Organic soybean meal is challenging to find in Europe. Merchandisers told The Jacobsen one of the few offers they have seen is from Kenya, Africa, and the prices are incredibly high at $950 FOB. Consumers are looking for protein alternatives, but there does not seem to be a great alternative. Rapeseed meal is hard to find, and with prices of seeds near 950 Euros, crushers are unwilling to crush more seeds given the price of rapeseed oil which is not in high demand. In early January, this scenario played out in the U.S. in the organic soybean and byproduct space as organic soybean oil prices were not high enough to crush organic soybeans using an expeller press profitably.

Europe can get organic soybean meal from some Indian sellers, but prices are trading near 700 euros FOB India and there are questions still whether this would ship to Europe from India. Organic feed wheat in Europe is offered at 275 euros per metric tons. This wheat has a 12% protein content and is being used as a partial replacement for the broiler feed’s lack of meal. Organic corn prices in Constanta are offered between $270 and $280, according to merchandisers.

Organic Sugar Demand is Rising

The popularity of hard seltzer is surging, and one of the key ingredients is organic cane sugar. This beverage group is the fastest-growing category in the alcoholic beverages industry, with expected sales of $2.7 billion this year.  There are several large players in this space, including Michelob Ultra, which Budweiser owns. Coors is also a player in this space. Demand is rising as the low-calory option is gaining traction in a younger demographic.