Calendar of Events

政府は2009年３月からの1年間のGDP成長率を、ゼロ成長から－3.3％へと下方修正したと発表しました。また、失業率は5.2％に増加すると予想しており、当初の予想より景気底入れへはまだ時間がかかると見られています。

企業は経費削減の為に賃金やボーナスのカットを始めましたが、これは消費者の購買意欲を低下し、低価格競争を招く悪循環となっています。この傾向はもちろん食品にも大きく影響し、スーパーマーケットだけでなく通常は値引きをしないコンビニエンスストアさえもこの値引き競争に巻き込まれている状態です。価格競争の中で小売店は１円でも他社より安い価格を前面に押し出し、客足の確保を狙っています。

Contraction Underway in U.S. Dairy Industry

After five years of nearly continuous expansion, U.S. dairymen are cutting production in response to low milk prices. With demand slowing, further correction to bring supply back into balance is expected in the second half of 2009.

In the News…

• Land O’Lakes is investing $35 million to expand its Tulare, California cheese and whey plant.
• Wisconsin dairy companies will invest $781 million for plant expansions in the next five years.
• Dean Foods will close two dairy plants this summer and move production to other facilities.

Mitigating Risk: Hedging Tools for Cheese

Large swings in commodity pricing present challenges for both exporters and customers. However, the U.S. dairy market possesses a unique feature to help deal with market volatility and mitigate risks: regardless of whether or not fixed-price contracts are offered by suppliers, each buyer can still “lock in” a price through the use of hedging tools, such as dairy futures and options.

The U.S. is the only country in the world with dairy futures and options. One account is established strictly for financial transactions (hedge) and a second account for the physical product purchase. Despite the separation of the activities, correlations allow the two accounts to balance each other. So a financial gain in your dairy hedge account will offset an increase in cheese prices that you may pay. 

WPC 80 for Improved Beef Quality

Flavor and tenderness are directly linked to the amount of marbling in cuts of beef. Use of an emulsion formulated with WPC 80 was recently shown to help improve the visual and eating qualities in meat of lower quality-grades.

The Unique Components of Dairy: A Review

Whey protein, representing 20% of the protein found in cow’s milk, is valued for its unique and special benefits. In today’s market, this pure and natural dairy product is recognized by both consumers and professionals as a powerhouse in terms of health and nutrition. Research studies are identifying new and innovative opportunities for the use of whey proteins in consumer products.

Arla Foods, Inc.
Arla Foods, based in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, is an importing, manufacturing and exporting unit of Arla Foods AmbA and one of the largest U.S. specialty cheese manufacturers in the United States.

Milk Specialties Global
Milk Specialties Global Food Solutions was formed in 2008 to expand the company into specialized dairy-based ingredients for next-generation health and sports nutrition products.

2008 USDEC Annual Report: Responding to a World of Change

USDEC's 2008 annual report details programs and initiatives that assisted member exporters in reaching record levels last year and expounds upon the economic factors that led to this year's challenging market conditions.