Milling & Baking News - August 2, 2016 - 17

BAKER GIVES
"STARTING FROM
SCRATCH"
A NEW MEANING

International

F.A.O. Food Price Index posts
biggest monthly jump in four years
ROME - International food commodity prices increased 4.2% in
June, the steepest monthly increase
of the past four years, according to
the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization.
The F.A.O. Food Price Index, released on July 7, averaged 163.4
points in June and is now 1% below the level reached a year
earlier. The June increase,
which affected all commodity categories except
vegetable oils, was the
fifth consecutive monthly
increase.
The price movement reflects the F.A.O.'s updating
of its cereal supply and demand
forecasts for the 2016-17 marketing
season.
The F.A.O.'s Food Price Index is a
trade-weighted index tracking international market prices for key traded
food groups.
The F.A.O. Cereal Price Index rose
2.9% in the month and is now 3.9% below its level of June 2015. Corn prices
drove the increase, primarily due to
tightening spot export supplies from
Brazil. Ample wheat supplies and reports of record yields in the United
States held down wheat prices.
The F.A.O.'s Cereal Supply and
Demand Brief, also released July

7, pointed to improved production
prospects primarily for wheat.
Global wheat production now is
pegged at 732 million tonnes, more
than 1% higher than anticipated in
June, mainly due to improved prospects in the E.U., Russia and the
United States, as a result of better
weather conditions.
The forecast for world corn
production in 2016 was,
however, cut down as prospects for the second crop
in Brazil have dimmed
and as reduced government support in China led
to lower planting. Overall coarse grain production
for this year now is expected
to be 1,316 million tonnes, approximately 0.6% lower than last month's
forecast.
World total cereal utilization in the
2016-17 marketing year, meanwhile,
now is projected at 2,555 million
tonnes, 1.3% higher than the estimate for 2015-16.
As a result, global cereal stocks by
the end of the farming season in 2017
are expected to stand at 635 million
tonnes, 1.5% below their opening
level. The resulting world stocks-touse ratio for cereals would stand at
24.2% in 2016-17, compared with the
2007-08 historical low of 20.5%. MBN

Ebro Foods acquires stake in Spanish
flour and ingredients company
MADRID, SPAIN - Ebro Foods S.A.
has agreed to buy 52% of Santa Rita
Harinas for €4.8 million ($5.3 million).
Based in Guadalajara, Spain, Santa Rita
Harinas makes flours, breadcrumbs
and mixes for cooking, and also specializes in premium ingredients and flours.
Founded in 1982, Santa
Rita operates a manufacturing plant in Loranca de Tajuña (a municipality in Guadalajara) that employs 15.
"This purchase demonstrates Ebro Foods' interest
in investing in the Spanish
food industry, in companies proving a high growth
potential," Ebro Foods said. "This acquisition also opens the door for Ebro
Foods into the flour and premium
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

ingredients retail business and will
enable the group to create and take
advantage of commercial, logistics,
industrial and R.&D. synergies, while
at the same time opening up this company to international trade through
the commercial network of
the Ebro Foods subsidiaries overseas."
Ebro operates in the
United States through
three primary businesses:
American Rice, Inc., Riviana Foods and New World
Pasta Co. Globally, the company is a leader in the rice
business with operations in
25 countries in Europe, Asia,
North America and Africa. The company's annual sales in 2015 totaled
€2,462 million. MBN

ndependent baker Fred Piechocki
comes from a proud family of
bakers. However, during the Great
Depression, his grandfather, Stanley,
and father, Edward, lost their bakery.
As a result, this third generation
baker had no recipes or business to
carry on.
So what did Fred do? He started his
bakery from scratch. In 1979, Fred
opened The Cakery Bakery in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ten
years later, he moved to Warrington,
Pennsylvania, where he and longtime friend, Henry Stoughton,
opened the Warrington Pastry Shop.
Fred describes his business as a
European style, traditional bakery
where products are baked from
scratch every day.
Best known for the 60 to 100 decorated cakes it produces a week,
Warrington Pastry Shop also turns
out 10 to 15 wedding cakes a weekend during prime wedding season.
It is also well known for Danish,
regular cakes, cupcakes, butter cakes,
cinnamon buns and donuts.
"My greatest accomplishment is to
consistently produce a high-quality
product," said Fred. International®
Bakers Services has played a key role
in maintaining this quality.
"When I started out, I received a
sample of International® Bakers
Services B&V® and I have used IBS
flavors ever since," Fred recalled.
His bakery also uses chocolate,
banana, rum, coconut and hazelnut
flavors. "I am very happy with IBS
products," Fred stated. "They are
easy to use, very consistent and
economical. Most importantly, the
flavors hold up."
"Using ingredients that will keep
product quality high will make you
proud to be an independent baker,"
Fred advised. If you value consistent
quality, you should get to know
International® Bakers Services.
Contact us toll-free at (800) 3457175, by fax at (574) 287-7161, or in
writing at 1902 North Sheridan Ave.,
South Bend, Indiana 46628. We have
the flavors your customers deserve.
Milling & Baking News XAugust 2, 2016 / 17

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Milling & Baking News - August 2, 2016

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