Traditional and staple foods

Agriculture

FAO: Asian farmers bear the brunt from the world’s natural disasters

18-Mar-2015 By RJ Whitehead

Natural disasters caused US$28bn in damage to agriculture in Asia in 2014, making it the the world’s worst hit region last year with farmers bearing the brunt.

Australia

Bananas taking a battering from cyclones and killer soil disease

18-Mar-2015 By RJ Whitehead

As Queenslanders prepare for the return of the category 4 Cyclone Nathan, agriculture authorities are planning their response to another disaster after the arrival of a disease that affects banana trees, remains in the soil for 30 years, is resistant...

Australia

Hep. A Chinese berry outbreak turns political with gov’t called to act

17-Feb-2015 By RJ Whitehead

Consumer watchdog Choice Australia has called on the federal government to take action on country-of-origin food labelling in the wake of a recall of frozen mixed fruit linked to a hepatitis A outbreak.

India

India on way to developing more drought-resistant variety of rice

10-Feb-2015 By RJ Whitehead

A US-India commercial research project has hit a milestone in its goal to develop water use efficient (WUE) rice.

New Zealand

Food security: One of humanity’s ‘most significant challenges’

09-Feb-2015 By RJ Whitehead

While food security is nothing new, the scale and interconnectedness of the problem the world is now facing make it “one of the most significant challenges humanity has ever faced,” according to a New Zealand academic.

GM folate rice could help tackle neural tube defects, say researchers

30-Jan-2015 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Rice metabolically engineered to be rich in folates could help alleviate associated health problems of folate deficiency, according to researchers.

Australia

Greens and growers wade into country-of-origin labelling debate

28-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

An influential industry group has added its weight to the push by the Australian Green party for clearer country of origin labelling on food, claiming the current system does not support Australian farmers.

China opens doors to all US apples, ending 2012 ban

27-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

China’s food watchdog will allow the import of all US-grown apples in a move that could be worth US$100m a year to the American apple industry. 

India

Indian government embarks on widespread agri-modernisation initiatives

20-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

More than 140m Indian farmers will receive so-called “soil health cards” over the next three years in an effort by the country’s agriculture ministry to help them boost productivity by knowing more about the nutrients in the land they farm.

India

Pesticide lobby slams FSSAI for allowing outlandish organic claims

15-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

India’s food industry watchdog has been criticised for allowing organic food to be sold in India through “deceptive and false claims”. Some products, according to the Crop Care Federation, which represents the pesticides industry, even contained pesticides...

Researchers unravel Tibetan barley genome

14-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

Scientists in southern China have mapped the Tibetan highland barley, the country’s staple food, for the first time. 

Research

Meat-and-two-veg Australia not keeping up with 'two and five' each day

14-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

Only one in 50 Australians is eating the recommended two servings of fruit and five of vegetables each day, according to new market research. And while many keep up with the right amount of fruit, veggies are a bigger problem.

US and Brazilian soy gains ensure security of supply but China still holds sway: analyst

13-Jan-2015 By Jane Byrne

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has raised its forecast for projected global soybean crop output to 314.4 million tons, up 1.6m on US and Brazilian gains in its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), which were published yesterday.

Research

Soybean salt tolerance gene identified as crop land gets more saline

12-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

With the amount of saline agricultural land expected to double by 2050, a Sino-Australian research effort has identified a specific soybean gene that it believes will vasty improve crop resistance to salt.

China

China eyes potato cultivation as possible solution to low agri-yield

07-Jan-2015 By RJ Whitehead

China’s central government is pushing potatoes to be its fourth-biggest staple crop after rice, wheat and corn following a policy announcement by its vice-minister for agriculture.

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...

Australia

Fruit could lower risk of depression in women

18-Dec-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Women who eat fewer than two serves of fruit a day face a greater risk of developing depression, University of Queensland research has found.

Analysis

Aus-NZ regulator paves the way for GM corn approval

16-Dec-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Having assured consumers that food derived from a genetically modified corn strain poses no health concerns, the antipodean food regulator is now calling on the public and industry to voice their opinions on whether it should be permitted for consumption...

FAO: Poor countries must unite to secure food supply

15-Dec-2014 By RJ Whitehead

The head of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has urged the world’s poorest countries to work harder with one another to be able to develop in time to meet their food security challenges.

Australia

Research finding could help protect global wheat crops from disease

02-Dec-2014 By RJ Whitehead

A critical new understanding of the disease cycle of a wheat virus will help farmers around the world protect their wheat crops from a devastating disease and major yield losses.

India

Indian agrifood demand to rise by 136% by 2050

26-Nov-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Demand for agrifoods in India will rise by 136% by 2050, according to a report by the Australian department of agriculture’s research centre, Abares.

Australia

Australia’s biosecurity could be in for a shock

25-Nov-2014 By RJ Whitehead

European honey bee colonies wiped out and an invasion of a devastating wheat disease are just two of the potential biosecurity threats facing Australia, according to a report released by Australia’s research agency.

Australia

Bush tucker will only catch on when it becomes more productive

19-Nov-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Australia’s “bush tucker” industry needs a new business model that includes commercial cultivation in order to reach its potential, according to a South Australian academic.

Iraqi agriculture facing $38m shortfall

17-Nov-2014 By Eliot Beer

Iraq needs an additional US$38.5m in agricultural aid if it is to avoid collapse, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned.

India

El Niño’s effect on harvest means edible oil imports must grow by half

13-Nov-2014 By RJ Whitehead

India’s import bill for edible oils this year is expected to increase by 50% due to sizeable shortfall in its own oil seeds production in as a result of El Niño.

China

Mao’s water diversion finally to provide solution to China drought

07-Nov-2014 By RJ Whitehad

A project conceived over 60 years by Mao Zedong is coming to life as China embarks on a water diversion project to help ease the drought that has been plaguing its northern regions and increase grain input.

Agriculture

Four to one: Crop pest discovery could have wide-reaching benefits

28-Oct-2014 By RJ Whitehead

An entomological discovery should lead to the easing of some international trade restrictions, according to the Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations.

Australia

Forget five: Eight fruit, veggie portions a day makes people happier

22-Oct-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Fruit and vegetables have been identified as a vital key to mental well-being by researchers in Queensland, challenging nutritional recommendations around the world.

Insight

White gold: How the EU has been central to the rise of Cambodian rice

25-Sep-2014 By Clothilde Le Coz

With its rice industry going through salad days, Cambodia is nevertheless at a crossroads. While on the international front, it is shipping more rice overseas than ever before; domestically, there is still a number issues for producers and exporters to...

India

Wanted: Investment by food processing entrepreneurs to combat wastage

17-Sep-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Entrepreneurs must start to invest more in food processing if the country has any chance of reducing the amount of produce that is wasted, a government minister has warned.

Australia

Scientists develop healthier spaghetti while increasing wheat yield

16-Sep-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Researchers in Adelaide believe they have found a way to increase yield of the wheat central to pasta production, while their colleagues have discovered how to make a bowl of spaghetti more healthy without compromising its taste. 

Australia-China

Minister: Australia’s “food bowl of Asia” no threat to Chinese farmers

16-Sep-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce has assured Chinese farmers that Australia is “not a threat” to their livelihoods on a day when two Far East investment groups established a A$3bn (US$2.7bn) fund to invest in Australian agriculture.

Mangos may lower blood sugar in obese adults: Study

12-Sep-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Consumption of freeze-dried mango may reduce blood glucose levels for obese individuals, according to researchers. 

ENSA: Soy-breast cancer study not reflective of ‘state of scientific knowledge’

11-Sep-2014 By Shane STARLING

The soy industry has hit back at a recent study that suggested soy supplementation could worsen rather than ameliorate breast cancer by influencing gene behaviour.

India

New committee meets in bid to reform 'wasteful' food corporation

11-Sep-2014 By RJ Whitehead

A high-level committee has met for the first time to investigate a restructure of the often-beleaguered Food Corporation of India (FCI) as the food-grains authority looks to strengthen and integrate its supply chain.

From lab to field: Breeding-out Australia’s ‘most costly’ wheat disease

28-Aug-2014 By Nicola Cottam

Australian farmers are reaping the benefits of yellow spot-resistant wheat, developed by a team of researchers using gene deletion.

Milling & Grains bite-size Science

Australia’s zero-weed tolerance, waterlogging in barley plants, the spreading wheat curl mite

28-Aug-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

Lessons from Australia in wheat herbicide resistance, waterlogging stress tolerance and how the wheat curl mite spreads.

Carob an unexpected hit in Hong Kong

26-Aug-2014 By RJ Whitehead

When Michael Jolley left his carob orchard in South Australia to attend his first Asian food industry show in Hong Kong recently, he was amazed by the response of visitors who had never before seen the ingredient.

Destination China for Australian hemp

26-Aug-2014 By Rei Rengsen Siew Lin

China might be one of the world’s biggest producers of hemp, but the quality of the crop is low compared to Australian imports, according to one of the first hemp farmers Down Under.

The rest of Asia can benefit from Australia’s organic certification

25-Aug-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Asian companies will soon cotton on to the idea that they can export organic goods into China just as smoothly as Australian companies, which have traditionally enjoyed a strong link through its leading certification body.

GCC ‘key market’ for NZ agribusiness – report

13-Aug-2014 By Eliot Beer

The Gulf Cooperation Council countries are key markets for New Zealand’s agriculture industry, and firms should be targeting them as a priority, according to a Rabobank report.

Australia

Businesses don’t know how to market to Chinese in the 'Asian Century'

12-Aug-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Though the terms of Australia’s approach to its “Asian Century” policy might need some finessing, there is no doubt China still holds massive potential—as long as businesses learn how to network the local way.

Australia

Gov: 'We can weather Russian embargo', though companies voice concern

11-Aug-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Australia, one of the countries to suffer grave losses with the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, has stressed that Russia’s retaliatory embargo on the import of agricultural products will have a limited effect on its economy.

New Zealand

‘New guidelines could apply to other honeys, not just manuka’

05-Aug-2014 By RJ Whitehead

The manuka honey labelling guidelines released last week by the New Zealand government are not accurate, the country’s oldest producer has argued.

Insight

New World Bank rules will be disastrous for indigenous peoples

05-Aug-2014 By Marta Kasztelan

The World Bank has come under a barrage of criticism from rights groups, which allege its revised rules for granting loans of up to US$50bn a year to developing countries will have disastrous consequences for indigenous peoples and the poor.

Responsible soy sourcing: China could be about to enter the fray, says ProTerra

01-Aug-2014 By Jane Byrne

China’s involvement is critical in order to scale up the production of sustainable, certified soy and a leading non-profit group says an increasing number of dissenting voices within that country could see the Asian giant take up the gauntlet.

Australia

Organic chief: We will discredit firms who claim false certification

31-Jul-2014 By RJ Whitehead

The more popular organic products become, the greater the risk that fraudulent operators will ride on the coat-tails of genuine certification, the head of Australia’s organic farmers’ industry body warned after securing an injunction against a company...

Australia

Victorian grains to reap long-term research benefits

31-Jul-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Grain growers in the state of Victoria will benefit from a new five year agreement that will increase research and development in their industry, according to the Australian agriculture minister.

New Zealand

Manuka honey guidelines published to combat false label claims

31-Jul-2014 By RJ Whitehead

New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries has released manuka honey labelling interim guidelines to clarify what claims can be made and what constitutes the widely counterfeited and vaguely regulated variety of honey.

Insight

How military-owned companies have been silencing dissent in Burma

29-Jul-2014 By Marta Kasztelan

In what many say is an attempt to silence dissent against an allegedly military-orchestrated land grab, a Burmese court has been prosecuting hundreds of farmers who have been calling for the return of their property.