The Mintec Benchmark price (MBP) for apple juice concentrate medium acidity is currently assessed at EUR 1900/MT, up 8.5 % m-o-m and 28.8 % y-o-y.

Apple production in Europe has been revised by The World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) to be no more than 11 million tonnes down 4 % from the initial forecast. Poland, Europe’s top apple producer, is expected by the industry to yield around 3.3 million tonnes in 2023, 700 000 tonnes lower than WAPA’s August forecast.

Processing is reaching completion with most processors finished for the season. Market sources said that Polish apple juice concentrate production will be around 230,000 tonnes. Demand is strong throughout Europe, but supply is limiting trade and subduing the market, according to market sources, most apple juice is concluded under contracts. Many buyers were expecting a drop in price as the processing season came to an end, yet this never occurred.

China has also had a challenging apple season with a lower crop than normal. According to market sources, the industry expects apple juice concentrate production in China to reach approximately 300,000 tonnes in 2023, which is well below typical levels that often exceed 500,000 tonnes. Market sources have said that some of China’s juice has been imported into Turkey and blended domestically. Market sources suggest bullish expectations for the industry in upcoming months as supply and demand dynamics tighten.

Tate & Lyle PLC, a world leader in ingredient solutions for healthier food and beverages, is delighted to be supporting a new three-year research project by The University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute which aims to improve the understanding of the UK food system and help people experiencing food insecurity and living with obesity make healthier, more sustainable food choices.

The University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute has been awarded £1.6m funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to carry out the project, which will investigate how issues around poverty, food insecurity and obesity may affect shopping habits.

The data will be gathered from participants from across the UK who will be sharing their experience of living with food insecurity and obesity, and also working with a large UK retailer to study the shopping habits of around 1.6m consumers.

The three-year study will bring together a panel of consumers, policy makers, charities, food and drink producers, processors, and retailers, as well as expert academics to advise, co-develop and test strategies that can support future transformation within the UK food system. The results of the research will be made publicly available at the end of project.

As part of the project, and as the only food and drink ingredient solutions supplier on the panel, Tate & Lyle will provide industry insight on reformulation, as well as share their expertise on nutrition.

Dr Kavita Karnik, Global Head, Nutrition & Regulatory Affairs at Tate & Lyle, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our guidance, expertise and know-how for this important piece of research.

“We are a science-led organisation which helps big and small brands all over the world make food and drink healthier and tastier. Driven by our purpose of ‘Transforming Lives through the Science of Food’, we believe this research is essential to better understand food systems in the UK and provide real-world strategies of how dietary inequalities can be addressed within the food retail sector in an environmentally friendly way.”

Professor Alexandra Johnstone, Rowett Institute, added: “With the cost-of-living crisis it is only going to get harder for people to make healthy food choices, particularly those who are living with obesity and food insecurity. This is a vital piece of research, and we are very much looking forward to working with this excellent team on this extremely important topic.”

Tate & Lyle, a leading global provider of food and beverage ingredients and solutions, welcomed the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology to its USD 2 million Customer Innovation and Collaboration Centre in Dubai, as part of an initiative to reduce sugar and calories in food and drink products in the UAE and the wider Middle East region.

The Ministry, in collaboration with the UAE F&B Manufacturers Business Group, has developed the Middle East’s first Sugar & Calorie Reduction Knowledge Building Programme. Tate & Lyle, utilising its extensive expertise and technical capabilities, developed the eight-week programme which focuses on supporting food and beverage manufacturers in the region to reduce the sugar and calories in their products.

The programme has been designed to increase awareness of the latest technologies available in sugar and calorie reduction, offer practical experience working on specific prototypes in Tate & Lyle’s newly opened Customer Innovation and Collaboration Centre and provide ongoing support for F&B manufacturers.

A series of sessions have taken place, hosting more than 390 delegates from the Middle East and North Africa region with representatives from the F&B manufacturing value chain. Key government attendees joined from Dubai Municipality, Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Sharjah City Municipality and Ministry of Health and Prevention, and key universities officials participated from Canadian University Dubai, Al Ain University and United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) and Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

The six-week programme concluded with a focus on reformulation in practice, with insight from Tate & Lyle’s specialist team. Other sessions addressed various topics, including how to make indulgent products healthier, the importance of taste, overcoming cost challenges, nutritional data and the regulatory challenges in sugar and calorie reduction.