According to a dispatch to parliament, in just under three years since foreign direct investment (FDI) was opened up for the food processing industry, investors have pumped almost Rs6,200 crore (US$1.15bn) into the segment.
India’s government is working hard to reach a consensus among scientists, politicians, farmers and consumers to reach a solution on the vexed issue of genetically modified crops, according to the country’s science and technology minister.
After days of frenzied negotiations and brinksmanship, delays and declarations, the Indian cabinet has finally approved an ambitious plan to subsidise food for two-thirds of its population, according to early BBC reports.
High food inflation in India is “credit negative” for the wider economy, hurting government finances and making it difficult for the country’s central bank to deal with monetary policy, according to Moody’s.
Last year, FoodNavigator-Asia reported that new Japanese regulations governing “acceptable” levels of the antioxidant ethoxyquin in fishmeal was destined to become a grave issue for shrimp exporters. Exactly six months later, the effects of this policy...
Beam Inc. insists to BeverageDaily.com that Teacher’s remains the bestselling Scotch Whiskey brand in India, despite press reports suggesting it has lost that position to Pernod Ricard’s 100 Pipers in the wake of Beam’s ongoing probe into potential local...
India has hotly debated the use of GM crops both on a societal and political level. The discussion around the issue is at most times primal. Travel tip? You would be well advised not to use this as an ice-breaker in any of the leftist states.
Almost exactly a year ago, Cadbury India was showing off its position as the country’s fourth most admired company, according to Fortune magazine; but today the chocolate major is preparing to fight accusations from tax authorities that it had deliberately...
If you are a regular reader of this news service, you would be hard-pressed to find just one month in the last two years when we have NOT reported on a food safety issue in China.
Australia’s trade department has announced that the country will begin to export lamb to India free of quotas, based on Australia’s compliance with India's food safety requirements.
The Indian Competition Commission (CCI) has approved Diageo’s purchase of a 53.4% stake in United Spirits (USL), saying that the £1.28bn ($2.04bn) purchase may boost the nation’s premium spirits market and improve consumer choice without jeopardizing...
There’s always a weakness somewhere, and for the Indian government this is often the price of onions. And what must really be worrying the ruling politicians in New Delhi, as the finance minister delivers his Union Budget, is how the price of onions has...
It is hard for a food industry trade show to pack the same level of glamour as, say, the Tokyo Motor Show, so it’s probably best for organisers not to try. But every now and again, in a moment of wild abandon, a celebrity or sports star graces a show’s...
Its that time of the year again. Yes, I know that is a cliche home run to begin with, but then one would find it difficult to describe the excitement that builds up every year towards the Indian Union Budget without indulging in one or two cliches.
The rapid change in India’s food consumption habits has spurred domestic and foreign quick service restaurant (QSR) chains to implement aggressive expansion plans. And according to a new Rabobank report, this growth is set to accelerate.
In the second article in a new a series examining Indian diets and health, our resident food columnist tells a personal tale of how he has seen his own diet change with the times.
The fraught issue of government regulation on the Indian sugar industry might be on its way to a solution if a report in the Wall Street Journal is to be believed.
I am going to tell you a story–quite a long one, but one that ties in with one of the most serious breaches of trust we face as consumers. Now let me begin.
The latest financial results by two of India’s spirits giants makes for fascinating reading and gives a real insight to casual observers as to the state of the drinks industry in the country.
Over 150 Indian scientists have united to call public attention to the Ministry of Agriculture, which they believe has been making a political case for genetically modified crops to counter concerns of food security.
Forbes Medi-Tech has signed a three-year licence and supply agreement to grant Del Monte Pacific with exclusive rights to manufacture and sell food and beverages featuring the Reducol name across the Philippines, South Asia and Myanmar.
Apparently, India’s food safety rules and regulations are just as stringent as those in other, more developed countries. And that’s according to a proper source, one who should know his onions.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has once again extended the licencing and registration deadline for the country’s food business operators. In an embarrassing move by the government’s consumer watchdog, businesses now have another...
All of India’s state agriculture ministers are currently gathering in Delhi to discuss ways to speed up growth of the food production and processing sector. The meeting will be led by Sharad Pawar, the union agriculture and food processing minister.
Supplements containing extract of the Indian herb Ashwagandha may help manage stress, according to new findings of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
India's agriculture sector must be reformed if it is to double food production over the next five years, India’s president has told a conference in Delhi.
China will be a key indicator of the state of the global pork market in 2013 after the world, according to Rabobank. Nevertheless, China’s pork producers will still face a challenging year in 2013.
The potential upsides in Diageo’s potential acquisition of a majority stake in India's United Spirits (USL) are clear but achieving acceptable profitability from the business may be tricky, according to one analyst.
If there’s one thing India doesn’t need, that’s more bureaucracy. As the saying goes, the British introduced it, then the Indians perfected it post-Independence. And even as the country celebrated its sixty-fourth Republic day last week, all the form-filling...
Sharad Pawar, India’s colourful and populist union agriculture minister, has blamed companies operating from overseas for the widespread opposition towards genetically modified crops in India.
A global research project led by a Hyderabad institute claims to have sequenced 90 genomes of the chickpea, paving the way for improved grain yields, greater drought tolerance and enhanced genetic diversity.
Hot on the heels of helping to approve Ikea’s request to set up shop—or rather 20 stores—in India, an Indian minister has been working equally hard to woo Tesco ahead of a possible entry into the market.
Consumers have raised significant concerns about plastic food packaging in response to a survey covering the US, India and Sweden conducted by Innventia.
India’s prepared food market has more than doubled with cereal consumption increasing, according to new research on FMCG trends in emerging markets including India and China.
As foreign retailers gear up for entry into India now that foreign direct investment is a reality, it is fast becoming clear how the policy has the potential to offer wide-ranging benefits to Indian business as a whole. It just takes an open mind to consider...
If you are looking for what’s hot on the botanical front in 2013, here’s the skinny from a longtime observer of the herbal arena: Open your lesson book to the first two pages, and follow after me: A is for Ayurveda and ashwagandha and B is for bacopa.
Faced with rapid growth which it is struggling to meet, McCain Foods’ Indian subsidiary has announced plans to invest a further US$69m to introduce a third manufacturing line at its potato processing plant in Mehsana.
The high level of mycotoxin contamination in Indian cereals must be addressed with improved monitoring and maximum levels for contamination set, a new study says.
India’s newfound position as the world’s leading rice exporter has not escaped the attention of China, which may look to its western neighbour for increasingly greater rice supplies over the coming years.
Packaging firm Manjushree Technopack aims to double sales by 2015, driven by the growth of the middle class in India, and is poised to start construction on a fourth factory.
Speaking at an industry event in Haryana, the Indian minister for state for agriculture and food processing stressed that finding new ways to detect emerging food pathogens was crucial for the domestic economy’s “sunrise sector”.
