A rise in global stocks of wheat after a 30-year low will offer
continued relief to the tighter prices experienced by the food
industry in previous years, but the food chain still needs to stay
on the alert.
Vietnam plans to earn at least $2 billion in revenue from agro-food
exports to the European Union by 2010. The pledge comes in the face
of tough trade, health and safety regulations imposed by the EU
authorities, which should make...
With coffee sales in China growing by 90 per cent in the five years
up to 2003, international companies are queuing up to carve up
their slice of a market. Although tea is still the mainstay, the
rapid switch to all things western...
In Asia rising meat consumption is being fed by an increasing
number of highly refined and processed product launches. A look at
the Mintel's databases reveals that pâte, meat balls, cheese-filled
hotdogs are all on the menu.
Although Asian consumers have traditionally sought out their
vegetables in 'wet' markets, a lack of time and increasing income
levels is leading to a boom in the packaged vegetables sector, as
the latest releases from Mintel...
Thailand's tropical climate is said to have fuelled the country's
thirst for soft drinks, with consumption growing steadily in recent
years. The latest report from Canadean points to the fact that rapid
consumption of bottled...
Farming in China needs serious investment if domestic food
production is to keep up with rising food consumption. But with a
growing emphasis on food quality and safety, future investment in
the sector looks seems an inevitable route...
The latest Euromonitor report on the global soft drinks market
suggests that it is Asia that is the driving force behind market
growth. With this in mind we take a look at the latest soft drinks
launches in the region from the Mintel...
Nutrition House, part of the consumer goods group Pan Group, has
expanded its frozen ready-to-eat meals line with the launch of a
line of vegetarian meals, claimed to be the first product of its
type on the market in Thailand. The...
The Thai department of agriculture says its is rapidly moving
towards the development of its tropical fruit production in the
country in an effort to gain a leading edge in an increasingly
liberalised pan-Asia Pacific market.
The establishment of large scale battery farms has pushed egg
production in China to 40 per cent of the world total. In turn
increased interest in egg-based foods, such as dairy products,
pre-packaged foods and bakery have all boosted...
Innovative snack launches dominate this week's offerings from
Mintel's GNPD, featuring everything from a rice cracker salad with
dressing to a honey flavoured vitamin fortified drink.
Although 2004 is now expected to yield a bumper grain harvest in
China, with provinces announcing record crop levels, Beijing is
taking action to halt the country's fall in per-hectare yield of
cropland over recent years.
Swiss food giant Nestle has said that its Thai division is about to
introduce another major drive in its aims to consolidate the still
fragmented ice cream market in Thailand.
After years of struggling to meet increasing domestic demand for
soy products, Chinese government officials believe that discussions
with the Brazilian government may have solved the problem. Trade
talks held in Beijing this week...
Chinese wine imports increased by nearly 50 per cent last year,
according to figures released by the Beijing customs authorities,
with a value amounting to almost €26 million, an increase which is
being attributed to lower import...
An Australian beef industry leader has indicated that the
Australian beef sector is riding a short-term boom following a
series of bans on US beef exports to major Asian markets.
The latest launches from Mintel's GNPD database reveal an emphasis
on snacks and dairy products this week, with a varied selection of
new ranges from Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines that focus
on healthy properties.
Hangzhou Wahaha, one of China's leading manufacturers of fizzy
drinks has made its premier shipment of cola carbonated drinks to
the US, a first for a Chinese company.
Trade patterns are changing in South Korea. Until recently capital
goods and raw materials have totally dominated the market, but if a
recent exhibit for imported goods at the Seoul Convention and
Exhibition Center is anything to...
China's growing band of beer brewers is claiming that rising costs
of ingredients coupled with rising production costs is likely to
put between 10 and 20 per cent on the price of a beer during the
course of this month, a factor...
The Asian poultry industry continues to send out contradictory
messages in the wake of the bird flu outbreak. Whilst Thailand
looks set to restock its poultry flocks - a move which some
industry observers believe could be premature...
A recent report from the Lund University in Sweden on the ongoing
invasion of the golden apple snail in southeast Asia claims that it
is now having a devastating ecological effect, something that will
continue to seriously farming...
A British Pig Executive (BPEX) delegation is visiting Beijing at
the end of the month to encourage British exports to China, the
world's biggest market for pork.
China has recently relaxed the rules obliging foreign retail groups
to take a local partner, a move expected to lead to rapid growth in
the number of international food and beverage retailers doing
business there. But despite Chinese...
As the FAO continues its calls for caution over bird flu, South
Korea announced that a new outbreak of the disease has taken place
on a small battery farm just north of the capital, Seoul.
Thai fruit farmers have won a long battle to get their lychees and
longans onto the Australian market place, breaking a long ban by
Australian authorities which deemed the fruit as a potential
pest-carrying hazard to agricultural...
Food ingredients companies head off to China with agriculture chief
Fischler next week on a mission to boost trade relations and create
new business opportunities for the food industry.
Britain's biggest food retailer Tesco looks set to take a further
step towards its goal of competing with global giants such as
Carrefour and Wal-Mart with a move into the massive Chinese retail
market.
China claims to have had an early success in stamping out the bird
flu that has been causing severe hardships to the country's
numerous poultry farmers, after the mass culling of some nine
million birds over the seven weeks since...
Red meat sales in Australia are firmly back on the road to
recovery, according to statistics released today from Meat &
Livestock Australia. The figures show a second year of strong
recovery following dwindling sales in the 80s...
Britain's biggest food retailer Tesco looks set to take a further
step towards its goal of competing with global giants such as
Carrefour and Wal-Mart with a move into the massive Chinese retail
market.
Regular alcohol intake, thought to reduce the risk of
cardiovascular disease, is associated with lower prevalence of
metabolic syndrome, reported Greek researchers at the European
Society of Cardiology meeting earlier this week.
