Milling Journal - Q2 2008 - (Page 25) Staying Cautious “While wheat growers have a greater sense of urgency, bakers, as always, are being cautious and asking questions,” said Lee Sanders, American Bakers Association senior vice president of government relations and public affairs. “We need to watch out for our brand integrity,” Sanders said. “And we need to know more about what consumers are thinking.” Sanders said that at the same time, bakers did not anticipate what has played out this year in wheat markets. “Our emphasis is on the consumers’ preferences and giving consumers the options they desire,” Sanders said. Horizon Milling Expanding in Stockton, CA Cargill’s Horizon Milling in April began expanding its flour mill in Stockton, CA. The expansion involves equipment additions within the mill’s existing footprint and will increase wheat flour capacity from 11,500 cwt per day to 15,000 cwt per day. Expansion is expected to be complete in three months. “We are expanding in California because flour demand there is growing,” said Horizon Milling President Guy Shoemaker. “At the same time,” Shoemaker said, “there are other parts of the country where capacity utilization is depressed, and we expect to reduce capacity in at least one of those areas. In the end, our overall capacity of 296,300 cwts of daily milling capacity is not expected to rise.” “I can imagine a future in which the consumer has three options for baked foods: traditional, organic, and biotech.” Lee Sanders, SVP American Bakers Association “I can imagine a future in which the consumer has three options for baked foods: traditional, organic, and biotech.” Progress Ahead No public announcements were forthcoming at the conclusion of the Biotech Working Group’s meeting in Kansas City. “The subject of genetically modified wheat continues to be a discussion in progress and there were no solid outcomes or group statements coming out of the meeting in Kansas City,” Faga said. “We discussed the challenges that each sector faces and set forth some actions that will help to consider these challenges in a thoughtful way,” said Faga. “The group will come back together in August or September to review progress on those actions.” Frank Zaworski, editor Response No. 251 MILLING JOURNAL Second Quarter 2008 25 http://www.perten.com http://www.perten.com http://www.perten.com
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