Nutrien's Ammonia Facility in Louisiana and Restaurant Closures
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**Nutrien is evaluating a site in Louisiana to build the world’s biggest clean ammonia facility.
The new plant would leverage low-cost natural gas, tidewater access to world markets, and high-quality carbon capture and sequestration infrastructure at its existing facility in Geismar, Louisiana.
The goal would be to serve the growing demand in agriculture, industrial, and emerging energy markets.
**The Consumer Brands Association cautioned that rising costs on manufacturers have not slowed and show no signs of doing so.
Citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, The April Producer Price Index showed an 11% year-over-year rise.
For food specifically, wholesale prices rose 14.5%, showing the outsized impact consumer packaged goods companies are feeling.
Consumer Brands President Geoff Freeman says, this is the 14th straight month we’ve seen wholesale prices push above the historical trend line.
**No real surprise, but the first year of the pandemic saw the temporary closures of restaurants in the U.S., prompting a decline in Food Away From Home Spending.
Spending decreased at each of the nine types of food service outlets measured in the USDA Economic Research Service’s Food Expenditure Series from 2019 to 2020.
Full-service restaurants experienced a decrease in spending of 31.7% in 2020.
Even drive throughs saw a 6.7% decline in annual spending.