global F&A conference i J What'sNewS Issue 7 November 2000 J? ft xr, Day 2 - supply chain efficiencies and a changing environment Changing roles Main driver Traceability Q&A Biotech benefits likely to spill over into the rest of southern Africa? Russell responded that it is diffi- cult to assess, as there is some rippling over into South Africa, hut the govern- ment there has acted positively. In other countries, such as Tanzania, Malawi and Swaziland, the economies are so liberal that Russell does not believe conflict is likely. Jonathan Kingsman was close questioned on his view of the Internet. Did he expect to see trading online? 'Not for a long time,' he said. 'In the near term, I see the role of the Internet as offering tremendous efficiencies in processing the paperwork.' -r. rV -%r i ■ft A The role of the Internet was further elaborated by both our own Ejnar Knud- sen, CEO of vTraction, and James Proud- lock of Sugaronline. One of the major thresholds for companies in any industry is finding its way through the intricacies of the world-wide web and Internet. There is a lot of hype about e-commerce and the fact that no company can afford to miss the cyber boat. The advent of e-commerce in the sugar industry is inevitable, Proudlock believes. However, the timescale will be diverse in various links in the chain.'People are also concerned about security, not only in our business,' Proud lock argued, 'but in all electronic transac- tions. Plus, how do you handle arbitration?' A number of speakers, such as Stefano Meloni and Luis Fernandez, and RI's own F&A sector specialists raised the impor tant issue of the changing roie of sugar and sweeteners. Increasingly, these are used as ingredients in the preparation of other, usually higher-priced products. It is this trend that Dutch company Cosun's CEO Cees Menkhorst discussed in his presentation which described transition from a traditional sugar manufacturer to a food ingrediënt supplier. Mats Anderson of Danisco elaborated on the role of food in gredients, also in emerging markets. No one is prepared to compromise on taste, but food security is very much a key issue and the industry is de- pendent on consumer attitudes. HIS and new developments in the intense sweetener sector were the subject of Mar tin Jager of Germany's Nutrinova. This market is growing at around 4% per year, although sales value remains more or less constant. In response to questions, he said that the main driver in development and growth in the HIS sector is lifestyle rather than economies. As foods have become increasingly com plex in their composition, and the avail- ability of genetic modification has changed the structure of many of the in gredients, traceability is one of the hottest issues in the industry today. Frank Kars- hergen, CEO of the Belgian Amylum Group, explained the processes his com pany has developed - to ISO Standard - in creating comprehensive traceability in the international starch trade. Regulations, es- pecially in the EU and other mature mar kets (although not the US at present), are becoming increasingly stringent. Indepen dent certification is now a fact of life. 'Some demands are somewhat overdone,' commented Karsbergen, 'but the accept- ability level among consumers of GM in- puts is zero.' The bottom line for Karsber gen is that companies at any stage in the chain which refuse to reeognize this new reality will not survive. CïMOs were obviously a hot topic for the whole conference. It's an ironie situation where US companies aren't concerned with this issue, while the same company operating in Europe is under extreme con sumer pressure to produce without any GM inputs whatsoever. Chairman Charles Groenhuijsen noted here that the US is currently unconcerned with GM, but for how long. 'It will only take one scandal or recall to change consumer perceptions in America.' Karsbergen noted that many people in the industry had believed the discussion would be short-lived. 'This is not hype,' he said. 'Plus, traceability will be with us for- ever, no matter how the GM debate con- tinues.' But the discussion on genetic modification wasn't finished yet. Next to speak was Philippe Chatin, global head of sugar beets at Novartis Seeds. He used this op- portunity for an impassioned plea for real information to consumers on what GM and ag-biotech actually are. In addition, he would like to see the industry itself lob bying regulators for greater understanding and, what he believes, would be resulting greater acceptance. 'You, as an industry, should take ownership of this issue. If you don't take it now, then I ant not sure the sugar industry will be able to take advan- tage or gain the benefits biotech has to of fer in the longer term.' In Q&A, Chatin was challenged on whether it was the role of the sugar indus try to lobby for either GM or biotech ac ceptance. Chatin came back with the argu ment that farmers and producers are much more accepting of GM inputs, even in countries like India, where initially there was strong opposition. In conclusion, Chatin said that he believes the whole F&A industry has been mistaken in the way it has approached ag-biotech and GM development. 'Too much emphasis was put on the advantages for farmers and processors,' he argued. 'As an industry, we should have focused even more on the per- sonal benefits that will accrue for the end- consumer.' A full-lengtb version of this summary is available for clients - please contact Mar keting RI on +31 30 216 2804 for info

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'What's news' (EN) | 2000 | | pagina 9