"He favours commodity and consumer stocks because of increasing demand and rising incomes." from South China Morning Post

"Noble buys sugar mills for US$950m" from South China Morning Post

"Grain trader Cofco plans property business listing in HK, says report" from South China Morning Post

"Hit by heaby rains, Australia cuts wheat export forecast" from South China Morning Post

"Beijing cracks down on commodity trades" from South China Morning Post

"The mainland's three commodity futures exchanges have raised their minimum margin requirements to curb speculation, as part of Beijing's efforts to ease inflationary pressure.

The Dalian and Zhengzhou exchange said yesterday they would increase margins to 10 per cent from as low as 5 per cent, after the market closes on Monday.

The two bourses followed in the footsteps of the Shanghai Futures Exchange, which announced on Thursday it was raising the percentage of cash a trader must deposit with brokerages."

"Beijing is cracking down on commoditiy speculation as it faces an uphill battle against rising inflation." from South China Morning Post

"Northern wilderness transformed into grain basket on Mao's orders" from South China Morning Post

"The fertile black-earth plains of the northeast, China's most important grain-producing belt, turn golden yellow in autumn, a broad sweep of rice paddies and farmland stretching on towards the horizon.

But half a century ago, the vast expanse of Heilongjiang land, bordering Siberia, was covered by marshes and known as Beidahuang, the Great Northern Wilderness."

"Some companies take a hands-on approach to ensuring supply." from Bloomberg Businessweek

"On Aug. 27, Nestlé launched a program to invest 500 million Swiss francs ($508.6 million) in coffee projects by 2020. Nestlé agronomists will provide advice to farmers and give them 220 million high-yield, disease-resistant coffee plants. Last October the company said it would spend 110 million Swiss francs to improve the quality of cocoa platns by 2020. Japan's Bridgestone Group just announced a similar, smaller project for growers of rubber trees.

Companies can hike prices, which could alienate customers or cause them to opt for lower-margin private label goods. At Starbucks, recent increases in the cost of buying beans and other necessities such as dairy, sugar, and cocoa led to a change in pricing strategy. On Aug. 17, Starbucks stated on its website that it intended to absorb rising bean prices on "labor-intensive and larger-sized beverages" in some markets. In a statement, Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said rising costs for key ingredients have "completely altered the economic and financial picture of many players in the coffee industry." "

"Coping With Commodity Shock" from Bloomberg Businessweek

"It's one expensive breakfast menu:
Wheat futures up 70 percent since June. Corn at a 24-month peak. Coffee at a 13-year high. And lunch? Forget about burgers. Futures on cattle are at a 24-month high. Tofu and edamame? Soybeans are at their highest level since June 2009.

Extreme price volatility in commodities of all kinds is forcing companies to rethink their strategies - not just for managing the risk to earnings, but for making sure they can get the raw materials they need to meet growing global demand for their products. Moves range from Chinese car and battery maker BYD's recent purchase of 18 percent of a Chinese lithium mine to Mars' recent work with IBM and the U.S. Agriculture Dept. to sequence the cacao genome and, it hopes, breed a hardier cocoa tree."

The Guangzhou Chinese Herb Company told the Guangzhou Daily that 70 per cent of Chinese herbs have risen in price by an average of 60 per cent." from South China Morning Post

"In Dalian, a city in Northeast China known for steel and ships, the city's tallest building is not a bank or a mill - it is the Dalian Commodities Exchange." from Financial Times