Hurricane Irene Causes Damage to Cotton Crop; Drives Futures Prices Up

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, US farmers have begun to survey the extensive damage inflicted on their crops. Farms in one state, North Carolina, are now reporting significant damage to many of their harvests, including the all-important cotton crop. North Carolina is the United States' fourth-largest cotton grower, but after Hurricane Irene the state is now facing devastatingly low numbers of the popular product as well as a loss in profits.

North Carolina is not the only place struggling with the cotton crop this year. Pakistan, the world's fourth-largest cotton producer is also experiencing a significant decrease in the cotton crop due to excessive rain and flooding. Their output of cotton has decreased by more than 8 percent. As to be expected, the combination of both of these events has caused the price of cotton to rapidly increase.

Despite these supply issues, Fornazor International remains a leading exporter of US cottonseed to the world market. Demand for the commodity as an animal feed ingredient remains high, as dairy farmers have found whole cottonseed to be an excellent source of energy, protein, and fiber in cattle rations. Our strong relationships with domestic suppliers allow us to source cottonseed of the highest quality.

Fornazor at the Fancy Food Show, Washington DC

The Fornazor specialty food team just returned from the calorie- filled, Fancy Food Show in Washington DC.. If you can think of a food, we probably tasted it. With over 180,000 products from 80 countries around the world, there was more than enough to keep us busy.

This show attracts people from around the globe because in a global economy, more and more people travel and enjoy exploring new cuisines. Even homes in remote countries see televised cooking shows over rooftop-mounted satellite dishes, and local foods have become internationally famous.

We observed many trends:

Better-for-you (healthy) foods continue to be strong, with more and more new products. This includes foods in the natural and organic categories, as well as offerings like fruit/nut/ protein snack bars and vitamin- and nutrient-enhanced treats. Smaller portion packs are also popular important, as they limit the amount of calories when consuming treats.

Natural sodas continue to grow, with Mintel Marketing Intelligence Group predicting sales of $4.1 billion in 2012.

During the past few years, yogurt has become #1 in the snack category, with growth in specialty yogurts, and yogurt-based drinks.

On the snack front, 3,805 products rolled out since 2010: 786 cookies, 550 cereal bars, 526 potato chips, 308 nuts and seeds, 259 crackers, 237 popcorn products and 1,139 other snacks (pretzels, tortilla chips, puffed snacks, fruit snacks, meat snacks, etc.).
Across the board, popular specialty food flavors are coconut, licorice, caramel, peach, banana and watermelon.

When it comes to product sourcing, Fornazor has over thirty years’ experience working with foreign buyers. We trade with businesses on all seven continents. Let us provide you with the information you need in the specialty food market: basics, trends,and everything in between.

We offer our suppliers (who may be new to international trade) a full service package: guidance for all export documentation; handling and shipping; and a guarantee of payment by taking full title to the goods prior to shipment.

We look forward to working with you.

VIV Asia 2011: A Rewarding Experience

As the calendar turned to a new year, the focus of Fornazor’s marketing and sales teams zeroed in on Bangkok, Thailand, as VIV Asia was set to begin. Held every-other-year during the month of March, VIV Asia is Asia’s largest livestock technology exhibition. Showcasing world-class technology to Thailand and Asia’s livestock industry, this convention featured 650 companies and offered the latest livestock technology and solutions to 22,000 industry professionals from 94 countries.

With our role as an International leader in the export of feed ingredients and animal proteins, Fornazor saw this conference as an opportunity to not only share our vision to continue relationships with our current business partners but to also establish new associations and business connections with agri-business partners world wide.

Since 1979, Fornazor has led the way with our commitment to quality and innovation. Building on that core business philosophy, Fornazor’s participation in this year’s VIV Asia meshed perfectly with the exhibition’s main themes: consumer demand for healthier foods, extending the shelf life of fresh and safe meat products, and the trend towards systems that cover the entire food supply chain from production to finished products.

Being able to share our knowledge and experience at this years VIV Asia was a rewarding experience for everyone at Fornazor, and we are already looking forward to 2013’s exhibition.