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Food and agriculture

Food and agriculture
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on food and agriculture, with a focus on Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
A bucket of fish is seen as fishermen unload their catch at a beach on Indonesia’s Bali island. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Indonesia’s US$1.4 billion fish start-up accused of faking most of its sales

EFishery was a darling of the nation’s start-up scene. Then a whistle-blower alleged that the company’s accounts weren’t accurate.

China food security

Opinion | Could GM crops plant seeds of change for China’s food security push?

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Indonesia

Foodborne illness cases mar roll-out of Prabowo’s free-meal scheme in Indonesia

Thailand

Sweet surrender? The Thai sugar farmers being pushed to the brink

Farmers say they feel besieged as global price collapse, Chinese ban on syrup imports and government’s fight against air pollution add to dilemmas.

A sugar factory in Thailand’s Korat province. Photo: Aidan Jones
Indonesia

Indonesia may need US$6 billion more to expand free lunch programme

President Prabowo Subianto’s free lunch programme is a result of a campaign promise to improve health, education, and grow the economy.

China-Japan relations

China’s call for deeper Japan trade may clear way for seafood imports to resume

Beijing banned Japanese seafood imports in 2023 following a row over the release of waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

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Hong Kong society

Food coupons being dished out to 50,000 elderly Hongkongers for HK$25 meals

Residents will get five coupons which they can use to pay a discounted price of HK$25 for each of five designated meals offered at restaurants in the scheme.

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Chef Secretary Eric Chan (fourth left) attends the launch ceremony with representatives from the catering Industry and groups serving the elderly. Photo: Sun Yeung
China trade

Will Trump’s hard line on China tariffs put US farmers in Beijing’s crosshairs?

China, the world’s largest soybean consumer, now gets most of its supply from Brazil, but securing a new trade deal with the US could protect American farmers’ interests.

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Climate change

Outside In | The industry is in crisis, but wine lovers should hold their panic

The future looks dire with consumption pivoting away, especially in China and France, and grape growers worldwide hit by climate change, but the wine sector is a long-term sector.

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China technology

Nowhere to go but up: China’s farming drones take root as industry grows

Though some overseas governments are sceptical, China’s agricultural drones are blanketing countrysides as farmers begin to automate.

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Drones are being used with greater frequency in China for agricultural purposes, providing a new route for meeting major economic targets. Photo: Xinhua
United States

‘Americans don’t want these jobs’: US farmers fret over Trump deportation plans

Despite claims that immigrants are stealing jobs, farmers rely on undocumented workers because Americans are unwilling to do the hard, dangerous jobs.

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A supervisor talks to workers, some undocumented, at the start of a workday at Del Bosque Farms in Firebaugh, California. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

‘Palm oil is strategic’: Indonesia’s Prabowo calls for protection

Foreign countries are eyeing Indonesian palm oil as the ‘strategic material’ is crucial to their industries, President Prabowo Subianto says.

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China trade

China’s cattle farmers, beefing with importers, lobby for probe as prices drop

China’s beef industry, imperiled amid a 11-year low in prices, has blamed imports for the slump and called for government action.

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Food and Drinks

Explainer | What is umami? How the savoury flavour makes food taste better

One of the five primary human tastes, umami is a key feature of Asian – especially Japanese – cuisine commonly enhanced by dashi or MSG.

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Japanese. Dashi soup. Studio shooting. Shutterstock
Trade

China launches investigation into beef imports as local price of the meat falls

Imports have surged, with China representing a hugely important market for countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Australia.

A chef cooks beef steaks at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Health & Fitness

Outside In | Eating simply is the best cure for our Christmas excesses

The holidays are an ideal time to revisit Michael Pollan’s rules for food and examine how we buy and consume what we eat every day.

China food security

Opinion | Next Christmas, let’s do more to feed the world’s hungry

The world produces enough to feed all its people, but we still suffer from huge amounts of food waste and millions not having enough to eat.

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Hong Kong property

Mainland Chinese retailers make their presence felt in Hong Kong

China’s largest coffee chain opens first outlet in the city as it goes up against US rival Starbucks.

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Luckin Coffee, China’s biggest coffee chain, has expanded into Hong Kong. Photo: China News Service via Getty Images
Hong Kong

Can this new wave of Hong Kong farmers bring agriculture back to the city?

Netflix docu Kiss The Ground argues that sustainable regenerative farming practices are a potential solution to our climate crisis – meet the Hong Kong food producers getting down to earth.

Science

Scientists find key nutrient missing in China-grown durian

A study of the popular, pungent fruit grown in Hainan has discovered some stark differences with their Thai counterparts.

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Hong Kong society

Suspected pufferfish poisoning leaves 2 Hong Kong men in hospital

One man is in a critical condition and the other is stable after eating a pufferfish they caught themselves.

The two men have been admitted to Queen Mary Hospital, with one in a critical condition. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Hong Kong society

Dried fruits have highest sulphite levels, Hong Kong survey finds

But researchers say health risks are low given the population’s low dietary intake of the food preservative.

Dried fruits were found to contain the highest mean concentration of sulphites at 240mg/kg. Photo: Shutterstock
China food security

Fertiliser on its way out, advanced tech is in, as China sees record farm yields

Modernisation efforts come as food-security stability grows more critical in China’s agrarian undertakings.

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China food security

Opinion | China’s ‘Food Silk Road’ holds key to thwarting Trump tariffs

Policymakers in Beijing have taken steps to address supply chain vulnerabilities and the weaponisation of imported food supplies.

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Japan

In Japan, a protein pioneer’s edible insect experiment fails to fly

The founder of Gryllus Inc, which has filed for bankruptcy, maintains that his company’s insect-based food was ahead of its time.

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While crickets are traditionally consumed as snacks in rural Japan, Gryllus Inc. aimed to elevate their status as a viable food source. Photo: Shutterstock
China economy

China’s crop import curbs causing soybean shortage

Some soybean crushers in Dongguan in Guangdong province have had to suspend operations for the last three weeks, traders say.

Farmers harvest soybeans near Palo, Iowa, United States, on October 2, 2024. Photo: AP
Donald Trump

Trump vows to eliminate Daylight Saving Time

The US president-elect says the practice of moving clocks forward an hour in the spring ‘inconvenient’ and ‘costly’.

Japan

Japan auctions fresh fin whale meat for first time in decades

Japan resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission in 2019.

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