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Oct 23, 2015

Mustard prices highest ever due to shortages

Reuters

Mustard prices rise on back of weak harvest

From canada to India, there is a squeeze on mustard that has put producers in a pickle.
Prices of the yellow condiment dabbed on hotdogs and pretzels have leaped to their highest level in seven years this autumn as growers in Western canada, which supplies three-quarters of the world’s traded mustard seed, turn in their smallest crop in nine years.In India, the price of a contract representing both mustard seed and rapeseed, related crops grown in the same areas, has surged by a fifth to record highs in the past three weeks over fears that unseasonably hot weather will prevent sowing that would normally begin later this month.
The higher prices threaten to drive up costs for Kraft Heinz Co., maker of Grey Poupon, and Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, maker of French’s, which hold more than 40 per cent of the market share for North America’s fourth-favourite condiment by sales according to some estimates.
but it is smaller producers like barhyte Specialty Foods in Pendleton, Ore., that are feeling the most immediate pinch. It lost customers after raising its price on organic brands to cover the cost of buying extra supplies from canada.
“We took a big spike this year,” said chief executive chris barhyte, whose company makes private label mustard as well as its own Suzie’s brand. Although the bulk of his mustard seed comes from domestic farmers, he increased purchases from canada to meet heightened demand for organic products that now make up roughly 40 per cent of his overall needs. Prices for canadian organic seed were nearly 30 per cent higher than in past years, he said.
While farmers savour rising prices and food makers bemoan higher costs, those hurting most may be the middlemen who buy crops from farmers on the spot market to meet forward sales.
Some exporters are “panic buying” due to scarcity, said bob Waldbauer, director of mustard seed sales at broadGrain commodities in dafoe, Saskatchewan. “It’s not a matter of price, it’s a matter of supply.”
He declined to name any specific firms. The biggest exporter to the United States is Viterra Inc., a canadian grains trader owned by Swiss mining and trading firm Glencore Plc, according to data from PIerS. company representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

To be sure, ructions in the niche mustard market barely register amid the meltdown engulfing larger commodities.
U.S. imports of mustard seed came to just $52 million last year, almost all of that from canada, and the entire U.S. retail market is worth about $430 million, according to euromonitor. consumers may barely notice, as seeds make up only 15 per cent of the average retail price for a bottle of mustard, said Walter dyck, seed division manager at Wisconsin-based mustard manufacturer Olds Products company.
The crop is a mere blip on the canadian Prairies, where farmers planted 75 times more wheat than mustard this year.
The problem emanates from canada, where farmers sowed only 325,000 acres (131,523 hectares) of mustard this year, less than half the 2003 record high. It has fallen out of favour with many farmers for relatively lower returns.
In addition, dry weather cut yields, producing only 109,300 tonnes of mustard this year, down 45 per cent from last year’s output, according to Statistics canada.
Processors have recently paid farmers 45 to 50 canadian cents per pound for yellow mustard seed on the spot market, where they are likely to source about half their supplies this year, dyck said. “It’s really, really tight.” The impact is felt most keenly in the United States, where local production covers barely a tenth of domestic demand. The rest is imported from canada, with shipments up 15 per cent this year, according to U.S. International Trade commission data.
big, diversified food companies have been partly protected from this year’s rise, thanks to extensive advance purchases, but next year may be a different story, as high spot prices influence a new set of supply contracts.
“clearly when the price goes up, things change. demand and price go hand in hand,” said elliott Penner, president of French’s Food company, which commands 30 per cent market share with sales of $132 million, according to euromonitor.
Kraft Heinz’s Grey Poupon, which is second in the market with 11.5 per cent, is also competing for more seeds, and launched a strategy this year to boost mustard sales. Kraft Heinz declined to comment.
conAgra Foods Inc, whose Gulden’s brand is third at 6 per cent, said it had not experienced any disruption in production.

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