In a first, a Thai food major is taking its operations across the Indian Ocean to Africa, hoping to capitalise both on available resources and rising consumption in the region.
Vietnamese seafood companies have failed to convince authorities to drop testing fees they deem ‘unreasonable’ and inequitable with import requirements.
A US$15m strategic investment from Indonesian agribusiness group, Salim, will increase research and production capabilities and open new market doors for US algae technology firm Heliae.
Fonterra will invest in a blending and packing facility in Indonesia to bolster its local presence and ensure swift response to market demands across the country’s dairy nutrition sector.
Fenchem has launched its hydrolyzed fish collagen in the Southeast Asian market, to target the growing demand for health drinks and supplements in the region.
Authorities in the Malaysian state of Sarawak have said that they will increase the monitoring of halal canned food products imported from China in the light of a recent scare.
Nestlé will invest S$5.5m in its Singapore R&D centre to expand activities in development of products such as coffee mixes and malted beverages for both the Asian and global markets.
Malaysia’s efforts to get its lucrative business of edible bird’s nests exports to China back on track has hit a roadblock as very few of the manufacturers registering under the new norms.
Fish in Southeast Asia are at the risk of disease outbreaks, thanks to the use of chemicals and antibiotics a that could collapse an entire industry, a top sector official said today in the Philippines.
Malaysia and Indonesia are renowned as strong production players in the certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) market but Thailand is emerging as the new frontier in Asia Pacific, according to the secretary general of RSPO.
Malaysia has sounded an alert for glow-in-the dark lollipops after complaints that these products contained toxic chemicals that could cause cancer, were reported in the local media.
Royal Friesland Campina is poised to complete the takeover of Filipino firm Alaska Milk Corporation (AMC) for total sum of around €350m, in a move it said gave it access to 100m consumers in a ‘high growth’ market and the opportunity to 'valorise...
Following a US$32m investment in Singapore, Japanese flavour giant Takasago International has turned its attention to India and has invested a further US$10m to build a flavour and fragrance manufacturing and R&D facility in the South of the country.
Malaysian bakery and confectionery firm Silver Bird Group Berhad has announced the suspension of three top officials as it defaults on loan repayments.
The World Food Programme (WFP) operates on many fronts, with many initiatives, but it’s core remains the same – to better the nutritional inputs of the world’s neediest people. Significant advances in fortified rice technology are set to see those goals...
A new manufacturing facility in Shanghai will enable flavour manufacturer Frutarom to tap into the vast opportunities in the savoury application sector in China and Southeast Asia.
Synthite Industries, the India-based oleoresin extraction firm, has said that it would use its recently announced acquisition in China to clear a path to the Southeast Asian market.
Vietnam’s seafood sector is targeting African, latin American and other Asian markets to compensate for expected demand slides in slumping Eurozone economies.
Decade-old Malaysian food player, Zenxin, is extending its presence in organic processed foods such as rice noodles, mulberry tea and local herbal tea.
The focus for manufacturers in Singapore needs to be on the export market, and in particular functional and health foods, according to industry official.
Almost half a year after China banned the import of edible bird’s nests from Malaysia due to nitrite contamination, Malaysian exporters will finally get back to work under new regulations.
Malaysia has sounded an alarm for orange juice imports into the country in the wake of the discovery of traces of a toxic contaminant in certain brands of juice imported from Brazil into the US.
Thai trade authorities are working closely with local food manufacturers to set up a halal food industrial estate in the south of the country, a region with a large Muslim population.
US ice cream brand Baskin-Robbins has timed entrance into Vietnam carefully via a franchise with a local food company amid a snowballing economy and emerging middle class with a taste for luxuries, the company said.
Swiss flavour and fragrance giant, Firmenich, will be able to better serve Southeast Asia’s market as it will be closer to clients and consumers with its new flavour production facility in Indonesia, according to the company.
Indonesia will more tightly supervise the sale of food products sold in and around schools in 2012, if a government agency-backed effort to reduce the impact of unhealthy snacks on the country's 50 million 6-18 year-olds is OK'd at senior level.
The Indian edible oil industry is banking on a slew of corrective measures in 2012 to revive its fortunes after the last year ended on a downhill thanks to changes in the Indonesian palm oil tax structure.
Taiwanese marine specialist, Sea Party Technology, is adding to a MYR2bn investment ($600m), in Malaysia to breed fish and prawns for the halal community – with government backing.
US farm management company, Stevia Corp, has signed an agreement with a Vietnamese research institute to strengthen knowledge of stevia cultivation and crop management to drive production in the country.
Thai food companies report government aid helped them to cope with the recent flood crisis and that they are now in a better position to deal with similar incidents in the future.
Singapore-based ingredients technology company, Compass Foods, has announced the legal approval of its emulsifier for use in flavour applications in the Indonesian market.
The recent deluge of rain in Thailand will not hamper overall rice production in 2011 as farmers will be aided by the National Science and Technlology Development Agency (NSTDA) to increase rice production with better quality seeds.
Thailand food company S. Khonkaen Foods Plc has signed a deal with Sri Lanka-based Keells Food Products Plc to distribute food products on the island, with further expansion plans mooted.
Leading cocoa manufacturer Barry Callebaut and exporter, P.T. Comextra Majora have teamed up on a new processing facility to satisfy the growing demand for cocoa products in the Asia Pacific region.
Thailand's organic industry is now a 400m Thai Baht business since the National Innovation Agency (NIA) started a government initiative in 2006 to help organic farmers and food production companies raise the level of their products and to hike up...
A Rabobank report released last week claims Indonesia will lead Southeast Asian growth over the next decade, based on global demand for key commodities and stable domestic needs.
Singapore’s government has pledged funds over the next five years towards the country’s food manufacturing sector in a bid to improve productivity by 20%.
Bunge Agribusiness Singapore Pte has announced that it will join hands with an Indonesia palm plantation company, the first time Bunge has invested in the palm oil industry.
Changing consumer eating patterns and greater western influence has seen an upward trend in the bakery industry in Malaysia, but trade group urges education drive to enhance the sector’s growth potential.
Thailand’s chocolate confectionery segment showed it jumped 20% last year to reach THB3.360bn ($0.1bn), notes UK market analysts Mintel in a new review.
A new Malaysian initiative will set up a new food product network that will take locally made food products to overseas markets, according to Malaysia’s Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA).
There is a huge range in taste preferences within Southeast Asia, so being immersed in the market is essential for meeting regional customer requirements, according to Asia-focussed flavour company KH Roberts.
Chinese ingredients supplier Fenchem reports that sales of eye health carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin have doubled in a year to break the million-dollar mark for the first time – even as a marigold shortage sets in.
PepsiCo has agreed to sell its majority 41.5 per cent stake in Thai soft drinks and bottling firm Serm Suk (SSC), after ThaiBev (THBEV) announced plans to acquire the latter for $548m last week.
