| Indonesia
Deputy Minister: Cocoa Import Inevitable Tempo 11th Apr 2014
Deputy Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said that lack of domestic supplies would make cocoa imports inevitable. Bambang explained that cocoa beans used to be exported and processed overseas. Now, as the downstream policy for cocoa has been successfully implemented, the industries are looking elsewhere for supplies. Earlier, Andin Hadiyanto, the Finance Ministry's head of fiscal monetary agency, said that his institution would review the Trade Ministry's suggestion of import duty relief for cocoa beans. "It would be profitable for industries because of cheaper prices. But farmers must be given incentives, as their production would decline," Andin said. Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Cocoa Exporters (Askindo) Zulhelfi Sikumbang asked the government to protect local farmers' competitiveness.
Foreign Companies Dominate Local Crop Seed Market Tempo 10th Apr 2014
Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) researcher Rachmi Hertanti said 90 percent of the domestic horticulture market is controlled by foreign companies. Even so, she said, the government still relies on imported food. IGJ noted that the value of food imports continues to surge from US$5.94 billion in 2009 to $12.05 billion in 2012. Therefore, IGJ agrees with the Horticulture Act that restricts foreign investment in the seed business. IGJ believes that the Constitutional Court should not uphold the judicial review conducted by the Indonesian Seed Producers Association (Hortindo) against the law. Hortindo filed a judicial review of Law No.13/2010 on Horticulture to the Constitutional Court, rejecting the restriction of foreign investment in Indonesia's crop seed business.
Indonesia to Exempt Cocoa Beans Import Duty Tempo 9th Apr 2014
The Indonesian Ministry of Industry agreed with a plan to exempt cocoa import duties as set by the Trade Ministry. The rule is expected to drive the growth of the domestic downstream cocoa processing industry. "For four years the industry grew rapidly. What happened later was the industry began to run out of cocoa beans," said Industry Minister Mohamad Suleman Hidayat, yesterday. According to Hidayat, there are two ways to meet domestic demand. First is through massive land expansion to increase domestic production, and the second is to eliminate cocoa beans import duties. Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said the cocoa processing industry is very important because of its high added value. "Cocoa butter has an added value that is four times its initial value. Once it is turned into food, the added value soars to 19 times," he said. The Agriculture Ministry made a request to the Trade Ministry to consider the plan, fearing it would harm the productivity of local cocoa farmers. "With a freed-up import, prices at the farmers' level will drop," said Director General of Plantation, Gamal Nasir.
Malaysia
Malaysia Ranks First Among Asean Nations In Global Food Security Index Bernama 14th Apr 2014
Malaysia ranked first among Asean countries on the Global Food Security Index. In a statement Friday, DuPont Malaysia said the index, commissioned by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by DuPont, addressed the underlying factors of food insecurity in 107 countries and pointed to areas for improvement and reforms. Meanwhile, Dupont Malaysia Managing Director, Ong Ewe Hock, said DuPont was committed to invest US$10 billion on research and development (R&D) and introduce 4,000 new products as one of its global food security goals. Ong said the commitment was made in his presentation, 'Global Perspective on the Food Security Situation', at the two-day World Halal Conference 2014 here, which ended Thursday. Ong said food security was a global challenge, and that DuPont was using its scientific capabilities to address it.
Pledge to fill 80pc gap in global halal food supply New Staits Times 14th Apr 2014
The World Halal Conference 2014 closed yesterday with resolutions to further develop the industry, which needs to fill an 80 per cent gap in supply of halal food. Thought leaders and industry players who attended the conference recognized the scope of food security issues, and pledged a united and integrated appraisal of these issues. They agreed that united efforts to address and resolve these issues must be secured if the global halal industry is to grow and be sustained. During the two-day conference, the halal food supply chain’s inadequacy, insufficiency and fragmentation were pointed out.
Malaysia To Take The Lead In Standardizing Halal Certification For Muslim Countries Bernama 9th Apr 2014
Malaysia will take the lead to standardize halal certification for all Muslim countries, says Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC). Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin said the issue was now being discussed at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) level. "Malaysia is partnering with Turkey to tackle the differences in halal certification and to come up with a new standardized criteria that would be applied in all OIC countries," he told a press conference after a panel discussion on global food security, held in conjunction with the World Halal Conference 2014. He said out of 57 countries under the OIC, there were 10 big players in the halal industry besides Malaysia, including Indonesia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Jamil said most of the 10 countries have approved the new standards, which, once applied, can avoid confusion or differences in issuing halal certification.
Myanmar
Wilmar Forms Myanmar Sugar Venture to Expand Push Into Sweetener Bloomberg 16th Apr 2014
Wilmar International Ltd. (WIL), the largest sugar cane miller in Australia, agreed to form a Myanmar joint-venture with a local partner as it builds on a four-year push into sugar production in Asia. The Singapore-based company will hold 55 percent in the venture with Great Wall Food Stuff Industry Co. after buying all of the local company’s sugar-manufacturing capacity, Wilmar said today in a statement. Wilmar will use its own funds for the investment and the venture will not have a “material impact” on this year’s earnings per share, the company said. “Everybody’s been talking about Myanmar, so getting the foot in the door is probably worth doing,” said Carey Wong, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research Pte. in Singapore. “If you look at the spending power, it’s actually one of the biggest economies in Asia that’s left untapped.”
Burma’s poultry potential DVB 15th Apr 2014
Than Win can kill, pluck and disembowel a chicken in less than three minutes. He does it at least a hundred times a day, seven days a week and makes around 300,000 kyats a month. While sipping green tea in a blood-stained singlet and longyi at a roadside teashop opposite Burma’s largest poultry market, known simply as the “Chicken and Duck Market” in Rangoon’s Mingalar Taungnyunt Township, Than Win explained that his shift begins at midnight. He and a small team travel by truck to collect about 1,300 chickens from some 50 different homes in Pegu Division and Rangoon’s northernmost townships of Taikkyi and Hmawbi. “Most farmers live in small huts and each owns about 1,500 chickens,” he said. The mission is usually complete by 4:30am, after which time the chickens are brought to the market in time for its 6am opening.
Pepsi Opens Myanmar Bottling Plant mmbiztoday 15th Apr 2014
PepsiCo Inc and Lotte-MGS Beverage (Myanmar) Co, the company’s bottler in Myanmar, said the US beverage giant will be locally producing its Pepsi-Cola in the country for the first time since ceasing production in 1997. “Myanmar consumers can now enjoy locally-manufactured Pepsi-Cola in 300-ml returnable glass bottles, with plans to expand into aluminium cans and other package formats in the coming weeks,” PepsiCo said in a statement. Mansoor Ali, general manager, PepsiCo Myanmar, said: “The opening of this bottling plant represents an important milestone in our journey.” Ali said Myanmar is a market with “great potential” and Pepsi “continues to take steps to build our business while also playing a constructive role in Myanmar’s ongoing development.”
Philippines
Phl food exporters urged to tap opportunities in US Philippine Star 14th Apr 2014
Philippine businesses should tap food and beverage export opportunities in the US through active promotion efforts and more engagement with the government, a top diplomat said. Speaking at the joint membership meeting of the Makati Business Club (MBC) and Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. said while there has been growth in the entry of Philippine food and beverage products to the US market, there are still export opportunities yet to be tapped by the country’s exporters. He noted that food exports from neighbors in Southeast Asia, including fish sauce from Thailand and cat fish from Vietnam, are now on the shelves and freezers of mainstream US supermarkets. Such exports, he said, are prepared and labelled to attract US consumers, a larger market compared to the niche Filipino-American community. “The government cannot do it alone. We really need to see more engagement from the private sector to promote themselves and in so doing, promote the Philippines,” he said.
CAR targets 60 MT organic rice export this year Business Mirror 10th Apr 2014
The government is expecting to export more organic rice to the United States and Canada this year, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). “We hope to be able to export around 60 metric tons [MT]” of organic rice, particularly from the Cordilleras for 2014, according to Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) DA Director Marilyn Sta. Catalina.
Canada commits C$6M to assist PHL coco farmers Business Mirror 9th Apr 2014
The Canadian government is committing C$6 million to support more than 11,000 small coconut farming households devastated by super-typhoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) in November 2013. “Small-scale coconut farmers in the Philippines will soon receive assistance to restore their livelihoods severely affected by last year’s Typhoon Haiyan,” the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement on Tuesday. Estimates of coconut damage in Eastern Visayas (Region 8) alone indicated that some 33 million coconut trees were either damaged or destroyed, affecting the livelihoods of more than 1 million coconut farmers, the FAO said.
Singapore
Singapore food companies urged to expand their business overseas Channel News Asia 9th Apr 2014
Second Minister for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran has said that Singapore companies must build their capabilities to internationalize and to seize opportunities in emerging economies. He said the government will extensively help local businesses in such efforts, citing the S$25 million committed for internationalization support under Budget 2014. Mr. Iswaran was speaking at the opening of a four-day Food and Hotel Asia 2014 trade show at Singapore EXPO on Tuesday. He said Singapore-based food companies are well-placed to tap into growing demand from Asian consumers for quality food products that meet their changing lifestyle needs. Mr Iswaran said: "We can explore and seize new market opportunities. There are significant scale advantages to be had from such expansion. And there is also an opportunity to tap into different talent pools and also into different cost structures as the companies grow their business."
Thailand
Agricultural zoning plan should benefit farmers The Nation 16th Apr 2014
Experts discussed the pros and cons of the plan announced by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry last year to designate zoning areas for the farming of six economic crops, the aim of the plan being to improve the productivity and incomes of farmers nationwide. The six economic crops designated under the zoning-area plan are rice, maize, oil palm, cassava, sugar cane and rubber. According to the ministry, some 12.215 million rai (1.95 million hectares) of land is most suitable for the planting of these crops. If farmers follow its instructions and plant their crops within the designated areas, they will be able to boost their productivity, and hence their incomes, according to experts.
Iowa Soybean President Visits Thailand WNAX 15th Apr 2014
Iowa Soybean Association President Brian Kemp, who farms near Sibley in the Northwestern part of the state just returned this weekend from a trade mission to Thailand. The visit was headed up by Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds and is a follow-up to an earlier visit made by Reynolds last year. Kemp says that on the trip he was able to meet up with one of his Thai customers who visited his farm last year. Kemp says that customers in Thailand like the quality of U.S. soybeans and soybean meal and they were able to show them the superior value of the American product. Kemp says that the Thais are anxious to come to the United States and see first hand how soybeans are grown and processed.
Thailand to benefit from growing world rice demand, market monitors say The Nation 15th Apr 2014
Despite climatic shifts and natural disasters plaguing some rice producing countries, the 2013 season has produced more rice than expected, adding to the ninth straight year of rice surplus or 'carry over,' the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported recently. And in terms of exports, Thailand is expected to capture much of the expected expansion in world demand and remain the world's No.2 exporter after India in 2014.
World's first cartoon network themed waterpark signs food and beverage partnership with PepsiCo TWST 15th Apr 2014
PepsiCo Inc., a global leader in the food and beverage industry, today announced an exclusive supply and partnership agreement with Cartoon Network Amazon, the world's first Cartoon Network-themed waterpark, which is set to open later in 2014. As part of the multi-year agreement, PepsiCo will be the park's official snack and beverage provider. The company will also present "Surfarena" - a California beach-inspired attraction featuring the popular Flowrider surf machine - as well as a "PepsiCo Mixology Bar", the first of its kind at any theme park globally. While listening to tunes from the DJ, visitors will be able to mix, create and name their own custom drinks or enjoy an array of signature Pepsi-infused flavors.
International Rice Congress (IRC) 2014 hosted in Bangkok eturbonews 13th Apr 2014
Thailand is to play host to the International Rice Congress (IRC) 2014 in Bangkok during October 27-November 1. Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Yukol Limlaemthong said it was both an honor and a great opportunity for Thailand to have been chosen as the host of the 4th IRC this year. In conjunction with the International Rice Research Institute, the event will be organized under the title “Rice for the World”. The ministry has convened a meeting with relevant agencies, such as the Rice Department and the Thai Rice Foundation and Research institutes, on the preparations for the rice congress. Mr Yukol revealed that a meeting of the Council for Partnership in Rice Research in Asia and the 29th International Rice Research Conference would be held as part of the IRC.
Farmers may be paid after Songkran The Nation 12th Apr 2014
Payment is expected to be made after the Songkran Festival to farmers still owed money under the rice-pledging scheme, the head of the Public Debt Management Office said yesterday. "Several types of borrowings may be made after the Songkran Festival. The amount may start from Bt5 billion or Bt10 billion, through to Bt100 billion, depending on the market situation and demand. About Bt100 billion is required for payments under the rice-pledging scheme," said PDMO director-general Chularat Suteethorn. She said the likely forms of borrowing were term loans, financial negotiable notes and promissory notes. "To prevent a bidding failure, the PDMO has tried to achieve greater understanding among financial institutions of the legal issues involved. They are less concerned now than during the previous, unsuccessful bidding to provide funding," she said.
Thailand farm earnings to be hit The Economic Times 9th Apr 2014
Severe drought in Thailand is expected to reduce production of commodities such as rice and rubber, the agriculture minister said on Tuesday, cutting export earnings at a time when economic growth is under pressure from a political crisis. The lingering crisis has led to the installation of a caretaker government, hurt consumer confidence and damaged tourism, leading the Bank of Thailand to trim its forecast for 2014 economic growth to 2.7 per cent.
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