General Oils and Fats Complex

Soybean oil

The amount of new crop soybeans from South America is still not high enough to cover the world demand. Unusually low quantities are shipped because of logistical problems in Brazil. This is also reflected in the surprisingly high exports from the United States in recent days. The extreme weather conditions in Argentina with the current flooding in the area of Buenos Aires hinder the soybean crop. It also turns out that even in the northern growing areas of crop losses are recorded due to high temperatures in the last months. The last USDA estimate for soybeans fell slightly more positive than previously expected. Therefore, the markets were slightly weaker in recent days. Also it remains to be seen what impact will have the new cases of bird flu. If larger poultry amounts have to be culled in China, this may cause pricing effects on the soy complex..

Rapeseed oil

The prices of rapeseed oil remained in the last day quite unimpressed by the weaker soybean oil prices, as the old crop stocks continue to decline. The coming harvest in Europe seems to be developing quite well except in England. So far, no major cold injuries have been reported. Analysts expect a harvest of 21.5 million tons.

Sunflower oil

The export volumes from Ukraine in March indicate a slowing down of production (about 30% less than the previous month). The premiums on soybean oil have risen slightly. It remains to be seen how prices will develop in the summer months before the new harvest.

OLS FROM GUSTAV HEESS PRODUCTION IN THE USA

Almond Oil

As reported before, the availability of Oilstock almonds in the U.S. is very limited. The farmers sell very little Oilstock due to the high price of food almonds. Therefore the Oilstock almonds become more and more expensive. We continue to hope that in preparation of the new harvest, the warehouses must be emptied from June and Oilstock almonds will be again available.

Walnut Oil

The demand for walnut oil has increased significantly in recent months. As a result, the stocks have declined significantly on the continent. We assume that the supply from the USA will just be enough to meet the increased demand. Should you still have a demand for Q2 and Q3 are, we strongly recommend to cover it prompt.

CALOY Refinery

After about two and a half years of planning and construction, two weeks ago we successfully brought into operation our new specialty refinery in our factory in Denair, California. Unique in its design, we implemented the world's most advanced technology available for oil processing. Thus, the Heess Group will expand its leadership in nut oils and other specialty oils significantly. Sustainable control starting from the field and including each production step up to the finished oil will give our customers a distinct advantage in terms of reliable quality and traceability.

Ethical Sourcing Certification for Gustav Heess GmbH

Since May 2012 Gustav Heess is a member at SEDEX platform (www.sedexglobal.com). For this membership we were audited by a neutral certification body on our social responsibility in different aspects.

For Gustav Heess GmbH the participation on this platform and the audit is an important pillar of a sourcing strategy of global customers which are increasingly guided by ethical principles. SEDEX was founded by global FMCG companies and already has a fast growing number of members.

We can communicate our membership number to customers which are members as well thus being able to watch our data on the platform.

This platform offers the opportunity to include partners in early steps of the supply chain and having them checked according to the same principles.