Abu Dhabi plans to combine two food and beverage companies to create a new national champion in the sector, as part of consolidation efforts in the oil-rich emirate led by ADQ, a state-owned holding company, reports Reuters. Industrial conglomerate Senaat, owned by ADQ, has submitted a non-binding offer to the board of Agthia Group, an Abu Dhabi-listed food company, to transfer the majority of Al Foah Company into Agthia, ADQ said on Tuesday. Al Foah, owned by Senaat, is the world's largest date processing and packaging company. "The proposed transaction would combine two leaders in their complementary food and beverage product categories to create one of the top 10 consumer F&B players in the MENA region," ADQ said in a statement. The combined entity would become a "domestic champion" in water, dates, flour, and animal feed, it said.
Mainly above-average rains interspersed with sun last week in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa regions should improve the chances of a larger, higher-quality October-to-March main crop. Farmers said the sunny conditions were helping dry beans, and there were sufficient buyers on the ground in the wake of the new farmgate price of 1,000 CFA francs ($1.80) per kg. Most farmers said they expected the bulk of the main crop to leave the bush from November to January. "Farms will produce more beans than last year if the rains are good this month," said Alfred Badou, who farms near the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt. Data collected by Reuters showed rainfall in Soubre was 32.7 millimetres (mm) last week, 11 mm above the five-year average.
The European Union's trade relations with the United States would likely be easier if Democratic challenger Joe Biden won November's US election rather than President Donald Trump, European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday (2 October). The EU still faces US tariffs on its steel and aluminium and is in dispute with Washington over aircraft subsidies and EU plans to tax digital services companies. The two sides also have differing view on the value of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Asked how Brussels was preparing for the US election on 3 November, Dombrovskis told EU lawmakers the bloc wanted strong transatlantic ties and would work with Washington whatever the outcome. "Probably under a new administration it would be easier because we know that the Trump administration is unfortunately supporting this unilateral action in areas of trade which is creating lots of tensions and lots of problems," he said. "But in any case we will need to work closely and deliver positive results where we can," he continued.
SPAR Hungary has announced plans to include more products from local producers with particular focus on fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables, dairy products, poultry and meat, reports esmmagazine.com Presently, the company is reviewing the scope of increasing the volume of products sourced from local suppliers across various departments in association with the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture (HCA). CEO of SPAR Hungary, Gabrielle Heiszler, said, “The basis of our partnership is trust, which has been embodied in many common activities supporting Hungarian agriculture in the recent period. “During its nearly thirty years of operation in Hungary, SPAR has contributed to the success of domestic suppliers. Currently, we purchase more than 90% of the food products available on our shelves from Hungary, of which we are very proud.” SPAR Hungary operates more than 500 stores across the country and employs more than 13,000 people.
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