Singapore-based Petra Foods has reported first quarter profit gains in its branded consumer division driven by rising chocolate consumption in markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines and improved margins by introducing more premium products.
Heineken has signed a JV to produce and sell Heineken beers in Burma (Myanmar), and plans to build a $60m brewery there, following Carlsberg, Coke and Pepsi into the country.
FoodNavigator-Asia recently visited Indonesia's largest extraction facility, Javaplant, to look at how one of Asia's top 10 botanical, coffee and tea extractors produces products for export around the world.
'ELEPHANT COFFEE' ENTREPRENEUR SURPRISED BY JAPAN MICROBREW SALES
The world’s priciest coffee brand, Black Ivory Coffee, made using Thai Arabica beans predigested by elephants, tells BeverageDaily.com it is searching for a reputable microbrewer in Japan to license a beer made using the brew.
BASF and Malaysian partner Petronas Chemicals Group will invest MYR1.4bn (US$500m) in an integrated aroma ingredients project in Kuantan to serve the Asia-Pacific flavour and fragrance industry.
The growth of agro-based exports may be sustained with the opening up of new markets for sugar and bananas, according to the Philippines National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
By Beverly Postma, executive director of Food Industry Asia
As the deadline for the creation of single common market across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) fast approaches, the food industry has stepped up to demonstrate that the private sector can play a meaningful role in accelerating the...
Premium chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli has reached a deal with market expansion services group DKSH to strengthen its position in the Singapore where demand for premium chocolate is rising.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) lifted a ban imposed after the Fukushima disaster on food imports from seven prefectures in Japan.
Asia’s Muslim-majority countries should see Western nations as a viable and potentially lucrative market for their halal products, according to a leading food marketing consultant.
Officials in Indonesia have warned that several industries in the country, including the beverage industry, could be damaged if the proposed minimum wage increase is not delayed.
Eager to move forward with supplying the fast-growing Asian market, food technology major FMC has broken ground on its major new microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) manufacturing facility in Rayong, Thailand, through which FMC expects to increase its global...
The Philippines’ Department of Agriculture has “clarified” the blue-skies announcement by its secretary, Proceso Alcala, in which when he said the country would be in a position to stop importing rice next year.
The Philippines’ embattled agriculture secretary is clearly clairvoyant, otherwise he would never have come out with such a grand prediction as he did last week—that his government plans to shelve rice imports in 2014.
Last year, FoodNavigator-Asia reported that new Japanese regulations governing “acceptable” levels of the antioxidant ethoxyquin in fishmeal was destined to become a grave issue for shrimp exporters. Exactly six months later, the effects of this policy...
Oxfam has called on the three biggest chocolate manufacturers to conduct independent audits on conditions for women on cocoa farms supplying their factories after finding evidence of unequal pay, discrimination and hunger.
Forbes Medi-Tech has signed a three-year licence and supply agreement to grant Del Monte Pacific with exclusive rights to manufacture and sell food and beverages featuring the Reducol name across the Philippines, South Asia and Myanmar.
Carlsberg today formed a JV with a Burmese brewer to produce and market its brand portfolio, and told BeverageDaily.com the nation offered 'huge growth potential' in an under-penetrated beer category.
Dunkin' Donuts has announced that it has signed a franchise agreement to develop the brand in Vietnam. The move comes only shortly after coffee-and-baked-goods rival Starbucks revealed details of its own move into the South-east Asian country.
Coca-Cola Singapore Beverages (CCSB) is changing its business practices as the nation’s competition commission agreed to end a probe into allegations of restrictive provisions in soft drink supply agreements.
Researchers in Vietnam claim to have invented technology that can be used to mass-produce Gamma Oryzanol from rice bran at a far lower cost than by current techniques.
Struggling tobacco farmers in the northern Philippines have been thrown a lifeline by the government, which will soon open a multi-million dollar food processing plant in Ilocos Sur, along with a trading centre in the province.
Cargill has reported a more than 300% increase in year-over-year second quarter net earnings, from $100 in 2012 to $409 million in 2013. The only blemishs on the earnings report were lingering effects from the 2012 drought in the US and overcapacity...
Thai food major Charoen Pokphand Foods will continue to view Vietnam as one of its biggest investment destinations, and this year the company plans to focus on growing its food processing business in the country.
With Berg + Schmidt’s Indian deoiled lecithin plant in India now working to capacity, the lipid company has joined with its Volkmar Wywiol stablemate, Sternchemie, to invest in a Singapore plant for the production of pure soybean lecithin.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has sought to assure the market that almost all of its shipments of palm cooking oil to China have met the destination’s quality control specifications.
Australia’s director of animal and plant quarantine is expected to approve the import of fresh decrowned pineapple fruit from Malaysia. The decision based on consideration of a final risk analysis report for the import of the fruit from Malaysia.
After a decade of rising profits on the back of Chinese demand for coal and iron ore, Japan's two biggest biggest trading companies are shifting focus to food as bulk commodity prices and demand continue to wane.
The Philippines government has urged Filipino exporters to look for opportunities in India as a means to mitigate the current downturn in key markets like the United States and Europe.
Indonesia's bottled water market may be one of the most high valued markets in the world, but there are still plenty of opportunities for growth, new research from UK-based research firm Mintel said.
Coca-Cola FEMSA has sealed a deal to acquire a majority stake in the Coca-Cola Company’s Philippines bottling operation in Mexico City, and hailed an import milestone in its history.
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has signed a deal to distribute Swedish cider Rekorderlig in Australia from January 2014, and said its sales and distribution strength would help consolidate the brand’s market-leading position.
Cambodia has inaugurated a food industry laboratory, built with Chinese aid, that sets out to assist food quality improvement, research and technology development.
The Philippine government has stated that the damage inflicted by typhoon Bopha to farmland in the south of the country will not adversely affect its food supply.
The chief executive of Danish chocolate and extruded whipping cake emulsifiers major Palsgaard has outlined the reasons behind the company's recent significant investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
It seems like the sale of Dole's worldwide packaged foods and Asia fresh business to Itochu is almost complete, following an announcement that the American fruit major's president will be joining Itochu to run the company's new acquisitions.
Vietnam is expected to export 7.7m tonnes of rice in 2012, setting a 20-year record high due to increased export orders in the last months in 2012, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).
The French Senate rejected its so-called ‘Nutella tax’ on Thursday, which aimed to quadruple the tax on palm oil, a key ingredient in the hazelnut-chocolate spread.
A French politician’s calls for a “Nutella tax” have been met with anger in Malaysia. Central to the terms of the proposal, which will be voted on in Paris this week, lies a 300% duty increase on palm oil imports to the country.
In the wake of a major recall of toxic South Korean noodles from shelves across the country, food regulation authorities in the Philippines are now actively seeking to target imported products that do not contain English translations of ingredients on...
Singapore-based Petra Foods has posted sales and profit declines in the third quarter (Q3) as it complained of weak global demand for chocolate that halved profits in its cocoa ingredients division.
