Unilever has halted all purchases of palm oil from Indonesian company PT SMART after a Greenpeace report alleged that its parent group Sinar Mas is engaged in widespread illegal deforestation and peatland clearance in Indonesia.
The Singapore Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) has approved five nutrient and product-specific health claims that can now bear a ‘Healthier Choice’ symbol.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has announced a $30m collaborative project which aims to boost South Asian cereal production by five million tonnes a year.
Cargill says it will create innovative new dairy and confectionery products and help bring them to a growing market in Asia with the opening of its new application centre.
Purac has officially opened its new lactic acid factory in
Thailand, where it hopes to build on lactic acid growth in Asia as
well as cutting production costs.
Swiss chocolate company Barry Callebaut is to purchase a 60 per
cent share of Malaysia's KL Kepong Cocoa Products in a move
designed to increase its sourcing capacity in Asia.
Dairy and ingredients firm Friesland Foods Kievit has constructed a
new drying plant in Indonesia for producing encapsulated
products to expand the group's portfolio in the wider Asian region.
Carlsberg will strengthen its position in Vietnam's burgeoning
economy with its new brewery built in association with a
domestic partner, the company announced this morning.
Nutracea announced it has received an opening purchase order from
network marketing company the Cosway Corporation for launch of its
stabilized rice bran in Southeast Asia.
Dutch infant nutrition group Numico is to increase its stake in
Indonesian company Sari Husada to capitalise on major growth in the
country for nutrition and health products.
The Indonesian government is currently reviewing its laws on
artificial sweeteners and will consider banning them from food if
expert evidence suggests they present health risks, according to a
report.
Vietnam's first industrial park catering solely to food processors
is set to boost the country's position in value-added products for
export markets, says the project's founder.
Three Malaysian oil plantation firms are to merge to create the
world's largest listed palm oil producer, accounting for 6 per cent
of global production, revealed adviser CIMB Investment Bank
yesterday.
Coffee culture is thriving in Hong Kong with close to one third of
residents now purchasing ready-to-drink coffee outside of the home,
according to a new survey.
Cocoa bean producer Pan Sino International has announced plans to
build Singapore's largest cocoa processing plant, increasing cocoa
bean supply for manufacturers.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace is warning that the food
supply in the Philippines could be at risk from illegal GM rice
contamination originating in the US and China, with potentially
damaging costs to manufacturers in extraction.
Sugar growers in the Philippines are calling on the public to
boycott Kraft's Tang and Kool-Aid brands because the US firm
refuses to pay a sugar import tariff on the powdered beverages.
Foreign foods and drink brands have the strongest brand name
recognition and loyalty in Vietnam with the exception of one local
company, according to new research.
The Philippines is seeking to boost production of dried cocoa beans
under a 10-year plan designed to reduce its dependence on imports
and target new export markets.
Prima Agri-Products, one of Malaysia's largest manufacturers of
Halal meat products, has joined up with Australian heavyweight food
maker, Comgroup, to help it tap growing demand for its products in
new markets.
New confectionery products and strong demand for beverages lifted
sales at Taiwan's Want Want Holdings by 28 per cent during the
first quarter, while higher margins helped it reduce the impact of
rising sugar prices.
Malaysia's largest soft drinks maker Fraser & Neave Holdings
says it will treble its exports sales in the next two years by
entering the Middle East's condensed milk market.
Philippines-based Universal Robina will spend P5.6 billion (€87m)
this year to expand its branded foods range and increase its
presence in other Asian markets, URC president Lance Gokongwei told
reporters last week.
A UK lobby group is targeting the Malaysian and Indonesian palm oil
industries, claiming that intense farming of plantations is
threatening the orang-utan with extinction.
Vietnam has announced that seafood exports have risen during the
first four months of the year, despite ongoing trading difficulties
with the US, Tom Armitage reports.
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has backed calls for a joint
feasibility study, which will look at ways of achieving the
European Commission's desire for closer trading links with the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations...
The Philippines may have to import more rice than it has for seven
years if a prevailing drought cuts rice production as feared,
suggested a senior agricultural official.
Indonesia's largest noodle producer Indofood Sukses Makmur has
joined forces with the world's biggest food company Nestlé to
create a new joint venture which will expand production and
marketing of the two firms' various...
The Vietnam Food Association says that in 2005 turnover in rice
exports is expected to reach $1 billion, but with no plans to
increase crop growing areas, the target may well prove difficult to
reach.
The tsunami waves have had a devastating impact on the fisheries
sector in many countries of the Indian Ocean, the FAO says,
inflicting major upheaval on the seafood processing category.
Although new EU regulations could bring increasing opportunities
for Asian food companies, many European businesses see it as a
threat. But whilst Hungarian food canning companies say their
future existence could be threatened, manufacturers...
The EU, Vietnam's largest trading partner, is the first major
partner to conclude its bilateral deal with Vietnam, giving a boost
to Vietnam's accession to the WTO.
European Commission president Romano Prodi and commissioner Pascal
Lamy are attending this week's ASEM 5 Summit in Vietnam, which
represents a landmark in Asia-Europe relations.
Southeast Asia's largest food and beverage firm San Miguel is
considering a bid for 40 per cent of Philippines' Del Monte
Pacific, currently held by insolvent Italian food group Cirio.
Vietnam plans to earn at least $2 billion in revenue from agro-food
exports to the European Union by 2010. The pledge comes in the face
of tough trade, health and safety regulations imposed by the EU
authorities, which should make...
Asian bird flu is back in the headlines again this week, after a
woman in Thailand died from the infection H5N1. Medical experts
believe that the death was caused by human contact, a fact that
could force a re-think over regulations...
Thailand's tropical climate is said to have fuelled the country's
thirst for soft drinks, with consumption growing steadily in recent
years. The latest report from Canadean points to the fact that rapid
consumption of bottled...
Analysts believe that the ban on Vietnamese rice exports is likely
to give Thailand an added edge, helping to increase demand and
prices, while extending its leading position on the world export
market.
The Philippines-based San Miguel Corporation has broken ground on a
non-alcoholic beverage facility in South Vietnam. The move comes as
part of the company's plans to increase its operations outside the
domestic market - aims...
Loders Croklaan, part of the Malaysian IOI Group and a world leader
in the production of palm oil based products for food use, has
confirmed the intended purchase of Malaysian palm oil specialties
company Soctek in an attempt to extend...
The Thai government has announced a series of planned investments
by Chinese companies, one of which includes a THB 500 million
(€10m) aimed at a leading Thai cooking oil business.
In Indonesia Nestlé and Coca Cola have announced the creation of a 50:50 joint venture, Water Partners Bottling (WPB). The new business is being used as a platform to acquire a 65 per cent share of PT AdeS Alfindo Putrasetia (AAPS), the number two player...
