Post on 18-Mar-2016
description
transcript
GIRACT
Starch Industry OverviewDecember 2010/January 2011
Starch Italics
www.giract.com
Starch Italics
Starch Industry Overview
Dec 2010/ Jan 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
June/July 2010 © GIRACT 2010
Crops and grains
p.1 Tanzanian cassava growers boosted
R&D cooperation on genetically
optimized potatoes
p.2 Cargill beefs up in Australia with AWB
grain deal
p.3 China seeks to add more value to domestic
products through innovation
Solution for materials and industrial
production
p.4 Hooghly potato on Israel platter
p.5 Total Supply Of U.S. Distillers‘ Grains
Accelerates Over The Past 4 Years
New staple food needed for food security
goals
Starch and derivatives
p.6 Mitr Phol Sugar to begin PLA production
next year
p.7 U.S. EPA Removes Artificial Sweetener
Saccharin From Hazards List
India: Sugar declines on production
estimates
p.8 Stevia, the alternative sweetener for health
Company News
p.9 AVEBE and BASF Plant Science Start
R&D Cooperation on GM Starch Potatoes
p.10 Cargill goes on USD 1 bio-plus shopping
spree
Cargill to pay Rp 2.2t for AKR‘s Sorini
stake
p.11 Novasep, Danisco develop new co product
Wrigley to launch three new variants in
2011
p.12 ADM To Build Two New Grain Elevators
In Nebraska
US based Corn Products International to
invest between USD 75 mio and USD 100
mio in its Brazil business
Bio-plastics
p.13 Sweet and Biodegradable: Sugar and
Cornstarch Make Environmentally Safer
Plastics
Cheryl Perkins column: Future
generations will see growth of bioplastics
p.14 Not All Bioplastics Are Greener p.15 Israeli scientist finds sweet solution
to plastic waste
p.16 Sustainable Bioplastics
for Future Applications
New biodegradable plastic marketed for
foodstuffs
p.17 Launch of new compostable checkout bag
Green Products: Disposable dinnerware
p.18 Yeast and plant fatty acids produce
durable recyclable plastic; conversion into
biodiesel
New hope for heart patients:
Biodegradable stents
Bio-fuels
p.19 Shock Wave: Cavitation shaking up
ethanol with revenue upside
p.20 Europe searching for right biofuel balance
FTC: US ethanol market still
unconcentrated
p.21 Bioengineers develop bacterial strain to
increase ethanol biofuel production
p.22 Celluosic ethanol estimates revised
downward
Others
p.22 Eco-friendly chromatography
Regional Language News
China
p.23 How will the fate of Hebei corn?
p.24 Corn prices is slightly increasing in
Guangdong market (Table of Contents continued on next page)
Starch Italics
Starch Industry Overview
Dec 2010/ Jan 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
June/July 2010 © GIRACT 2010
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 Global Starch and Starch Derivatives study
Giract has just published new multi-
client research into global starch
supply, examining in particular the
impact of the recent economic
downturn on the industry. Details on
the following page.
Regional Language News (Contd’)
China
p.24 Corn prices of Hebei province is stable in
December 2010
Celanese to invest USD 300 mio for
Chinese ethanol plants
p.25 Golden Harvest Futures: Corn
Russia
p.25 In getting involved bioethanol wine yeast
Russia cancels import duties on barley,
oats, wheat, rye and maize, import duty on
soybean meal will be saved
p.26 Latvia to build a plant to produce
bioethanol
Germany
p.27 The Swedes have reported a breakthrough
in the production of bioplastics
Bioplastic from non-edible starch
Brazil
p.27 Area corn crop is 18% lower in Parana
Thailand
p.28 Prices tend to rise, Thailand, cassava and
cassava products in demand
p.29 Thailand: Organic growth potential
Cassava starch market in Thailand
South America
p.30 Argentina will provide ethanol and sugar
Vietnam
p.30 Farmers urged to cultivate hardier crops
this winter
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 73 million tons (expressed as primary starch with 12% moisture). For 30 years the starch industry has posted a remarkable average 4% annual growth and shown great flexibility to adapt to changes and opportunities, from raw material sources and changing trade regulations to new production technologies and end-use sector dynamics.
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 several end-uses
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.
Thus, the traditional patterns in starch production and demand have changed dramatically and so did the competitive landscape. The dominant position of Western players and markets is being eroded, both in terms of product portfolios and players and China has emerged as the largest country for supply and demand of starch. Cost-effectiveness and clean labelling have been driving changes in demand.
As these new patterns are emerging, it is the right time for every player and end-user in this field to take stock of new opportunities and threats before making any strategic decisions. This report provides the necessary comprehensive picture of actual global starch production and trade, by product and area, and explores which key factors are likely to influence the future to 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, published in autumn 2010, takes into account the various changes that have occurred across the world in the last few years, and thus acts 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 2015
REPORT Published September 2010
SUBSCRIPTION Please contact us for subscription details
For more info, contact GIRACT V. Krishnakumar, Jo Goossens
24, Pré-Colomb Tel: + 41 22 779 0500
1290 Versoix/Geneva Fax: + 41 22 779 0505
Switzerland info@giract.com
www.giract.com
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 1
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Tanzanian cassava growers boosted
About 26 000 Tanzanian cassava small scale
growers are set to benefit from Phase II of the
four-year cassava project which aims to develop
the income generating potential and thereby to
boost their incomes. The Tanzania Food and
Nutrition Centre (TFNC) said this will be
achieved through a broader application of
market-oriented and profitable cassava production
methods. The dissemination of appropriate and
more efficient higher scale processing techniques
for high quality cassava flour (HQCF) production
and vigorous market expansion approaches are
among the ways set to be used, the TFNC said.
Cassava is regarded as versatile raw material for
which diverse markets have been identified. The
project will open up and diversify use of cassava
at household level because various products can
be prepared from it and will find its extensive use
in various industries such as foods,
pharmaceuticals, bakeries, brewing and the textile
industries when converted to starch. As we all
know, said Dr Ndossi, cassava is an important
food security crop in Tanzania and its
contribution to nutrition can not be
underestimated as it feeds a large part of Tanzania
as it is rich in carbohydrates.
The government has for a long time promoted
cultivation of cassava to meet the local demand
for domestic consumption and organize markets
for excess production. Such efforts have resulted
in improved cassava processing methods while
linking the farmers or processors to identified
markets. The TFNC has supported the
Government efforts by carrying out research to
improve post harvest losses in cassava handling,
storage, processing, and marketing.
Dr Nicholas Mlingi, the Coordinator of Phase I
said groups of cassava growers were initially
trained on improved production.
(Continued in next column)
Tanzanian cassava growers boosted (Contd)
The estimated demand for high quality cassava
flour for the whole country is about 1kt per year
while actual production does not meet even three
quarters of the total demand. The cassava
improvement project is funded by the Common
Fund for Commodities (CFC) of Amsterdam and
the Netherlands Government. Similar projects are
also being implemented under the International
Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in
Zambia and Madagascar. IITA) is Africa's leading
research partner in finding solutions for hunger,
malnutrition and poverty. It works to enhance
crop quality and productivity, reduce producer
and consumer risks, and generate wealth from
agriculture. (busiweek.com 13 December 2010)
R&D cooperation on genetically optimized potatoes
The potato starch manufacturer AVEBE and the
plant biotechnology company BASF Plant
Science announced today a research and
development alliance in plant biotechnology. The
companies are combining their competencies in
biotechnology discovery and genetically modified
potato breeding with the aim of bringing farmers
modern and fungal resistant starch potato
varieties. They will start developing a late blight
resistant amylopectin starch potato.
"We are proud to partner with the world´s leading
potato starch company. This cooperation ensures
European potato farmers the access to best traits,"
said Marc Ehrhardt, Senior Vice President, BASF
Plant Science. "The cooperation underlines our
strategy and our aim to increase efficiency in
farming by bringing BASF‘s competence in plant
biotechnology to farmers around the world in cooperation with the best partners."
(Continued on next page)
Crops and grains
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 2
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
R&D cooperation on genetically optimized potatoes (Contd)
Both companies will bring in their know-how in
the field of developing genetically modified
amylopectin potato varieties. The companies
complement each other with BASF Plant Science
providing the regulatory approval experience and
AVEBE contributing its breeding and starch
application development expertise.
After having switched off the gene for the
production of amylose, the amylopectin starch
potato produces pure amylopectin starch and thus
helps to save resources, energy and costs. In
addition, the resistance against major potato
diseases such as late blight caused by
Phytophthora infestans will lead to a better
control of fungal diseases and thereby reduce the
production costs of amylopectin starch further.
(farminguk.com 14 December 2010)
Cargill beefs up in Australia with AWB grain deal
Cargill has vaulted up the league of crop handlers
in Australia by purchasing AWB's commodity
management business, in a deal termed a
"significant milestone" for the industry. The US
agribusiness giant is to pay cash for the business,
once Australia's monopoly wheat exporter, from
Agrium, the acquisitive Canadian fertilizer and
farm retail group in the process of digesting
AWB.
(Continued in next column)
Cargill beefs up in Australia with AWB grain deal (Contd)
The value of the deal will be decided when it is
completed. However, as of September 30, the
operations being disposed of would have been
worth about Aus$870m (USD 860m), including
some Aus$240m in debt that Cargill will assume.
Mike Wilson, the Agrium Chief Executive, said
that Cargill's purchase of the AWB business "will
be a significant milestone in the evolution of
Australia's grain industry".
Cargill has been a relatively small player in the
Australian grain handling sector, and this spread
over sectors including cattle feedlots, oilseed
processing and flour milling. The deal also comes
amid something a flurry of investment by Cargill,
whose profits have been boosted by the rising and
volatile crop markets.
The company also on Wednesday unveiled the
purchase of a majority share in Indonesian
sorbitol producer Sorini Agro Asia Corporindo for
INR 2.72 bio (USD 300m), and last week
announced the capacity upgrade of its Gilman
grain facility in Illinois, which will be able to
receive 60 000 bushels of grain an hour, 25 000
bushels an hour more than at present.
Cargill is the latest of a series of grain giants to
target Australia since the deregulation of its grain
export operations, following a breach by AWB of
curbs on shipments to Iraq during the regime of
Saddam Hussein. Canada's Viterra bought
ABB Grain, initially a barley business, last year,
while Japan's Sumitomo Corporation has bought a
stake in Emerald. For Agrium, however, the prime
objective of its USD 1.1 bio AWB purchase was
to snap up the group's retail business, Landmark,
to extend its footprint of farm supply operations
from North America. The Cargill deal "is the best
course of action for all stakeholders involved",
Mr Wilson said. Agrium will also retain
commodity business worth some Aus$55m not
being bought by Cargill. (agrimoney.com 15
December 2010)
Crops and grains
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 3
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
China seeks to add more value to domestic products through innovation Li Wei, Vice President of the sugar producer,
Xiwang Group in eastern China's Shandong
Province, told Xinhua that the market value of
their product would rise 20% by turning corn into
starch, and from starch to crystalline dextrose the
value would further rise 80 to 100%."By turning
corn into crystalline fructose, we can raise the
added value by 20 times," Li said with
excitement, holding up the fructose product which
was put on the market recently.
Through independent research and development
(R&D), Xiwang Group mastered several key
technologies which were previously controlled
only by a few developed countries. Since 2007,
the corn used each year by Xiwang Group has
remained at around 1.8 mio t, but the total output
has increased annually by 30%.
In the plan for the 11th Five-Year Plan, the
government took enhancing the capability of
independent innovation as a crucial step in
China's industrial restructuring and the
transformation of the growth pattern, which
greatly promoted companies all over the country
to invest more in technological innovation and
adding more value to their products.
To gain a foothold at the high end of the global
industry chain, Chinese companies must improve
their technology and raise the products' added
value, according to Zhang. so it turned to the
growth pattern driven by technological
advancement and the improvement of efficiency.
Mao Weiming, Director of Jiangsu Development
and Reform Commission, said the province
increased the investment in R&D in the period of
the 11th Five-Year Plan. (xinhuanet.com 19
December 2010)
Solution for materials and industrial production
By 2025, the country‘s biofuel output will reach
1.8 mio t, meeting 5% of its petroleum demands.
However, developing materials for biofuel
production poses many problems and needs to be
resolved. Vietnam has the potential to develop
biofuel from producing cassava, corn and sugar
which can replace oil and gas. In addition, the
country has a lot of land that can grow cassava
and corn. It is estimated that Vietnam can produce
around 5 mio litres of bio-alcohol every year
Le Minh Duc, head of the Environment and
Sustainable Development Department of the
Institute of Industry, Policy and Strategy (IPSI),
says that Vietnam needs around 1.5 mio t of dried
cassava (around 4 mio t of fresh cassava) by 2020
and about 2.5-3 mio t of dried cassava (equal to
8 mio t of fresh cassava) by 2025. Accordingly,
the country will need around 200 000 ha of
cassava with capacity of 20 t per hectare in 2020
and around 300 000 ha with a capacity of 30 t per
hectare in 2025.
Luu Quang Thai, President of Board of Directors
of Dong Xanh Joint Stock Company in Quang
Nam says the country currently produces
9-10 mio t of fresh cassava. The remainder will be
dried and be around 2.4 mio t of cassava, 700 to
800kt will be used as animal food and the
remainder will be used to produce ethanol or
exported. When cassava is processed into starch
or ethanol, its value doubles. If domestic materials
can meet the country‘s demand for ethanol by
2015 according to a project to develop biofuel by
2015 and vision to 2025, Thai says. Professor
Tran Ngoc Ngoan, Deputy Director of the Thai
Nguyen Agriculture and Forestry University, says
that cassava can grow on uncultivated and fallow
land.
(Continued on next page)
Crops and grains
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 4
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Solution for materials and industrial production (Contd)
When cassava is processed into starch or ethanol,
its value doubles. If domestic materials can meet
the country‘s demand for ethanol by 2015
according to a project to develop biofuel by 2015
and vision to 2025, Thai says. Professor Tran
Ngoc Ngoan, Deputy Director of the Thai Nguyen
Agriculture and Forestry University, says that
cassava can grow on uncultivated and fallow land.
.
Cassava can help poor people who are not able to
invest in production. If there is a proper policy,
cassava can develop sustainably. Success in
Tay Ninh province is a typical example.
Do Thanh Hoa, director of the Tay Ninh
provincial Department of Industry and Trade, says
Tay Ninh is the country‘s largest cassava area. It
has 46 000ha of cassava with output of 28 t per
hectare. Cassava is now replacing rubber and
sugar. The price of 1kg of cassava is
VND 2 400 to 2 500. (vovnews.vn 18 December
2010)
Hooghly potato on Israel platter Israel is actually getting a taste of potatoes grown
in Hooghly. Recently, 40 t of potato flakes,
processed and packaged at a plant near
Dhaniakhali, was shipped to Israel on a trial basis.
The food processing unit that exported the flakes
has also received orders from Russia and Dubai.
"Should everything move according to plan, our
company would procure nearly a third of the
potatoes produced in Hooghly. This procurement
will be directly from the farmers and there will be
no involvement of middlemen. The farmers will
be assured a fair price for their produce. If the
need arises, we shall also supply better quality
seeds to them," said Apurba Saha, chairman of the
Pailan Group.
This could be the first time potato products from
West Bengal have been exported. The processing
plant at Dhaniakhali was originally set up as a
100% export-oriented unit. Recently, the Indian
government granted it permission to market 50%
of its product in the country. In October, 2010, the
company participated in the World Food
Processing Fair organised in France. It was there
that it was contacted by Poliva, which imports
food items to Israel.
(Continued on next page)
Crops and grains
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 5
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Hooghly potato on Israel platter
(Contd) According to Saha, it takes nearly 7 t of Hooghly
potatoes to produce 1 t of flakes. But nothing will
go to waste. The Pailan Group has signed an MoU
with Taiwan to use the residual starch to
manufacture cattle feed cakes. Taiwan will set up
the machinery and buy back the starch cakes
which have a huge demand in countries like
Australia. (indiatimes.com 19 December 2010)
Total Supply Of U.S. Distillers’ Grains Accelerates Over The Past 4 Years The estimated supply of U.S. distillers‘ grains is
expected to total 33.3 mio t for 2009-10, more
than four times that in 2003-04. Most distillers‘
grains come from dry-mill fuel ethanol production
and a lesser amount comes from dry-mill
beverage distilleries. Imports are a minor segment
of the market. Most distillers‘ grains are derived
from corn with smaller amounts coming from
sorghum and wheat. Changes in dry-mill ethanol
technology may further alter the composition of
distillers‘ grains. Growth in distillers‘ grain
production will continue to follow corn use for
ethanol production, but both are expected to slow
compared with the rapid expansion over the past
several years
Production of distillers‘ grains, a feed co-product
from corn dry-mill ethanol production, surpassed
feed co-products from the wet-milling process in
marketing year 2006-07. Between 1992-93 and
2001-02, exports accounted for most of corn
gluten feed‘s disappearance, but export‘s recent
share of corn gluten feed has declined. This
decline in corn gluten feed was due to the
European Union‘s Common Agricultural Policy
(Continued in next column)
Total Supply Of U.S. Distillers’ Grains Accelerates Over The Past 4 Years (Contd) For example, cereal prices declined when CAP
reform stimulated consumption of domestic feed.
EU reforms also reduced the EU cow herd, which
reduced the need for feed. Furthermore, U.S. corn
gluten feed and its derivation from genetically
modified corn may have precluded its use in EU
feed rations. This biotechnology concern may be
present regardless of whether U.S. corn wet mills
used only EU-approved corn varieties, due to fear
of contamination of unapproved varieties.
As the production of corn-based ethanol
increases, DDGS output increases because of the
fixed proportions of ethanol and co-product yield
from corn bushels processed. For example, when
dry-mill fuel ethanol production began to
accelerate between 2002-03 and 2009-10 and
dry-mill corn use rose from an estimated 0.5 to
4.1 bio production of DDGS rose from an
estimated 4.3 to 32.0 mio t
composition of Distillers‘ Grains is beginning to
change growth of U.S. Distillers‘ Grains Supply
expected to moderate. (cattlenetwork.com 16
December 2010)
New staple food needed for food security goals A firmly established culture of rice consumption
in Indonesia may put food security at stake,
potentially hampering the country‘s efforts to
achieve its rice self-sufficiency target by 2014,
scientists say. Office of the State Minister for
Research and Technology deputy minister
Benyamin Lakitan said Tuesday that
diversification into other staple foods, such as
corn, cassava and sorghum, remained stagnant
even though rice fields were deteriorating because
of indiscriminate land conversion and changing
weather.
(Continued on next page)
Crops and grains
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 6
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
New staple food needed for food security goals (Contd)
In eastern Indonesia, people have traditionally
consumed corn, cassava or sago as their daily
staple food. Papuans, for example, used to eat
primarily sago, as well as sweet potatoes and
cassava. However, they have become accustomed
to eating rice in the last few decades. Suwarno
said rice demand in Indonesia had increased
sharply due to population increases.
According to the Agriculture Ministry,
121 000 hectares out of the 21 mio hectares of
agricultural land in Indonesia had been converted
into non-agricultural land between 2003 and
2008. About 86 000 hectares of the
121 000 hectares were in Java, even though most
of the land in Java is fertile. Between 2008 and
2009, 27 000 hectares of agricultural land had
been converted into non-agricultural land,
seriously threatening farmers. Agricultural land
ownership in Java is now only 0.2 to 0.3 hectares
per farmer, and one to 1.2 hectares per farmer
outside of Java. Land conversion is likely to
continue because the proposed regional regulation
on land submitted by several local administrations
will seize about 3.1 mio hectares of agricultural
land, 1.7 mio hectares in Java and 2 mio hectares
outside of Java.
Apart from land conversion, Suwarno said bad
weather would also impede Indonesia‘s efforts to
meet its rice self-sufficiency target. ―Sorghum is
the most suitable alternative staple food,‖ said
Soeranto Hoeman, a radiation and isotope
technology scientist at the National Nuclear
Energy Agency (BATAN). Sorghum is not only
more drought and heat resistant, but it also has
more resistance to high salinity land. While
lamenting that sorghum was less popular in
Indonesia than other countries like India, Japan
and China. Sorghum, a kind of grain, is a
multifunction crop widely used not only as a
staple food, but also as food for cattle and as a
biofuel. (Continued in next column)
New staple food needed for food security goals (Contd)
Sorghum is number five in the ranking of most
important cereal foods, after wheat, rice, corn and
barley. It also contains more nutrition than other
staples, with high anti-cholesterol and anti-
diabetic elements as well. Soeranto said diversification to more drought resistant staple
crops was one of the best ways to adapt to the
increasingly unpredictable climate. (thejakartapost.com 27 December 2010)
Mitr Phol Sugar to begin PLA production next year
Asia's largest sugar producer, Mitr Phol Sugar
Corp, plans to start commercial-scale production
next year of polylactic acid (PLA), the raw
material for biodegradable plastic. The production
is part of the company's strategic move to expand
into high-value products to maximise the value of
its core business: sugar.
Mitr phol initiated a pilot plant last year and is
now negotiating with strategic partners to
determine the size of a PLA production facility.
PLA or polylactide is a biodegradable,
thermoplastic, aliphatic polyester derived from
renewable resources, such as corn starch (in the
United States), tapioca products (roots, chips or
starch mostly in Asia) or sugarcane (the rest of the
world). Although PLA has been known for more
than a century, it has only been of commercial
interest in recent years.
(Continued on next page)
Crops and grains
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 7
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Mitr Phol Sugar to begin PLA production next year (Contd) Mitr Phol Group has been active in Thailand's
cane and sugar industry for 53 years and its five
core business categories are sugar, particle boards,
bioenergy, ethanol and warehouses/logistics. It
has five sugar mills in Thailand in Chaiyaphum,
Suphan Buri, Khon Kaen, Kalasin and Sing Buri.
The company expects its total sugar output in this
crop year will rise by 25% to 2.6 mio t from 2 mio
the previous crop year. Of that total, 1.4 mio t will
come from Thai operations, up from 1 mio a year
earlier, while 1.2 mio t will come from China, up
from 1 mio. Some 60kt are expected from Laos, a
surge from 24kt last crop year.
The company reported total sales in the 2009-10
crop year rose by 20% to 58.8 bio baht due to
rising global sugar prices. Sugar made up 84% the
company's sales revenues, with 9% from energy
global sugar price may stand above 20 cents per
pound for many years due to rising demand in
Asia, while production is likely to further drop
due to drought in many countries," said
Mr Krisda.
The demand next year is about 3 mio t higher than
domestic production, and the country is on track
to import more sugar every year. China's sugar
demand is projected to be 14.5 mio t while its
domestic production is for 12 mio t or lower.
(bangkokpost.com 15 December 2010)
U.S. EPA Removes Artificial Sweetner Saccharin From Hazards List The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) said it has removed common artificial
sweetener saccharin, long believed to be a
potential cancer-causing substance, from its list
of hazardous substances.
(Continued in next column)
U.S. EPA Removes Artificial Sweetener Saccharin From Hazards List (Contd) Saccharin, an artificial sweetener found in diet
drinks and chewing gum, is no longer considered
a potential hazard to human health, it said.
Saccharin, which is 300 times sweeter than
sucrose or sugar, can also be found in cosmetics
and pharmaceuticals.
Saccharin was labeled a potentially cancer-causing substance in the 1980s.
Human epidemiology studies - studies of patterns,
causes, and control of diseases in groups of
people - have shown no consistent evidence that saccharin is associated with bladder cancer
incidence, the National Cancer Institute.
In the late 1990s, the National Toxicology
Program and the International Agency for
Research on Cancer re-evaluated the available
scientific information on saccharin and its salts
and concluded that it is not a potential human
carcinogen - a substance known to cause cancer.
Because the scientific basis for remaining on
EPA‘s lists no longer applied, the agency said it
proposed the removal of saccharin and its salts
from the lists on April 22, 2010 and did not
receive any comments opposing the proposal.
(ibtimes.com 15 December 2010)
India: Sugar declines on production estimates
Sugar spot prices and futures declined 1.36% and
0.72% respectively on Tuesday with sugarcane
crushing gathering pace in major producing
regions. According to the agri ministry, Sugar
exports have not been put on hold and mills are
asked to fulfill the necessary conditions by
January 31. 5 lakh t of Sugar exports are allowed
under Open General License (OGL).
(Continued on next page)
Starch and derivatives
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 8
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
India: Sugar declines on production estimates (Contd) International markets reopened on Tuesday,
however, settled slightly higher as compared to
the Friday´s closing. Uncertainty with regards to
Indian exports due to inflationary pressure is
prompting the international markets to adopt wait
and watch policy. Indian Sugar production is
estimated at 24.5-25 mio t in the current year
2010-11, up by 30% compared to last year. As on
13th January 2011, 158 sugar factories in
Maharashtra crushed 295 lakh t sugarcane and
produced 30 lakh t sugar with 10.31% recovery.
Sugar output in Karnataka is up by 11% at
9.77 lakh t in the first three months of 2010-11
season that began on 1st October, 2010
(State Farm Department).
Trade: India is normally a net sugar exporter, but
had to import in the previous two seasons due to
fall in output. However, the government during
the last month had permitted exports under Open
General License (OGL) to the extent of 5 lakh t
and thus mills are asked to fulfill the necessary
obligations by January 31. Indian government has
imposed 60% duty on sugar imports. Total raw
sugar imports in 2010-11 are expected to be lower
at around 1.2 mio t compared to 4.5 mio t in
2009-10.
Outlook: Sugar prices are expected to remain
decline in the intraday due to sufficient supplies in
the domestic markets. Currently, Sugar prices at
Kolhapur are trading around INR 2800 per qtl
levels. We expect Spot prices at Kolhapur to trade
in the range of INR 2750 and 3000 per qtl levels
for the rest of the month. Ongoing crushing may
put some pressure on the prices. In the medium to
long term domestic Sugar price movement would
be dependent on the permissible sugar exports
from the country. Domestic sugar could gain if
exports are allowed given the high sugar prices
prevailing in the global markets. (udop.com 19
January 2011)
Stevia, the alternative sweetener for health
As the number of people afflicted with diabetes is
ever increasing, the search for healthy alternative
sweeteners is on sold to the company that needs
the stevia. An alternative to the table sugar is
needed to control the glucose in the daily diet of
diabetics in Malaysia.
The Second National Health and Morbidity
Survey estimated that there are 3.4 mio
Malaysians suffering from diabetes in 2010.
Stevia, a sub tropical herb from South America is
among the latest alternative sweeteners available.
Stevia is also used as the alternative sweetener in
the production of food and beverages and is
increasingly gaining international recognition.
In Malaysia, its use is gaining wide acceptance
especially following the recent rise in sugar
prices. A health drink manufacturer CT Lang Sdn
Bhd now uses stevia as the alternative sweetener
in its products. Its manager Abdullah Mohamad
noted that stevia has big potential as it could be
grown easily and the leaves harvested within three
months. In Japan 50 to 60% of the sweeteners
used are from stevia and it is used in many of its
food products, he said. Abdullah said the extract
from the stevia leaves is between 300 and 400
times sweeter compared with sugarcane extract.
(Continued on next page)
Starch and derivatives
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 9
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview Company News
Stevia, the alternative sweetener for health (Contd)
So far, farmers in Bagan Serai in Perak and Silam
in Sabah have agreed to this idea and are expected
to start cultivation shortly. The stevia cultivation
starts with the seed maturing process that takes a
month. Within 3 months of planting the leaves are
harvested and the sweet juice is extracted from the
leaves and processed into sweetener. Abdullah
pointed out the planting process is straight
forward and does not cost much and the
impressive revenue cycle guarantees stevia‘s
potential within and outside the nation. By
introducing small planting modules to the
smallholders, this will help to establish a
commercial stevia planting network.
For a start RM 40 000 is needed for planting
stevia on an area about 0.4 to 0.8 hectares, said
Abdullah.With stevia, Malaysians have an
alternative to table sugar and good economic
potential as stevia trade is valued at RM5 bio
annually. Abdullah noted that many Malaysians
were still ignorant of stevia‘s potential and its
benefits. However, it is hoped that the company‘s
undertaking will help expose the plant‘s potential
and emerge as one of the economic drivers for the
nation‘s agricultural sector, he said. — Bernama
(theborneopost.com 27 December 2010)
AVEBE and BASF Plant Science Start R&D Cooperation on GM Starch Potatoes
The potato starch manufacturer AVEBE and the
plant biotechnology company BASF Plant
Science have announced a research and
development alliance in plant biotechnology. The
companies are combining their competencies in
biotechnology discovery and genetically modified
potato breeding with the aim of bringing farmers
modern and fungal resistant starch potato
varieties. They will start developing a late blight
resistant amylopectin starch potato.
(Continued in next column)
AVEBE and BASF Plant Science Start R&D Cooperation on GM Starch Potatoes (Contd)
Late blight is a serious problem in potato farming
in Europe. The companies expect the first
varieties to be available on the market by 2019
onwards. Financial details of the collaboration
were not disclosed.
"We are proud to partner with the world´s leading
potato starch company. This cooperation ensures
European potato farmers the access to best traits,‖
said Marc Ehrhardt, Senior Vice President, BASF
Plant Science.
Both companies will bring in their know-how in
the field of developing genetically modified
amylopectin potato varieties. The companies
complement each other with BASF Plant Science
providing the regulatory approval experience and
AVEBE contributing its breeding and starch
application development expertise.
Conventional potatoes produce a mixture of
amylopectin and amylose starch. For many
technical applications, such as in the paper, textile
and adhesives industries, only amylopectin starch
is needed. Separating the two starch components
is uneconomical and environmental unfriendly.
After having switched off the gene for the
production of amylose, the amylopectin starch
potato produces pure amylopectin starch and thus
helps to save resources, energy and costs.
(foodingredientsfirst.com 5 December 2010)
GIRACT Sweeteners & Starch Price Monitoring
Giract provides quarterly prices of white sugar,
key starches and their principal derivatives used
in the food industry across major regions. The
report comprises tables and commentary on
price movements as well as charts which track
annual running price series. Details on the
following page.
Starch and derivatives
GIRACT
Sweeteners & Starch Price Monitoring Quarterly Price Review of Starches, their derivatives and Sugar in Key World Markets
Now in its 10th successful year !
Giract provides quarterly prices of white sugar, key starches and their principal derivatives used in the food industry across major countries. This report comprises tables and commentary on price movements. In addition, charts track annual running price series.
Why should you subscribe to this Price Monitoring?
Because you are closely involved with these products and often find it difficult - or impossible - to obtain ex-manufacturer price estimates on a comparative scale across countries
Because this is an efficient mechanism to remain abreast of developments
Because this monitoring programme has been endorsed by key players including ADM, Avebe, BASF, Cargill, CPI, Lyckeby, Novartis, Unilever, Dupont, …
Because Giract is well-known for its in-depth analyses of the world starch and sugar industries over the last 30 years.
What does this Price Monitoring contain?
Compact tables which provide ex-factory prices in local currency and USD for the key products and countries as shown below (relevant raw materials for each country), along with charts tracking price trends.
Glucose syrup HFS Native Starch Cationic Modified White
DE 40-42 DE 63-65 DE <20 42% 55% Maize Wheat Potato Tapioca Starch*
Starch
food grade+
Sugar
LatAm China EU India Russia Thailand USA
* LatAm, China, India, Russia, Thailand + EU, USA
How do you subscribe to this Price Monitoring ?
By simply filling in the form below and returning it to us or subscribing online at www.giract.com. Name ______________________________________ Company __________________________________________
Address ______________________________________ Zip/City __________________________________________
Country ______________________________________ E-mail __________________________________________
Tel ______________________________________ Fax __________________________________________
O I would like to receive 4 issues (one year): subscription EUR 1680
O I would like to receive 8 issues (two years): subscription EUR 3050
For more info, contact V. Krishnakumar
GIRACT Tel: + 41 22 779 0500
24 Pré Colomb Fax: + 41 22 779 0505
1290 Versoix/Geneva email: info@giract.com
Switzerland www.giract.com
07/10-1
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 10
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Cargill goes on USD 1 bio-plus shopping spree Cargill Inc. has gone on a USD 1 bio-plus holiday
shopping spree, with the announcement on
Wednesday that it is acquiring a large Australian
grain handling and trading operation as well as a
major Indonesian ingredient producer. The
Minnetonka-based agribusiness giant is paying
USD 800 mio to the Canadian firm Agrium Inc.
for the commodities business that Agrium
recently took over when it bought Australia's
AWB Ltd. In a separate deal, Cargill is spending
USD 300 mio for an 85% stake in PT Sorini Agro
Asia Corporindo Tbk, one of the world's leading
producers of sorbitol, an ingredient in food,
cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Agrium, a fertilizer producer and retailer of
agricultural products based in Calgary, Alberta,
last month bought AWB for about USD 1.2 bio.
But Agrium isn't in the grain trade, and Cargill, of
course, is one of the planet's biggest grain
companies. AWB, which was founded in the late
1930s as the government-run Australian Wheat
Board, is Australia's leading agribusiness,
according to its website. With the deal, Cargill
will pick up 22 grain storage sites across Australia
and a 50% stake in a grain export terminal
in Melbourne.
In the Sorini deal, Cargill will nab a controlling
stake in a company that has seven ingredient factories in Indonesia. Sorini's chief product,
sorbitol, is derived from starch sources, primarily
corn and the root of the cassava plant; Indonesia
is a major exporter of the latter. Sorini will
become a subsidiary of Cargill, which already has
a foothold in the starches and sweeteners trades.
Cargill is the world's largest food additive and
ingredient producer, according to a July report by
Leatherhead Food Research. The company
already has extensive operations and over 8 000
employees in Indonesia. (startribune.com 15 Dec
2010)
Cargill to pay Rp 2.2t for AKR’s Sorini stake
US-based Cargill says it will pay chemical
company PT AKR Corporindo Rp 2.2 trillion
(USD 244 mio) for its 69% stake in publicly listed
PT Sorini Agro Asia, the world‘s leading
producer and supplier of sorbitol.
The company said in a statement that it had
agreed to pay Rp 3 500 a share for AKR‘s stake in
Sorini, a 6.9 premium over Sorini‘s closing price
of Rp 3 375 on Monday.
Cargill — which produces and markets
agricultural, financial and industrial products and
services — said it would also buy 16.19% of
Sorini‘s ordinary shares from UOB Kay Hian Pte
Ltd. of Singapore at the same share price in a
separate transaction that would be completed
simultaneously with the AKR purchase.
After the purchases are complete Cargill will hold
85.01% of Sorini‘s outstanding shares valued at
more than Rp 2.72 trillion.
This acquisition will be an anchor point for future
growth of our food ingredients business in Asia,
particularly in Indonesia and southeast Asia,‖
Cargill Asia-Pacific president and regional
director Bram Klaeijsen said in a statement.
Indonesian-based Sorini currently operates 7
factories in East Java and Lampung, producing
several starch and starch derivative products, such
as liquid and powdered sorbitol, maltitol, dextrose
monohydrate, maltose, and maltodextrin, which
are mainly used in consumer goods such as
toothpaste, ice cream and soft drinks.
Following completion of the transaction with
AKR, Cargill will make a mandatory tender offer
to acquire the remaining shares of Sorini as
required by Indonesian law.
(thejakartapost.com 16 Dec 2010)
Company News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 11
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Novasep, Danisco develop new co-product
Novasep Process and Danisco announced the
scale-up of an innovative process for the
production of natural betaine. And a new plant
will be the first to exploit a new extraction
process using vinasse, a byproduct of sugar-beet-
derived bioethanol. Its use will enable Danisco to
substantially increase the availability of natural
betaine, which is globally used as a technical
animal feed ingredient and currently in short
supply.
Danisco pioneered the research and application of
natural betaine in animal nutrition in the early
1990s and has clearly demonstrated superior value
compared to synthetic alternatives. Unlike
synthetic betaine, natural betaine acts as an
osmolyte, improving intestinal health and
reducing the negative impact of heat-stress on
animal production. Currently, market demand for
natural betaine outweighs production. The betaine
from the new plant will be sold by Danisco as
Betafin. As well as increasing the availability of
betaine, the new process will allow the betaine-
extracted bioethanol vinasses (residues) to be
further recycled and sold as crop fertilizer. Until
now, it was possible to extract natural betaine
only from sugar-beet molasses, a side stream of
sugar production. The new process will be
increasingly valuable as the increase of the
bioethanol production using beets will generate
more and more vinasses.
Novasep Process is responsible for the
engineering of the new plant and will provide the
complete process line which combines Danisco‘s
proprietary chromatographic technology, known
as NS2P, with membrane and evaporation steps.
This project is the latest development of the
alliance between Novasep and Danisco in the
field of betaine extraction and purification, which
has already given birth to several betaine
production plants. (Continued in next column)
Novasep, Danisco develop new co-product (Contd)
Danisco and Novasep will provide technological
support for the betaine production plant with De
Smet Engineering and Contractors, being in
charge of building construction, erection services
and auxiliaries supply of the new development.
Tereos, a world player in sugar, starch and
bioethanol production, will supply the vinasses
and operate the plant at its facility in Origny,
France.
Wrigley to launch three new variants in 2011
Wrigley is bidding to lure in new consumers with
a trio of revamped gum products next year, with
claimed health benefits. The company is
launching three new variants: Wrigley‘s Extra Ice
Peppermint, Extra Ice Spearmint and Extra Ice
White, as it looks to increase interest in a gum
market that has struggled in recent years.
Extra Ice Peppermint and Spearmint variants,
which will hit shelves in February, are to relaunch
with new ingredients, including the sugar-free
sweetener Xylitol, which is claimed to prevent the
formation of plaque. The revamped range will be
sold in single packs priced at 46p.
Extra Ice Peppermint will be supported by
sampling, point-of-sale activity and PR activity.
Wrigley hopes that the launch will help lift sales
of Wrigley‘s Extra core brand.
(Continued on next page)
Company News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 12
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Wrigley to launch three new variants in 2011 (Contd) Concurrently, Wrigley is to relaunch Wrigley‘s
Extra Ice – which will also include Xylitol – with
new white packaging, with the aim of achieving
better standout on the shelves. Wrigley said the
three products had been accredited by the British
Dental Health Foundation.
The chewing gum market has endured a difficult
few years, but Wrigley ramped up its activity this
year with a GBP 10m advertising support for
Extra. In the UK, 59% of all gum sales come
through the convenience channel. And, according
to AC Nielsen data, the gum markets were worth
GBP 136.7m in the year ending August 21.
(marketingmagazine.co.uk 10 December 2010)
ADM To Build Two New Grain Elevators In Nebraska
Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) has
announced plans to construct two new country
grain elevators in Nebraska, a move expected to
expand the company's domestic grain storage
capacity by nearly 2%. A statement this past
Thursday from the Decatur, Ill., company said the
facilities will be near Fullerton and Newman
Grove in Nebraska, and will primarily buy cash
corn, soybeans and wheat from local growers.
Each will have capacity for 1.5 mio bushels of
upright permanent storage, plus another 2 mio
bushels of temporary storage. Both will feature
two high-speed receiving pits, plus inbound and
outbound truck scales. Crops received at the new
elevators will help supply ADM's Nebraska grain-
processing plants, including a corn-milling
complex in Columbus and a soybean-crushing
facility in Fremont, as well as a flour mill,
soybean-crushing facility and vegetable oil
refinery in Lincoln. ADM currently operates 191
U.S. grain elevators with an aggregate storage
capacity of more than 420 mio bushels.
(foxbusiness.com 13 Dec 2010)
US based Corn Products International to invest between USD 75 mio and USD 100 mio in its Brazil business
Corn Products International announced Thursday
it is planning investments in its Brazilian business
to bolster its operations in the country, Latin
America‘s biggest economy. Corn Products
International is a leading provider of ingredient
solutions to diversified industries. Its
announcement reiterated the firm‘s plans to invest
between USD 75 mio and USD 100 mio over the
next several years to support the growth of its
Brazilian business. The capital expenditures
would be used to expand capacity and develop
new ingredient solutions in Brazil, particularly to
support the rapid growth of the food, beverage
and industrial sectors.
Ilene Gordon, Chairman, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Corn Products International
said the intended investment reaffirms Corn
Products International‘s commitment to growing
with and supporting its customers over the long
term. Brazil has been an outstanding market for
Corn Products historically, and the firm believes
that it will continue to provide superior growth
and returns in the future, noted Gordon. For the
nine months ended September 30, 2010,
USD 874 mio, or 29.5%, of Corn Products‘ sales
were generated in South America, where Brazil is
the largest contributor
Corn Products continues to invest in growth
opportunities on a global basis, highlighted by the
acquisition of National Starch, which added
USD 1.3 bio of largely value-added sales
primarily to the food industry. The acquisition
also further strengthened the company‘s Asian
business and provided a European platform for
additional growth. (investinbrazil.biz 10 Dec
2010)
Company News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 13
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Sweet and Biodegradable: Sugar and Cornstarch Make Environmentally Safer Plastics
Environmentalists around the world agree --
plastic bags are choking our landfills and
polluting our seas. Now a Tel Aviv University
researcher is developing new laboratory methods
using corn starch and sugar to help sustainable
plastics -- those that biodegrade and are even
tougher than those made from petrochemicals --
compete in the industry. Prof. Kol is improving
the process of making these "green" plastics
stronger and more heat-resistant, allowing them to
be used in a variety of ways, from the automotive
industry to Starbucks coffee cups.
The type of plastic the partners are working on,
polylactic acid or PLA, is a kind of biodegradable
plastic made from renewable plant sources such
as corn, wheat or sugarcane. It's already used in
bottles, bags, and film, and like polyester can
even be woven into clothes.
The new catalysts enable the polymerization of
lactide, which is the building block of a corn-
based plastic. the corn-based molecules -- are
assembled -- and they may be toxic. But Prof.
Kol's catalysts can be used more safely and
efficiently, making "green" plastics more
commercially feasible. "The structure of these
corn-based plastics depends on several
parameters. The most important is the character of
the building blocks, like Lego blocks, that hold
the material together," says Prof. Kol. He aims to
make sustainable corn-based plastics complement
or replace the petroleum-based plastics which can
take a millenium to degrade, leaving harmful
pollutants in the soil and in water. Corn-based
plastic wouldn't cause any adverse health effects
and would be expected to biodegrade in a compost bin in a matter of months.
(Continued in next column)
Sweet and Biodegradable: Sugar and Cornstarch Make Environmentally Safer Plastics
(Contd)
For disposable items, a perfect plastic material
would be a polymer made from renewable
resources, that degrades to its original non-toxic
form. Plastics made from corn sugar are the most
desirable in the industry at the moment. The
preliminary results of Prof. Kol's efforts are in,
and the plastics that he and his team produce in
the lab look and feel like polystyrene, which
could be used for making drinking cups, for
example. Rigid and transparent, the drinking cups
currently only work for liquids under 122 degrees
Fahrenheit, but they represent a first big step into
greening plastics and the chemical industry.
(sciencedaily.com 14 December 2010)
Cheryl Perkins column: Future generations will see growth of bioplastics
Bioplastics are a type of plastics derived not from
petroleum, but from organic and renewable
sources like corn starch, sugar cane, vegetable oil,
cellulose or even evergreen shrubs. Either way,
they are created from renewable resources. Just
like auto companies are searching for alternative
sources of energy for transportation vehicles,
chemical companies are searching for alternatives
to the manufacture of plastic materials. Fossil
fuels won't be available forever, and currently
billions of pounds of plastics are being produced
and consumed annually, just in the flexible
packaging industry alone. As an emerging area of
development, bioplastics represent a small
fraction of that, but usage has been growing. For
example, DuPont has been producing a polymer
called Sorona for several years. It is a bioplastic
material that can be used in apparel and fabrics
due to its soft touch, durability, dye-ability and
stain. (Continued on next page)
Bio-plastics
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 14
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
ot All Bioplastics Are Greener (Contd)
Eco Geek suggests that producers of petroleum-
based plastics and bioplastics ―could work with
this study to identify the most damaging aspects
of their methods in order to reduce their
environmental impacts.‖
Perhaps researchers are currently developing a
bioplastic that is greener than the current crop.
The Japanese electronics manufacturer, NEC
Corporation, announced it developed bioplastic
from non-edible plant resources last August. The
main ingredients of the bioplastic are cellulose,
the main compound in plant stems, and cardanol,
an oil-like material from cashew nutshells and a
byproduct of cashew nut processing. In other
words, the bioplastic is made from agricultural
waste. NEC will continue to develop the
bioplastic with goal of using it in electronic
devices by the end of 2013.
Dr. Richard Gross, professor of chemical and
biological science at Polytechnic Institute of New
York University (NYU-Poly) created a way to
produce bioplastic from yeast and the fatty acids
of plant oils. Gross‘ production method does not
use fossil fuels to process the yeast, and the
bioplastic produced is resistant to moisture, unlike
starch-based bioplastics. The U.S. Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
had Gross‘ company SyntheZyme develop the
bioplastic from yeast. DARPA intends to use the
bioplastic as packaging material in its solid state,
and as biodiesel for military engines after it is
broken back down.
This process uses no fossil fuels, and every step is
biologically-friendly, from fatty acids in plant oils
through the end product, which is a versatile,
100% biodegradable plastic. (triplepundit.com 16
December 2010)
Israeli scientist finds sweet solution to plastic waste
An Israeli researcher said he has found a sweet
solution to a sour worldwide problem: mountains
of disposed plastic items that pack landfills and
wash out to sea, and take decades, if not centuries
to melt down.
Prof. Moshe Kol of the Tel Aviv University
(TAU) School of Chemistry, working in tandem
with colleagues at the University of Aachen in
Germany and the University of Bath in England,
is using corn starch and sugar to help create
"green" plastics for hundreds of common items
that is as strong as or stronger than oil-based
versions of the products.
"The structure of these corn-based plastics
depends on several parameters. The most
important is the character of the building blocks,
like Lego blocks, that hold the material together,"
says Prof. Kol, in a statement from TAU released
this week.
Early results of tests, in this case to create a
transparent disposable drinking cup, looks and
feels like the more familiar polystyrene, although
the cup can only hold liquids under 122 degrees
Fahrenheit. But Prof. Kol said he is improving the
process in order to increase the heat-resistance
and strength of the material. The polylactic acid
or PLA material that the team is working with is
made of biodegradable, renewable plant sources
such as corn, wheat or sugarcane, according to the
statement, and is already in use in thin film
products like bottles and bags.
Kol is still looking for ways to improve the
material as a replacement for steel and concrete in
many industrial areas. Such corn-based plastic
would have no toxicity and would be able to
biodegrade within several months instead of
millennia, according to the statement.
(xinhuanet.com 15 December 2010)
Cheryl Perkins column: Future generations will see growth of bioplastics (Contd)
Cargill's Ingeo bio-based plastics and resins are
developed from natural plant sugars and are being
used in a broad range of applications from fresh-
food containers to beverage packaging and
textiles. The Brazilian company Braskem is
producing sugarcane-based bioplastics that might
be an alternate, but renewable, source for
conventional petroleum-based HPDE plastic
resins. About half of the bioplastics produced
today are created from plant starches.
All plastics eventually degrade, but for petroleum-
derived plastics the process is usually so slow that
it may take hundreds of years. Starch-based
bioplastics decompose much faster, however, and
are considered biodegradable. One example
would be in medical applications where
degradable biopolymers dissolve in the body after
surgery and save the cost of additional intrusive
procedures. Another would be compostable weed
barriers and mulch for farming where the material
doesn't have to be removed from the field each
season, just tilled back into the soil and left to
decompose.
Bioplastics still have their challenges, including
limited production capability, high cost, poor
thermal properties, and slow adoption even in
light of the growing public interest in renewable
resources.
Adoption may also conflict with current recycling
programs, as mixing in large quantities of
biologically derived plastics with conventional
oil-based plastic products can yield unusable
materials. However, some research is showing it
may be possible to create bioplastics from
recycled conventional plastic
materials using bacteria.
(Continued in next column)
Cheryl Perkins column: Future generations will see growth of bioplastics (Contd)
There is great potential for collaboration with
start-ups and universities to help overcome these
challenges and realize the commercial and
environmental potential of bioplastics as
replacements for the less sustainable oil-based
plastics. Companies that are being proactive in
driving innovation and development in these
disruptive areas are laying a foundation for future
business growth. Whether it's the 21st century or
beyond, bioplastics may inevitably become a part
of our everyday life. (postcrescent.com 17
December 2010)
Not All Bioplastics Are Greener
A study by University of Pittsburgh researchers
found that bioplastics are not necessarily greener
than petroleum-based plastic when the use of
pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are factored in.
When the extensive land needed to produce the
feedstock to make the bioplastics is also
considered, petroleum-based plastic comes out
ahead in the study. Not All Bioplastics Are Greener. However, bioplastics beat out
petroleum-based plastics when it comes to
biodegradability, low toxicity, and the use of
renewable resources.
(Continued on next page)
Bio-plastics
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 15
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Not All Bioplastics Are Greener (Contd)
Eco Geek suggests that producers of petroleum-
based plastics and bioplastics ―could work with
this study to identify the most damaging aspects
of their methods in order to reduce their
environmental impacts.‖
Perhaps researchers are currently developing a
bioplastic that is greener than the current crop.
The Japanese electronics manufacturer, NEC
Corporation, announced it developed bioplastic
from non-edible plant resources last August. The
main ingredients of the bioplastic are cellulose,
the main compound in plant stems, and cardanol,
an oil-like material from cashew nutshells and a
byproduct of cashew nut processing. In other
words, the bioplastic is made from agricultural
waste. NEC will continue to develop the
bioplastic with goal of using it in electronic
devices by the end of 2013.
Dr. Richard Gross, professor of chemical and
biological science at Polytechnic Institute of New
York University (NYU-Poly) created a way to
produce bioplastic from yeast and the fatty acids
of plant oils. Gross‘ production method does not
use fossil fuels to process the yeast, and the
bioplastic produced is resistant to moisture, unlike
starch-based bioplastics. The U.S. Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
had Gross‘ company SyntheZyme develop the
bioplastic from yeast. DARPA intends to use the
bioplastic as packaging material in its solid state,
and as biodiesel for military engines after it is
broken back down.
This process uses no fossil fuels, and every step is
biologically-friendly, from fatty acids in plant oils
through the end product, which is a versatile,
100% biodegradable plastic. (triplepundit.com 16
December 2010)
Israeli scientist finds sweet solution to plastic waste
An Israeli researcher said he has found a sweet
solution to a sour worldwide problem: mountains
of disposed plastic items that pack landfills and
wash out to sea, and take decades, if not centuries
to melt down.
Prof. Moshe Kol of the Tel Aviv University
(TAU) School of Chemistry, working in tandem
with colleagues at the University of Aachen in
Germany and the University of Bath in England,
is using corn starch and sugar to help create
"green" plastics for hundreds of common items
that is as strong as or stronger than oil-based
versions of the products.
"The structure of these corn-based plastics
depends on several parameters. The most
important is the character of the building blocks,
like Lego blocks, that hold the material together,"
says Prof. Kol, in a statement from TAU released
this week.
Early results of tests, in this case to create a
transparent disposable drinking cup, looks and
feels like the more familiar polystyrene, although
the cup can only hold liquids under 122 degrees
Fahrenheit. But Prof. Kol said he is improving the
process in order to increase the heat-resistance
and strength of the material. The polylactic acid
or PLA material that the team is working with is
made of biodegradable, renewable plant sources
such as corn, wheat or sugarcane, according to the
statement, and is already in use in thin film
products like bottles and bags.
Kol is still looking for ways to improve the
material as a replacement for steel and concrete in
many industrial areas. Such corn-based plastic
would have no toxicity and would be able to
biodegrade within several months instead of
millennia, according to the statement.
(xinhuanet.com 15 December 2010)
Bio-plastics
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 16
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Sustainable Bioplastics for Future Applications
Increasing worldwide production and
consumption of plastics has resulted in increasing
public health risks, emission of hundreds of
millions of tons of CO2 and consumption of
petroleum. Petro-plastics are not usually made for
long term usage and are not biodegradable by
microorganisms. Therefore, non-biodegradable
petroleum based plastics are an environmental
burden and even also sometimes harmful for
terrestrial and sea animals as well as birds that
tend to eat plastic residues.
Materials from complete biological sources
including starch, cellulose and proteins can all be
consumed by microorganisms. They can be
processed into environmentally friendly materials
for various applications despite their various poor
properties. Many biological metabolic compounds
and their derivatives are useful as monomers for
plastic polymers, and these monomers have been
used to produce various bio-based plastics
including polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA),
polylactic acid (PLA), poly(butylene succinate)
(PBS), polyethylene (PE), poly(trimethylene
terephthalate) (PTT), polypropylene (PPP),
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and
poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC). Except for bio-
based PE, PP, PTT and PET, all other bio-based
polymers are biodegradable at different levels.
Since they are bio-based and biodegradable, PHA,
PLA, PBS and PPC have been proposed as
sustainable, environmentally friendly, less
petroleum dependent and CO2 reducing
bioplastics for future applications. Over the past
20 years, commercialization efforts have been
achieved. (Continued in next column)
Sustainable Bioplastics for Future Applications (Contd)
Bio-based plastics including biodegradable PHA,
PLA, PBS, PPC and non-biodegradable PE, PTT
are now available in large quantities to develop
applications. These plastic polymers are normally
produced by the combination of biological
transformation and chemical synthesis with the
only exception of PHA that is completely
synthesized by microorganisms in an aqueous
environment.
These bio-based plastics have been studied by
organic chemists, polymer scientists and
engineers for their methods of polymerization,
their different properties and applications. There
are many possibilities to copolymerize these bio-
monomers with existing petro-monomers for
forming new bio-based plastics with new
properties and different applications
Now, a new special issue highlights the exciting
work done in this burgeoning field, with
spotlights on reviews by Xuesi Chen, Dehua Liu
and Jun Xu presenting recent developments of
PLA, 1,3-propane diol, succinic acid and their
copolymers and carbon dioxide-based
copolymers, respectively. (materialsviews.com 14
Dec 2010)
New biodegradable plastic marketed for foodstuffs
Biodegradable and compostable Ecomann PHA,
from Bioresins, is being marketed for food contact
applications after independent tests established
compliance with European Commission Directive
2002/72/EC (and its amendment 2007/19/EC).
The EU seal of approval enables the UK-based
supplier to pursue European food and drink
manufacturers.
(Continued on next page)
Bio-plastics
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 17
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
New biodegradable plastic marketed for foodstuffs (Contd)
―The green light by the EU corroborates what
we‘ve already discussed with major brands
owners but it was good to get official
authorisation from the SGS test house,‖ said
Mike Hughes, general manager of Bioresins.
The versatile polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is
derived from GM-free, non-food maize starch
grown in China, and represents one of the best
opportunities to date for large volume packagers
to include in their products up to 100%
sustainable content plus the potential to home
compost, claimed the company.
(europeanplasticsnews.com 13 Dec 2010)
Launch of new compostable checkout bag
A company in Oxfordshire is one of the first in
the UK to offer a 100% compostable checkout
bag. Polythene UK has produced the Polycomp
bag, which contains biopolymers made up of
starch. It will biodegrade completely within 10
days. The process is accelerated even further
when temperature is increased, for example
during the summer season, where the bugs are
more active in the garden. The bags are certified
as fully biodegradable and compostable according
to the European norm EN13432, which was set up
to regulate products which are disposed of in
composting sites. The checkout bags will be on
displayed at the easy Fairs ECOPACK show next
February in Birmingham's NEC. (edie.net 13 Dec
2010)
Green Products: Disposable dinnerware
It is easier to use disposable since it certainly
saves time and energy on washing up. However,
washing up plates is far more eco-friendly than
tossing a bunch of plastic plates in the landfill.
Consider disposable plates made from bamboo,
sugarcane and areca nut bark. All of these
products are available from countless online
retailers and artisans, and can also be found at
some larger stores, such as Target. Bamboo can
be converted to eco-friendly disposables by
pulping and molding it into plates, cups or bowls.
Making sugar leaves a product called bagasse
which is usually burned, however it is being
converted into eco-friendly disposable plates and
cups. It is totally bio-degradable and also comes
from a renewable resource. Most southern US
sugar growers are able to bring two or three crops
to maturity per year so there is a lot of sugarcane
available. Many bagasse items are also imported
from sugar-cane growing areas like Thailand.
Areca nut plates are not so common in the West
but are readily available in India and many
Eastern countries. It is quite a hardy material
which can even be microwaved and reused, yet it
is from all natural sources and is 100%
biodegradable. (Continued on next page)
Bio-plastics
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 18
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Green Products: Disposable dinnerware (Contd)
All of these can even be composted. There are
many biodegradable cutlery options as well.
Cereplast is a biodegradable resin made from corn
and potato starch which can be composted, a
Californian company called Nat-Ur makes cutlery
out of this material. Switchgrass from North
America is covered in cornstarch to make it
stronger and even dishwasher safe. Gaiam makes
a whole place setting from this high-yielding
grass. Another company EarthShell, makes a wide
range of compostable plates, cups, cutlery and
food storage containers from fully biodegradable
renewable materials like limestone and starch.
The company has been supplying food service
giants like SYSCO and McDonald's for years. Ver
Terra is company born from an eco-idea from
India: this all-natural range of dinnerware is made
from only fallen leaves, steam, heat and pressure.
(justmeans.com 3 Dec 2010)
Yeast and plant fatty acids produce durable recyclable plastic; conversion into biodiesel
Dr. Richard Gross, professor of chemical and
biological science at Polytechnic Institute of New
York University (NYU-Poly), has developed a
method for producing a strong, highly ductile
bioplastic using yeast and fatty acids of plant oils.
The findings were published in the Journal of the
American Chemical Society.
The monomer itself is relatively new. The units
are called omega-hydroxyfatty acids, and when
strung together to form a polymer, they can
produce a biologically friendly plastic. Until now,
omega-hydroxyfatty acids were difficult and
expensive to produce using traditional methods,
prohibiting their widespread use. Gross produced
the monomer in a first-of-its-kind fermentation process, a fairly quick, low-cost method.
(Continued in next column)
Yeast and plant fatty acids produce durable recyclable plastic; conversion into biodiesel (Contd)
The monomer is then polymerized to form a uniquely ductile, strong natural plastic that
biodegrades completely in soil. Gross and his
team devised a new way to produce these
monomers by using a genetically modified strain
of the yeast Candida tropicalis. The engineered
yeast is capable of converting fatty acids of plant
oils into large quantities of omega-hydroxyfatty
acids. When polymerized, the new material may
be a suitable substitute for petroleum derived
plastics such as polyethylene for uses such as
disposable gloves, multilayer food packaging
films, and films for ice, trash, garments, produce
bags and more.
The new bioplastic is highly resistant to moisture,
which is an important improvement over currently
sold bioplastics such as polylactic acid and starch-
based plastics.Gross‘ company, SyntheZyme, was
tapped by the US Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop this
bioplastic. The material was originally intended to
serve a dual purpose: as packaging material in the
solid state, and as a biodiesel for military engines
after being broken back down or de-polymerized
to monomer units. The material development and
performance in the solid state has been
successfully completed; research into converting
the plastic to diesel is currently under way.
(favstocks.com 9 Dec 2010)
New hope for heart patients: Biodegradable stents
Retired Income tax officer from Patna, M.P.
Singh, 65, became the first patient in India to be
implanted a new scaffold—biodegradable stent—
made from cornstarch instead of metal.
Dr Ashok Seth, chairman, Fortis-Escorts Heart
Research Institute, also the principal investigator
in India for the trial, did the procedure.
(Continued on next page)
Bio-plastics
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 19
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
New hope for heart patients: Biodegradable stents (Contd) "Clinical trials are ongoing on across 100 centres
all over the world but it is too early to talk about
costs and long-term results," said Dr Seth.
The chances of restenosis— formation of new
blockages within three to six months of stenting—
at the site of angioplasty are 5%, same as that
with metal stents.
"Unlike the metal stents, which remain in the
body even after they have served their purpose,
these biodegradable scaffolds will dissolve after
the artery is repaired, turning into carbon dioxide
and water after about two years," he said. Also,
once the scaffold dissolves, the arteries will be
able to contract and relax like normal ones," he
said.
Other potential advantages over metal stents
include the patient being able to undergo MRI and
even stopping his blood-thinning medicines
without the risk of clots forming in the arteries."
Another big advantage will be that a patient with
multiple stents, who had reached a no-option
situation—they need repeat stenting or surgery
but cannot go for it because of the long length of
metal inside the arteries—will have both options
available to them," he said.
Manufactured by Abbott, the biodegradable
scaffold was first fitted in a patient in Australia
four years ago. Besides Fortis Escorts (Delhi),
four institutes across India—Apollo (Chennai),
Care Hospital (Hyderabad), Madras Medical
Mission and SAL hospital (Ahmedabad) — will
carry out the trials in the next one year."
Although a date hasn't been decided, these stents
should be commercially available in one and a
half years," said Dr Seth. (hindustantimes.com 11
Dec 2010)
Shock Wave: Cavitation shaking up ethanol with revenue upside
In Ohio, Arisdyne Systems has pioneered
technology that can increase ethanol production
by 10%, or reduce the use of catalyst by 25% in
biodiesel production. Taken across the US ethanol
fleet (outside of POET, which uses its own
proprietary system to achieve, potentially, a 5 to
10% improvement in productivity per gallon), that
could translate to roughly 1.8 bio additional
gallons of ethanol for the same delivery of corn,
barley and wheat bushels.
When you introduce a controlled cavitation into,
say, a corn slurry at an ethanol plant, the shock
waves destroy all particles in their pathway and
the cell structure – making large particles into
smaller ones. That increases the overall surface
area and – voilá – you expose more starch surface
area to enzymes, resulting in more reactivity as
enzymes convert starches into sugars. It works
somewhat the same in biodiesel – which is why
you need less catalyst. In ethanol, you get a 3-5%
lift in yields.
When corn famers deliver to ethanol plants, a
percentage of the kernel consists of corn fiber.
That usually ends up as low-cost animal feed.
With cavitation, you can destroy that fiber‘s cell
structure and release sugars that are available for
enzymes.
Overall, you can increase a standard ethanol yield
of 2.7 gallons per bushel to around 2.85 gallons
with the cavitation of the existing starch, and
bump that up to 3.0 gallons per bushel
with the cellulosic fiber. (biofuelsdigest.com 15
Dec 2010)
Bio-plastics
cellulosic conversion, if you have the right
Bio-fuels Bio-plastics
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 20
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Europe searching for right biofuel balance
Europe needs to make sure the increased use of
biofuels doesn't have indirect impacts on the
regional environment, a climate commissioner
said.
Europe in 2009 outlined a measure that calls for a
6% reduction in greenhouse gases for fuels in the
transportation sector by 2020. As much as 10% of
the energy used in the sector, meanwhile, needs to
come from renewable energy resources. The
European Commission said biofuels are expected
to make a "significant" contribution to those
targets.
The commission said there is a risk that the
growing demand for biofuels could cut into the
amount of land used for agriculture. Carbon sinks
such as forest and wetlands could also vanish if
used for biofuels crops.
The European government said it needs to find the
right balance between advancing the use of
biofuels while at the same time preventing an
increase in emissions associated with the
conversion of land indirectly.
"We have to ensure that the biofuels we promote
deliver clear greenhouse gas savings,"
Connie Hedegaard, the European climate action
commissioner, said in a statement. (upi.com 23
Dec 2010)
FTC: US ethanol market still unconcentrated
The US ethanol market is still unconcentrated,
with 160 firms nationwide either producing the
motor fuel additive or likely to be producing it in
the next 18 months, according to the Federal
Trade Commission in its sixth annual report.
(Continued in next column)
FTC: US ethanol market still unconcentrated (Contd)
The annual examination, which is required under
the 2005 Energy Policy Act, found that there were
the same number of US ethanol producers as of
September 30 as the federal antitrust regulator
listed in its 2009 report.
It said the largest producer‘s share of total US
production capacity grew to 12% this year from
11% in 2008 and 2009, but remained below its
16% share from 2001 to 2007 and its 41% share
in 2000. The Dec. 3 report did not identify the
producer.
Ethanol production and production capacity both
increased this year, the report said. US production
increased 23% to 12.3 bio gal in 2010 from 10 bio
gal in 2009, reaching a level more than 750% of
what it was in 2000 when it was 1.6 bio gal, it
said.
―Domestic ethanol production capacity, including
capacity under construction, also rose from 14.5
bio annualized gal as of October 2009 to 15.2 bio
gal as of October,‖ it continued. ―Industry
participants expect some of the expansion projects
currently under way to come online by the end of
2010.‖
The report said that while there is enough ethanol
production capacity in existence and under
construction to meet federal Renewable Fuel
Standard requirements this year, additional
capacity will be needed to meet future RFS
mandates under the 2007 energy Independence
and Security Act, including volume requirements
for advance biofuels (defined as cellulosic ethanol
and other biofuels derived from feedstocks other
than corn starch).
It said that while there is no commercial-scale
cellulosic ethanol production in operation today,
investment in its research and development is
continuing. (ogj.com 8 Dec 2010)
Bio-fuels
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 21
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Bioengineers develop bacterial strain to increase ethanol biofuel production
Georgia, US - A team of Bioengineers in the
United States have modified a strain of bacteria to
increase its ability to produce ethanol. The
research, published in Biotechnology and
Bioengineering, reveals how adaptation and
metabolic engineering can be combined for strain
improvement, a positive development for the
biofuel industry.
The team focused their research on Zymomonas
mobilis, a bacterium noted for its bio-ethanol
producing potential. However, the team believed
that ethanol production could be increased
through improvement of xylose fermentation.
"Zymomonas mobilis is a superb ethanol producer
with productivity exceeding yeast strains by
several fold," said lead author Rachel Chen from
the Georgia Institute of Technology. "In this study
we sought to improve ethanol production by
enhancing the ability of Z. mobilis to use and
ferment xylose. Fermenting xylose at high
concentration could in turn increase ethanol
concentration, resulting in much improved
productivity."
The team found that by metabolically altering the
strain, sugar fermentation time was reduced from
over 110 hours to about 35 hours. (Continued in
next column)
Bioengineers develop bacterial strain to increase ethanol biofuel production (Contd)
This improvement in fermentation allowed the
strain to ferment higher concentrations of xylose.
"This demonstrated increase in fermentation and
xylose utilization enabled us to produce ethanol to
a concentration of 9% (w/v), the highest ever
shown for this organism in mixed sugar
fermentation," said Chen.
This research also investigated the underlying
mechanism for the improvement. Interestingly, by
adapting a strain in a high concentration of
xylose, significant alterations of metabolism
occurred. One noticeable change was reduced
levels of xylitol, a byproduct of xylose
fermentation which can inhibit the strain's xylose
metabolism. In addition, the first step of xylose
metabolism, believed to be the rate-limiting step,
was accelerated 4-8 times in the adapted strain,
with the net effect of channeling xylose to ethanol
instead of xylitol.
"This research illustrates the power of adaptation
in strain improvement," concluded Chen. "This
confirms that xylitol metabolism is the key to
efficient use of xylose in this bacterium, which in
turn can be vital for producing ethanol. This
shows that adaptation is not only useful in
improving strains, but is equally useful for
pinpointing key bottlenecks in metabolically
engineered strains." (eurekalert.org 9 Dec 2010)
Bio-fuels
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 22
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Celluosic ethanol estimates revised downward
The future of renewable fuels is supposed to be
largely about breaking down the stubborn
cellulose fiber in such cheap materials as wheat
straw, cornstalks, switch grass and wood chips,
converting them to energy and putting the results
in your fuel tank. That's when the Environmental
Protection Agency lowered its 2011 expectations
for cellulosic output from 250 mio gallons to
6.5 mio gallons.
The EPA retreat raises questions about reaching
the lofty federal goal of 16 bio gallons of
cellulose-based fuel by 2022. But Chris Standlee
is not ready to hit the panic button. ―And look at
what the starch-based industry has done in the last
five years,‖ said the St. Louis-based spokesman
for Abengoa Bioenergy, which also expects to
break ground in Kansas early next year on a
USD 400 mio to USD 500 mio cellulosic plant of
commercial scale. Sturdevant, director of Poet's
Project Liberty, a 25 mio gallon-per-year plant
planned for Emmetsburg, Iowa, that would turn
corn cobs into cellulosic ethanol.
Sioux Falls-based Poet's pilot-scale plant in
Scotland, S.D. is currently producing cellulosic
ethanol at a rate of about 20 000 gallons per year.
Standlee said the rapid ratcheting up of ethanol
made from corn from 2 bio gallons five years ago
to more than 13 bio gallons now supports his
point about big transitions happening in short
periods of time. (Continued in next column)
Celluosic ethanol estimates revised downward (Contd)
At the same time, he conceded that progress has
been pretty limited so far toward the next
generation of renewable fuels. Poet is still working
to secure a guarantee from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture for its USD 200 mio Project Liberty
plant, which would be built next to its corn ethanol
plant in the Northwest Iowa city of Emmetsburg.
Critics of the effects that corn for ethanol use can
have on water quantity and quality, the cost of
livestock feeding and other parts of everyday life
have been eager to see how quickly renewable fuels
production might evolve away from corn.
Reaction from prominent people in ethanol circles
to the latest EPA news ranged from concerns about
the shortage of private financing to a professing of
faith in the ability of corn farmers to rise to a new
production challenge. Schmit, a former state
senator and crafter of state incentives for corn
ethanol, said corn farmers have much more
potential to double their output than champions of
cellulosic ethanol have for reaching their goal.
(siouxcityjournal.com 5 Dec 2010)
Eco-friendly chromatography
Spanish scientists have devised a greener form of
liquid chromatography by using cyclodextrins as
additives in the mobile phase. This results in more
water being used in the chromatographic process.
Cyclodextrins are a natural, renewable compound
made from starch and are totally biodegradable.
They can be modified and tailor made, and as a
result are used in a variety of fields including the
pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries.
Antonia Martin and colleagues from the
Complutense University of Madrid investigated
ways of reducing the amount of acetonitrile and
developing chromatographic methods that use an
increasing amount of water and renewable solvents
like ethanol. (rsc.org 9 Dec 2010)
Bio-fuels Others
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 23
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
These are the news derived from regional
publications, translated using online tools,
hence the medium quality of translation.
China
How will the fate of Hebei corn?
Under the influence of the cloudy weather this
year in most area of Hebei province, the new grain
has been highly moisture, so that the process to
sell grain is slow in Hebei province. According to
the latest survey report of China corn net, as of
early December the sales process of new corn is
only 12.67%.
Because the supply of new corn is very low in
market, while the demand for corn is increasing,
there are a lot of cooperate need for new corn, so
the price remains high.
First, the work of new grain harvest has been
basically finished in some areas of Hebei province
in the middle of October. But the new corn can not
be dry sufficiently because of foggy weather. So
the new corn trading activities begin in November
in most areas of Hebei province.
Just when the new corn exchange in market stage,
some deep-processing enterprises increase the
price again and again to improve acquisition
situation, for example, at the end of October,
Qinhuangdao Lihua Starch Factory adjusted the
corn price to 2 000 yuan per t, while the purchase
price of new grain of Changli starch factory has
been adjusted to 2 000 yuan per t, both of them
increase 70-80 yuan compared with beginning.
However, the enterprises did not improve the
purchasing situation due to the local famers are
reluctant to sell the new gain.
Some of deep-processing enterprises in
Qinghuangdao city Hebei province begin to
purchase new grain from Chin Northeast areas
under the lacking stock situation.
(Continued on next column)
How will the fate of Hebei corn? (Contd)
And the purchasing price already reach to
2010 yuan per t. The corn price fall slightly along
with the new corn coming to market, but the price
still remain rising. Second, although the
enterprises have repetitive raise in purchasing
price, but the situation of new corn entering the
market can not be changed. because of the
generally optimistic outlook, the majority of
farmers are reluctant to sell corn, price to be
gradually increased, the worth of helpless,
Eventually climbed to the highest point of the year
at an average purchase price of 2003 yuan per t,
then the purchasing price keep in high step.
Third, under the various negative factors, Hebei
corn fall down slightly. Recently regulated by the
State policy and farmers face the pressure of loan
to repay, the supply of new grain market was
gradually rised in most areas of Shandong and
Henan, corn prices began to fall back, and the
purchase price is also shows weak tendency along
with the supply rising.
The work of drying new grain has been basically
completed along with the weather turn better. So
the supply of new corn is rising. Under the
macroeconomic policies of the State, the situation
of farmers were reluctant to sell corn has been
released. Some of famers, who work outside,
come back to hometown to sell corn before the
Chinese new year. Therefore, the recent corn price
in Hebei has started "allay fever‖.
The new corn price has fallen recently in some
areas of Hebei province along with the raise in
supply. But because some farmers are still
reluctant to sell, and the local corn was dried by
nature, almost dry, it is easy to store.The majority
of farmers will sell the new corn after the Chinese
New Year. There is limited space to fall for Hebei
new corn. The purchasing price will be stable.
(chinafeed.org.cn 15 Dec 2010)
Regional Language News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 24
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Corn prices is slightly increasing in Guangdong market Due to the price falling, the positive of north
trader declined, the shipment is also down, leading
to the reduction in the arriving quantity in
Guangdong Port recently, then stock pressure
decreased, the price is slightly increasing.
At present, the corn stock of Guangdong Port
reduce to 25 mio t. the price for the first class corn
is 2170 yuan per t it is 10 yuan per t more than last
week, the price of old corn is 2170 yuan per t (the
freight from North port to Guangdong shekou
sport is 60-65 yuan per t)Corn prices increase
slightly in Guangdong made balance between
North and the South Port. (chinafeed.org.cn 17
Dec 2010)
Corn prices of Hebei province is stable in December 2010
At present, the corn price in Hebei province is
stable, under the influence of Government
macro-control that State store bureau can not be
permitted to purchase and store corn, so the space
for further increasing of corn price is small.
Purchasing price of Limin starch is
RMB 1960 yuan per t at present, below is Hebei
Starch market information:
Starch factory Purchase
price
yuan/t
Moisture-
bearing
Price
Trend
Limin Starch 1960 14 stable
Xinjirede Starch 1920 16 stable
Shijiazhuanghuashu
Pharmaceutical
1960 15 stable
Under the influence of snowing of China
Southeast area in January, the corn price in Hebei
province will be increasing a little, the farmer is
positive to sell corn. (82158.com 23 Dec 2010)
Celanese to invest USD 300 mio for Chinese ethanol plants
Dallas-based chemical company Celanese said it
will invest about USD 300 mio to build an ethanol
plant in China.
The announcement was made along with that of
the signing of a deal with Wison (China) Holding
Co., a Chinese synthesis gas supplier, for
production of unidentified nonfood feedstocks
used in Celanese‘s advanced ethanol production
process.
Celanese previously announced its intention to
construct manufacturing facilities in China that
will use its newly-developed and proprietary
advanced technology to produce industrial
ethanol.
Celanese said it intends to construct one, and
possibly two ethanol complexes in China to serve
the fast-growing demand in Asia.
The company also announced its intention to
explore opportunities in China and other countries
for the application of its technology in the global
fuel industry.
Industrial ethanol is used widely in chemical and
industrial applications such as paints, coatings,
inks and pharmaceuticals.
China‘s demand for industrial ethanol is
approximately 3 mio t yearly, and is expected to
increase between 8 and 10% per year.
Celanese‘s technology makes use of a variety of
hydrocarbon resources such as coal. In addition to
producing industrial ethanol, the company is
working on to produce fuel-grade ethanol.
(ecoseed.org 24 Jan 2011)
Regional Language News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 25
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Golden Harvest Futures: Corn
Corn (fundamentals) acquired by the local peer
companies at high prices is not ideal due to the
acquisition of corn, Jilin Province, Huanglong and
Gongzhuling COFCO Biochemical Company
purchase price of corn rose again on Friday. The
current listing price is 1600 yuan per t, from the
previous month rose 80 yuan per t, but no
noticeable increase in the acquisition of nearly
three days, the acquisition of two companies at a
total volume of 5kt. New listing price of corn
liquor Denon 1630 yuan per t, from the previous
month rose 20 yuan per t, at the acquisition
volume of 4-5kt.
Recently, a comprehensive domestic prices
sharply higher corn starch, sales areas from
production companies to market prices tens of
dollars to one hundred yuan per t range. Corn
prices also affect the overall high price of the key
spot. In addition, the recent rainfall in North China
generally cool weather also affected the transport
situation in maize, it is worth attention. (flounder-
regina.zhfy66.cn 15 Dec 2010)
Russia
In getting involved bioethanol wine yeast
In yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
researchers at Stanford University have identified
a gene that may play a significant role in the
process of getting ethanol from plants, which
could be an alternative to fossil fuels. Combining
new technologies with traditional definitions of
the genome by genetic methods, researchers have
shed light on previously unknown ability of yeasts
Saccharomyces pyatiuglerodnye convert sugars
such as xylose, into ethanol.
(Continued in next column)
In getting involved bioethanol wine yeast (Contd)
Despite the enormous activity of yeast in
shestiuglerodnyh sugars such as glucose, the
researchers did not anticipate that they may also
actively fermenting and pentoses, which abound in
agricultural residues or crops, for example millet.
As the industry became interested in fuel from
plant material, type of yeast that can vzbrazhivat
both types of sugars equally well, was of particular
interest.
So scientists Jared Wenger (Jared Wenger) and
Katja Schwartz (Katja Schwartz) have turned their
attention to the previously studied species of yeast
that can ferment xylose into. They found several
kinds of yeast, mainly used in making wine that
can absorb this sugar. Scientists have identified a
gene that is responsible for the possible occurrence
of this process, called XDH1.
Although the natural ability of yeast to process
this sugar is low, and they are not yet able to use
xylose as well as genetically-modified yeast, the
discovery scientists may in future result in new
species of yeast that will be used in ethanol
production. (strf.ru 17 Dec 2010)
Russia cancels import duties on barley, oats, wheat, rye and maize, import duty on soybean meal will be saved
First Deputy Prime Minister Victor Zubkov
chaired a meeting of the Sub-Commission on the
customs tariff and nontariff regulation, protective
measures in foreign trade. This was reported by
the government press service. As a result of the
discussion, members supported the proposal to
move from May 1 to March 1 this year period for
the low (USD 50-250 per t) size of the import duty
on raw sugar.
(Continued on next page)
Regional Language News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 26
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Russia cancels import duties on barley, oats, wheat, rye and maize, import duty on soybean meal will be saved (Contd)
Now apply the scale of customs duty on raw sugar
in the range of USD 140-270 per t. The meeting
participants agreed on the abolition of the term
until June 30 this year currently in import duties
on barley, oats, wheat, rye and corn (the current
rate - 5%). According to members of the
Commission, such a measure would encourage the
domestic market additional volumes of these
goods, the maintenance of price stability in the
consumer market and curb inflation on the
mentioned products.
In this case, Zubkov emphasized the temporary
nature of the measures taken, stressing that they
should not be a signal to the Russian agribusiness
to reduce production volumes similar domestic
products. In this regard, Zubkov instructed the
Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Economic
Development and Russia to carry out operational
monitoring of the implementation of these
measures and their impact both on the price
situation and the dynamics of domestic
production.
"The results beg to report regularly to the
government commission to monitor and respond
quickly to changing conditions of food markets", -
said Victor Zubkov.
To further support the positive dynamics of
growth of soybean production in the Russian
Federation - in 2010 the harvest has exceeded
1 mio t - the meeting participants acknowledged
the favor of maintaining the currently valid rate of
import duty on soybean meal (5%). Decisions of
the Sub-Commission recommended for
consideration by the Commission of the Customs
Union. (apk-inform.com 28 Jan 2011)
Latvia to build a plant to produce bioethanol
Latvia to build a plant to produce bioethanol.
Company Jaunpagasts Plus is going to build on the
territory of Latvia, the largest in Northern Europe
plant for the production of bioethanol. The project
cost is estimated at EUR 122 mio. Assistant to the
Chairman of the Board Jaunpagasts Plus Una
Ulme reported that banks are not willing to lend
such large projects, so the company sought
assistance from the authorities of the country.
In order that the enterprise could compete at the
European level, should be increased and higher
production capacity. The company has already
begun work on a project - JP terminals, providing
for the establishment of a modern factory in
Riga. According to the draft, the new plant will
annually produce approximately 110 mio liters of
bio-ethanol.
In order to produce bio-ethanol plant in such
volumes will need to process about 400kt of grain,
which in turn contributes to employment in
agriculture. The new plant will provide about
200 jobs. (elektrovesti.net 17 Jan 2011)
Regional Language News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 27
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Germany
The Swedes have reported a breakthrough in the production of bioplastics
In Sweden, a project on commercial production of
plastics for domestic purposes without the use of
oil products is launched. A pilot project using this
scheme, was launched by AnoxKaldnes two years
ago. It involves recycling of liquid waste into
polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), which can be used,
for example, for the manufacture of plastic
containers.
Proper waste management is carried out by
microorganisms. To do this, they first need to
enrich the oxygen and nutrients, then the bacteria
will begin to select and "store" the PGA as an
energy source.
Swedish researchers were able to increase the
content of PGA in the waste (for example,
remaining in production of wood or paper) to 42%
of their dry weight.
Technology, scientists believe, can compete with
the traditional method of obtaining plastics from oil
products. Moreover, as argued in AnoxKaldnes,
cost close to USD 2 per 1 kg of plastic - its current
price. Other companies working on the same
process technology, yet can offer only USD 45-55
per kg.
Experts predict that global production of
bioplastics will increase considerably in the near
future. It is estimated the company BCC Research,
by 2015, annual growth reached 40%. (e-plastic.ru
28 Dec 2010)
Bioplastic from non-edible starch
Biopar, from BIOP Biopolymer Technologies AG
(Dresden-Germany), is a non-edible potato starch
based biopolymer with the capability to 100%
biodegrade – EN 13432 – into water and carbon.
It biodegrades in the environment by the help of
the micro organism present in this environment.
There is no need to compost it in an industrial
composting facility but of course you can. On the
other hand the so called shelf-live of the
converted BIOPAR® is at least 5 years without
the loss of properties.
This bioplastic does not use starch predestined for
the food chain, human nor animal. The starch
used comes from a potato especially grown to
produce starch. This is usually a non edible
potato. This particular starch finds its use already
for decades in the Paper, Textile, lubricants for
oil drilling, glues, wall paints etc. Changing the
world‘s environment by using plastics is so
common spread that it is hard to resist discussions
about the usage of plastics in general. Plastics
preserve the quality of foods keeps away dirt and
prevents contaminations etc. of many non food
products.
The negative side effects – the consequential
damage – of the use of plastics occur during the
second live of the plastics, or the irresponsible
disposals of the plastics are the main focus of this
bioplastic. (biopol.free.fr 2 Feb 2011)
Brazil
Area corn crop is 18% lower in Parana
The area with summer corn is 18% lower in
Parana. The producer discouraged with the crop
price last winter and migrated much of their land
to soybean in the first season of 2011. The
producer José Roberto Mortari, for example,
reduced the maize crop by 60% compared to the
winter of 2010. (Continued on next page)
Regional Language News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 28
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Area corn crop is 18% lower in Parana (Contd)
Without the grain price to remunerate, he planted
only 50 acres only for soil health. This summer,
Paraná should harvest 5.34 mio t of corn. The
volume will hardly surpass the previous harvest,
even if productivity remains at 7.5 kilos per
hectare, record last year.
State expected to increase in winter maize
Prices were pulled by the valuation of commodity
in foreign markets, but it happened after the
decision is taken by the producer. At the time the
bag was priced at USD 13 in Parana. Today, with
the average price of USD 22, the farmer has
already expressed interest in the latter season.
The first official estimate of planting winter maize
should be disclosed by the Secretary of Agriculture
by the end of next week. However, the technicians
of the Department of Rural Economy of the
Secretariat has estimated a 10% increase in area
over the past winter. For two years running in 2009
and 2010, the Paraná reduced the area with winter
maize.
However, there is an expectation that the effects of
La Niña may extend through the planting of corn
for winter. An additional worry, since the cereal
crop is very sensitive to climate, as well as having
a high deployment cost.
We always say this: when has a lot in one month,
may miss the other. We are now plenty of rain in
January, and as La Nina is characterized by
climatic uncertainties, we have a dry month of
February. And particularly those who planted
soybeans early enough can start to sow maize as
second crop in February - says Rodolfo Bianco, a
researcher at the Agronomy Institute of Paraná
(Iapar), who believes that most producers will sow
in March. (canalrural.com.br 25 Jan 2011)
Thailand
Prices tend to rise, Thailand, cassava and cassava products in demand
According to Thailand "World News" reported on
January 15, President of Nepal Association of
Thai tapioca Yong said the factory, cassava and
cassava products export prospects, particularly in
China and Europe, will become the major export
markets for cassava and cassava products in
2011.
With the increased market demand, especially in
the winter time when the country to take
advantage of cassava production of alternative
energy sources, promote Thai cassava and
cassava products price tends to rise, the current
international market price of cassava is as high as
18 baht per kg with cassava purchase price of
3.5-4 per kg baht. Thailand's cassava production
in 2011 may not meet market demand, as the
outbreak of the 2010 floods in many parts of
Thailand has resulted in reduced cassava
cultivation with an export volume of only
1 800-1 900 t of cassava in 2011. The export
value has shrunk from 900 mio baht to 600 bio
baht.
Yong said Nigerian cassava farmers suffering
from floods, aphids have not been eased disaster,
the relevant Committee and the Ministry of
Agriculture and Cooperatives, parasitic wasps
and parasitic insects to accelerate breeding in
order to solve the aphid problem. Meanwhile, the
official but also to the farmers of soil
maintenance training, and instill in planting
vetiver grass in the rainy season water ways in
which agricultural production increased.
Cassava production decreased in 2011, fear of
affecting domestic consumer demand, but supply
the international market trend is not being tight,
as Vietnam will export cassava 1-3 months.
(Continued on next page)
Regional Language News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 29
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
Thailand: Organic growth potential (Contd) While currently the majority of organic products
are basic unprocessed commodities such as rice,
fresh fruits and vegetables, there is a trend
towards intermediate processed products such as
sugar, tapioca starch and palm oil. According to
the International Foundation for Organic
Agriculture Movements, Thailand has yet to
produce sufficient quantities of raw organic
material to feed a large-scale industry that could
turn out finished processed organic products.
Importers generally prefer to buy raw materials
from Thailand for processing overseas.
With higher levels of investment in the organic
segment and greater acceptance by farmers of
green agriculture practices, the scale of the
industry could be expanded to the point where
end-product processing could develop and help
drive up the levels of profitability.
Though organic farming is unlikely to challenge
mainstream agriculture in Thailand in the
immediate future, it has the potential to develop
into a significant niche segment, both in the
increasingly aware domestic market and for
overseas trade. (thailand-business-news.com 18
Dec 2010)
Cassava starch market in Thailand
CAAEE market January 26, 2011 Information:
manufacturers have said that while raw materials
such as cassava are abundant in Thailand, but
only barely able to support the plant needs,
today's purchase price of cassava in Thailand is
3200-3400 baht per t, or about RMB 711 - 756
yuan per t. Price of cassava starch in Thailand is
higher than that of cassava. The Cassava starch
Association yesterday reported that the FOB price
of 560 dollars. (foodqs.cn 26 Jan 2011)
Prices tend to rise, Thailand, cassava and cassava products in demand (Contd)
If there is not enough production in Thailand will
export may lead to tension in the international
market supply and demand, the lack of
production of industrial raw materials, to
stimulate cassava product prices. (cncassava.com
15 Jan 2011)
Thailand: Organic growth potential Thailand‘s state and private sector are joining
forces in a bid to develop the country‘s small
organic agriculture sector into a major export
earner. However, finding the right incentives to
convince farmers to make the switch from
traditional methods is proving difficult.
The global market for organic produce estimated
to be worth more than USD 100 bio annually,
with demand set to rise by 10-15% a year
according to a European Commission study.
However, Thailand was only able to register
some USD 110 mio in exports of organic
products last year, according to Commerce
Ministry figures.
Though the over-the-counter price of organic
produce is around 30% higher than similar
conventional products, this does not seem to
bother many consumers, with demand for organic
farm goods standing at 10 times the current
output, according to a recent report citing figures
from the Bank of Thailand.
There are other financial benefits to adopting
organic farming, with estimates putting the cost
of importing agricultural chemicals and pesticides
at some USD 975 mio a year in Thailand.
(Continued in next column)
Regional Language News
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.giract.com Page | 30
Starch Italics Starch Industry Overview
South America
Argentina will provide ethanol and sugar
The government signed an agreement with the
sugar company in the province of Tucuman in
Argentina to the Balkans that will provide for
ethanol and sugar, according to press reported that
country. Employers Lonac Jorge Rocchi and
Catherine would have met with President José
Mujica in Montevideo to define the details of the
agreement.
Tucumanos media said the agreement between
Argentina and the government company states that
the firm will assign a distillery to produce 240,000
liters of ethanol in addition to providing white
sugar and raw sugar. Despite these negotiations,
nor had yesterday ALUR Ancap or more details on
the signing of this agreement was confirmed by El
Pais. However, official sources said they leaked so
far, in the coming days ALUR and the Balkans
would be able to sign a cooperation agreement.
(elpais.com.uy 31 Jan 2011)
Vietnam
Farmers urged to cultivate hardier crops this winter
HA NOI — Northern mountainous provinces need
to drastically change their crops to cope with
drought and strong cold spells forecast to dominate
this winter-spring crop, said yesterday head of the
Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry's
Cultivation Department Nguyen Tri Ngoc.
The department recommended the provinces shift
about 10,000 hectares of rice to other crops
including maize, peanuts and soya-beans which are
more suited to the prolonged drought.
(Continued in next column)
Farmers urged to cultivate hardier crops this winter (Contd)
Midland and mountainous provinces plan to grow
250,000 ha of rice, 40% of which will be hybrid
varieties, with expected average productivity of
5.3 t per hectare.
Deputy minister Bui Ba Bong said that rice would
remain the dominant crop; however, the provinces
should sow rice seeds this month and take
measures to protect crops from cold and brown
hopper pests. It is estimated that corn-growing
area stood at about 150,000ha, 10,000ha larger
than previously, potentially yielding about 700kt.
(vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn 8 Jan 2011)
Regional Language News