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.
China's food and beverage industry continues to be a focus of long
term investment hopes for the multinationals, but as demands on
both ingredients and commodities put pressures on food prices a
report by Deloitte Touche stresses...
A recent report from the Australian National University indicates
that food and beverage companies in the Asia Pacific region will
continue to benefit from strong economic growth in 2004, but that
growth is set to fall back next year.
South Korea's largest liquor maker, Jinro, has moved one step
closer to a sale after a number of investment banks acknowledged
that they were prepared to advise on the matter.
SABMiller has confirmed that it will not proceed with its €500
million offer for Harbin Brewery, in a move that cedes control of
the key China brewer to rival Anheuser-Busch.
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...
Two of Europe's major retail chains, Carrefour and Metro, have
announced plans to expand their operations in China, while a third,
Tesco, is still on the hunt for a partner to enable it to enter the
country's market.
Foodborne diseases pose a serious threat to densely populated areas
of Asia and the Pacific - both to the health of the people living
there and to these regions' chances of exporting their products to
more developed markets in...
Plans for China's biggest milk producer to float on the Hong Kong
stock exchange were dealt with a blow last week, as Hong Kong's
Hang Seng Index fell to its lowest rate in almost eight months.
Czech Republic brewer Budejovicky Budvar has claimed to have won a
legal victory over global beer giant Anheuser-Busch after it was
granted sole use of its trademark by a South Korean high court,
following an appeal.
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.
Anheuser-Busch has announced the completion of a deal to purchase
around 29 per cent of Chinese brewer Harbin, which is currently
subject to a hostile takeover bid by SABMiller.
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.
Harbin, the leading Chinese brewery, has advised shareholders to
resist SABMiller's takeover bid for the company. The bid was
influenced by Ancheuser-Busch's 29 per cent acquisition of the
company earlier in the week. SABMiller...
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...
The Philippines-based San Miguel Corporation has announced a
regional expansion programme in an effort to increase its market
share outside of the saturated domestic market it now clearly
dominates. In the next six months the food,...
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...
Japan may be about to review its policy of testing all slaughtered
cattle for mad cow disease, a practice Tokyo has asked Washington
to adopt as a condition for resuming US beef imports. This is
encouraging news for US meat processors,...
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...
To counteract China's alleged abuse of patent protection the US
government is proposing legislation that would mean greater tariffs
on a variety of Chinese products including food and beverage items.
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...
Trade in food and beverage products is expected to grow
significantly on the back of an agreement made between China and
Vietnam which will end tariffs on nearly 500 seafood and
agricultural products during the course of the next...
Vietnam is seeking to import between 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes of
corn for feed as it moves to restock poultry flocks hit by the
outbreak of bird flu earlier this year, even though the FAO has
warned the country not to resume poultry...
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...
Japan's poultry industry is the latest sector to feel the effect of
avian influenza. Reported outbreaks of the virus in the
health-conscious country have eroded people's appetite for chicken
and hammered down the price of...
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.
After a week of denials and perhaps months of cover-ups, Thailand
has finally admitted that it has been hit by Avian 'flu, the
poultry virus that has ravaged other parts of East Asia. A Thai
minister told reporters that two boys...
In a move guaranteed to fuel further speculation that Thailand is
covering up cases of Avian 'flu, Japan today suspended poultry
imports from the south east Asian nation. The country continues to
deny that it is covering up cases...
The recent outbreak of Avian 'flu in East Asia - described by a WHO
spokesperson as being "potentially more dangerous than
SARS," - is devastating the poultry industries of Vietnam,
South Korea and Japan. We examine...
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has expressed
serious concern about the spread of Avian flu in East Asia. And
perhaps more worryingly, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has
warned that the outbreak has the potential...
The Chinese government is to establish a digital monitoring system
for agricultural food products to ensure food sanitation and
safety. The move is designed to increase the country's export
potential by helping food manufacturers...
Japan's health ministry claims it may have found another case of
mad cow disease in a 23-month-old bullock slaughtered last month,
bringing the total number of cases in Japan to eight.
Following the failure of the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Cancún, Mexico, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder issued an appeal to all parties concerned to resume talks as soon as possible.
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.
The US department of agriculture has announced that it will know next week whether Japan is satisfied with the new steps taken to prevent mad cow disease in US beef exports.
The European Union is to reduce testing of imported Thai poultry for cancer-causing drugs, claiming that improved checks on chicken meat products have eased food safety fears.
Japan has asked 26 beef-exporting countries to provide
country-of-origin certificates for beef shipments to help prevent
the spread of mad cow disease.
The Sars outbreak in Asia has had far-reaching implications for a number of industries. China, one of the worst-hit countries, has seen a sharp decline in the export of many goods and products, not least livestock.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand has alerted food manufacturers
and food retailers about over ingredients supplied by Australia's
largest contract manufacturer of complementary medicines.
