Seafood

The Philippines agrees to address illegal fishing amid UN and scientists’ pressure

18-Apr-2018 By Lester Wan

The Philippine government has acceded to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations’ (UN) agreements to combat illegal fishing and encourage environmental protection.

Walmart aiming to reduce greenhouse gases in China by 50m tonnes

16-Apr-2018 By Richard J. Whitehead

Walmart has committed to reducing greenhouse emissions from its Chinese operation by the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 40m households by 2030.

Havi and SF tie up in bid to develop China's underdeveloped cold chain

12-Apr-2018 By Lester Wan

Havi and SF Holding have announced that they have entered into a joint-venture agreement aimed at building a leading cold chain logistics company in China.

Hong Kong to maintain Fukushima export ban

10-Apr-2018 By RJ Whitehead

Seven years after a tsunami wiped out a nuclear reactor in Fukushima, causing widespread radiation contamination in a largely agricultural region, the prefecture continues to struggle in getting crucial overseas markets to accept its produce.

'Shocking abuse': Why food firms must demand transparency and traceability to stop Taiwan's illegal fishing

05-Apr-2018 By Lester Wan

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), a charity working to protect the environment and human rights, has detailed what it claims is the shocking extent of illegal fishing and human trafficking by the Taiwanese fish industry.

Creating a food safety culture part 2: Top tips from retail giant Walmart

04-Apr-2018 By Gary Scattergood

‘Don’t talk about creating a food safety culture, do it’: That’s the advice from one of the senior leaders overseeing food safety at Walmart’s 12,000 stores, in 28 countries, with 2.3 million employees.

APAC’s burgeoning middle class providing huge opportunities for food firms: Kerry APAC boss

28-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

John Savage, President and CEO of Kerry APMEA, said consumer tastes in the region are rapidly changing due to the growing middle-class and increased travel, which is opening South East Asian markets up to a raft of new international flavours and opportunities...

Sri Lanka seeks to boost food industry by linking SMEs to global markets

22-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

Sri Lankan Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen said the government is considering linking the country’s food processing SMEs to global export markets.

Revealed: The emerging food products set to propel NZ exports beyond lamb and dairy

22-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

New Zealand’s food exports have long been dominated by lamb and dairy, but new reports highlight the rapidly-emerging categories displaying double-digit growth rates.

Tokyo offers incentives to halal food operators before the Olympics

21-Mar-2018 By Richard Whitehead

As Tokyo gears up to host the 2020 Olympics, one of the city’s municipalities is targeting Muslim visitors by encouraging its food businesses to gain halal certification.

Cold Storage, Giant and Hero stores axed in Southeast Asia on back of poor results

20-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

Pan-Asian retailer Dairy Farm International – the owner of stores such as Cold Storage, Giant and 7-Eleven – has closed a series of outlets in Southeast Asia "after a disappointing year" for its food businesses.

New sustainable fish scheme launch in Australia based on Coles' sourcing framework

15-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

A new framework based on retailer Coles’ Responsibly Sourced Seafood project has been launched by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) of Australia to help food firms secure sustainable produce.

FoodEx Japan 2018

Watch: Can exports to Japan help offset some of Britain's food and drink Brexit blues?

13-Mar-2018 By Gary Scattergood

Japan might be a notoriously difficult market to enter – especially for food and drink SMEs – but the UK is optimistic it can provide significant opportunities to increase exports.

Blockchain technology to extend GS1 standards to food testing labs “for first time”

12-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

Two food testing labs from Vietnam and Australia are joining forces with a blockchain provider to extend globally-recognised GS1 industry standards into labs, in a bid to boost supply chain transparency and trust.

FoodEx Japan

Vietnam striving to enhance food quality as tariff changes enhance export opportunities to Japan

12-Mar-2018 By Gary Scattergood

Vietnamese food firms say exports to Japan is at an all-time high, with greater quality control, increasingly favourable trade rules and new product development helping to drive business.

New round of Aussie supermarket wars claims scalp of local online independent

08-Mar-2018 By RJ Whitehead

The landscape is looking increasingly grim for home-grown retailers following the closure this week of Aussie Farmers Direct.

Regulator seeks views on revamp of 'unclear' allergen labelling in Australia and New Zealand

08-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

Regulator Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is calling for submissions on proposals to make allergen labelling more clear, claiming the existing rules "lack clarity".

Nestlé: 'No place for human rights or labour abuses' in Thai fish supply chain

08-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

Nestlé and Thai Union Group have launched a demonstration boat to promote better labour and human rights in the Thai fishing industry, with the manufacturers insisting abuses “have no place in our supply chain”.

FoodEx Japan

Taste of the tropics: Philippines' fruit-based products helping boost exports to Japan

07-Mar-2018 By Gary Scattergood

Food exporters from the Phillippines are hopeful of securing new trade that will top $10m at this week's FoodEx trade show in Japan, with fruit-based products proving particularly popular with consumers.

WTO ruling on Fukushima food products not the end of Japan-Korea trade spat

05-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

Japan appears to have won the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) battle over South Korea's post-Fukushima disaster food import ban and restrictions, but the trade spat between the East Asian giants looks set to continue.

Thailand's CP Foods' sales grow in 2017 on back of overseas business

05-Mar-2018 By Lester Wan

Thailand’s CP Foods' 2017 sales hit THB 501.507bn (US$15bn), up 8% year-on-year thanks to its growing overseas business operations.

GM food: Australian and New Zealand food regulator seeks views on new generation gene technology

20-Feb-2018 By Gary Scattergood

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is seeking views on how it regulates food products derived from new forms of gene technology, amid “ongoing scientific and public debate”.

Fish food fraud rife in China with more than half of fillets mislabelled: Study

13-Feb-2018 By Lester Wan

More than half of roasted ‘Xue Yu’ fish fillets sampled in China were found to have been incorrectly labelled, revealing once again the high level of food fraud in the country.

China and Malaysia joint shrimp venture to create 1,000 jobs

12-Feb-2018 By Lester Wan

An aquaculture project between a Chinese chemical firm and a Malaysian property cooperative is set to make Langkawi — an archipelago off the Malaysian state of Kedah — a major producer of South American white shrimp.

Taiwan planning to review ban on Japan food imports from post-disaster regions

05-Feb-2018 By Lester Wan

Taiwan could be about to review its ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures, which were imposed following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Grocery wars: India’s e-commerce battle hots up with Alibaba, Amazon and Walmart on manoeuvres

05-Feb-2018 By Lester Wan

India’s e-commerce and online grocery sector has been buzzing with speculation and new investment in the past week with Alibaba, Amazon and Walmart all seemingly jostling for position.

Thailand's CP Group launches India operations with an eye on US deals

31-Jan-2018 By Lester Wan

Thailand food conglomerates Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group is to open wholesale cash-and-carry stores in India as well as broker deals in the US.

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.

UK seafood giant Young's casts its net to China after US expansion

24-Jan-2018 By Lester Wan

Just a little more than a week after expanding its reach in US stores, the UK's largest seafood firm Young's is eyeing its next mega market — China.

Food waste-fighting app launched to tackle Japan's six-million-tonne burden

24-Jan-2018 By Lester Wan

Tokyo is trialling a project to stamp out food waste by rewarding shoppers who use a new app while buying foods that are close to their best-before or consume-by dates.

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.

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.

What a pearl: Can the Blacklip help save Queensland's oyster industry?

28-Nov-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Plans are afoot to try and save the struggling Queensland oyster industry in Australia by developing a disease-resistant species known as the Blacklip.

Indonesian seaweed species has high-protein, low-fat health food potential

14-Nov-2017 By Cheryl Tay

A type of seaweed found in Indonesian waters could have potential as a health food, according to new research.

Japan urges Taiwan to ease Fukushima food import ban

08-Nov-2017 By Lester Wan

Japanese trade chiefs are calling on Taiwan to ease the ban on food imports that has been enforced since 2011 due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Indonesian food firm creates first halal accredited mentaiko

20-Oct-2017 By Lester Wan

The first halal mentaiko — Japanese seasoned pollock roe — is now on sale in Indonesia.

Norway urges Beijing to set aside Nobel anger for the sake of salmon exports

16-Oct-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Norwegian officials hope their visit to Beijing last week will have put an end to an impasse over salmon exports, which have hardly registered since a Nobel prize was awarded to a Chinese dissident in 2010.

Thaad missiles put a rocket up Korea-China trade

09-Oct-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Rising exports of South Korean instant noodles, dried seaweed and beer to China have bucked dipping food and beverage trends following Seoul’s decision to deploy a US-backed missile defence system.

China direct

US Customs reacts to investigation into China’s seafood slaves

09-Oct-2017 By RJ Whitehead

American customs authorities are reviewing allegations that North Korean workers have been working in Chinese factories in conditions bordering on slavery, and will begin prohibiting imports if necessary.

China

Guolian hopes to meet ambitious growth target ahead of schedule

04-Oct-2017 By RJ Whitehead

China’s biggest shrimp supplier is aiming for a near eightfold increase in revenues and a place at the top table of seafood businesses by the end of the decade.

Study shows sheer scale of modern slavery on Thai seas

04-Oct-2017 By RJ Whitehead

The first comprehensive study documenting the prevalence of forced labour has found that 38% of fishermen on Thai fishing vessels identified as victims of trafficking exploitation.

US plant-based ‘seafood’ firm considers move to Singapore

03-Oct-2017 By Lester Wan

The boss of US plant-based seafood firm Sophie’s Kitchen is considering moving his operations to Singapore, as he seeks to crack the region’s alternative protein market.

Seaweed strategy unveiled as Korea seeks sea-change in exports

14-Sep-2017 By RJ Whitehead

South Korea has unveiled plans on how it will develop its seaweed industry, which it hopes will be worth US$1bn in overseas sales by 2024.

South Asia Radius

Lightning fish farming growth is transforming Bangladeshi economy

29-Aug-2017 By RJ Whitehead

An “important driver” of the Bangladeshi economy, the fish farming industry has grown 25-fold in three decades, with farmers having little cause to rely on NGO and goverment support.

China direct

Alibaba snares two US manufacturers in bid to attract more imports

26-Jun-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Chinese online retail giant Alibaba has announced a deal with Driscoll’s and Chicken of the Sea to bring American foods to the world’s largest consumer market. 

Al Islami tops list of influential halal food companies

14-Jun-2017 By RJ Whitehead

A UAE company has been named the world’s leading halal food vendor in a new report on the global market for food acceptable to Muslims.

Australia

Abalone found to thrive on wine-waste diet

12-Jun-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Waste from the wine industry is being developed into aquaculture feed with highly promising results.

UAE fish safety scare was nothing more than rumours

31-May-2017 By RJ Whitehead

A senior government official has brushed off suggestions that fish and shellfish captured in UAE waters have been affected by pollution and unsafe for consumption. 

Dispatches from Food Integrity in Parma

Food Integrity: China consumer view and impact in fish industry

23-May-2017 By Joseph James Whitworth

Results from DNA barcoding of fish from across Europe and Chinese attitudes to food fraud were revealed during the Food Integrity conference last month.