The civil decision wraps four years of litigation, after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged the two CPG companies with noncompetitive trading and inflating wheat futures.
Maple Leaf Foods recorded slightly lower bakery sales for the third quarter but its CEO said there were signs of improvement to the challenging bread market.
Low coffee demands, surplus cocoa stocks, rising sugar prices and a geographical shift in the wheat market, are just a few points raised by Euromonitor’s senior food analyst in its monthly GlobalCast.
A new report from the World Development Movement (WDM) links financial speculation to the rising cost of foods, and calls for effective regulation to curb banks betting on food prices in financial markets.
The global commodity market continues to worry confectionery and
sugar firms, as AB Foods profit is dented by sugar reforms, Nestle
combats costs with price hikes, and Cadbury may be ripe for
takeover.
Fonterra, New Zealand's largest dairy co-operative, predicted world
commodity prices would continue rebounding strongly over the next
few months as supply and demand tightened.