Association "Roskrakhmalpatoka" held a webinar "The market of starch and its derivatives in a pandemic: what next?" The online conference discussed the global balance of production and consumption of starch and its derivatives, consumer demand trends. Experts from Russia, the CIS countries, the USA and Europe expressed their opinion; 50 specialists from the starch and related industries took part in the event.
“2020 will be one of the most difficult years to assess the market. The production of many industrial goods has declined this year, but the food industry has been more stable. Starch producers have increased their sales in the food sector, ”said Dr. Velamur Krishnakumar, Managing Director of the Swiss consultancy and market research company Giract, about the current situation in the world. He identified four key consumer trends this year: price, food safety and hygiene, health and nutrition, and increased immunity.
Claire Grosbois, Economic Manager for Starch Europe, outlined the situation in the European market: “The EU starch industry proved to be resilient during the 2008-2009 economic crisis. Now we also expect the industry to emerge from the crisis without significant losses. All factories of Starch Europe member companies continue to operate. " But the overall economic situation is precarious: the EU economy is projected to contract by 8.3% in 2020 and by 5.8% in 2021.
In the United States, the use of corn for the production of starch and sugary foods, as well as bioethanol in March-May this year decreased by 13% compared with the previous three months. The decrease was due to a decrease in the consumption of biofuels, as well as syrups of varying degrees of sweetness. This was announced by John Bode, president of the American Corn Processors Association.
Pavel Paramonov, Market Research Manager at Cargill LLC, commented on the state of affairs in Russia: “In 2020, there is a decrease in indicators for many food products that use starch: mayonnaise and sauces, condensed foods, jams, jellies, sugar confectionery, fermented drinks , beer. However, the paper industry is in an advantageous position: increased production and consumption of paper sacks and bags, test liners, kraft liners, hot rolled coils and sheets. ”
Artur Boyarov, Research and Analytics Director of the Technological Platform BioTech2030, spoke about the options for financial support for industrial projects and the commercialization of R&D in the industrial biotechnology industry. In Russia, companies can apply for investments in: Skolkovo, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, the Innovation Promotion Fund - Bortnik Fund, the Russian Academy of Sciences. Agrofood startups in 2018 were in 7th place in the structure of investments - 70 deals were made worth $ 516 million.
“We organized a conference for discussion among industry experts from different countries. In the current conditions, it is necessary to develop a unified strategy and support our industry, ”Oleg Radin, President of the Roskrakhmalpatoka Association, summed up the results of the online conference.
The material was prepared by the press service of the association Roskrahmalpatok