Meat

Rising productivity in China's swine sector to support better feed demand in 2016

20-Apr-2015 By Jane Byrne

The Chinese pig sector’s demand for feed will remain under pressure for the remainder of the year but is expected to be higher in early 2016, said Rabobank.

Special Edition: Environmental footprint reduction initiatives

Experts look to tackle methane emissions in dairy herds in Asia and Africa

14-Apr-2015 By Jane Byrne

Dietary approaches from ration balancing to plant extract supplementation could boost milk yields in developing countries while supporting a reduction in methane emissions, said a leading Indian researcher.

Russia and Ukraine target Halal poultry market

07-Apr-2015 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Russia is planning to start exports of Halal poultry to the UAE and Qatar, while Ukraine’s Halal meat exports are booming, as both countries struggle with the effect of embargoes.

Japan poultry giant mulls technology transfer to boost Indian exports

25-Mar-2015 By Julian Ryall, in Tokyo, and Raghavendra Verma, in New Delhi

Tokyo-based Mayekawa Manufacturing Co is in talks with officials of India’s Andhra Pradesh state government to bring Japanese technology to the state’s large poultry industry. N. Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, visited Japan in...

India

Haryana follows Maharashtra in banning beef slaughter and consumption

17-Mar-2015 By RJ Whitehead

Lawmakers in Haryana have followed their colleagues in Maharashtra to vote in a bill that outlaws the slaughter of cows in the state. Suspected violators will not be allowed bail on their arrest, and face up to 10 years of hard labour and a fine if convicted.

India

Government looks at encouraging states to adopt Maharashtra’s beef ban

10-Mar-2015 By RJ Whitehead

With Maharashtra now joining the states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gujarat in banning the slaughter of cows, India’s prime minister is now looking at the validity of encouraging other states to adopt a similar law.

China

Bird flu season becoming a serious concern for Chinese authorities

28-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

A series of human infections from bird flu this year, alongside a spate of import bans, illustrates the acute fear among Chinese officials over the threat posed by live poultry during this particularly turbulent winter period.

Does the edible bugs trend have the legs to succeed?

23-Jan-2015 By Nathan Gray

Not a week goes by without media headlines talking about the potential of insects to help feed the world. But where does that potential really lie?

China

Smog blamed on smoking bacon, city bans practice ahead of new year

22-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

The culinary practice of smoking bacon, a traditional method of preserving pork, has been banned in the Chinese city of Chongqing after being blamed for much of its noxious air.

Japan

Hong Kong bans some Japanese poultry imports after H5N7 is detected

19-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

Hong Kong has banned the import of poultry from some regions of Japan, Israel and Nigeria following the announcement of H5 avian influenza outbreaks there.

China bans all US poultry imports after west coast bird flu outbreak

14-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

Chinese authorities have announced a ban on all imports of US poultry and egg products, including processed and unprocessed products and breeding stock, after the detection of avian flu in America’s pacific states.

Midamar manager admits faking Halal shipment info

12-Jan-2015 By Eliot Beer

A former manager at US meat producer Midamar has pleaded guilty to faking certificates on meat sold as Halal, and admitted using Kosher beef in place of Halal meat, in shipments to Muslim countries.

Review of the year

Asia-Pacific in 2014: A year of scandals, soul searching and success

22-Dec-2014 By RJ Whitehead

The last 12 months have been turbulent for much of Asia-Pacific's food industry, with regulations, legislation, markets and partnerships continuing to develop in the latest step in the region's economic development.To mark a fascinating year...

Review of bird flu safeguards urged to curb new outbreaks

16-Dec-2014 By Jane Byrne

All parties in the poultry supply chain, including feed producers, need to assess how they can help limit avian flu outbreaks, with no certainties about whether the spread of the disease will be checked in the coming weeks, says an industry specialist.  

China’s meat producers seek more export opportunities in Russia

09-Dec-2014 By Elsa Reed

Five more Chinese companies have filed requests with China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) to export meat products to Russia, as China’s meat sector sees growing export opportunities in the market.

Analysis

Malaysia's $72m 'Beef Valley' plan results in just 20 head of cattle

08-Dec-2014 By RJ Whitehead

It was meant to be Malaysia’s Beef Valley, but now it’s not even Beef Alley, according to an online new investigation into the National Feedlot Corporation’s 2,000ha farm in Negri Sembilan.

Pakistani food company and NGO team up to improve slaughterhouse standards

08-Dec-2014 By Shahid Husain, in Karachi

A collaboration between a major Pakistan food company and local non-governmental organisation (NGO) aimed at improving the country’s slaughterhouse standards is set to expand sales abroad.

China

27 arrested for smuggling beef that had been banned amid BSE scare

03-Dec-2014 By RJ Whitehead

After an 11-month manhunt, Chinese police have arrested 27 people suspected of being part of a smuggling ring that would bring beef into China at a time when BSE fears surrounded its source.

China’s first inland checkpoint assists Shuanghui to source more meat

13-Nov-2014 By Elsa Reed

China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) will establish a meat import inspection checkpoint in Luohe city, Henan province, the central China base of meat processor Shuanghui Group.

Australia

Supermarkets benefiting most as Aussies buy more meat

05-Nov-2014 By RJ Whitehead

The Australian butcher is safe in spite of growing competition from supermarkets, as consumers continue to buy meat from speciality retailers, especially in cities.

Truss to visit China next month to boost pig exports

05-Nov-2014 By Rick Pendrous

Environment secretary Liz Truss will be travelling to China in December with the aim of reducing barriers to UK pig exports to the world’s most populace nation as its demand for protein rises.

Australia

American consumer group demands USDA protection from Australian meat

13-Oct-2014 By Andrew Schreiber

A consumer rights group in the US has called on its country’s regulators to review and possibly revoke Australia’s meat inspection process, calling it an inherently flawed system.

Southeast Asia

New bird flu strain causing concern for poultry producers in SE Asia

22-Sep-2014 By RJ Whitehead

A recently-emerged strain of avian influenza virus in poultry in Southeast Asia represents a new threat to animal health and livelihoods and must be closely monitored, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned. 

South Korea removes ban on controversial beef feed additive zilpaterol

02-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

South Korea, a major importer of beef from the US, Australia and New Zealand, has lifted a ban on the use of animal feed additive, zilpaterol, in beef.

Algae as cheap cattle feed supplement: University of Queensland shows how it is done

02-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

Australian beef producers and feed companies can benefit from a University of Queensland (UQ) project that is demonstrating how microalgae derived feed can be produced cheaply and efficiently.

Brazil envoys petition Egypt and Iran to lift embargoes

28-Aug-2014 By Eliot Beer

The Brazilian agriculture ministry (Mapa) is sending a trade delegation to Egypt and Iran in an attempt to restart embargoed beef shipments and improve systems for importing poultry.

Focusing on certification means no beef from consumers

26-Aug-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Founded in the early ‘Nineties by a group of Australian pastoral families, OBE claims to be the “oldest, biggest and most trustworthy” supplier of organic beef. 

Indonesia

Growing middle-class will lead poultry demand to double by 2018

06-Aug-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Indonesia’s poultry sector is fast transforming from a backyard industry to professionally managed and integrated production, according to figures released by Rabobank.

India

Rampant poultry antibiotics use leading to greater bacteria resistance

05-Aug-2014 By Andrew Schreiber

The use of antibiotics in the poultry industry might largely be behind the growing number of Indians developing resistance to antibiotics, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has claimed in a new study.

Egypt resumes Australian breeder animal imports

01-Aug-2014 By Eliot Beer

Egypt has resumed imports of breeding animals from Australia, four months after agreeing to restart trade in livestock between the two countries, the Australian government announces.

China

Scandal-hit CEO brands own company's practices ‘unacceptable'

24-Jul-2014 By RJ Whitehead

The chief executive of OSI Group, the American owner of the meat processor under investigation by Chinese authorities for supplying expired meat to international fast-food chains including McDonald’s and KFC, has “sincerely apologised” for events over...

China

Five arrested as meat scandal spreads to more international chains

23-Jul-2014 By RJ Whitehead

As more American companies are embroiled in China’s latest food safety scandal, five people have been detained following a probe into a company that allegedly supplied stale meat to fast-food outlets.

Malaysia

New halal kit will let Muslims test for pork in less than one minute

07-Jul-2014 By Rei Rengsen Siew Lin

A new testing kit will go a long way to ease fears among Malaysian Muslims that the food they are eating is halal, especially in light of a recent pork-related controversy involving Cadbury.

China

China leads world beef market’s return to better days

03-Jul-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Chinese beef import volumes remain historically high, but still a long way behind last year’s stratospheric growth.

India set to increase meat presence globally

25-Jun-2014 By Ed Bedington

India is poised to take a larger step on to the world stage when it comes to meat, delegates to the World Meat Congress were told.

China Meat Association outlines state of industry to Congress

24-Jun-2014 By Ed Bedington

The pace of change in the Chinese meat industry is rapid, with both demand and prices up, and modernisation continuing apace, the president of the China Meat Association told delegates to the World Meat Congress.

Australia

Three-quarters of deli meat in Adelaide would fail to meet standards

02-Jun-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Hygienic food handling and standard food safety protocols are not being practiced at many of Adelaide’s supermarket delicatessens, according to a University of Adelaide study.

India

EU lifts poultry meat ban while US complains to WTO of Indian embargo

15-May-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Over five years after it imposed a ban on poultry meat imports from India, the European Union has now approved their shipment subject to tough conditions.

Study aims to understand consumers' view of meat from paddock to plate

07-May-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Adelaide University has embarked on a new, three-year research project to identify the key concerns among consumers about how livestock is treated and how much they are willing to pay for ethically produced meat.

Analysis: Indian elections

Holy cow! Modi’s buffalo stance is based on votes, not religion

06-May-2014 By RJ Whitehead

“The holiness of the cow is very much linked to the communal overtones of Indian politics,” wrote Indian historian DN Jha, who received death threats following the release of his book, The Myth of the Holy Cow.

China faces growing beef shortages in spite of government efforts

28-Apr-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Faced with a long-term decline in cattle stock and a widening gap in productivity compared to other producing countries, the Chinese beef industry is having a difficult time catching up with demand on home turf.

Fresh from Smithfield buy, WH Group readies for biggest IPO in a year

10-Apr-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Chinese pork producer WH Group, which last year bought US pork giant Smithfield Foods, hopes to raise more than US$5bn in what would be the world's biggest initial public offering for a year when it lists in Hong Kong later this month.

China driving global beef growth

07-Apr-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Market fundamentals remain very positive for the global beef industry, with the Chinese market leading worldwide demand.

China lagging behind US in terms of sustainable agriculture

20-Mar-2014 By RJ Whitehead

The urea input costs per unit of pork production in China is 3.5 times what it is in the US, according to data by Rabobank. 

China’s meat majors focus on convenience as incomes rise

18-Mar-2014 By Mark Godfrey

There was a time when convenience for China’s meat-eaters was a bag of frozen pork dumplings. But today the offerings of convenience meat products are exploding across the aisles of China’s supermarket, with everything from pre-prepared frozen kebab sticks...

China’s growing appetite fuelling Australian red meat exports

26-Feb-2014 By Ankush Chibber

China’s consumption of lamb and beef has grown explosively over the last 12 months, making it one of Australia’s top red meat markets, an industry official said.

New bird flu strain poses no threat to poultry populations

20-Feb-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Human patients infected with the A(H7N9) strain of avian influenza are not able transmit the virus to animals, including birds, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Industry group adds weight to NZ country of origin labelling debate

20-Feb-2014 By RJ Whitehead

There have been fresh calls for the New Zealand government into introducing mandatory country of origin labelling with the chief executive of NZPork telling the Primary Production Select Committee that consumers want to know where their food comes from.

Hong Kong bans chicken imports from China after new bird flu discovery

28-Jan-2014 By Ankush Chibber

Hong Kong’s food safety and health authorities have shifted gears and initiated counter measures after the discovery of the H7N9 bird flu virus in a batch of live poultry from mainland China. 

China gorges on Indian buffalo via Vietnam

22-Jan-2014

India’s buffalo meat (carabeef) exports to Southeast Asia are growing fast, thanks to rising demand in China, even though the world’s second-biggest economy has not officially opened its doors to India in this sector.