Food Business News - April 9, 2013 - 12

Softer sales, traﬃc pull
restaurant index down

WASHINGTON — The National Restaurant
Association’s Restaurant Performance Index
slipped to 99.9 in February, a 0.8% decline
compared to January’s five-month high. The
N.R.A. cited macroeconomic conditions as
the reason for the slight decline.
“The Restaurant Performance Index decline was due largely to softer sales and traffic
results, which fell in February amid higher gas
prices and the impact of the payroll tax hike,”
said Hudson Riehle, senior vice-president of
the Research and Knowledge Group for the

N.R.A. “In addition, sales and traffic comparisons were more difficult due to the extra day
in February 2012 as a result of Leap Year.
“Despite the sales and traffic declines in
February, restaurant operators remain generally optimistic about business conditions in
the months ahead, which suggests they feel
the setbacks will be temporary.”
The R.P.I.’s current situation index declined
1.4% to 98.3 in February. Restaurant operators
cited the difficult comparison to February
2012 as one reason for the decline.
The Index’s expectations component stood
at 101.4 in February — down slightly from
January’s level of 101.6. Although restaurant
operators’ outlook for sales growth remains
positive, their expectations are slightly less
bullish compared to January. Operators also
continue to make plans for capital spending in
the months ahead, with 57% planning to make
a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months. FBN

Honey prices record high in
2012; outturn down 1%
WASHINGTON — U.S. honey prices in 2012
were record high for the fifth consecutive
year as production declined 1% from 2011, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its recent annual Honey report.
The average price for all classes of honey
sold through all channels was a record 195.1c
a lb, up 11% from an upwardly revised 176.5c
a lb in 2011, the U.S.D.A. said. The average
price at retail was 340.5c a lb, up 8% from
314.7c in 2011, and at the cooperative and
private level was 187.8c, up 12% from 167.7c.
The total value of honey produced in 2012

U.S. honey production

147,092

148,357

176,462

146,416

163,789

148,341

154,907

174,818

183,582

181,727

171,718

in 1,000 lbs

‘02 ‘03 ‘04 ‘05 ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture

FOODBUSINESS NEWS

was $286,976,000, up 10% from $261,850,000 a
year earlier.
Production of all types of honey totaled
147,092,000 lbs in 2012, down 1% from
148,357,000 lbs in 2011, the U.S.D.A. said.
Honey production in 2009 at 146,416,000 lbs
was the lowest in records going back more
than 50 years but rebounded to a six-year high
in 2010. Production in 2012 was just slightly
above the 2009 low and was the second lowest in at least the last 25 years.
Stocks of honey held by producers on Dec.
15, 2012, totaled 32,922,000 lbs, down 10%
from 36,761,000 lbs a year earlier.
The number of producing colonies increased 5% from 2,491,000 in 2011 to 2,624,000
in 2012, the U.S.D.A. said. Honey yield per colony averaged 56.1 lbs in 2012, down 6% from
59.6 lbs in 2011.
The five states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Florida, California and Minnesota accounted for 57% of the nation’s honey production in 2012, with top producing North Dakota
producing 34,155,000 lbs, up 5% from 2011 and
accounting for 23% of the total. Minnesota replaced Montana as the fifth-largest producing
state in 2012. FBN

Koch Foods expanding
Georgia plant
PARK RIDGE, ILL. — Chicken processor Koch Foods is
investing $49 million in its
Hamilton County, Ga., plant
and adding two processing
lines. The expansion of the
plant will increase its workforce by 750.
Koch Foods is a privately
held, vertically integrated
chicken processor that manufactures value-added products. The company acquired
the Hamilton County plant
from Cagle’s, Inc. in 2011. FBN

Premium Brands to
acquire deli meat maker
VANCOUVER, B.C. — Premium Brands Holdings
Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to purchase
Freybe Gourmet Foods,
Ltd., a Langley, B.C.-based
deli meat manufacturer, for
$55 million.
“This transaction provides us with another leading specialty food company
that further enhances the
depth and strength of our
deli meats business platform,” said George Paleologou, president and chief
executive officer of Premium Brands. “We will also
be adding the Freybe name,
which is one of western
Canada’s oldest and most
iconic local brands, to our
diverse portfolio of leading specialty food brands.
Looking forward, we see
significant opportunities to
help Freybe grow its business and brand by leveraging both our deli meat platform’s sales and marketing
infrastructure as well as our
proprietary distribution networks in the food service
and retail channels.”
Premium Brands plans
to close its Richmond,
B.C., deli meat plant this
year and move production to Freybe’s Langley
facility, where it also will
support growth of its Ferndale, Wash.-based Hempler
Foods Group business. FBN

April 9, 2013

Food Business News - April 9, 2013

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