Exclusive: The International Confectionery Association agrees to intensify global sector collaboration
Barbara Blohberger, vice president of Caobisco (left of pic), joins Caobisco director general Muriel Korter, and Aldo Cristiano, the organisation's president, at ISM, which hosted the latest ICA meeting. Pic: Caobisco
The International Confectionery Association (ICA), consisting of key global industry trade bodies including Europe’s Caobisco and America’s NCA organisation have met at this year’s ISM event in Germany, and agreed to strengthen existing ties in addressing global sector issues, reports Neill Barston.
As the collective, which also includes Brazil’s Abicab, Australia’s Industry Group, Japan’s CCAJ and Canada’s FHCP met on 25 April to discuss a range of major topics, amid a series of challenges such as key inflationary pressures, the lingering impact of Covid-19, and supply chain challenges worsened by the ongoing war in Ukraine that have placed a strain on global economies.
Consequently, the international trade bodies held a general assembly that agreed to continue cooperation across the industry, including sharing technical and regulatory policies, and raising the joint group’s visibility, having endured a delay in meeting due to the pandemic.
The group said that it remained committed to fostering collaboration and growth within the industry, announced plans to restrengthen the ties between its members and re-energise its cooperation and visibility on the world stage. Together they represent thousands of companies across all sectors of the confectionery industry from sugar confectionery to chocolate manufacturing, and from gum to fine bakery products.
During the General Assembly, ICA members and companies, discussed several global issues affecting the confectionery industry and received presentations from industry leaders. Beth Johnson of Food Directions, LLC, Charlotte Opal of Earthworm Foundation, Farida Mohamedshah of NCA, and Eleonora Alquati of Caobisco (with the organisation set to play a key role at this year’s World Confectionery Conference to be held in the UK), shared their insights on topics affecting the confectionery sector, from global nutrition and regulatory issues to sustainability challenges.
Notably, the General Assembly gathered Muriel Korter, President of ICA and Director-General of the European Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery Industries (Caobisco, Europe), John Downs, Vice-President of ICA and President and CEO of the National Confectioners Association (NCA, USA), Timothy Piper, Vice-President and Head of the Victoria Australian Industry Group (AIG, Australia), Andrea Ferrari, Foreign Affairs Manager at Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Chocolate, Amendoim e Balas (Abicab, Brazil) and Aldo Cristiano, President of Caobisco, which, as previously reported, is presently backing industry calls for urgent EU intervention on major price increases for sugar supplies, which are a vital element for the region’s confectionery sector. The issue also remains critical within the US, which is also facing significant hikes in ingredients costs, which has been raised with the US government by the NCA as a major regulatory issue.
“ ICA must serve as a forum where leading confectionery representatives can identify issues of common interest affecting the industry and develop actions if necessary. It must serve as the international voice of the confectionery industry to address the increasing challenges facing the sector. We are delighted to have met again after such a long period and I am thankful for the interesting and constructive exchanges between members who all expressed their enthusiasm to make ICA stronger”, Muriel Korter, ICA President, stated.