Fluctuating supply prices are difficult for business. Examining the practice of futures trading in food, Food Processing Managing Editor Kevin T. Higgins suggests that better methods may be emerging.
Rather than relying on market forecasts for commodities like wheat, coffee, sugar, and cocoa, companies big enough to do so might consider investing in farming operations, Higgins suggests. Indeed, some already are.
Canadian cereal makers such as Nature’s Path Foods and HapiFoods Group, Inc are financing co-ops and leasing acreage across North America in order to control their own supplies and meet steadily rising demand for organic products.
