Annual Conference Costs Rise

Already staggering from sticker shock at the Charleston AC registration costs, Annual Conference participants may suffer "licker shock" at the ice cream stand this summer when they see some of that industry's biggest price hikes ever.

Blame it on bad timing. A combination of political unrest, natural disasters overseas and fluctuations in the American dairy industry have left ice cream manufacturers grappling with higher prices for key ingredients including milk, vanilla and cocoa.

Brethren can expect to pay six to 20 per cent more for everything from pints in the grocery store to cones at the stand. The annual ice cream sundae bar may soon be a fond memory.

Retail and restaurant ice cream make up a $20 billion US business in the United States, where nearly 1.6 billion gallons are produced each year, according to Bob Yonkers, chief economist for the International Dairy Foods Association.

The average person eats 26 servings of ice cream a year, according to The NPD Group, a market research firm. Statistics for Brethren ice cream consumption were unavailable at press time.

Until recently, the price of ice cream was moderated by a glut of milk. But low prices drove many farmers from the industry, and those who remain have fewer cattle following a mad cow-induced ban on importing them from Canada.

This year, demand is up and farmers can't keep pace. That's driving up the cost of the milk and butterfat needed to make ice cream, Yonkers said.

The industry also is squeezed by vanilla prices, said Lynda Utterback, executive director of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association. A series of cyclones that hit Madagascar in recent years damaged much of the vanilla crop, driving the price per gallon for vanilla syrup from $75 US to between $400 US and $800 US.

And cocoa prices are up about $1 US per pound because political unrest in the Ivory Coast - where roughly 40 per cent of the world's cocoa crop is grown - drove many farmers from their lands.

Many in the ice cream industry have some consolation in the fact that it's early in the season, and therefore easier to post higher prices than it would be during the summer.
Although the price increase is painful, some manufacturers say dairy farmers are long overdue for a break.

"Obviously we're concerned, but our main concern is for the small family farms and making sure they can make a livable wage," said Chrystie Heimert, spokeswoman for Ben & Jerry's.