“The challenge of meeting global demand [for sugar and ethanol]"

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 - Starlight Roof – Waldorf=Astoria Hotel – New York, NY

PROGRAMME

07:30 AM REGISTRATION

Welcome Continental breakfast – PALM ROOM – WALDORF=ASTORIA HOTEL

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08:20 AM WELCOME ADDRESS

Dr. Plinio Nastari, President, DATAGRO, Brazil



CONFERENCE MODERATORS

Dr. Leonardo Bichara Rocha, Lindsay Jolly and Guilherme Nastari

Senior Economists, International Sugar Organization, United Kingdom and DATAGRO, Brazil

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09:00 AM WHEN WILL BRAZIL BE READY FOR ANOTHER EXPANSION SPREE?



Dr. Plinio Nastari, President, DATAGRO, Brazil

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09:40 AM INDIA – HOPE FOR LESS CYCLICITY?

Padala Ramababu, Promoter & Chairman, M/s Lakshya Strategic Consultants Pvt, India

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10:20 AM COFFEE BREAK at PALM ROOM – WALDORF=ASTORIA HOTEL

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11:00 AM “VIEW OF THE MARKET FROM A PRODUCER PERSPECTIVE”

Alexis Duval, Tereos, France



Fabio Venturelli, São Martinho, Brazil

Luis Roberto Pogetti, Copersucar, Brazil

Luiz de Mendonça, ETH Bioenergia, Brazil



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12:20 PM LUNCHEON AT THE EMPIRE ROOM – WALDORF=ASTORIA HOTEL



2:00 PM “VIEW OF THE MARKET FROM A BROKER/TRADER PERSPECTIVE”

Jeff Bauml, R.J. O’Brien & Associates LLC.

Michael McDougall, Senior VP, Newedge USA

Patrice Bougault, Cargill

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3:20 PM THAILAND’S QUANTUM LEAP – SUSTAINABLE?

Dr. Prasert Tapaneeyangkul, Secretary General, Office of Thai Cane and Sugar Board, Bangkok

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4:00 PM RUSSIA - THE CUSTOMS UNION & UKRAINE – AN OUTLOOK

Sergey Gudoshnikov, Senior Economist, International Sugar Organization, United Kingdom

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04:40 PM CLOSING REMARKS

to

05:00 PM Dr. Peter Baron, Executive Director, International Sugar Organization, United Kingdom

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ISO & DATAGRO

The International Sugar Organization and Datagro Consulting have chosen the Starlight Roof at the Waldorf Astoria, as the perfect location to organize their Fourth New York Sugar Conference. Its elegance and symbolic meaning to the business community of New York, and the entire world, reflect the same consideration and care that both the ISO and DATAGRO devote to their respective Members and Clients. The choice of the Starlight Roof is a tribute to all participants of our Conference and of the highly traditional New York Sugar Dinner.

The Starlight Roof, at the Waldorf=Astoria

Synonymous with wealth, glamour, power and opulence, the name "Waldorf" has figured into tales of Manhattan for generations. In movies it has meant everything from broken hearts to fortunes made. For Americans of all stripes, it has meant spending New Year´s Eve in front of the television watching Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians playing "Auld Lang Syne" from the hotel´s Starlight Roof.

The current Waldorf-Astoria, which sits on posh Park Avenue between East 49th and 50th Streets, wasn’t the first hotel to bear that name. The original hotel (at Fifth Avenue and 33rd) was actually created by a merger of two separate hotels, built by cousins William Waldorf Astor and John Jacob Astor IV. Each had erected their own luxury hotel in the early 1890s, adjacent to one another. In 1897, the two buildings were joined by a corridor, thus the “=” symbol in the new official name of the hotel – The Waldorf=Astoria.

The Astor cousins’ hotels were demolished in 1929 to make way for the engineering marvel known as the Empire State Building. Eager to stay in the hospitality business, the cousins chose the present Park Avenue site for their next endeavor.

At its opening in October 1931, in the middle of the Great Depression, the hotel was the largest and tallest in the world, occupying an entire city block. U.S. President Herbert Hoover even delivered a radio broadcast commemorating the opening of the hotel and congratulating its owners.

The Waldorf=Astoria is one of the most magnificent Art Deco masterpieces in the world. The base of the hotel is of granite facing and the upper façade is clad in brick and limestone. The main building consisted of 20 floors while the two towers soar to 47 stories, about 190 meters (approximately 625 feet) high. Bronze-clad cupolas sit atop the towers.

Built at a cost of $42 million, the 2,200 rooms of the hotel were (and are) opulent and expensive. The multiple lobbies in the building are decorated with intricate murals and mosaics. A $200 million renovation completed in the late 1990s unveiled yet more lost art deco treasures, now occupying their rightful places throughout the hotel.

The hotel’s Starlight Room, known as a gathering place for the rich and famous in the 1930s and 1940s, boasts a retractable roof. The Starlight Roof, which was for many years a major nightclub, is on the top floor of the base fronting Park Avenue. Through war and peace, it reigned as the nightclub where society dined, drank and partied to the big-band music of Glenn Miller, Eddie Duchin, Guy Lombardo, Lester Lanin, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Xavier Cugat. The bands were regularly broadcast live to radio listeners across the country. Lena Horne broke the color barrier there, becoming the first black entertainer to perform at a luxury hotel. "That became a real claim to fame for her," says Blauvelt. "She considered it a milestone in her career. For any entertainer, if you´d ´done´ the Starlight Roof, you´d ´done´ New York." The same could be said for Frank Sinatra, who finessed his transition from bobbysoxers´ crush to grownups´ crooner of choice with his first Waldorf gig.

The Waldorf-Astoria prides itself on its famous firsts. For example, it was the first hotel to offer room service and to abolish the “ladies’ entrance.” It was also the first to have assistant managers canvassing the lobbies, offering help to guests, and was the first hotel to offer permanent living spaces in its suites. As a matter of fact, a number of celebrities and three American five-star generals have called the Waldorf=Astoria home. Until today it is home and office of United States Presidents while staying in New York City.