http://www.commodityseasonals.com/oj_futures_1.htmQuoteOverviewAlmost all of the Orange Juice sold at the retail level is a processed, pasteurized product. The three principle forms of juice are reconstituted single strength juice, juice not from concentrate, and frozen concentrated juice. Reconstituted single strength juice is typically reconstituted by the packager and sold as a ready to serve product either in chilled form or in aseptic form sold in bottles or cartons without the need of refrigeration. Not from concentrate juice has been processed and pasteurized without the removal of the water content from the juice. Frozen concentrated juice has been partially reconstituted by the packager and must be defrosted and fully reconstituted by the consumer. It is the frozen concentrated Orange Juice that is traded as a commodity.Once the orange crop is harvested, it is loaded into a truck and sent to a centrally located fruit receiving plant. At the plant a sample is taken and measured for various criteria such as size, concentration (brix), acidity, and sugar content. Shipments of suitable quality are unloaded into silos. The fruit is typically stored in the silos for a period not exceeding 12 hours before it is washed with hot water to remove dirt and then disinfected with chlorinated water. After washing it is sent down a conveyor belt where unfit fruit is manually removed. The fruit then goes to extractors, which is specifically designed equipment that punctures a hole at the bottom of the orange before squeezing it, forcing the juice and pulp down into a pipe. The juice coming from the extractor is sent through a finishing process to remove the larger fragments of pulp, seed, and peel before concentration. Concentration is achieved by heating the juice to 203 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 seconds (to pasteurize), then a vacuum is applied to evaporate the water without need for high temperatures, thus preserving the nutritional and taste qualities of the juice. After concentrating, the temperature of the juice is lowered in cooling tanks while the juice is homogenized and aromas are added back in. The juice then is pumped through heat exchangers that lower the temperature to 14 degrees Fahrenheit and stored in either double plastic bag lined 55 gallon barrels (small packers) or large 30 ton tanker trucks (large packers, such as Louis Dreyfus) for distribution.something in April.QuoteHave Orange Juice futures finally found a bottom? May Orange Juice futures gained nearly 10% this week, on speculation that drought conditions in Florida could damper yields.As you can see, OJ has been in free fall over the past 14 months, dropping roughly in half from peak to trough.via : http://commoditybullmarket.blogspot.com/2009/04/time-to-invest-in-orange-juice-weekly.html[tags] FCOJ BRIXFCOJ : Frozen Concentrated Orange JuiceBRIX : Degrees Brix (symbol °Bx) is a measurement of the dissolved sugar-to-water mass ratio of a liquid.
OverviewAlmost all of the Orange Juice sold at the retail level is a processed, pasteurized product. The three principle forms of juice are reconstituted single strength juice, juice not from concentrate, and frozen concentrated juice. Reconstituted single strength juice is typically reconstituted by the packager and sold as a ready to serve product either in chilled form or in aseptic form sold in bottles or cartons without the need of refrigeration. Not from concentrate juice has been processed and pasteurized without the removal of the water content from the juice. Frozen concentrated juice has been partially reconstituted by the packager and must be defrosted and fully reconstituted by the consumer. It is the frozen concentrated Orange Juice that is traded as a commodity.Once the orange crop is harvested, it is loaded into a truck and sent to a centrally located fruit receiving plant. At the plant a sample is taken and measured for various criteria such as size, concentration (brix), acidity, and sugar content. Shipments of suitable quality are unloaded into silos. The fruit is typically stored in the silos for a period not exceeding 12 hours before it is washed with hot water to remove dirt and then disinfected with chlorinated water. After washing it is sent down a conveyor belt where unfit fruit is manually removed. The fruit then goes to extractors, which is specifically designed equipment that punctures a hole at the bottom of the orange before squeezing it, forcing the juice and pulp down into a pipe. The juice coming from the extractor is sent through a finishing process to remove the larger fragments of pulp, seed, and peel before concentration. Concentration is achieved by heating the juice to 203 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 seconds (to pasteurize), then a vacuum is applied to evaporate the water without need for high temperatures, thus preserving the nutritional and taste qualities of the juice. After concentrating, the temperature of the juice is lowered in cooling tanks while the juice is homogenized and aromas are added back in. The juice then is pumped through heat exchangers that lower the temperature to 14 degrees Fahrenheit and stored in either double plastic bag lined 55 gallon barrels (small packers) or large 30 ton tanker trucks (large packers, such as Louis Dreyfus) for distribution.
Have Orange Juice futures finally found a bottom? May Orange Juice futures gained nearly 10% this week, on speculation that drought conditions in Florida could damper yields.As you can see, OJ has been in free fall over the past 14 months, dropping roughly in half from peak to trough.
Biggest wheat glut in 8 yrs - may bring prices down 8.6% by July13 Apr 2010, 0127 hrs ,BloombergCHICAGO: The world will have so much wheat this year that the US farmers could leave every acre unplanted and still have a surplus, a sign of more losses after futures had their worst first quarter in 15 years.A 34% jump in the combined harvests of Australia and Russia over two years is creating the biggest wheat glut since 2002, even as American growers sow the fewest acres in 39 years and the US Department of Agriculture raises its estimate of world output each month since June. Analysts surveyed expect an 8.6% price drop by July.Two years after prices doubled, sparking food riots from Haiti to Indonesia, the US, Canada and Russia are battling for export markets. The 14% drop in the first quarter means lower costs for Premier Foods, the UK maker of Hovis breads, and slower growth for grain processors including Archer Daniels Midland.“It’s a mammoth surplus and we have to get rid of it before prices have any hope of rallying,” said Bill Gary, the president of Commodity Information Systems in Oklahoma City.Gary, who began trading grain in 1961, predicts $4 a bushel by August, a 17 percent decline. “If we have another financial crisis, which I don’t believe is likely to happen, we could see wheat prices fall to $3.50 a bushel.” Wheat futures for July delivery closed April 9 at $4.7925 in Chicago. Prices will fall to $4.38 by the end of July, according to the average of 15 estimates in a survey last week.US farmers, the biggest exporters, will see their share of the world market plunge to 19% this year, the lowest in at least five decades, down from 29% in 2008, government data show. Russia will supply 14%, up from 3% in 2004. Australia’s 12% share has almost doubled since drought damage two years ago.
Super typhoon hits Philippines, rice crop at riskBy Manny Mogato MANILA | Mon Oct 18, 2010 6:04am BST MANILA (Reuters) - Super typhoon Megi slammed into the northern Philippines shortly before noon on Monday, cutting off power, forcing airlines to cancel flights and putting the region's rice crop at risk. Megi, the 10th and strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, hit Isabela province at 4:25 a.m. British time and was heading west southwest across the north of the main island of Luzon with winds of 225 kph near the centre, forecasters said. "We expect it to weaken and slow down after slamming into the mountains," Mario Palafox, a senior forecaster told reporters, saying the typhoon's eye had shrank to about 50 km but is expected to bring more rain and stronger winds.Tropical Storm Risk (www.tropicalstormrisk.com) said Megi, known locally as Juan, was a category 5 super typhoon, the highest rating, with winds of more than 250 kph. Andrew Villacorta, regional executive director in the agriculture department, said Luzon's Cagayan valley accounted for 12 percent of national rice output, or about 1 million tonnes of unmilled rice, lower than earlier estimates from local officials. "Isabela and Cagayan are expected to be hit hard," Villacorta said. "Our estimates showed about 159,000 metric tonnes will be lost from Isabela. About 88,000 hectares will be affected. In Cagayan province, about 43,000 hectares will be affected. The estimated loss will be around 63,000 metric tonnes."He said just over one third of the crop had been harvested, while about 90 percent of the corn crop had been harvested. Last year, the country lost 1.3 million tonnes of paddy rice following three strong typhoons in September and October, prompting it to go to the market early to boost its rice stocks. "This could bring destruction to our crops," Val Perdido, a regional farm official, told reporters. "It's the peak of harvest season now. More than 230,000 hectares of rice fields are still in their reproductive and maturing stages," Agricultural production makes up a fifth of the Southeast Asian country's GDP.EVACUATIONSBenito Ramos, head of the national disaster agency, said in a radio interview more than 3,000 people had been evacuated in Cagayan. Officials have warned of rough seas, and the risk of flash flooding, storm surges and landslides. A change in direction of the typhoon saw the capital, Manila, placed on storm signal 1, the lowest level on the local typhoon alert scale, with the weather department saying there were risks of winds of up to 60 kph. Billboards in the city have been taken down as a precaution. President Benigno Aquino's cabinet held a meeting at an army base in Manila to review disaster preparations, although Aquino did not attend. Landslides blocked roads in Apayao province in Luzon while police said a farmer drowned in a swollen river in Cagayan province while pulling a water buffalo to safety. On Monday, Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga said the economy likely grew at a slower pace year-on-year in the third quarter from the previous three months, but growth over the course of 2010 could be above 5-6 percent.(Editing by John Mair and Sugita Katyal)
Price of rice to go up[SIZE="1"]Local rice importers estimate that the price of rice in Singapore may go up by 4%.[/SIZE]Don’t be surprised the next time you’re asked to pay much more when you ask for extra rice while dining out.Following the Yingluck Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai party win during the recent election, inflation may occur and drive up the global price of rice.Bloomberg interviewed major rice exporters and found that the new measures may cause the price of rice in Thailand to rise by 56% by the end of this year.Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s sister Yingluck had promised rice farmers to raise the current market price of rice by 63%, pushing it to 15,000 baht (S$595).Following her win, she is going forth with her promise, which will lead to an increase in rice prices in Thailand.Thai media estimates that the new policies to raise the minimum wage and rice prices for farmers may lead to an increase of rice export prices by sixfolds.Local rice importers estimate that the price of rice in Singapore may go up by 4%. They say they will do their best to maintain rice prices despite possible inflation of the Thai baht.Finance insiders observed that with the Thai government’s current stability, more foreign investors will be drawn to the country. The Thai baht may appreciate by 4%, making rice even more expensive.Source: Price of rice to go up - inSing.com
Sauce: OmyExpect to pay 10% more from next week for popular brands.Get ready to pay more for Thai rice next week as major rice importers here are raising the prices of about 10 brands here due to the flooding situation in Thailand, reported the Straits Times.These 10 brands—all premium—have a 40% share of the market here.According to the Thai Rice Exporters Association, the price of premium Thai grain, a global benchmark, has jumped from US$988 ($1,260) to US$1,130 per tonne in the past six months.E.K. Lim, operations manager of See Hoy Chan, a firm which supplies rice to supermarkets and provision shops say that after two years, his company can no longer absorb the price increases anymore.The firm brings in popular brands Heavenly, Golden Phoenix, Golden Tiger and two others will be increasing prices next week. After the price hike, a 5kg bag of Golden Phoenix brand, which costs $13.50-15 will see a $1 increase while 10kg bags, which cost $26-28, will cost $2 more.Another firm, Chye Choon Foods, which brings in the Peacock, Golden Prosperity and Golden Leaf brands will increase prices by 5-10% next month; while Topseller, which distributes Royal Umbrella, Golden Peony and Harmuni will charge up to 10% more by year end.Supermarkets, on the other hand-- NTUC FairPrice, Shop N Save, Giant, Prime and Sheng Siong—have no plans currently to increase the prices of their housebrands. Only Cold Storage has been told by suppliers to expect a price hike.Sauce: http://news.insing.com/tabloid/rice-prices-to-increase-due-to-thai-floods/id-b9d73e00
BLOOMBERG - 7 millions tonne of rice destroyed by flood BANGKOK: Thailand's worst floods in more than half a century may have wiped out as much as 14 per cent of padi fields in the world's biggest rice exporter, potentially erasing the predicted global glut.In fact, the Thai export price, a global benchmark, may climb 21 per cent to $750 a tonne by December, according to Mr Sumeth Laomoraphorn, president of C.P. Intertrade, the country's largest seller of packaged rice.Tropical storms inundated 62 of 77 provinces, destroying 1.4 million ha and as much as 7 million tonnes of crops, the government saysThai Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said yesterday that the government will ask farmers to use their land to store water to alleviate floods.The government is considering providing compensation to farmers who will forgo planting rice to help drain water, he said.It will also urge farmers in areas that flood frequently to plant palm instead of rice, he said in a statement.Rice prices rose as Thailand also started buying at above-market costs to boost the incomes of farmers.It all adds up to renewed pressure on global food prices monitored by the United Nations, which had dropped 5 per cent from a record in February as other grains declined.'I have never seen such a catastrophe, watching the field turning into a sea of flood water,' Mr Wichian Phuanglamchiak, a 74-year-old farmer in the central province of Ayutthaya, said from the second floor of his house.'My entire crop was wiped out, and I have to wait for the water to recede before I can replant in December.'The estimated losses may worsen once the water recedes, Mr Apichart Jongskul, the secretary-general of the Office of Agricultural Economics, said last Friday.The UN is also closely monitoring the potential for serious food shortages in parts of South-east Asia after flooding devastated rice padi and other crops, and as aid deliveries are disrupted.There has been storm damage to about 6 per cent of the rice farmlands in the Philippines, 12 per cent in Cambodia, 7.5 per cent in Laos, as well as to Thailand since last month, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said last week.But Thailand can boost rice exports by 22 per cent to 11 million tonnes this year, even with the losses from the floods, Commerce Permanent Secretary Yanyong Phuangrach said on Oct 14. That is 500,000 tonnes more than expected.Farmers can also replant after the floods recede and make up some of the lost production, said commodities analyst Abah Ofon of Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.'I am not entirely convinced yet that it is going to lead to shortfalls in export capacity,' he said, adding that supplies from India and Vietnam may help compensate for losses.India, the world's third-largest exporter, may boost production to a record 100 million tonnes this season, the United States Department of Agriculture estimated. That may increase shipments by 61 per cent after the government lifted a ban on selling non-basmati varieties last month.Vietnam, the second-biggest shipper, plans to sell more than 7 million tonnes this year, Agriculture and Rural Development Deputy Minister Bui Ba Bongsaid last week.While more supply may be available from India, it may not be moved in time to meet demand because of limits on port capacity, said senior economist Samarendu Mohanty of the International Rice Research Institute in Los Banos, Philippines.'India can ship only so much,' said Mr Jeremy Zwinger, president and chief executive officer of The Rice Trader, a researcher in Durham, California.Shipments last month were 258,000 tonnes, a monthly level that would not be enough to offset losses in Asia, the US and South America, he said.BLOOMBERG
