR4 fungus that affects banana plantations. This blight has been known for a long time, but recently, it has been rapidly spreading to new regions. This creates the risk of a banana shortage in the world market and acceleration of rising prices. The market for organic bananas may be particularly affected, as crop protection chemicals are not permitted in their cultivation. In order to solve the problem, new genetically modified varieties and new means of their protection are being developed, which will lead to a restructuring of the value chains in the banana industry.

Global Banana Production

For the fourth year in a row, the global market recorded growth in production of bananas, which increased by 2% to 120M tonnes in 2020. The total output volume increased at an average annual rate of +1.2% from 2012 to 2020. In value terms, banana production rose remarkably to $78.3B in 2020 estimated in export prices.

India (31M tonnes) remains the largest banana producing country worldwide, accounting for 26% of total volume. Moreover, banana production in India exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest producer, China (12M tonnes), threefold. Indonesia (7.5M tonnes) ranked third in terms of total production with a 6.2% share.

From 2012 to 2020, the average annual rate of growth in terms of volume in India totaled +2.0%. The remaining producing countries recorded the following average annual rates of production growth: China (+0.5% per year) and Indonesia (+2.4% per year).

Global Banana Imports

In 2020, the volume of bananas imported worldwide rose sharply to 23M tonnes, with an increase of 7.1% against 2019. The total import volume increased at an average annual rate of +4.5% over the period from 2012 to 2020. In value terms, banana imports amounted to $15.3B in 2020.

In 2020, the U.S. (4.7M tonnes), distantly followed by China (1.7M tonnes), Russia (1.6M tonnes), Germany (1.3M tonnes) and Japan (1.1M tonnes) were the key importers of bananas, together committing 45% of total imports. The following importers – the Netherlands (1,008K tonnes), the UK (978K tonnes), Italy (782K tonnes), France (700K tonnes), Belgium (676K tonnes), Canada (591K tonnes), Poland (559K tonnes) and Argentina (439K tonnes) – together made up 25% of total imports.

In value terms, the U.S. ($2.5B) constitutes the largest market for imported bananas worldwide, comprising 17% of global imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Russia ($1.2B), with a 7.5% share of global imports.

Source: IndexBox Platform

ginger market
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

India Clashes with China in the Global Ginger Export Market

Leave a comment

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Ginger – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

In the wake of the pandemic, the ginger market has accelerated its growth as demand for foods with a reputation for immunity system health has soared to unprecedented heights. India, which almost tripled its export of ginger in 2020, may become a serious competitor to the main global supplier – China. The majority of the developed countries have increased the volume of imports, which, in the context of Covid restrictions and a shortage of container traffic, has led to an increase in prices for the product.

Key Trends and Insights

The pandemic contributed to the growth of the global ginger market of 2020 by 7.6% y-o-y to 4.5M tonnes. The increased focus on foods with a reputation for benefits to the immune system during the Covid-19 epidemic, as well as the rise in the popularity of Asian foodstuffs and condiments in Western countries, have been the main drivers for the increased demand for ginger.

China, with a volume of supplies of 578K tonnes, traditionally remains the world’s largest exporter of ginger, but in 2020 the country met swiftly growing competition from India, which tripled its exports to 102K tonnes. India is a leader in the production of ginger with a 45% share of the world output, which gives it every chance to seriously press China and other countries in the export market.

Ginger imports to Europe are growing rapidly amid the pandemic. In 2020, 197K tonnes were imported to the region, which is 13% more than the previous year. The leading European importer is the Netherlands, which accounts for 40% of total imports to the former European Union, with the volume of 79K tonnes, followed by the UK (15% or 29K tonnes) and Germany (14% or 28K tonnes). China remains the largest supplier to European countries, but due to the high EU requirements for quality, suppliers of organic ginger from Peru and Brazil are gaining an increasing share of this market.

The lack of containers and the high cost of shipping ginger in the global market remain key challenges at the moment. The rise in logistics costs led to an increase in the average world import price from $1.2 per kg in 2019 to $1.5 per kg in 2020. Additionally, the structure of the international supply of the product has changed – the volume of exported fresh ginger has slightly decreased, while the amount of dried and frozen ginger has grown.

Increased demand for ginger from a growing population should act as the main driver for the market, which is expected to reach 6.6M tonnes by 2030. Soft drinks and syrups containing ginger have become increasingly popular, which should further stimulate market growth.

Global Ginger Consumption

The global ginger market surged to $7.3B in 2020, with an increase of 19% against the previous year. This figure reflects the total revenues of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers’ margins, which will be included in the final consumer price). Over the period under review, the total consumption indicated a buoyant increase from 2012 to 2020: its value increased at an average annual rate of +7.3% over the last eight years.

India (1.9M tonnes) remains the largest ginger-consuming country worldwide, accounting for 43% of total volume. Moreover, ginger consumption in India exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, Nigeria (762K tonnes), threefold. The third position in this ranking was occupied by Nepal (307K tonnes), with a 6.9% share.

In India, ginger consumption expanded at an average annual rate of +11.9% over the period from 2012-2020. The remaining consuming countries recorded the following average annual rates of consumption growth: Nigeria (+9.4% per year) and Nepal (+2.9% per year).

In value terms, India ($3.4B) led the market, alone. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Nigeria ($1.4B). It was followed by Indonesia.

Global Ginger Exports

In 2020, global ginger exports rose notably to 918K tonnes, with an increase of 11% against the year before. In general, total exports indicated resilient growth from 2012 to 2020: its volume increased at an average annual rate of +7.1% over the last eight-year period. In value terms, ginger exports skyrocketed to $1.3B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

China was the largest exporter of ginger in the world, with the volume of exports amounting to 578K tonnes, which was near 63% of total exports in 2020. It was distantly followed by India (102K tonnes), the Netherlands (62K tonnes) and Thailand (48K tonnes), together making up a 23% share of total exports. Brazil (32K tonnes), Peru (26K tonnes) and Nigeria (18K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.

In value terms, China ($719M) remains the largest ginger supplier worldwide, comprising 56% of global exports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by the Netherlands ($156M), with a 12% share of global exports. It was followed by India, with a 7.5% share.

Source: IndexBox Platform