starch italics 5th edition

Starch Italics Table of Contents Starch Industry Overview June/July 2010

June/July 2010 © GIRACT 2010

Starch Industry Overview

Crops and grains

p.1 Record ethanol production boost, corn use

p.2 Cassava starch processing as a goldmine

Less corn will be available at close of 2009-10

marketing year

p.3 Maize rises on good spot demand

p.4 Chinese corn production, consumption and trade

Grains, beans turn on weather

p.5 Cassava exports drop as price rises

Nigeria - LG acquires 100 hectares to boost

cassava

p.6 Drought, bugs eat into cassava output

Rice/Cassava: Vietnamese, Chinese set to boost

production in Edo

Starch and derivatives

p.7 Sweet! Natural sweeteners give drink-makers

options

US soft drinks drifting back towards sugar

p.8 Corn syrup producers deal with sour U.S. sales

Bio-plastics

p.9 Bio-based plastics, environmental

considerations

Algae-based bio-plastics a fast-growing market

p.10 Cereplast Forecasts Shipment of 16 mio pounds

of bio-plastic this year (NASDAQ:C)

PTT plans green plastic venture

p.11 Bio-plastics consumption to reach 2 mio t by

2018

A new plastic bag made from sugar cane that

will prevent the emission of 78kt of CO2

Bio-fuels

p.12 Genencor launches new enzyme for ethanol

production

Ethanol fuel plan goes against the grain

Bio-fuels (Contd.)

p.13 Corn Plus to use Arisdyne cavitation technology

Growing ethanol capacity pushes corn use

higher

p.14 Commission Sets Up System for Certifying

Sustainable bio-fuels

Transformative Technology: SynGest

Cornucopia bio-refinery

p.15 Orange peels, newspapers may lead to cheaper,

cleaner ethanol fuel

Ethanol production from mixtures of wheat

straw and wheat meal

p.16 Key to alternative fuel could be winemaking

yeast

Feds dole out USD 24 mio for research to turn

algae into fuel

p.17 EBOOM CAPITAL: Big Companies Pursue

Different Next-Gen Bio-fuel Technologies

Company News

p.18 Cargill helps food and beverage manufacturers

optimize product formulation with EmulTru

starch

p.19 Roquette to build USD 27 mio feed house with

tax benefits

Corn Products to buy Akzo Nobel's National

Starch unit for USD 1.3 Bln – update

p.20 Cargill approved to build sugar refinery in

Egypt, Assal says

Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals plans INR 500 mn

capex

p.21 Corn Products Finally Acquires National

Starch- Will Bunge Move on Tate & Lyle?

p.22 Tate heralds exit from sugar with refineries sale

Bright food cuts formal offer for CSR‘s sugar

unit, review says

Tate & Lyle sells EU sugar business to US firm

p.23 AGRANA reports good start to 2010-11

financial year

(Table of contents continued on next page)

http://www.truthabouttrade.org/news/editorials/trade-policy-analysis/16277-chinese-corn-production-consumption-and-trade

Starch Italics Table of Contents Starch Industry Overview June/July 2010

June/July 2010 © GIRACT 2010

GIRACT Global Starch and Starch Derivatives study

Giract has just launched new

multi-client research into global

starch supply, examining in

particular the impact of the

recent economic downturn on

the industry. Details in next

page.

Please do send us the email

address of your colleagues and

friends for whom you feel this

newsletter will be useful.

Company News (Contd.)

p.24 ADM christens new plant

Analyst upgrades Archer Daniels Midland on

higher pricing for high fructose corn syrup in

2011

p.25 Chudleigh Ventures announces acquisition of

Denver-Based Emerald forest sugar

Tongaat expects biggest SA maize crop in

almost three decades

DSM and Roquette to start bio-based succinic

acid joint venture

p.26 Tate & Lyle's sugar division to be sold for

GBP 200m

p.27 Singapore group buys up CSR sugar division

Corn Products posts profit in Q2; net sales up

10%; revises 2010 EPS forecast - quick fact

CSM buys up Cargill's shares in US lactic acid

plant

Others

p.28 China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement leads to

new business opportunities

GLOSSARY

bio ‗000 000 000

cpd cases per day

crore ‗0 000 000

JV Joint Venture

k ‗000

kt ‗000 tons

klpd kilo litres per day

lakh ‗00 000

lpd litres per day

mio ‗000 000

M&A Merger

&Acquisition

pa per annum

t tons

tpa tons per annum

tpd tons per day

tph tons per hour

tpm tons per month

GIRACT

Starches and Derivatives

Impact of the economic downturn

Global Production and Supply 2009/10 – 2015

INTRODUCTION The starch industry is one of the world’s largest transformers of agricultural raw material, producing 62 mio tons (expressed as primary starch slurry with 12% moisture) when Giract published its earlier starch supply study in 2007. The many possible derivatives have long been driving the growth of the industry, allowing it to respond with great flexibility to changes and opportunities, be they global raw material availability, trade regulations, new technologies or end-use sector dynamics. The testimony is a remarkable average 4% annual growth over 30 years.

Since 2007, this dynamic has changed abruptly for several reasons:

High demand for agricultural raw materials by the fast growing Asian economies coincided with new competition from the bio-energy boom, especially in USA, leading to a record high in raw material cost

High ingredient costs forced the food industry to undertake a strong cost-cutting drive, and even though starch and their derivatives were earlier seen as ‘low-cost’ ingredients, they have now become a target for replacement in many foods and beverages

Starch production in Asia continued to expand, fuelled by strong local consumption especially in China, while European players were facing more blows from the ongoing CAP reform in the sugar and potato starch sectors

The economic recession affected starch demand as never before and in almost every end-use sector; e.g. the European paper industry saw a decline by 40% and with enough new mills in low wage countries, this demand in Europe may never be recovered.

While many agri-food industries posted record sales and profits when global food prices were exploding, major players such as Tate & Lyle decided to reduce their presence in this industry, a timely decision given that since then margins have eroded beyond historical lows. Other companies are also said to be exploring exit options.

Thus, the traditional patterns in starch production as well as the importance of Western players and markets are seriously affected, both in terms of product portfolios and players. As new supply patterns are starting to emerge, it is the right time to take stock of new opportunities and threats before making any new strategic decisions. This report thus attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of the actual global starch production and trade, by product and area, and explore which key factors are likely to influence the forecast for 2015.

Giract, the ingredients and technologies specialist and leader in market analysis of starches and their derivatives, published landmark studies in ’95, ’00, ’04 and ‘07 which pulled together starch supply by type of raw material and player across the world. These studies have been a reference for all players in the industry and for key end-users. The present update, to be published in autumn 2010, will take into account the various changes that have occurred across the world in the last few years, and will thus act as an important tool in your strategic planning.

OBJECTIVES • To identify starch and derivative production - by key country/region - by type of raw material - by type of starch and starch derivative - by key producer • To evaluate trade patterns of different types of starches and derivatives • To estimate availability of starches and derivatives by key country/ region and of starch by type of raw material • To forecast global trends in starches and derivatives to the year 2015

PRODUCTS Primary starch from different raw materials, including maize, wheat, potato and tapioca. Finished products as starches (native and modified) and starch derivatives (glucose syrup, high fructose syrup, dextrose, other hydrolysates and polyols)

MARKETS Global

TIMESCALE 2009/10 and forecast to 2015

REPORT September 2010

SUBSCRIPTION Conditions for a tailored subscription by area or by product may be requested

For more info, contact GIRACT V. Krishnakumar, Jo Goossens or Peter Brown

24, Pré-Colomb Tel: + 41 22 779 0500

1290 Versoix/Geneva Fax: + 41 22 779 0505

Switzerland [email protected]

02/10/2 www.giract.com

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Starch Italics Crops and Grains Starch Industry Overview

June/July 2010 © GIRACT 2010 P a g e | 1

Record ethanol production boost, corn use

Total U.S. corn use for 2009-10 is projected 135 mio

bushels higher to 13 190 mio bushels this month as

increased FSI use more than offsets a reduction in

expected feed and residual use. Corn use for ethanol is

raised 150 mio bushels to 4 550 mio, reflecting the

continued record pace of ethanol production and usage

through March based on the latest data from the U.S.

Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Corn use is raised 5 mio bushels each for starch and

glucose and dextrose, 240 mio and 250 mio bushels,

respectively, as the ongoing economic recovery spurs

production of these products. As a result of increased

corn used for ethanol production, feed and residual use

is lowered 25 mio bushels to 5 350 mio for 2009-10, as

more distillers‘ grains are expected to be available.

Corn exports remain unchanged this month at

1 950 mio bushels. Ending stocks for 2009-10 are

lowered 135 mio bushels to 1 603 mio, reflecting

increases in FSI use.

(Continued in next column)

Record ethanol production boost, corn use (Contd.)

Corn production in 2010-11 remains unchanged this

month at 13 370 mio bushels; however, beginning

stocks are lowered 135 mio bushels to 1 603 mio. This

lowers total supply for 2010-11 to 14 983 mio bushels,

which is still a record and up 190 mio bushels from

2009-10. According to the June 7 Crop Progress report,

corn emergence is at 94% in 18 major growing States as

of June 6. This compares with an average of 91% in the

previous 5 years and 85% last year.

(Continued on next page)



Record ethanol production boost, corn use (Contd.)

Total corn use for 2010-11 is raised 110 mio bushels to

13 410 mio this month due to an increase in corn FSI

use. Corn used for ethanol production remains strong

into 2010-11 with a record 4 700 mio bushels projected

to be used, up 100 mio bushels from last month. Corn

used for glucose and dextrose is raised 5 mio bushels to

255 mio bushels this month. Corn used for starch was

also raised 5 mio bushels to 245 mio bushels this

month.

Corn used for starch was also raised 5 mio bushels to

245 mio this month, as economic recovery is projected

to continue and demand for these products rises. Feed

and residual use and exports remain unchanged at

5 350 mio and 2 000 mio bushels, respectively.

Projected ending stocks are lowered 245 mio bushels

this month to 1 573 mio for 2010-11.

The season-average farm price for corn is projected

higher this month for the 2010-11 marketing year, due

to higher expected use and tightening ending stocks.

The 2010-11 farm price is projected at USD 3.3 to

USD 3.9 per bushel, up 10 cents on both ends of the

range. If farmers have marketed their old crop corn at

the same rate as the average of the last 5 years, then

19% of the 2009/10 marketing year corn remains to be

sold through August. (cattlenetwork.com 14 June 2010)

Cassava starch processing as a goldmine

Starch is an important raw material that is widely used

in the food, textile, paper and pharmaceutical industries.

Interestingly, recent research by the Food and

Agricultural Organisation shows that almost all starch

varieties can be replaced with cassava starch.


Cassava starch processing as a goldmine (Contd.)

The FAO declares that global demand for cassava

starch will increase at an annual rate of 3.1%, while

regional growth rates are expected to rise by 4.2% in

Asia; 3.4% in Latin America; and 2.3% in Africa. The

market opportunity for cassava starch exists in every

country that is consuming more starch in various

industrial processes."

Currently, Nigeria is the world's largest producer of

cassava, with production capacity estimated at over

49 mio metric t per annum. The National President,

Cassava Produce Promoters and Exporters Association

of Nigeria, Mr. Markus Magaji, says small and medium

scale entrepreneurs are currently investing in various

cassava starch processing projects across the country

due to availability of raw materials, with prospects of

high returns on investment.

The main challenges, according to him include

insufficient land for cassava cultivation in commercial

quantity, limited funding sources and poor power

supply, which may raise its cost of production. He,

however, stresses that the choice of equipment, factory

location and supply of raw materials and scale of

production are critical factors that must be considered

before investing in the business. (odili.net 28 June

2010)

Less corn will be available at close of 2009-10 marketing year

Joe Victor, vice president of Allendale, Inc. is surprised

by the June World Supply and Demand Estimates

(WASDE) report. The USDA's ending stocks for the

2009 crop are lowered 135 mio bushels. The

Department of Agriculture now thinks the U.S. will

have 1.6 bio bushels of corn in storage ahead of the

2010 corn harvest.




Less corn will be available at close of 2009-10 marketing year (Contd.)

According to the USDA, U.S. corn use for 2009-10 is

135 mio bushels higher because corn food, seed and

industrial use is raised by 150 mio bushels. Corn use is

also raised 5 mio bushels for starch and 5 mio bushels

for glucose/dextrose production. Expected feed and

residual use is decreased 25 mio bushels for the

current marketing year. Part of the decrease is due to

the increased availability of distillers grains.

CN0

5-

min Chart

Symbol Last Chg

Corn 356-2 +2-4

Soybeans 957-6 +8-2

Wheat 461-2 +9-4

Spring Wheat 534-6 +2-4

Oats 270-0 -4-0


Less corn will be available at close of 2009-10 marketing year (Contd.)

The USDA's weekly export report on June 10 reported

sales of 1.019 mio metric t (40 mio bushels),

considered a strong number. Old crop sales now have

to reach just 237kt (9.3 mio bushels) weekly to reach

the USDA's export forecast for 2009-10. If China

purchases 40-80 mio bushels of corn, and one or two

mio metric t of dried distillers grains with solubles.

Minnesota's corn crop was listed 92% good to

excellent as of June 6. (farmandranchguide.com 6 June

2010).

Maize rises on good spot demand

Maize futures maintained its positive trend during

Saturday on good demand in the physical market. The

active July contract traded on a positive note and made

a high of 1103 levels after making a low of 1090 levels

with a positive change of 1099 levels with a change of

0.73%.

Maize futures are expected to trade on a positive note

on account of strong demand from feed millers and

exporters. The spot prices of Maize in Nizamabad

markets have rose to 1045 per quintal, up INR 35

compared to last week. Maize prices went up in spot

market because of good demand from poultry feed and

starch manufacturers.

Stockiest are also releasing their stocks in lower

quantities hoping further price rise. India's maize

production in 2009-10 is expected to be almost

20 mio t, up from 19.37 mio t last year. According to

government officials According to latest reports of

Ministry of Agriculture, Kahriff coarse grain area so far

10.72 mio ha against 9.52 mio

Area under maize in Andhra Pradesh as on 16th June is

reported at 8945 hectares compared to 9764 hectares

during the same period last year.

(commodtyonlinie.com 19 July 2010)



Chinese corn production, consumption and trade

Corn crops in the U.S. and China have entered the

critical pollination and ear filling stages. As the number

one and two corn producers and users in the world,

what happens in the next 60 days will determine world

corn supplies for the upcoming marketing year. Recent

purchases of U.S. corn by the Chinese have raised

issues about Chinese production, consumption and

trade in the immediate years ahead.

USDA recently estimated U.S. corn area to be

harvested for grain in 2010 at 81.0 mio acres

(32.8 mio hectares), up 1.4 mio acres (0.6 mio hectares)

from the 2009 crop. USDA used a simple linear trend

of the national average yield for 1990-2009 adjusted for

2010 planting progress to project a yield of

163.5 bushels per acre (10.3 metric t (MT) per hectare),

down slightly from the record large 2009 yield.

In early August USDA will release its first yield

estimate for 2010 based on actual field conditions as of

August 1. U.S. production for 2010 is now projected at

a record 13.25 bio bushels (336.6 mio metric t (MMT)).

The U.S. is expected to supply 55-60% of the 90 MMT

of corn traded internationally from the 2010 crop.

Corn consumption in China has been on a steady

uptrend for the past ten years with 2010-11

consumption expected to be a record large 159 MMT.

The majority of consumption continues to be for

livestock and poultry feed, but that growth has slowed

in recent years. In 2006-07 livestock and poultry feed

was 104 MMT and is projected to be 110 MMT in

2010-11, a 6 MMT increase. Total consumption is

expected to increase 14 MMT from 2006-07 and

non-feed uses, like starch, sweetener and ethanol, to

increase by 8 MMT.


Chinese corn production, consumption and trade (Contd.)

Imported cassava, estimated at 6.1 MMT in calendar

year 2009, could take more of that market depending on

the price of corn. Imported distillers dried grains with

soluble, a high protein co-product of ethanol

production, increased to almost 0.7 MMT in calendar

year 2009 from almost zero in 2008. Imports are

expected to increase again in 2010.

Earlier this year, the Chinese government recommitted

to a long-term self-sufficiency objective in grains

through 2020 of over 95%. Grains include wheat, rice,

corn, barley, sorghum, potatoes and pulses. According

to the U.S. Agricultural Attaché in China, the National

Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued

a detailed plan in November 2009 to raise annual

national grain production capacity by 50 MMT by

2020, a 10% increase from the current annual goal.

NDRC estimates yields need to increase 0.9% per year.

Corn accounts for about 30% of total grain production.

(truthabouttrade.org 16 July 2010)

Grains, beans turn on weather

Corn: An improving weather scenario and a large

speculatively-owned market left the prices vulnerable to

decline on Monday. Funds, as of Friday afternoon, were

long 193 000 contracts. That is within 30 000 contracts

of a typical capacity position. Monitoring fund activity

this week will be key as an exciting of these positions

would press values quickly. Current prices reflect

~160bpa. Allendale yield studies still suggest yields

will meet or exceed 163 bpa.

Export inspections were good at 38.91 mil bu. Export

sales on Thursday are expected to show more sales

made to China and strong demand remains under the

market for new crop. However, the old crop demand is

highly volatile. (Continued on next page)







Grains, beans turn on weather (Contd.)

Wheat: Fundamentally, it is supportive the United

States received 28.5% of Iraq‘s complete purchase of

350kt of wheat. Not supportive to U.S. wheat futures is

how U.S. wheat was 161 per bushel more expensive

than Russia wheat. Despite the 2010 drought, Russia

has not backed off of its grain export program. That is

confusing as its difficult to maintain grain stocks

usually it is the export demand which initially suffers

the consequences.

Present world stocks to use are 23.4% vs. the previous

five year average of 19.98%. We remain convinced

corn prices are subject to more of a starch sell-off than

the wheat. Spring wheat conditions came in at 87%

good to excellent vs. 91% for a five year average

(futuresmag.com 20 July 2010).

Cassava exports drop as price rises

Viet Nam exported only 1.2 mio t of cassava worth

USD 300 mio in the first six months of the year, down

52.4% in volume and 12.8% in value, compared to the

same period last year, according to the Statistics

Bureau.

Since the beginning of the year, many traders began

buying cassava and storing it, expecting to earn big

profits from exports as in previous years. However,

they had not researched the market well, and were

caught by surprise by the other countries' lower prices.

Traders purchased dried cassava slices from farmers for

VND 1.3-1.5 mio t during last year's harvest season, but

paid VND 2.5 mio t this year.

Because of the increase in price, exporters set prices too

high for the global market. Most cassava importers are

from China, which accounts for 90% of Viet Nam's

cassava exports.


Cassava exports drop as price rises (Contd.)

Last year in Viet Nam, export revenue of cassava

reached VND 800 mio, double the export revenue of

pepper. The country has 508 000 ha of cassava under

cultivation, and output is estimated to reach about

8.5 mio t this year, according to the Ministry of

Agriculture and Rural Development. Of the output,

Vietnam needs to export 4.3 mio t of cassava after

meeting domestic demand, said the ministry. The

ministry targets keeping the area under cassava

cultivation at 450 000 ha, partly because it wants to

limit deforestation in the country.

Farmers in the Central Highland city of Kon Tum

process cassava for export. High prices caused exports

in the first half of the year to drop in volume and value

compared to the same period last year.

Nigeria - LG acquires 100 hectares to boost cassava

Cassava cultivation and production for its cassava

processing factory, the Isoko South Local Government

Council has acquired 100 hectares for farming. The

council Chairman, Chief Askia Ogieh, told the News

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Oleh, headquarters of the

council, that the land was acquired from Uro

community in the area.


https://docs.google.com/nigeria/



Nigeria - LG acquires 100 hectares to boost cassava (Contd.)

Ogieh said that acquiring the vast land for cassava

cultivation would help the cassava processing factory

achieve its production capacity of 50 t of fresh cassava

tubers per day. He also said that the council would be

responsible for the financial burden of the project from

cassava cultivation to the processing stage at the

factory. He said that the plant would help stimulate

appropriate economic activities in the rural

communities and thus raise the level of productivity of

the people in the area.

He also said that it would help improve on the

employment opportunities at the rural communities, and

help in reducing crime in the society. Ogieh who is also

the Chairman of ALGON in Delta, said that the need to

enhance massive cassava production for food and

industrial purpose had become imperative. Ogieh also

said that observations by trade missions on cassava

export in some African countries showed that the

demand for the product in African countries was high.

(allafrica.com 6 July 2010)

Drought, bugs eat into cassava output

The invasion of mealy-bugs and severe drought are

expected to reduce Thailand's cassava output

substantially next year and lead to heavy competition

among industries for supplies. The government

estimates that the cassava from the 2010-11 harvest

starting in October will be only 19.99 mio t, down

significantly from earlier projection of 21.3 mio.

The pink cassava mealy-bug has damaged one mio rai

of cassava plantations, mainly in the Northeast, since

late 2008. As a result, the 2009-10 crops fell to 22 mio t

from 30 mio in the previous season. Deputy Prime

Minister Trairong Suwannakhiri, chairman of the

Tapioca Policy Committee, has cautioned industries

that use cassava and tapioca to prepare for shortages.


Drought, bugs eat into cassava output (Contd.)

Representatives of the Thai Tapioca Trade Association

have asked for the government assistance for the

industry that is worth about 170 bio baht - 70 bio from

starch and tapioca chips, and about 100 bio from food

and other industries such as paper and ethanol. They

have also urged the government to sell 74kt of tapioca

from government stocks.

This month only about 300kt of cassava have been

harvested, compared with 1.2 mio in July 2009,

according to Adul Vinaiphat, vice-president of the Thai

Tapioca Development Institute. The falling supplies

have pushed up prices across the board. Fresh cassava

is nearly four baht a kg, up from 2.50 baht last year, and

the export prices of native starch have shot up to

USD 600 per t from USD 250.

The institute is also researching new bug-resistant

strains to protect the crop that is grown by about

400 000 farm households. The government would

gradually open bids to sell its 900kt of tapioca products

in its stockpile to exporters at appropriate prices.

(bangkokpost.com 26 July 2010)

Rice/Cassava: Vietnamese, Chinese set to boost production in Edo

The Edo State Government‘s effort to achieve

sustainable food production and create employment in

agriculture has received a boost as Vietnam and China

are set to invest millions of Dollars in the sector.

Also coming to the state are Israeli farmers who will

invest in livestock development and fruits production.

Tunde Lakoju, the Edo State Commissioner of

Agriculture disclosed this today (Monday, July 5) in

Auchi, Edo and said that necessary arrangements for

the arrival of the investors had been made.


https://docs.google.com/nigeria/

http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12404:ricecassava-vietnamese-chinese-set-to-boost-production-in-edo&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18


Starch Italics Crops and Grains Starch Industry Overview Starch and Derivatives


Rice/Cassava: Vietnamese, Chinese set to boost production in Edo (Contd.)

Lakoju said that the Vietnamese and Chinese investors

would cultivate 10 000 acres and 15 000 acres of land

for rice and cassava, respectively, adding that

processing factories for the products would also be sited

in the state. He spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria

(NAN). He added that the state had already signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the

investors and said that all the state had to invest in the

whole arrangement was land.

He added that products like ethanol, industrial starch,

noodles would be derived from the rice and cassava

production and said that such items would be further

processed for export. (businessdayonline.com 5 July

2010)

Sweet! Natural sweeteners give drink-makers options

High fructose corn syrup and sugar are still the main

sweeteners used in full-calorie drinks, and aspartame

remains the popular choice for sweetening diet drinks.

But in recent years, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and other

companies have been trying to develop what might be

considered the holy grail: an all-natural sweetener that

has the taste of sugar, yet few or none of the calories.

The first natural diet sweetener to gain FDA approval

was rebaudioside A, which is derived from the sweetest

part of the South American stevia herb.

SoBe Lifewater contains Reb-A.


Sweet! Natural sweeteners give drink-makers options (Contd.)

Reb-A, as it's called in the industry, is about 200 to 300

times sweeter than sugar. Since it was approved in

2008, beverage companies have rolled out a small but

growing number of products containing the calorie-free

sweetener, such as PepsiCo's SoBe Lifewater and

Coke's Sprite Green.

The hope is that reb-A and other natural sweeteners in

the works will appeal to consumers looking for low-

calorie beverage options with fewer artificial

ingredients.

Experts say the search for new natural sweeteners isn't

motivated by safety concerns about existing sugar

substitutes. Despite years of controversy, there's no

credible evidence that aspartame, sucralose (also known

as Splenda) or other artificial sweeteners are unsafe

when used in moderation.

Reb-A is challenging to use in some drinks, because it

can leave a bitter aftertaste. Other sweeteners derived

from the stevia leaf are also being developed. And

beverage companies are working on ways to enhance

the sweetness of sugar and high fructose corn syrup, so

that less of it is needed, lowering the calorie count.

(suntimes.com 14 June 2010)

US soft drinks drifting back towards sugar

Soft drinks in the United States are trending back

towards sugar, with the recent announcement by The

Dr Pepper Snapple Group that it will switch Dr Pepper

back to sugar from high-fructose corn syrup, for a

limited time as part of its 125th anniversary

celebrations. The reformulated product will also bear

nostalgic Dr Pepper slogans and can designs. PepsiCo‘s

Sierra Mist product is also rumored to be about to

reformulate into Sierra Mist Natural, with sugar instead

of HFCS. (Continued on next page)



Starch Italics Starch and Derivatives Starch Industry Overview


US soft drinks drifting back towards sugar (Contd.)

Other sugar-based soft drinks, including kosher and

Mexican-made versions of Coca-Cola, fetch a premium

in the US. A nostalgic real-sugar campaign by Pepsi,

‗Throwback‘, was also extremely successful.

HFCS was introduced in the 1970s as a cheaper

alternative to sugar in the US, but is widely believed to

be less healthy, particularly in regard to weight gain.

Research on the product‘s effects has been

inconclusive.

‗Nostalgia‘ campaigns provide an ideal testing ground

for soft-drink manufacturers, allowing them to test the

market for sugar-sweetened soft drinks without

admitting that their HFCS products are inferior or less

healthy. (ausfoodnews.com.au 6 July 2010)

Corn syrup producers deal with sour U.S. sales

Fans of natural foods have tried for years to push the

ubiquitous sweetener high fructose corn syrup off

Americans' dinner tables and out of their restaurants

and grocery stores. U.S. use of the sweetener found in

most soft drinks, cereals and a range of other products

dropped 11% between 2003 and 2008, the most recent

year figures were available. A number of companies

also have stopped using corn syrup in some or all

products, including Hunt's ketchup, Snapple, Gatorade

and Starbucks' baked goods. (Continued in next

column)

Corn syrup producers deal with sour U.S. sales (Contd.)

Producers blame the decline on a campaign that argues

corn syrup is behind rising obesity in the U.S. They also

accuse the sugar industry of pushing a campaign that

has helped sugar refining increase about 7% from 2003

to 2008. As of 2008, high fructose corn syrup makers

produced an average of 53.1 pounds a year for every

American, compared with 65.7 pounds of sugar

produced for use in the U.S., according to the U.S.

Department of Agriculture. The agency doesn't track

consumption.

High fructose corn syrup was first developed in the

1950s but didn't come into widespread use until the

1970s and 1980s. It's made from corn starch, which is

processed into corn syrup that is high in glucose. Added

enzymes turn the glucose into fructose, a sugar found in

some sweet fruits and honey. Quotas and tariffs

imposed on imported sugar in the late 1970s prompted

food manufacturers to begin relying more on corn

syrup. Coca Cola and Pepsi both switched from sugar to

high fructose corn syrup in the 1980s.

Producers don't welcome the trend away from corn

syrup, but seem positioned to handle it. Companies

such as Archer Daniels Midland Co., Cargill Inc. and

Corn Products International sell dozens of corn and

grain-derived products, and although U.S. sales are

dropping, they're selling more in some other countries,

especially Mexico. That's not likely to change unless

sugar prices drop so low they can't resist.

(pantagraph.com 5 June 2010)

Starch Italics Starch and Derivatives Starch Industry Overview Bio-plastics


Bio-based plastics, environmental considerations

Most commercially available bio-based resins are

produced from sugar or starch derived from food crops

such as corn and sugarcane. Over the past few years,

the use of food crops to produce bio-fuels has become

highly controversial; the same may happen with

bio-based resins. However, this is only if the scale of

bio-based polymer production grows.

According to Telles VP Findlen, ―If the bio-plastics

industry grows to be 10% of the traditional plastics

industry, then around 100 bio pounds of starch will be

necessary, and there is no question that that will have

an effect on agricultural commodities.‖

Unfortunately, this cannot be done sustainably because,

according to the Living Planet Report, our current

demand for the Earth‘s resources is 1.25 times what the

planet can sustain. Put another way, on September 25th

of this year our resource use surpassed what is

sustainable. What this would mean as a financial issue

is that we are living off our principle.

(greenerpackage.com 14 June 2010)

Algae-based bio-plastics a fast-growing market

Food crops are commonly being used as raw materials

for plastics, but researchers are now looking out to sea

for future feed-stocks. An increasing number of

researchers are looking to get plastics from the sea - not

by fishing out discarded bottles, but by using marine

life forms as a raw material to make polymers.


Algae-based bio-plastics a fast-growing market (Contd.)

It is already widely used as a raw material for bio-fuels,

but this is increasingly extending to plastics. US-

headquartered Cereplast, which already makes plastics

from starch, expects to start producing algae-based

polymers by the end of this year.

A number of established products already exist: Ingeo,

from US group Nature Works, is the company's trade

name for polylactic acid (PLA), a polymer derived from

corn; MaterBi is a starch-derived polymer from Italian

research group Novamont; and US chemical giant

DuPont has produced a nylon that is derived in part

from castor bean oil. It is also worth noting that one of

the earliest polymers to be commercialized, Cellophane,

is made from cellulose.

The company has already begun to look at alternative

feedstocks last year, it launched biopolymer grades

based on biomass, wood chips and flax. But it believes

that algae could eventually become a more important

feedstock than starch. Scheer says that, in five years,

agricultural feedstocks could account for just 30% of

Cereplast's business; a further 30-40% might be algae,

with up to 30% coming from "other" sources. The

Cereplast factory usually smells like a bakery, rather

than a plastics factory; with algae, the smell is closer to

a fish processing factory.

Cereplast expects to have two algae-based grades ready

by the end of this year: one for injection molding, and

one for thermoforming. Its Biopropylene, for example,

is derived equally from petroleum and starch -

producing a polymer that has "similar physical

characteristics" to traditional polypropylene (PP).

(icis.com 18 June 2010)

Starch Italics Bio-plastics Starch Industry Overview

June/July 2010 © GIRACT 2010 P a g e | 1 0

Cereplast forecasts shipment of 16 mio pounds of bio-plastic this year (NASDAQ:CERP)

Topping our market movers list this morning, Cereplast

(NASDAQ:CERP) announced today that it is expecting

to ship 16 mio pounds of bio-plastic resins to customers

in 2010, representing a 400% increase in shipments

compared to the same period last year. It was noted that

the company has recently entered into distribution

agreements with Ashland Inc and Bunge Alimentaris

(Brazil).

For those unfamiliar with Cereplast‘s product offerings,

the company makes compostable resins as a substitute

for petroleum based plastics. The company has also

recently moved from its home in Southern California to

Seymour Indiana. Although the move incurred some

moving and closing costs, overall it will reduce real

estate and utility costs moving ahead.

With rising demand for green products as an alternative

to petroleum sourced material and significant revenue

traction, CERP is very happy with their current position

in the market. The simple metric of shipments is a great

way to understand the current status of a company,

continued performance and international sales are sure

to help any firm turn profits.

Currently CERP is trading at USD 3.5 up .48 or 15% on

a volume of 37 upon release of the news. The company

has been declining in equity price in 2010 and has been

as high as USD 6.73 in the past year. It will be

interesting to watch how the company‘s stock price

reacts to the new news in the upcoming weeks.

(worldmarketmedia.com 8 June 2010)

PTT plans green plastic venture

Thailand's national oil flagship PTT has joined with

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp (MCC) to build the first

biodegradable plastics plant to serve the rising global

trend, says Prajya Phinyawat, PTT's chief operating

officer for downstream petroleum business. The two

companies are studying the possibility of investing first

in downstream biodegradable products, including

polylactic acid (PLA) and polybutylene succinate

(PBS).

Dr Prajya said that while the size of the investment had

yet to be determined, the production capacity should be

at least 30kt yearly to achieve economies of scale.

There is no local production for PLA in the country but

US-based Natureworks has planned to begin such an

operation in 2013. She said the two types of

downstream biodegradable plastics were in high

demand amid the rising awareness of climate change.

As one of the world's major producers of cassava and

sugar, Thailand has abundant supplies of the raw

materials for bio-plastics production, making it a

competitive, low-cost location for production.

PTT and MMC, its key bio-plastics partner, will co-

invest in two plants, a downstream biodegradable resin

plant and an upstream plant, said Hiroaki Ishizuka,

managing executive officer for supervision

petrochemicals. Thailand was picked due to its plentiful

tapioca starch and sugar resources and full government

support.

The two companies yesterday also signed a

memorandum of understanding with the National

Innovation Agency and the Ministry of Environment

and Natural Resources to build a 5-mio-baht organic

fertiliser factory from organic waste on Koh Samet,

Rayong. Ranked among the top garbage-producing

areas, the resort island generates 6t of waste daily.

(bangkokpost.com 23 July 2010)

Starch Italics Bio-plastics Starch Industry Overview


Bio-plastics consumption to reach 2 mio t by 2018

Bio-plastics, with consumption of only just above 225kt

in 2008 will reach a level of about 900kt by 2013.

Global demand for bio-plastics, which include plastic

resins that are biodegradable or derived from plant-

based sources, will rise more than fourfold to 890kt in

2013, as per Freedonia. This extraordinary growth will

be fueled by a number of factors, including consumer

demand for more environmentally-sustainable products,

the development of bio-based feedstocks for

commodity plastic resins and increasing restrictions on

the use of plastic products, particularly plastic bags.

Looking ahead to 2018, world bio-plastics demand is

forecast to reach nearly 2 mio t, with a market value of

over USD 5 bio.

Biodegradable plastics, such as starch based resins,

polylactic acid and degradable polyesters, accounted for

the vast majority (nearly 90%) of bio-plastics demand

in 2008. In the next few years, Dow Chemical and

Braskem are each planning to open plants in Brazil that

will produce polyethylene from bio-based ethanol.

Other firms are expected to open bio-based polyvinyl

chloride and polypropylene facilities. As a result,

demand for non-biodegradable plant-based plastics will

increase from just 23kt in 2008 to nearly 600kt in 2013.

Western Europe was the largest regional market for

bio-plastics in 2008, accounting for about 40% of world

demand. Currently, world bio-plastics production is

heavily concentrated in the developed countries of

North America, Western Europe and Japan. This will

change dramatically by 2013, as China is expected to

open over 100kt of new bio-plastics capacity.

Furthermore, once the planned bio-based polyethylene

and polyvinyl chloride plants come online, Brazil will

become the world‘s leading producer of bio-plastics in

2018. (plastemart.com 14 July 2010)

A new plastic bag made from sugarcane that will prevent the emission of 78kt of CO2

In particular it is made with ethanol from sugarcane and

for certain applications, too, with potato starch. A new

plastic bag made from sugar cane that will prevent the

emission of 78kt of CO2. The industrial plastics group

Sphere has developed a new plastic bag made of

polyethylene from bio-plastic to prevent the emission of

78kt of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.

According to estimates provided by the company,

between 15kt and 20kt of polyethylene bags can reduce

plant pollution figures. Regarding fossil fuels, the

polyethylene bag (the traditional plastic bags) in an

amount equivalent to a car that emits 125g of

CO2 per km for 15 600 times around the world.

Polyethylene Plant is the first bio-plastic in industrial

production to absorb carbon, which presents a potential

for reducing greenhouse gases. Potato starch gives

elasticity, opacity and texture, while sugar cane can get

the same mechanical properties as an ordinary

polythene bag. (bangkokpost.com 23 July 2010)

Starch Italics Bio-plastics Starch Industry Overview Bio-fuels


A new plastic bag made from sugar cane that will prevent the emission of 78 000 t of CO2 (Contd.)

In addition, sugar cane is a natural carbon source which

contributes to further reduce CO2 in the growth phase

than other ethanol production plants, and has a yield of

2t per hectare, about 5-10 times more than other plants

that produce ethanol.

Sphere said that this material is adapted to "all its

current uses," such as garbage bags, freezing or

transparent film, and maintains the same technical

properties equivalent to fossil carbon polyethylene,

such as transparency, opacity, brightness or colours and

is suitable for food. Finally, the company says that in

January 2011 it expects to replace all fossil

polyethylene products with polyethylene plant for all its

national brands in Europe.

Genencor launches new enzyme for ethanol production

Genencor, a division of Danisco A/S, today launched

SPEZYME® Robust Starch Liquefaction (RSL) at the

2010 Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo (FEW) in St.

Louis, Mo.

The latest in the company's liquefaction product line,

the enzyme more efficiently liquefies dry ground corn

or milo, significantly reducing costs and increasing

yields for ethanol producers. This" is liquefaction

without compromise," said Troy Wilson, Genencor's

vice president of grain processing.


Genencor launches new enzyme for ethanol production (Contd.)

Unlike the conventional liquefaction enzymes,

SPEZYME® RSL breaks down starch efficiently across

a range pH levels, substantially reducing the amount of

sulfuric acid that is required to complete the

liquefaction process. In addition, while the current

practice typically requires two pH adjustments and two

enzyme doses, SPEZYME® RSL is effective with just

one dose and no pH adjustment. Actual cost savings

will vary depending on the production facility;

however, many ethanol producers can expect to see a

25 to 50% reduction in sulfuric acid usage with

SPEZYME® RSL. (digitaljournal.com 14 June 2010)

Ethanol fuel plan goes against the grain

The Against Ethanol Mandates Alliance, a body which

has the backing of the RACQ and the Motor Trades

Association, has warned that the use of edible wheat

stocks to produce ethanol would lead to higher food

bills and urged governments to look at alternative

sources. The mandate is in place in NSW where more

than 50% of ethanol is produced from edible grain

stocks and the remainder from a wheat starch by-

product. The same applies to Queensland with very

little coming from sugar cane. But the State

Government has denied production would place undue

pressure on grain prices.

Mr Cudmore, president of the Australian Lot Feeders'

Association, said 80% of Australia's grain harvest was

consumed on the east coast in feedlots and food

production. He also said the alliance was examining the

fairness of ethanol fuel prices, which he said were too

high considering ethanol blends were less fuel efficient

than regular unleaded.

But Mr Nielsen denied this, as well as accusations that

the Government was using ethanol as a token

environmental gesture. Mr Nielsen said that ethanol

could be 'an important component of the state's

alternative energy consumption'. (goldcoast.com.au

16 June 2010)

Starch Italics Bio-fuels Starch Industry Overview


Corn Plus to use Arisdyne cavitation technology

The Corn Plus Board of Directors voted to license and

acquire Arisdyne‘s patented cavitation system, which

will enable the plant to increase ethanol production by

4% or more over the yield produced previously on the

same volume of corn consumed. Cavitation‘s intense

power assists ethanol plants with converting higher

percentages of available starch from a bushel of corn

without making investments in new capital, consuming

large amounts of power, or degrading process

capacities.

Arisdyne and Corn Plus have been working together to

install a retrofit system at the Winnebago plant, which

conducted a test at full capacity over a period of two

months without any interruption. ―The cooperation and

team work of this project enabled us to install and start

up the system in a week,‖ noted Fred Clarke, executive

vice president of Arisdyne. Corn Plus has been a

respected pioneer in adopting new technologies over

the past decade, which led the Arisdyne team to seek

their cooperation in this test initiative.

Dr. Reimers, president and CEO of Arisdyne expained

―Since today‘s plants cannot expand their capacities for

economies of scale, yield improvements must be

implemented to improve margins. Making more starch

available for fermentation is the first step. The second

step will be to simultaneously convert cellulose from

corn fiber to ethanol. Accomplishing both steps

concurrently with the same equipment demonstrates the

advance fuel potential for current corn-based plants

within the existing infrastructure.‖

(ethanolproducer.com 15 June 2010)

Growing ethanol capacity pushes corn use higher

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's World

Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE),

released earlier this week, projected U.S. feed grain

production for 2010-11 is unchanged, but said that a

smaller carry-in for corn, sorghum and barley is

expected to reduce domestic feed grain supplies.

According to the WASDE report, corn for food, seed

and industrial (FSI) use is projected 110 mio bushels

higher for 2010-11, mostly in line with higher projected

corn use for ethanol, sweeteners and starch for 2009-10.

The higher use of corn, combined with lower beginning

stocks and drops projected in 2010-11 corn ending

stocks - 245 mio bushels to 1 573 mio, is estimated to

increase average farm price for corn by 10 cents, along

with other feed grains, the WASDE report said.

The report said that U.S. corn use for 2009-10 is

projected 135 mio bushels higher as increased FSI use

more than offsets a reduction in expected feed and

residual use. Corn use for ethanol, the report said, is

increased by 150 mio bushels, reflecting the continued

record pace of ethanol production and usage through

March based on the latest data from the Energy

Information Administration (EIA).

According to Matt Hartwig of the Renewable Fuels

Association, for the week ending June 4, the EIA is

reporting ethanol production averaged 839 000 barrels

per day (b/d), figuring out to more than 35 mio gallons

daily.(Continued on next page)



Growing ethanol capacity pushes corn use higher (Contd.)

The WASDE report said corn use is increased by

5 mio bushels each for starch and glucose/dextrose as

the gradual economic recovery spurs production of

these products. Feed and residual use was lowered

25 mio bushels with increased availability of distiller‘s

grain, which is a byproduct of ethanol production. The

WASDE report said that U.S. corn ending stocks for

2009-10 are projected to be 135 mio bushels lower. At

1 603 mio bushels, this year's ending stocks would be

down 70 mio bushels from 2008-09, according to the

report. (theindependent.com 13 June 2010)

Commission Sets Up System for Certifying Sustainable Bio-fuels

The Commission has decided to encourage industry,

governments and NGOs to set up certification schemes

for all types of bio-fuels, including those imported into

the EU. It laid down what the schemes must do to be

recognized by the Commission. This will help

implement the EU's requirements that bio-fuels must

deliver substantial reductions in greenhouse gas

emissions and should not come from forests, wetlands

and nature protection areas. Novozymes welcomed the

European Commission plans to promote sustainable

bio-fuels by setting up a quality-certification process

for biodiesel and ethanol.

Meanwhile Novozymes announced the launch of a new

enzyme that makes it possible to produce more ethanol

from the same amount of corn. (Continued in next

column)

Commission Sets Up System for Certifying Sustainable Bio-fuels

The product, Spirizyme Excel, converts more starch in

corn, wheat, and other feedstocks into sugars which can

be fermented to ethanol, thereby allowing producers to

increase yields by more than 1%. Compared to other

available solutions, a typical ethanol plant can gain

USD 1 mio or more per year using the enzyme.

Today, an average acre of corn will yield roughly

440 gallons of ethanol. Corn yields have improved by

70% per acre and ethanol plants can get 50% more

ethanol out of the corn compared to 1977. In 2009, the

US produced 10.8 bio gallons of ethanol, which

supported nearly 400 000 jobs, contributed

USD 53.3 bio to GDP, and displaced the need for

364 mio barrels of oil. US legislation mandates

production of 12 bio gallons of ethanol in 2010.

(foodingredientsfirst.com 11 June 2010)

Transformative technology: SynGest Cornucopia Bio-Refinery

Today, when we make ethanol from corn, we are not

actually making corn starch ethanol but really whole

ground corn ethanol. It may seem subtle, but there is an

enormous difference between fuels produced from just

corn starch vs. whole ground corn.

Cornucopia is mainly a re-design of existing systems

while deploying some new key technologies that are

critical to unlocking the bigger opportunity which is

removing the food vs. fuel issue and simultaneously

making food, fertilizer and fuel. The key new

technology that unlocks the opportunity to do this is

SynGest‘s oxy-blown gasification technology.




Transformative technology: SynGest Cornucopia Bio-Refinery (Contd.)

It is used to produce high yield, low cost syngas for the

production of downstream bio-fuels, bio-products and

fertilizers. There are five technologies that unlock the

opportunity for Cornucopia which include ―Slipstream‖

biomass harvesting, dry fractionation, fermentation,

gasification and food-grade oil extraction

The input is 245 000 acres of corn and the quantity of

fuel produced is 132 mio gallons of fuel. A typical

110 mio GPY ethanol plant, when retrofit to ferment

starch vs. whole corn, will produce 20% more fuel per

year for a total of 132 mio GPY. 71 mio Lbs of food

grade corn oil and 74kt of high grade protein is

produced.

A 132 mio GPY plant as noted above will use approx.

245 000 acres of corn (200 bushels per acre). From that

corn, 71 mio Lbs of food grade corn oil will be

produced and 74kt of high grade protein. For

production of fertilizer, 500 000 acres of corn is used.

Of the bran and cobs, 50kt of anhydrous ammonia

(nitrogen fertilizer) will be produced.

The Cornucopia Bio-Refinery shows us that a re-design

of the system that allows us to produce food, fertilizer

and fuel is in fact a better way forward. Also, rather

than assume that we can and should unlock the sugars

bound up in cellulose and ferment them, Cornucopia

Bio-Refinery shows us that using that cellulose to drive

down the GHG footprint via gasification and

production of fertilizer, and then using existing highly

efficient fermentation technologies is a better way.

(biofuelsdigest.com 16 June 2010)

Orange Peels, Newspapers May Lead To Cheaper, Cleaner Ethanol Fuel

University of Central Florida professor Henry Daniell

has developed a groundbreaking way to produce

ethanol from waste products such as orange peels and

newspapers. (Continued in next column)

Orange Peels, Newspapers May Lead To Cheaper, Cleaner Ethanol Fuel (Contd.) Daniell‘s technique -- developed with U.S. Department

of Agriculture funding -- uses plant-derived enzyme

cocktails to break down orange peels and other waste

materials into sugar, which is then fermented into

ethanol.

Corn starch now is fermented and converted into

ethanol. But ethanol derived from corn produces more

greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline does. Ethanol

created using Daniell‘s approach produces much lower

greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline or electricity.

There‘s also an abundance of waste products that could

be used without reducing the world‘s food supply or

driving up food prices. In Florida alone, discarded

orange peels could create about 200 mio gallons of

ethanol each year, Daniell said.

Daniell said no company in the world can produce

cellulosic ethanol -- ethanol that comes from wood or

the non-edible parts of plants.

Depending on the waste product used, a specific

combination or ―cocktail‖ of more than 10 enzymes is

needed to change the biomass into sugar and eventually

ethanol. Orange peels need more of the pectinase

enzyme, while wood waste requires more of the

xylanase enzyme. All of the enzymes Daniell‘s team

uses are found in nature, created by a range of

microbial species, including bacteria and fungi.

(independentngonline.com 24 June 2010)

Ethanol production from mixtures of wheat straw and wheat meal

Bio-ethanol can be produced from sugar-rich, starch-

rich (first generation; 1G) or lingo-cellulosic (second

generation; 2G) raw materials. Integration of 2G

ethanol with 1G could facilitate the introduction of the

2G technology. (Continued on next page)



Ethanol production from mixtures of wheat straw and wheat meal (Contd.)

The capital cost per t of fuel produced would be

diminished and better utilization of the biomass can be

achieved. It would, furthermore, decrease the energy

demand of 2G ethanol production and also provide both

1G and 2G plants with heat and electricity. In the

current study, steam-pretreated wheat straw (SPWS)

was mixed with pre-saccharified wheat meal (PWM)

and converted to ethanol in simultaneous

saccharification and fermentation (SSF).

Both the ethanol concentration and the ethanol yield

increased with increasing amounts of PWM in mixtures

with SPWS. The maximum ethanol yield (99% of the

theoretical yield, based on the available C6 sugars) was

obtained with a mixture of SPWS containing 2.5%

water-insoluble solids (WIS) and PWM containing

2.5% WIS, resulting in an ethanol concentration of

56.5 g/L.

This yield was higher than those obtained with SSF of

either SPWS (68%) or PWM alone (91%). Mixing

wheat straw with wheat meal would be beneficial for

both 1G and 2G ethanol production. However,

increasing the proportion of WIS as wheat straw and

the possibility of consuming the xylose fraction with

pentose-fermenting yeast should be further investigated

Key to Alternative Fuel Could Be Winemaking Yeast

Researchers looking for alternatives to fossil fuels say

they may have found an unlikely ally in certain strains

of wine yeast. Their discovery could lead to clean

energy sources that make economic sense. Scientists

have been exploring bio-fuels for decades now, hoping

to find a replacement for gasoline. The problem has

often been developing a bio-fuel that is price

competitive with good old unleaded producer, the

United States; starch is harvested from corn for

bio-ethanol. (Continued in next column)

Key to Alternative Fuel Could Be Winemaking Yeast (Contd.)

For example, in Brazil, which produces a third of the

world's bio-ethanol, glucose is obtained from sugar

cane and fermented into ethanol. The United States, the

world's largest bioethanol producer, starch is harvested

from corn for bioethanol. The problem is that both are

popular crops for food. Corn-based ethanol is not

economically efficient and only survives thanks to

government subsidies. And one famous study showed

that the amount of emissions produced by corn and

sugar cane ethanol production were similar to those

produced by oil.

An alternative to corn, sugar cane and other crops are

wild grasses and inedible plant parts, like switch grass

and corn stover. But a great deal of the sugar in such

plants comes in the form of xylose, and there is

currently no known strain of yeast found that can

convert xylose to ethanol efficiently enough to compete

with corn and sugar.

Scientists at the department of genetics at Stanford

University published a study in June in the Public

Library of Science periodical Genetics that focused on

finding an efficient yeast to break down xylose into a

usable bio-fuel. According to one of the scientists

working on the project, Gavin Sherlock, the team was

able to identify 38 strains of yeast that can convert

xylose into ethanol. All 38 are strains of yeast for

winemaking. (winespectator.com 20 July 2010)

Feds dole out USD 24 mio for research to turn algae into fuel

Algae has attracted a lot of attention in the bio-fuel

world because some species have high oil content. In

fact, some algal fuel companies are using these

organisms to develop not only transportation fuel but

also edible oils – think salad dressing – and cosmetics

ingredients.




Feds dole out USD 24 mio for research

to turn algae into fuel (Contd.)

The government is eager to replace fossil fuels with

more renewable sources, which include corn ethanol

and a variety of other fuels made from plants, microbes

and simple organisms like algae. Legislation passed in

2007 requires the country's refineries to blend 36 bio

gallons of renewable transportation fuels into the U.S.

fuel supply per year by 2022, and only 15 bio of them

may come from ethanol made of corn starch.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a report

outlining the government's efforts to reach the 2022

goal. The United States produced 10.75 bio gallons of

ethanol (mostly out of corn starch) in 2009, and the

government expects the output to reach 12 bio gallons

this year, according to the report. Except for biodiesel,

all other types of alternative fuels remain in early stages

of commercialization.

Large oil companies also have shown a keen interest in

the potential of algae. BP, for one, struck a USD 10 mio

deal with Martek Biosciences to figure out ways to

grow the organisms on a large scale. ExxonMobil

(XOM) has said it would invest USD 600 mio to

commercialize algae fuel production, a process its

executives say they expect to take at least five or 10

years. (dailyfinance.com 29 June 2010)

EBOOM CAPITAL: Big companies pursue different next-gen bio-fuel technologies

While the ethanol subsidy debate rages in Washington,

D.C., the big oil and chemical companies continue their

small experiments into next-generation bio-fuels.

EBOOM CAPITAL reviewed what the ―Bigs‖ are

doing and which technologies they are pursuing. The

results make it clear that investors won‘t be buying

shares of these companies for their next-gen bio-fuel

prospects. (Continued in next column)

EBOOM CAPITAL: Big companies pursue different next-gen bio-fuel technologies (Contd.)

Here‘s the score in the early innings:

BP plc (NYSE: BP) (Q1 2010 revenue/profit: USD 74.4

bio/USD 6.2 bio) will become the second largest next-

gen bio-fuels producer in the U.S. in 2012 with its USD

98 mio acquisition on July 15 of the cellulosic bio-fuel

business of Verenium Corporation (NASDAQ:

VRNM). The company has planned for other next-gen

activities namely a joint venture with DuPont, called

Butamax Advanced Bio-fuels to develop and

commercialize bio-butanol, a USD 500 mio investment

over 10 years in the U.S. in the Energy Biosciences

Institute, collaborations with Martek Biosciences

Corporation (conversion of sugars to biodiesel) and

Mendel Biotechnology (feedstock development).

Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS:A) (Q1 2010

revenue/profit: USD 88 bio/USD 5.56 bio) claims it

distributes 9 bio liters (2.37 bio U.S. gallons) of bio-

fuels annually, making it the world‘s largest bio-fuels

distributor. The company obscures the fact that this is

conventional crop-based ethanol, not to be confused

with next-generation bio-fuel made from non-crop

sources.


Starch Italics Bio-fuels Starch Industry Overview Company News



Shell‘s next-gen bio-fuel activities include a 50%

equity interest in Logen Energy, a Canadian company

which has been producing cellulosic ethanol from

wheat straw at a demonstration plant since 2004 (2010

production: 200 000 U.S. gallons); an unspecified

equity interest in Virent Energy Systems, Inc. of

Madison, Wisconsin, which opened a demonstration

plant in 2010 converting plant sugars into gasoline as

well as a joint venture, called Cellana, with HR

Bio-Petroleum of La Jolla, California, to build a pilot

plant in Hawaii to grow marine algai and produce

vegetable oil for conversion into bio-fuel.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (NYSE: DD)

(Q1 2010 revenue/profit: USD 8.84 bio/USD 1.13 bio)

has a bio-fuels collaboration with Danish food and

enzyme company Danisco called DuPont Danisco

Cellulosic Ethanol LLC (DDCE). DDCE has a

250 000-gallon-per-year demonstration-scale refinery in

Tennessee, will announce plans this year for a

commercial-scale plant producing cellulosic ethanol

from corn stover, and intends to build a second

commercial cellulosic ethanol plant using switchgrass

as feedstock.

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Q1 2010

revenue/profit: USD 90 bio/USD 6.3 bio) is focusing its

next-gen bio-fuel activities on a USD 600-mio 10-year

collaboration with Synthetic Genomics, Inc (SGI) of La

Jolla, California, that began in July of 2009 to develop

algae bio-fuels.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) (Q1 2010

revenue/profit: USD 19.64 bio/-USD 0.13 bio), North

America‘s largest independent oil refiner and marketer,

had revenue and operating income of USD 570 mio and

USD 57 mio from the 10 conventional ethanol plants it

acquired last year from bankrupt Verasun. (Continued

in next column)


Valero also has interests in next-gen startups Qteros

(Massachusetts-based company working on converting

woody biomass and fast-growing grasses to cellulosic

ethanol), ZeaChem (Oregon-based plant working on

converting poplar trees to cellulosic ethanol), Terrabon

(Texas-based company working on converting sorghum

to petroluem-equivalent fuel) and Solix (Colorado-

based company working on growing algae for

conversion to bio-fuels).

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM)

(Q ending March 31, 2010 revenue/profit:

USD 15 bio/USD 425 mio) will have conventional

ethanol production capacity of 1.8 bio gallons per year

by the end of 2010, eclipsing POET as the largest

producer in the U.S. ADM also produces 450 mio

gallon of biodiesel, mostly refineries outside the U.S.

ADM has collaborations with Deere & Company

(NYSE: DE), Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) and

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) on research to turn crop

residues into feed and bioenergy products.

(energyboom.com 21 July 2010)

Cargill helps food and beverage manufacturers optimize product formulation with EmulTru starch

EmulTru starch, an emulsifying starch made from waxy

corn, provides food and beverage makers the same

functionality in products as gum arabic does, while

delivering a potential costs savings of 25%.


Starch Italics Company News Starch Industry Overview


Cargill helps food and beverage manufacturers optimize product formulation with EmulTru starch (Contd.)

EmulTru starch outperforms other starches targeted at

replacing gum arabic, and addresses a very real concern

that customers have about cost, supply and performance

consistency.

Gum arabic is an emulsifier that gives beverages

consistent flavor and appearance features, such as

cloudiness or coloration. The largest supplier of gum

arabic is Sudan, where drought, locust infestations and

conflict have affected the price and supply of Sudanese

production. Industry experts say that prices will be up

and supply down in 2010 and beyond. In addition, gum

arabic also can perform inconsistently due to

challenging growing conditions in that country.

"The beverage industry is fiercely competitive, and the

instability in the gum arabic market is a serious

challenge for many of our customers," said Shieh. "At

Cargill, our challenge is to help our customers find a

way to mitigate those risks, which we're doing with

EmulTru starch." (finchannel.com 16 June 2010)

Roquette to build USD 27 mio feed house with tax benefits

Roquette America, Inc. will build a USD 27 mio feed

house, an upgrade of its corn gluten feed operation at

the Keokuk plant site. The project will support the 48

jobs that depend upon the feed operation, improve the

energy efficiency of the plant and significantly reduce

emissions of regulated air pollutants.

Roquette, based in Lestrem, France, manufactures corn

starches, starch derivatives and other products of the

corn wet milling process, including corn syrup, food-

and pharmaceutical-grade dextrose, animal feed and

other products. (Continued in next column)

Roquette to build USD 27 mio feed house with tax benefits (Contd.) The announcement of the upgrade comes five months

after the corn processor was court-ordered to pay a

USD 1 mio penalty for air pollution-related violations

related to wet milling corn. The judge also ordered

Roquette to build a new feed-house that would have

more efficient equipment and better air pollution

controls.

Snyder said the local match for the project is USD 3.8

mio, ―which the City of Keokuk will be financing with

the construction of a water tower. It is estimated that

Roquette America will utilize 70% of the capacity of

this new water tower.‖ (dailygate.com 11 June 2010)

Corn Products to buy Akzo Nobel's National Starch unit for USD 1.3 bio – update

Agriculturally derived ingredients provider Corn

Products International, Inc (CPO: News ) said Monday

that it has entered into a. definitive agreement to

acquire specialty starch business National Starch from

the Netherlands-based coatings and specialty chemicals

company Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY.PK:News ) for

USD 1.3 bio in cash. The deal is expected to close in

the third quarter of 2010, subject to regulatory

approvals.

Meanwhile, Akzo Nobel noted that the buyer will also

assume certain pension and employee benefit liabilities.

The acquisition, which has been approved by the

Boards of both Corn Products and Akzo Nobel, would

create an ingredient solutions leader with nearly

USD 5 bio in revenues. Westchester, Illinois-based

Corn Products expects the deal to also gives it access to

new markets such as Europe and Asia-Pacific.




Corn Products to buy Akzo Nobel's

National Starch unit for USD 1.3 bio – update (Contd.)

National Starch, a New Jersey-based specialty starches

provider, was taken over by Akzo Nobel as part of its

acquisition of Imperial Chemical Industries Plc, or ICI,

in January 2008. With 2 250 employees, National

Starch operates 11 plants in eight countries, including

United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and New

Zealand, which are new geographies for Corn Products.

Akzo Nobel decided to sell the unit after its Board

concluded that National Starch did not offer sufficient

opportunity to create value within the company's

transformed coatings and specialty chemicals portfolio.

While announcing the first quarter results in April

2010, Akzo Nobel had said that it received renewed

expressions of interest in National Starch, which had

accordingly been reclassified as a discontinued

operation.

In the year 2009, National Starch generated revenues of

USD 1.2 bio from sales of specialty starches to

customers in the food, papermaking, consumer and

industrial segments. Corn Products, a corn refiner and

supplier of high-quality food ingredients and industrial

products, reported net sales of USD 3.67 bio in the year

2009. The company has 8 000 employees and

operations in 13 countries at 28 plants. According to

Corn Products, specialty and modified starches, two

ingredient solutions the company has identified as

important to its ongoing growth, have been developed

by National Starch. Corn Products expects that its

offerings would be broadened by National Starch's

ingredient solutions, such as texturants, blends and

environmentally "green" solutions.

The company expects to finance the deal through cash,

debt and new equity, and projects significant production

efficiencies and cost synergies from the deal. On a cash

basis, the acquisition is expected to be accretive to Corn

Products by the end of 2011.

(rttnews.com 21 June 2010)

Cargill approved to build sugar refinery in Egypt, Assal says

Cargill Inc., the largest U.S. agricultural company, won

approval to build a sugar refinery in Egypt, the

country‘s Industrial Development Authority said. The

facility will have an initial investment cost of 400 mio

Egyptian pounds (USD 70.5 mio) and is scheduled to

start operations in 2012, Amr Assal, Chairman of the

agency, said yesterday in an interview in Cairo.

The state-run Food Industries Holding Co. and

Al Nouran Holding Co., a private sugar refiner in

Egypt, have applied for licenses to set up plants in the

North African country, Assal said. Consumption of

sugar in Egypt, the Arab world‘s most populous

country, is between 2.8 mio and 2.9 mio t per year,

according to the largest state importer, Sugar and

Integrated Industries Co. Local farmers supply between

1.8 mio and 1.9 mio t annually and the rest is imported

(businessweek.com 22 June 2010)

Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals plans INR 500 mio capex

Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals announced that it has

reviewed and reconsidered the expansion plan at Malda.

The capital expenditure (capex) of expansion has been

estimated at INR 500 mio.




Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals plans INR 500 mio capex (Contd.)

It has been decided to set up a separate / additional unit

with a maize grinding capacity of 300 TPD, dextrose

plant with a capacity of 50 TPD & high malto syrup

plant with 30 TPD in the existing premises of the Malda

unit of the company situated in the state of West

Bengal.

The capex plan of INR 500 mio is proposed to be

financed partly by way of term loan / ECB of

INR 320 mio and balance INR 180 mio from internal

accruals of the company.

Shares of the company gained INR 2.8, or 1.76%, to

settle at INR 162.25. The total volume of shares traded

was 17 801 at the BSE (Friday). (myiris.com

27 June 2010)

Corn Products finally acquires National Starch- will Bunge move on Tate & Lyle?

Corn Products International has announced it is

acquiring National Starch from Akzo Nobel for

USD 1.3 bio. Bunge had attempted to acquire Bunge

with stock 2 years ago but the deal fell through as

shares collapsed.

Corn Products International (CPO) was nearly acquired

by Bunge two years ago in a stock deal. The deal fell

apart as Bunge and all agribusiness stocks (ADM,

Monsanto, John Deere, etc.) collapsed from record

highs with the recession. Ilene Gordon, the new CEO

for CPO who came in with the mandate to grow, was

given a golden opportunity when Akzo Nobel said it

was seeking to sell National Starch which it had

acquired as part of ICI in 2008. (Continued in next

column)

Corn Products finally acquires National

Starch- will Bunge move on Tate & Lyle? (Contd.)

For Akzo Nobel it frees up some cash and allows them

to concentrate on more core covering and chemicals

and away from starches. For CPO it is the access to

more value added ingredients that it has not been able

to generate since shutting down the majority of its

internal research and development over a decade ago.

National Starch also will return CPO to Europe and

Australia/New Zealand, continents it was forced to

leave when it went public.

Bunge was rumored to be looking at Tate & Lyle earlier

this month, which helped push T&L stock price up. It

seemed a natural fit as Bunge has been making a major

move into sugar and ethanol production from sugar in

Brazil and at the same time was sitting on USD 3.8 bio

in cash from the sale of their fertilizer assets to Vale.

Since then Bunge has announced a USD 700 mio share

buyback and T&L stock has once again declined.

T&L may still be acquired, with Danisco and

Associated British Foods reported to have been

interested in National Starch. T&L is suffering from the

weak HFCS market in the US and their lack luster retail

sugar business.

T&L needs someone to help it reorient itself further

into the ingredient business and to find the next product

to replacing their sagging Spenda artificial sweetener.

(glgroup.com 24 June 2010)



Tate heralds exit from sugar with refineries sale

Tate & Lyle heralded its exit from the sugar sector on

which the GBP 2 bio group was built, agreeing to sell

its European refineries and brands, and putting the rest

of its interests in the sweetener up for sale.

The sweeteners and starch company has shaken hands

on the sale to American Sugar Refining of a sugar plant

in Lisbon, and the London cane sugar refinery and

Golden Syrup refineries which merged in 1921 to create

Tate & Lyle. It also unveiled a quest to find buyers for

its remaining sugar business, the molasses unit and its

Vietnamese division.

The disposals followed months of speculation that

efforts by new chief executive Javed Ahmed to shake

up the group, long criticised for reaping a poor return

on its capital investments, would mean an exit from

sugar. Mr. Ahmed last month unveiled a strategy to

develop the group in emerging markets and in high

margin ingredients.

Indeed, Tate's European peers, such as Sudzucker,

Nordsucker, or Associated British Foods, had been seen

by many analysts as more likely buyers for the sugar

business. American Sugar Refining, while North

America's biggest cane sugar refinery, mainly thanks to

buying Tate refineries in Canada and the US over the

past decade, has not historically operated in Europe on

any significant scale.

'Sugar is global': American Sugar, said that the Tate

deal made "perfect sense" and was "consistent" with its

"strategic vision for expansion in the sugar refining

sector". Sugar is a global business," Antonio Contreras,

the group's co-president, said. "The European

acquisition in many ways mirrors our North American

operations and will complement our company."The

group currently runs four refineries in the US, one in

Mexico and one in Canada, the country's largest, which

was bought from Tate & Lyle in 2007. (agrimoney.com

1 July 2010)

Bright Food cuts formal offer for CSR’s sugar unit, review says

Bright Food Group Co. is the biggest food company in

Shanghai, trimmed its offer for CSR Ltd.‘s sugar unit to

between AUSD 1.65 bio (USD 1.39 bio) and

AUSD 1.7 bio, the Australian Financial Review

reported. The Chinese company cut the price from its

April 1 indicative offer of AUSD 1.75 bio after the

price of sugar declined, the newspaper cited

unidentified people close to the deal as saying.

CSR directors are considering the bid that was received

July 2 and will update the market today, according to

the Review. CSR spokesman Martin Cole didn‘t

immediately respond to phone messages seeking

comment. Bright Food would gain mills that produce

45% of Australia‘s raw sugar and account for about 4%

of international trade by buying CSR‘s Sucrogen unit.

CSR is also considering separating the sugar business

from its building material and aluminum operations.

CSR rose 1.5% to AUSD 1.695 when last traded on

July 2. The company‘s sugar division may also be a

target for companies such as Bunge Ltd. and

Cargill Inc., RBS Equities (Australia) Ltd. said in a

report in January. (businessweek.com 4 July 2010)


Tate & Lyle PLC said Thursday it is selling its

European sugar refining business to American Sugar

Refining Inc. for 211 mio pounds (USD 314 mio) in

cash as it focuses on producing ingredients for industry.

American Sugar Refining, based in Yonkers, New

York, is buying cane sugar refineries in London and

Lisbon, the Lyle's Golden Syrup factory in London, the

associated sugar and syrup brands, and the Tate & Lyle

Process Technology consulting business.





These businesses had external sales of 689 mio pounds

in the year ending March 31, making an adjusted

operating profit of 14 mio pounds and had gross assets

of 374 mio pounds, Tate & Lyle said.

Jones said Tate & Lyle's sugar refining business wasn't

expected to be profitam Jonable this year, discounting

for 17 mio pounds in European Union transitional aid.

Tate & Lyle also announced that it intended to sell the

rest of its sugars business, including the molasses

business and operations in Vietnam. American Sugar

Refining previously bought Tate & Lyle North

American Sugars Inc. and its three refineries in 2001,

and Tate & Lyle Canada Ltd. in 2007.

American Sugar Refining markets its products under

the Domino, C&H and Redpath brands. It owns and

operates six cane sugar refineries in Yonkers,

Baltimore, Toronto, Crockett, California, and Veracruz,

Mexico. The company is owned by Florida Crystals

Corp. and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of

Belle Glade, Florida.

Those two divisions make products for industry, not

consumer goods. The Bulk Ingredients division is

essentially a corn-based business, making high-fructose

sweeteners, ethanol and industrial starches for

packagings. Speciality Ingredients makes sucrose and

food starches. (lasvegassun.com 5 July 2010)

AGRANA reports good start to 2010-11 financial year

The business of the sugar, starch and fruit group

AGRANA continued to prosper in the first quarter of

2010 to 2011. Amid the macroeconomic recovery,

demand grew in all three business segments. The

increases in sales volumes made up for the

simultaneous slight easing in prices. (Continued in next

column)

AGRANA reports good start to 2010-11 financial year (Contd.)

Driven by the better market environment, the Group‘s

revenue grew by 6.8% from the prior year‘s first

quarter, to EUR 540.5 mio.

AGRANA‘s largest revenue gain occurred in the Fruit

segment, as a result of volume growth both in fruit

preparations and fruit juice concentrates. With help also

from the growing earnings in Sugar and Starch, our

Group used the gradually stabilising environment

(despite some lower product prices) to generate a good

operating profit, says AGRANA Chief Executive

Officer Johann Marihart.

Revenue in the Sugar segment increased by 3.2% in the

first quarter to EUR 181.2 mio on higher sales

quantities. Quota sugar prices were lower than one year

earlier, but in exports of non-quota sugar AGRANA

benefited from the higher world market prices. Thanks

to cost relief, the segment was able to expand its

margins on quota and non-quota sugar from its own

production; this made itself felt in a 56% improvement

in pre-exceptional operating profit to EUR 6.1 mio.

The revenue growth in the first quarter of 2010-11 from

EUR 125.6 mio to EUR 135.4 mio was attributable

mainly to higher sales volumes in all core product

groups and in by-products. The rise of 37.8% in

operating profit was driven by volume growth and by

savings in raw materials and energy costs. The

operating profit margin improved from 8.8% to 11.3%.




AGRANA reports good start to 2010-11

financial year (Contd.)

The higher margin reflects the stronger Austrian

bio-ethanol business and an earnings improvement in

the Hungarian joint-venture activities. The operating

profit improvement in the Sugar and Fruit segments

should lead to an increase in the AGRANA Group‘s

operating profit before exceptional items and lift the

Group operating margin above that of the 2009-10

financial year.

In the Sugar segment, 2010 to 2011 will be the first

financial year where the regulatory environment created

by the EU sugar regime reform will apply in the form

that is effective until 2015.

For the bio-ethanol activities, revenue growth is

forecast as a result of the volume of production and

sales. Local market conditions will determine

bio-ethanol prices in Europe, as demand depends on the

national political measures concerning bio-fuel blend

requirements. (foodingredientsfirst.com 14 July 2010)

ADM christens new plant

In Columbus, Nebraska, US, ethanol producer Archer

Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has inaugurated its

recently constructed dry milling plant and ethanol

production facility. The christening took place on 9 July

this year after the facility opened in November last

year. The project was originally announced in February

2006.

The dry mill has the capacity the produce 300 mio

gallons of ethanol annually, employing 150 full-time

workers. During the construction phase over 1,400

contractors were employed.

In Nebraska alone ADM owns facilities in Cozad,

Grand Island, South Siouk City, Fremont and Lincoln.

The company has a total of seven corn mills, utilising a

total of 2 mio bushels of corn per day. (biofuels-

news.com 14 July 2010)

Analyst upgrades Archer Daniels Midland on higher pricing for high fructose corn syrup in 2011

Archer Daniels Midland Inc. may benefit from higher

prices for high fructose corn syrup in 2011, an analyst

said Friday as he boosted his investment rating on the

food and crop company's shares. Credit Suisse analyst

Robert Moskow lifted his rating on the stock to

"Outperform" from "Neutral" and raised his estimates

for 2011 above the average expectation of Wall Street

analysts. He also boosted his target share price to

USD 34 from USD 30.

Moskow said the changes are based purely on the

company's corn sweetener business. He said investors

don't like it because of the possible link between the

sweetener and obesity. But he said he believes this

concern is overdone.

Sales of high fructose corn syrup have soured in recent

years. Producers blame the decline on a campaign that

argues corn syrup is behind rising obesity in the U.S.

and that favors sugar over the refined product, although

most nutritionists find little difference between the two.

While some U.S. manufacturers are decreasing their use

of the sweetener, exports to Mexico have increased,

Moskow said. He said ADM's sweeteners business —

20% of the company's profits — should be strong in the

quarter ending in June. In the U.S., demand for the

product is increasing as soft drink sales improve

because of price cuts made by grocers.

He now expects the company, based in Decatur, Ill., to

earn USD 2.95 a share in fiscal 2011, up from his prior

estimate of USD 2.65. Analysts expect the company to

earn USD 2.87 per share in 2011, according to

Thomson Reuters. Shares rose 33 cents in premarket

trading Friday to USD 27.20. (canadianbusiness.com

16 July 2010)



Chudleigh Ventures Announces Acquisition of Denver-Based Emerald Forest Sugar

Chudleigh Ventures Inc. ("Chudleigh", or the

"Company")(TSX VENTURE: XYL) is pleased to

announce that it has entered into a memorandum of

agreement to acquire certain assets and trademarks of

Emerald Forest Sugar Inc., a Denver, Colorado-based

producer and marketer of Xylitol based products.

The purchase price will be satisfied by a cash payment

of USD 475 000, the issuance of a maximum of

1 600 000 common shares at an issue price of USD 0.25

per share and the assumption of USD 195 000 of debt

bearing interest of 7.5% annually.

The number of shares issued will be subject to

adjustment should the value of inventory at the time of

closing be lower than a pre-determined threshold. The

Company will satisfy the cash portion of the purchase

price from a portion of the proceeds of its recent

financing, and the shares issued will be subject to a

statutory four month hold period.

Emerald is led by Doug Stauffer, PhD., who founded

the business in 2002. Doug will remain with the

business and draw on his considerable experience in the

Xylitol market to lead the Company's growth strategy

for packaged Xylitol products in the United States. In

2009, Emerald Forest had sales of approximately

USD 1.0 mio and is on track to achieve sales of

USD 1.5 mio in the current year. The transaction is

expected to close prior to the end of the third quarter of

2010. (marketwatch.com 19 July 2010)

Tongaat expects biggest SA maize crop in almost three decades

JSE-listed agro-processor Tongaat Hulett projected on

Tuesday that South Africa would produce its largest

maize crop in 29 years for the 2010 season at about

13 mio t. (Continued in next column)

Tongaat expects biggest SA maize crop in almost three decades

Tongaat Hulett CEO Peter Staude said in a statement

after the company's yearly meeting that the price of

maize in South Africa, which would be trading close to

the world price through to July next year, would further

contribute significantly to the competitiveness of the

company's starch operation.

Meanwhile, Tongaat Hulett said that it would focus on

increasing its sugar production from the 957kt milled in

the 2009-10 season to the installed sugar milling

capacity of 19 mio t a year.

Staude said that the company already anticipated an

increase in production for its operations in Zimbabwe

and Mozambique for the 2010-11 seasons. In

Zimbabwe, sugar production for the 2010-11 was

expected to be between 330kt and 350kt, from 259kt

last year and production in Mozambique was also

expected to swell from 134kt the previous year to

between 230kt and 250kt this year.

However, he believed that Tongaat Hulett remained

well positioned to benefit from the favourable global

fundamentals of increasing demand for agricultural

products, food, renewable energy and also land usage.

DSM and Roquette to start bio-based succinic acid joint venture

At the 7th annual World Congress on Industrial

Biotechnology, taking place this week in Washington

D.C. (United States), DSM and Roquette will elaborate

on a recent technical breakthrough and proprietary

process for the manufacture of bio-based succinic acid

that will contribute to overall superior economics and

an improved environmental footprint. (Continued on

next page)



DSM and Roquette to start bio-based succinic acid joint venture (Contd.)

DSM and Roquette believe that fermentation based

succinic acid will be able to replace existing fossil

based succinic acid as well as open new applications,

while at the same time delivering a better

environmental performance. This innovative

technology to produce bio-based succinic acid from

starch is unique in the world.

This new production route delivers a reduction in

greenhouse gas emissions, as it sequesters carbon

dioxide (CO2), and the proprietary process does not

produce any salts as waste. Bio-based succinic acid will

thus enable customers to produce products with

substantially lower environmental footprints.

Many companies have already sampled and tested

bio-based succinic acid from the demonstration plant of

Roquette produced pursuant to the JDA and intends to

take shipments from the joint venture upon its

formation. The joint venture between DSM and

Roquette, which is subject to regulatory and other

customary approvals and notifications, plans to focus

on applications such as 1,4 butanediol (BDO),

polyurethane resins, and biopolymers such as

polybutylene succinate (PBS) into applications among

others in paints and coatings, automotive and textiles.

DSM and Roquette will be marketing bio-based

succinic acid via the joint venture Reverdia and are also

working together to further expand their joint capacity.

(yourpetrochemicalnews.com 29 June 2010)

Tate & Lyle's sugar division to be sold for GBP 200m

Lyle's golden syrup, the world's oldest brand, is

expected to change hands in a GBP 200m deal.

The world's oldest brand – Lyle's Golden Syrup – is to

change hands tomorrow when Tate & Lyle announces

the sale of its historic sugar business to American Sugar

Refining for about GBP 200 mio. The deal is likely to

raise fears of job losses at Tate & Lyle's refinery in

Silvertown, in the East End of London, which has been

operating for more than 130 years.

Abram Lyle, a Scottish ship-owner, was also a

Victorian entrepreneur. Having transported sugar for

years, he expanded into sugar refining in 1875 and by

1885 he was turning out Lyle's Golden Syrup – a waste

product from sugar refining. The two companies

merged in 1921 and at that time they refined half the

country's sugar. The merged business was one of the

original constituents of the FTSE-30 index created in

1935, and only two still exist.

By the 1980s it had moved into the soft drinks market

in the US, buying AE Staley, which manufactures high-

fructose corn syrup – a common ingredient in processed

foods and drinks. However, in recent years the

company has run into problems in the sugar business.

Tate has also mothballed a factory in Alabama and

shifted all its production of the artificial sweetener to

Singapore. (guardian.co.uk 30 June 2010)



Singapore group buys up CSR sugar division

CSR‘s sugar division, Sucrogen, not only refines and

sells sugar, but has also expanded into renewable

energy, such as ethanol production, and the sale is

expected to generate USD 1.6 bio for the Australian

group after expenses and tax liabilities are removed.

Bright Foods had reportedly lowering its conditional

bid of USD 1.75 bio for the unit.

Recent acquisitions in the sugar industry would suggest

growing consolidation in the sector with American

Sugar Refining taking over the refining operations of

the UK group Tate & Lyle, last week, and US

agribusiness conglomerate Bunge recently acquiring a

series of Brazilian mills. Jonathan Thomas, principal

market analyst at market research group, Leatherhead

International, told this publication that the divesture of

the cane sugar division of the UK sector veteran comes

as no great surprise, as its much publicized current

strategy is a focus upon value-added sectors.

According to market analysts, although reform of the

EU sugar regime has proved painful, it has been

ultimately successful in that EU quotas have fallen from

around 18.6 mio t to around 13.3 mio t. EU

consumption is fairly stable at around 16.5 mio t, with

the shortfall made up by imports

(confectionerynews.com 5 Jul 2010)

Corn Products posts profit in Q2; net sales up 10%; revises 2010 EPS forecast - quick fact

Corn Products International Inc. (CPO: News ) reported

2010 second-quarter net income attributable to

company of USD 36.8 mio, or USD 0.48 per share,

compared to a net loss of USD 84.8 mio, or USD 1.13

per share in the same period last year.


Corn Products posts profit In Q2; net sales up 10%; revises 2010 EPS forecast - quick fact (Contd.)

The company's second-quarter 2010 results include an

USD 18 mio charge, or USD 0.23 per share, from the

impairment of plant in Llay-Llay, Chile, and an after-

tax charge of USD 3 mio, or USD 0.04 per share,

related to the pending National Starch acquisition. The

second-quarter 2009 results include after-tax

impairment and restructuring charges of USD 110 mio,

with a negative per share impact of USD 1.47.

Excluding National Starch acquisition costs and

impairment and restructuring charges, second-quarter

2010 adjusted per share was USD 0.75, a 121%

improvement over the second-quarter 2009 adjusted

earnings per share of USD 0.34.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the

company to report earnings of USD 0.59 per share.

Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

(rttnews.com 27 July 2010)

CSM buys up Cargill's shares in US lactic acid plant

Global bakery ingredients supplier CSM said that it has

acquired the remaining 50% of the shares its US lactic

acid production plant from its joint venture partner

Cargill. The Nebraska based facility has been a joint

venture between CSM's subsidiary Purac and Cargill‘s

North American Corn Milling Division since 1997.

The plant produces natural L-Lactic acid trough a

carbohydrate fermentation process for pH regulation

along with shelf life extension and texture and taste

enhancement for baked goods and other food

categories. The production process employed at the US

plant was jointly developed and patented by Purac and

Cargill, with the global commodities giant being

supplied with lactic acid for use in its polylactic acid

(PLA) based polymers. (Continued on next page)

Starch Italics Company News Starch Industry Overview Others


CSM buys up Cargill's shares in US lactic acid plant (Contd.)

The Netherlands based CSM said that as the total

output of the lactic acid plant was already fully

dedicated to Purac, the transaction would not impact the

ingredient‘s market position, and the Dutch group

added that the deal would have a slightly positive effect

on its EBITA.

Purac is currently building a lactides manufacturing

unit in Thailand to produce monomers for production of

PLA based bioplastics. The company is investing

EUR 45m in the new facility, which will have the

capacity to produce 75 kt of lactides a year. CEO of the

Dutch company, Gerard Hoetmer, said that it expects to

set up more lactides facilities in the coming years to

cater to increasing demand for bioplastics, a market for

which he expects growth of 40% within the next

10 years.

According to Purac, which undertook a recent market

analysis study, the PLA market is estimated to reach

3 mio t with a market value of USD 6 bio by 2020.

Hoetmer said factors such as consumer and retailer

demand, environmental concerns in reducing carbon

dioxide emissions, and lower crude oil supplies were

driving the market. (bakeryandsnacks.com 22 July

2010)

China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement leads

to new business opportunities

With the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free

Trade Area, there will be a new tide of investment in

ASEAN countries, said Gu Xiaosong, vice president of

the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences. After the

establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in

January 2010, 90% of trade products now enjoy

zero tariffs.


China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement leads to new business opportunities (Contd.)

In the first half of this year, the total value of China-

ASEAN two-way trade reached USD 136.5 bio,

growing by nearly 55% compared with the same period

last year. Exports to ASEAN countries reached

USD 64.6 bio, up by more 45%, and imports from

ASEAN countries reaching nearly USD 72 bio, up by

64%.

Guangxi State Farms will also invest nearly

360 mio yuan to establish a cassava starch processing

base in Qui Nhon, Vietnam. It will also establish a

high-quality sisal base and cassava production base in

the northern part of Myanmar with an area of

100 sq.km and a primary total investment of

USD 13.8 mio.

Furthermore, it will also establish a 10 sq. km cassava

raw materials base in Mindanao, Philippines. In the

future, Guangxi State Farms will invest in building

projects such as processing cassava starch and ethanol.

(english.peopledaily.com.cn 26 June 2010)

starch italics 5th edition

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