Meat

Global food firms increasingly enticed by Middle East markets – more bumper trade deals expected at Gulfood 2018

31-Jan-2018 By Gary Scattergood

This year’s Gulfood show takes place against the backdrop of rising regional investment in food production, with international manufacturers increasingly seeing the Middle East as a lucrative market for their goods.

Rakuten and Walmart combine powers for new Japan grocery delivery service

30-Jan-2018 By Lester Wan

Japan e-commerce giant Rakuten and retailer Seiyu GK, a Walmart subsidiary, have agreed on a joint venture to launch a new online grocery delivery service — Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper.

Why yet another Asian online giant — Tencent — is investing in China's brick-and-mortar food retail

25-Jan-2018 By Lester Wan

The wave of online giants ploughing cash into traditional bricks-and-mortar food retail business shows no sign of slowing, with hypermarket chain Carrefour announcing it is in collaborative talks with China technology and entertainment giant Tencent.

ADM targets Southeast Asia flavour and ingredient growth after opening new Singapore innovation centre

25-Jan-2018 By Gary Scattergood

ADM is the latest global food giant to plough investment into Singapore with the opening of a new innovation centre to meet rising consumer and customer demand across Southeast Asia.

Philippines gives green light to South Korean processed meat imports

24-Jan-2018 By Gary Scattergood

South Korean processed meat firms will soon be able to export products to the Philippines after the two nations agreed standards protocols.

Space snacks: Japan seeks lift-off for more accredited foods for astronauts

16-Jan-2018 By Lester Wan

Astronauts currently have to eat the same meal roughly every 16 days — but this is something Japan is looking to remedy with the help of food manufacturers.

China e-commerce giant JD.com follows Alibaba's lead into bricks-and-mortar food retail

08-Jan-2018 By Lester Wan

China e-commerce retailer JD.com is to launch new bricks-and-mortar 7Fresh grocery stores in the country, reigniting competition with rivals such as Alibaba in the offline space.

China’s DRex Food Group invests $400m in Belarus dairy infrastructure in latest spending spree

03-Jan-2018 By Lester Wan

China’s DRex Food Group Co. Ltd. has signed an agreement to invest US$400m in dairy farms and a milk processing plant in the Vitebsk region of Belarus, near the border with Russia.

APAC's four key private label trends into the 2020's: Premium, sustainable, digital and healthy

02-Jan-2018 By RJ Whitehead

Growing digitisation, premium packaging formats and a rising focus on health and wellness are among the key trends in private label that Asia-Pacific will face into the next decade.

‘Paddock to plate’: Beef blockchain technology to fight food fraud

13-Dec-2017 By Gary Scattergood

A research project designed to track beef from the paddock to the plate and protect Australia’s reputation for quality production has been launched in Queensland.

Food policy picks: Our top 5 regulation stories from 2017

11-Dec-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Edible insects, halal rules, sugar taxes and the ever-controversial issue of GM foods shared the spoils in our top five most-read policy stories of 2017.

Australians want better labels on 'unhealthy' foods, but not sin taxes

07-Dec-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Almost 80% of Australians want clearer labels on unhealthy foods, but far fewer support taxation as a tool to deter consumption.

Robot awards: Ishida’s packaging and inspection equipment scoops two excellence gongs

29-Nov-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Robotic technology that can grade meat products of varying weights and pack them swiftly into fixed-weight trays won a notable award at Gulfood Manufacturing this year.

Arjuna sets sights on Europe and US for shelf-life extender growth

16-Nov-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Indian supplier Arjuna says it is "aggressively expanding" its base in the US and Europe for its clean-label shelf-life extending ingredients.

Good game: Blockchain technology to track meat supply in Japan

07-Nov-2017 By Lester Wan

State-of the-art blockchain technology is to be used by the Japanese government to increase traceability, food safety and distribution for wild game.

Ban over: China lifts meat export restrictions on Australian processors

02-Nov-2017 By Lester Wan

China has lifted the suspension of red meat imports from six Australian meat firms.

UN launches campaign to avert “food security disaster” in former ISIL-held Mosul

01-Nov-2017 By Lester Wan

The United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched an emergency campaign to safeguard livestock and food security across the Mosul area in Iraq, recently retaken from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Lab-made ‘foie gras’: Japan firm claims product could be commercially viable by 2021

01-Nov-2017 By Lester Wan

Lab-grown ‘foie gras’ could hit the shelves within four years, according to the professor behind a Japanese firm working on a range of cultured meats.

Falling Chinese pork imports fuel global oversupply

31-Oct-2017 By Aidan Fortune

A drop in Chinese imports is expected to cause a global oversupply in pork meat.

China direct

Smithfield Foods to open marketplace on JD.com

30-Oct-2017 By RJ Whitehead

China-owned pork giant Smithfield Foods will sell its products on China’s second-biggest e-commerce portal in a three-way deal with Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development.

Indonesia streamlines halal certification through new government agency

26-Oct-2017 By RJ Whitehead

A new body formed under the religious affairs ministry has taken over issuing halal certification, almost 30 years after Indonesia’s top clerical body was given responsibility for the practice.

His week Down Under

Processor takes its beef with sole customer to Queensland Supreme Court

26-Oct-2017 By RJ Whitehead

The 40-year relationship between one of Australia’s biggest beef suppliers and its exclusive domestic customer is on the rocks following an export dispute that has landed before the courts.

New Zealand expansion for meat firm Hilton Food Group to serve Countdown supermarkets

25-Oct-2017 By Lester Wan

Hilton Food Group PLC, a UK-based meat processing and packing firm, is set to expand into New Zealand with an investment worth NZ$54 million.

Japan wagyu makers eye Olympics as global marketing opportunity

16-Oct-2017 By Kathryn Wortley

Work is underway to promote Japan’s quality wagyu beef to athletes and tourists visiting Tokyo for the 2020 summer Olympic Games to boost exports in the long term.

A’Saffa gets financing to double poultry capacity in Oman’s south

04-Oct-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Oman’s biggest poultry processor has secured long-term financing for a OMR45m (US$117m) project to expand in the south of the country.

Indian feed player Godrej Agrovet going down IPO route

26-Sep-2017 By Jane Byrne

Indian feed producer, Godrej Agrovet, has set a price range of 450-460 rupees a share for its initial public offering (IPO) to raise up to 11.6 billion rupees (US$177.6m), according to a public notice published today.

Cargill buys unused feedmill in central Thailand

18-Sep-2017 By RJ Whitehead

An unused feed mill in Thailand’s Prachinburi province has been acquired by Cargill to produce poultry and swine feed.

China direct

‘Poultry for beef’ deal completes after China given US ‘equivalence’

18-Sep-2017 By RJ Whitehead

China’s poultry inspection protocols have been judged “equivalent” to those used by the US Department of Agriculture, paving the way for the world’s second biggest producer to gain access to the world’s largest poultry market. 

Australia to open doors to US, Japanese and Dutch beef

14-Sep-2017 By RJ Whitehead

America will soon be allowed to export beef to America for the first time in 15 years, following a government report review.

Australians urged to eat more kangaroo meat

13-Sep-2017 By Aidan Fortune

An increase in the kangaroo population in Australia has led to industry experts encouraging the public to eat more of the protein. 

New Australian lamb awareness campaign launched

04-Sep-2017 By Aidan Fortune

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has launched its latest lamb marketing campaign for spring. 

AGCO ties up with CP Foods to manufacture meat tech in China

04-Sep-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Global agri-equipment supplier AGCO will begin manufacturing protein production equipment in China through a joint-venture with CP Foods.

Mixed reaction to Chinese cooked chicken import plans

30-Aug-2017 By Joseph James Whitworth

Plans to allow China to export cooked chicken from poultry slaughtered in the country to the US have prompted strong reactions from both sides of the debate.

Chinese firm sees first pork shipment to Tajikstan

29-Aug-2017 By Mark Godfrey

A Chinese meat processor is celebrating the export of 22 tons of chilled pork to the central Asian state of Tajikistan. 

China direct

European firms to sue China for infringing their intellectual property

28-Aug-2017 By RJ Whitehead

European countries are being granted the right to sue China if their food trademarks are counterfeited in the country.

Spike in SE Asian urbanites looking to increase protein consumption

24-Aug-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Southeast Asians are increasingly leading healthy lifestyles, with as many as three in four urban Indonesians and a third of Thai city residents saying they have been striving to improve their diets this year.

China

New Hope in line for Moy Park takeover

23-Aug-2017 By RJ Whitehead

China’s biggest chicken supplier has been linked to a potential acquisition of Britain’s Moy Park.

China

Brazilian chicken suppliers under investigation for suspected dumping

21-Aug-2017 By RJ Whitehead

China is investigating allegations of illegal dumping by Brazilian suppliers of broiler chicken onto its market.

South Korea lifts US poultry ban

21-Aug-2017 By Aidan Fortune

The government of South Korea has lifted its ban on imports of US poultry and poultry products. 

Asia: Bird flu outbreaks see 200,000 birds culled

14-Aug-2017 By Oscar Rousseau

Hundreds of thousands of birds have been culled in the Philippines and Laos after both Southeast Asian countries reported avian influenza (AI) outbreaks.

UK and China sign £200m pork export deal

14-Aug-2017 By Aidan Fortune

The UK has signed a new export deal with China to supply pork products.

Australian beef exports up for first time in two years

09-Aug-2017 By Oscar Rousseau

Australian beef exports are up year-on-year for the first time in 24 months, with more growth expected after Japan hit the US, Australia’s biggest competitor, with a hefty tax hike. 

Japanese frozen beef tariff rise causes US rift

31-Jul-2017 By Oscar Rousseau

Japan’s decision to increase its tariffs on imported frozen beef imports has caused anger in the US.

Ajinomoto set to thaw Europe with multi-million euro takeover

26-Jul-2017 By Oscar Rousseau

Japanese food giant Ajinomoto has fired up its European growth plans with the acquisition of France’s frozen food business Labeyrie Traiteur Surgelés (LTS) for an undisclosed sum.

Excitement builds for Japan's Wagyu Olympics

26-Jul-2017 By Kathryn Wortley

Japan’s top cattle and meat producers are gearing up to compete in the country’s next ‘Wagyu Olympics’, the country’s premier beef cattle show, to be held in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, on 7–11 September. 

1.3k tonnes of rotten food discovered in UAE’s latest food fraud case

26-Jul-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Health inspectors uncovered more than 1,300 tonnes of rotten fruit, vegetables, meat and being sold at unlicensed markets to poor residents in Dubai in the first half of this year.

Dog days for canine meat traders amid changing Chinese attitudes

20-Jul-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Last month massive crowds once again flocked to Yulin, in south China’s Guangxi province. Each year, on June 21, the city celebrates a dog meat festival that also attracts much public uproar and controversy. 

India

Venky’s gains from beef ban despite recent suspension

20-Jul-2017 By RJ Whitehead

India’s ban on the sale of cattle has boosted the corporate fortunes of poultry producer Venky’s, whose stock has rallied by 360% so far this year.

Up and down year for Australian farming due to changeable climates

17-Jul-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Australian agricultural production has experienced a variety of mixed results, according to “agricultural census data” released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the 2015-16 season.

Russia eyes Chinese poultry trade as shortages loom

14-Jul-2017 By Eugene Vorotnikov

Russia is planning to promote exports of poultry and pork to China and has already started talks with the Chinese government to increase exports beyond their current low volumes.