Blue ear disease flattens corn demand in Vietnam
[7 September 2010] Vietnam's corn imports for 2010 may not be as high as the US Department of Agriculture's forecast. The USDA expects Vietnam to import 1.6 million tonnes of corn, a 28% increase year-on-year. Pham Duc Binh, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association, said Vietnam will import 1.25 million tonnes, the same as last year. He said the forecast by the USDA is based on Vietnam's growth rate and pork demand, but since the country's pig industry was badly hit by the blue ear disease the volume of corn needed is not as expected. The association said corn price in the world market is highly volatile and has urged local feedmillers to use raw materials in stock before making a decision on imports.
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Delmo Chicken builds processing plant
[7 September 2010] Sri Lankan chicken producer Delmo Chicken & Agro plan to set up a processing plant with a 2000 birds/hour capacity using machinery from Meyn of the Netherlands. The plant is expected to be completed and operational in the first quarter of 2011. The building of the plant coincides with its ongoing expansion project that aims to double the capacity of its broiler production to 600,000 birds/batch.
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S. Korea to boost livestock sector ahead of FTA with EU
[7 September 2010] South Korea will seek to nurture the livestock and medical equipment sectors as the country is set to sign a free trade deal with the European Union, officials said. The two sectors are expected to be hard hit by the free trade deal with the world's single largest economic bloc. The government will help the local livestock industry secure a stable sales networks, and remain competitive in the overseas markets. South Korea and the EU are expected to sign their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) this month after concluding the deal in April of last year.
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GFPT expands broiler operation
[6 September 2010] Krungthai Farm Co under GFPT of Thailand is expanding its broiler and feed operations, with projects worth THB 845 million (USD 27.13 million) that are expected to be completed by 2012. Once completed, this will add another 150,000 chicks per day to GPFT, said Sukhum Panyakorn, an investment analyst for GFPT. He added that a project to establish a new feed plant in Chon Buri with the capacity to produce up to 500,000 tonnes will bring up total feed production of the group to 1 million tonnes per year.
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China imposes tariffs on US poultry imports
[6 September 2010] China has imposed five-year tariffs of 4-30.3% on U.S. chicken products. The tariffs apply to chicken parts and whole birds but not live chickens or cooked products such as sausage. Among major producers, Tyson Foods Inc. is required to pay 12.5% duty, Pilgrim's Pride Corp. 5.1% and Perdue Farms Inc. 7.4%.In the latest in a string of trade spats, China said U.S. producers benefit from government subsidies that disadvantage Chinese competitors.
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San Miguel corn program seen to hike corn production
[6 September 2010] Corn production in Eastern Visayas is expected to get a boost with the implementation of San Miguel Corporation (SMC)’s corn assemblers program. The program, a partnership between SMC, assemblers and corn farmers, has seen a 10% hike in the region’s corn output. Under the program, assemblers are to provide seeds and fertiliser to corn farmers and upon harvest, farmers are to pay the inputs with corn. The remaining corn yield will be bought by the assemblers, from whom SMC will consequently source the corn.
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Robust growth for Thai food exports
[6 September 2010] Thailand's food exports in the first half of this year grew a robust 15.9% year-on-year to THB 411.63 billion (USD 13.1 billion). Estimates for the entire year are THB 830.16 billion (USD 26 billion), which would be a 10% increase from 2009 with substantial new investments in the livestock industry. The Board of Investment (BOI) has reported that 17 livestock and aquatic breeding and processing projects received investment promotion during the first seven months this year for projects, ranging from farms to processing units, with a combined investment value of more than THB 4.2 billion.
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Thailand to elevate shrimp industry standards
[3 September 2010] Thailand’s Fisheries Department plans to move into a second phase of developing the shrimp industry. The plan involves upgrading farm standards to meet new global requirements, developing new potential farm sites and broodstock breeding, improving post-harvest management for added-value shrimp products and enhancing market potential at all levels. Director-General of the department Somying Piumsombun said the second phase will follow up with promoting clean farming techniques and high-quality shrimp products for export as well as increasing R&D for varieties and niches such as pesticide- and chemical-free shrimp. The budget of THB 828 million (USD 26.6 million) for 20 projects up till 2012 is subject to approval.
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Zhongpin upgrades Anyang plant
[3 September 2010] Chinese pork processor Zhongpin Inc. has completed a five-month expansion and upgrade of its processing plant in the city of Anyang. The upgrade which cost USD 6.6 million entailed an overhaul of the plant’s pre-cooling room, slaughtering line equipment, refrigeration systems, sewage treatment system, and ancillary facilities. It has resulted in a capacity boost of 35% to 85,000 metric tons per year. Chilled pork accounts for nearly 70% of the plant’s capacity, up from 60%.
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Domino's Pizza in India among busiest in the world
[3 September 2010] Two outlets of Domino's Pizza in India are among the top five busiest in the world. Dev Amritesh, Vice-President (Marketing), Jubilant Foodworks, the master franchisee for Domino's Pizza in India, said two outlets in Delhi have emerged as the second and third busiest in the world, after the first busiest one in Australia. Domino's Pizza has 320 outlets across India. At 47%/year, its Indian operations are the fastest growing in the world.
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Chile to boost meats exports to South Korea
[3 September 2010] Chile is eyeing to boost exports of chicken meat and pork into South Korea after a free trade agreement between the two sides is signed. Hernan Gutierrez B, Minister Counselor and Director of the Commercial Office at the Chilean Embassy in Seoul said Chile has been exporting pork to South Korea for a while and the country is looking at an opportunity to ship chicken meat to the country. Chile produced 507,519 tonnes of meat in 2009, a quarter of which was exported mainly to Mexico, the main destination, followed by the EU, China, Hong Kong, the Us and Peru.
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San Miguel to fold Monterey Foods into animal feed and poultry unit
[2 September 2010] San Miguel Corporation is seeking to fold its meat retailing unit, Monterey Foods Corp, into its animal feeds and poultry unit, San Miguel Foods Inc. However the move is still to be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In its filing, San Miguel said the merger would involve “the transfer of the assets and liabilities of Monterey Foods in favour of SMFI, in exchange for the net assets of Monterey Foods worth PHP 84.53 million (USD 1.87 million).” SMFI, which will be the surviving entity, will pay stockholders of Monterey Foods for the merger.
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China’s grain prices unlikely to fluctuate
[2 September 2010] The Chinese government will ensure no major fluctuations occur in the grain market claimed the National Development and Reform Commission's Vice Minister, Zhang Xiaoqiang, at a session held by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. He added that China's imported wheat, corn and rice accounted for less than 1% of its output, thus any international price spike would have little impact on domestic prices. Despite predictions of a good autumn harvest the central government has reduced the volume offered at weekly corn auctions sparking concern that government stocks may be running low and pushing the Dalian futures prices to a record high.
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Popeyes opens two restaurants in Vietnam
[2 September 2010] US fried chicken restaurant chain, Popeyes, opened 17 restaurants in the third quarter of 2010, 11 of which are overseas, including two in Vietnam. Globally, Popeyes sales increased 2.8% to USD 426.4 million in franchised restaurants and USD 12.1 million in those operated by its Atlanta -based franchisee AFC Enterprises. AFC's net income in the third quarter of 2010 rose 6% to USD 6.8 million.
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Thai Pig Board plans to upgrade pig farming system
[1 September 2010] Thailand’s Pig Board will draw up a five-year action package to upgrade the country’s entire pig farming system, involving plans to develop: pig production and products; pig and pig product marketing; abattoir and transportation; and input and quality control. The action plan aims to upgrade pig farming and processing standard to disease free, hygienic and safe to consume, Agriculture Minister Thira Wongsamut said.
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Japanese FMD outbreak over
[1 September 2010] The Japanese prefecture of Miyazaki has declared an end to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease that saw 1,250 affected farms detoxified. Japan had already ended the state of emergency and bans on moving animals. Some 289,000 pigs and cattle have been culled since the outbreak began in late April. The illness also led to the cancellation of almost 300 public events, including sports, as officials urged residents of the affected areas to only go out when it was absolutely necessary.
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Blackstone fund buys into China Starch
[1 September 2010] Not long after international investors Soros and Citibank bought into the Hong Kong-listed China Starch Holdings Ltd, Senrigan Capital under the Blackstone Group has spent HKD 44.1 million in buying 60 million shares in the Chinese company, according to source close to the deal. The source pointed out that the investor believed that the Chinese government paid much attention to the grain industry, and the Hong Kong-listed company would play an important role on the corn market in Mainland China.
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Philippines lifts ban on UK beef
[1 September 2010] The Philippines has lifted a decade long ban on beef imports from the United Kingdom subject to conditions set by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. These conditions are that: the boneless and bone-in beef can be sourced from cattle of all ages devoid of any nerves and other BSE-specified risk materials (SRM) shall be imported; that the beef, whether boneless or bone-in should come only from healthy ambulatory and not downer cattle; and the slaughter date of the cattle or the production date of the beef shall be included in the packaging label.
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Aftab receives an award from KFC
[31 August 2010] Bangladesh's chicken processor Aftab has received the Rising Star Supplier Award from Yum India, which operates KFC fried chicken stores in the country. Yum said Aftab was received the award due to the high standard of hygiene and quality of product that it supplies to KFC in Bangladesh. It added that with such high standards achieved, Aftab will be able to supply its further processed chicken products to KFC throughout South Asia.
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Itoham Betagro Foods ready for Japanese market
[31 August 2010] Itoham Betagro Foods Co Ltd, a joint venture established last year between Thailand’s Betagro, Japan’s Itoham Foods Inc, Ajinomoto Co (Thailand) Ltd and Hoei & Co Ltd, is ready to export its ham and sausage products to Japan market after the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan certified its processing facility in Lob Buri province in central Thailand. Itoham Betagro Foods targets to step up production to 5,000 tonnes in three years, with most of the products for export to Japan.
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China’s grain output expected to remain stable
[31 August 2010] China’s Vice Agriculture Minister, Chen Xiaohua, is optimistic about the country’s grain production that despite the natural calamities this year, including drought, freezing weather and floods. The acreage of the autumn harvest, which typically accounts for more than 70% of the country's grain output, has been increased and the growth of the crops has been good so far. He told an inquiry held by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress that the central authority introduced preferential policies in a timely manner, and that grain crops harvested in the summer maintained the same level as in previous years.
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Philippine corn production to drop 11.7% this year
[31 August 2010] Philippine corn production will go down 11.7% this year, government projections show. A report by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics says that corn output will only reach 6.22 million tonnes for 2010 compared with 7.03 million tonnes last year. For the first half of the year, corn production was only 2.42 million tonnes, down by 25% from the same period last year due to lower yields and a decrease in harvested area.
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Walmart launches first beef 'Direct Farm' in Jilin
[30 August 2010] Walmart China recently launched its first Direct Farm program for beef product in China’s Jilin province. Haoyue Group, one of China’s largest beef processors was enlisted in the program which consists of five breeding bases and more than 150 feedlots. It is expected to register an estimated output of 94,000 cattle per year and benefit more than 7,000 local farmers. Walmart’s Direct Farm program was launched in 2007. Up to June ths year, it had established 34 direct farm projects in 14 provinces and municipalities across China. By the end of 2011, Walmart expects its Direct Farm program to benefit more than one million Chinese farmers.
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High poultry prices eat into QSR profits
[30 August 2010] Malaysia's QSR Brands Bhd, the master franchise owner of KFC in Cambodia, reported that its first-half sales were encouraging but profitability was affected by high cost of poultry and imports. The management said it is actively taking steps to source for cheaper alternatives. It is looking at Cambodian poultry farms and trying to secure a local processing plant, one that would meet KFC’s regulations. QSR’s foreign market revenue rose almost MYR 14 million (USD 4.4 million) for the half-year period but foreign market profits fell 27.3% to MYR 4 million (USD 1.3 million). There are plans for KFC to set up poultry farms in Cambodia but these will only materialize in two years’ time. There are seven KFC outlets in Cambodia, by end 2010 QSR hopes to have 11.
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Yurun registers 49% growth in turnover
[30 August 2010] China Yurun Food Group Ltd. reported a turnover of HKD 8,693 million (USD 1.1 million) compared to HKD 5,834 million (USD 0.75 million) or an increase of 49% over the same period in 2009, for the six months ended June 30, 2010. The growth was attributed production capacity expansion and brand building over the past years, as well as the prosperous domestic market during the period, which further accelerated demand for branded quality meat products. Industry analysts linked the gain with the slump in pork prices during the period. In the first half this year, Yurun slaughtered 7 million pigs, soaring nearly 60% year-on-year. Both low-temperature and high-temperature meat businesses have gained in profit margins thanks to the weakening hog prices.
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Container shipping rates rise as cargo volume surges
[30 August 2010] Container ship charter rates continue to climb as unexpectedly strong cargo demand on the key routes from Asia to North America and Europe outpaces the supply of ships for hire. Charter rates for a vessel that can hold 3,500, 20-foot equivalent units (TEU), have more than tripled since the beginning of the year to USD 17,500 per day in August compared with USD 5,500 in January. If the strong demand for consumer imports continues into the U.S. grain harvest season, this could provide an extra supply of containers for the U.S.export grain market.
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PPA to file appeal against cartel penalty
[27 August 2010] Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) will file an appeal against the Competition Commission of Pakistan's (CCP) decision to impose a penalty of PKR 50 million on PPA for working like a cartel and manipulating prices of poultry products. The CCP said that collective decisions taken on economic aspects, as practiced by the PPA, were against the concept of competition and negated the idea of a free market and substantiated the existence of a cartel. PPA's former Chairman Abdul Basit said that the CCP had not taken into account the fact that prices of perishable poultry products like chicken meat, eggs and feeds could not be manipulated because their stocks could not be stored and had to be disposed off in a limited time. He added that the CCP should appreciate that PPA was providing animal protein to consumers at cheaper rates than lentils and some vegetables besides offering a livelihood to millions of households.
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Vietnam needs new agricultural development model
[27 August 2010] Vietnam needs to build a comprehensive agricultural development model in order to raise the quality of the country's produce and competitiveness, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung. He said rural construction should match urban development and stressed that over 73% of the country's total population or 65 million people, are farmers who provide food security to the whole nation. Therefore it is necessary to mobilise all resources to help promote agricultural and rural development. Vietnam is targeting an annual growth rate of between 3.5-3.8% for its agricultural sector by 2015.
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Meat prices set to rise
[27 August 2010] Fresh from the swine flu epidemic, meat prices are due for another shift. Rising wheat prices may make animals more expensive to rear. Experts are predicting meat shortages and prices to increase. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation predicted that prices across the globe will rise faster than expected this year at 3%.
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QL Resources acquires 23% of Lay Hong
[26 August 2010] Malaysia's QL Resources Bhd acquired 11 million shares or 23.29% of Lay Hong Bhd, another large local integrator, in an off-market transaction early this week. The identity of the seller was not disclosed but it is believed to be London Biscuits Bhd, who had in March this year made a bid to acquire a majority stake in TPC, another local egg producing company. The takeover bid however, lapsed in June.
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South Korea's chicken imports soar by 70%
[26 August 2010] Chicken imports into South Korea jumped nearly 70% year-on-year during January to July 2010 as chicken consumption was boosted by outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and popularity of chicken snacks during the World Cup Football. The country imported a total of 52,446 tonnes of frozen chicken mainly from the US and Brazil in the period or a 69.9% increase from the previous year, reported the Korea Customs Service. Chicken imports accounted for about 14% of the total chicken consumption in South Korea.
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Halal Foundation inks MOU with NZ firm
[26 August 2010] Malaysia’s Halal Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with AsureQuality Ltd of New Zealand to develop halal food safety and biosecurity services. AsureQuality, a company owned by the New Zealand Government, sends out its experts to ensure the safety and quality of foods being produced. Malaysia’s International Trade and Industry deputy minister said the move will ensure the country’s capabilities to tap into the international halal market.
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Nestle develops Sri Lanka’s dairy industry
[26 August 2010] Nestle Lanka has contributed LKR 1.7 billion (USD 15.1 million) to Sri Lanka’s dairy industry.The Minister for Livestock Development commended Nestle’s role in their drive to help grow the dairy sector on the island. The company, the single largest private collector of fresh milk in the country, procures about 115,000 litres of milk from 13,000 local dairy farmers every day.
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Mong Reththy pig sales grows to USD 1.3 million
[25 August 2010] Pig sales at Cambodian pig producer Mong Reththy Group jumped to USD 1.34 million from January to July 2010, up from only USD 20,000 throughout last year. The products sold during the period include 1400 pure-bred Yorkshire, each for USD 410, and locally bred pigs, each for USD 220. Manager Ly Laville said Mong Reththy expects its sales would increase from 700 pigs/month currently to 1000-3000 pigs/month as the demand for pork in Cambodia is growing very fast. Official figures showed that the pig trade in Cambodia amounted to about two million animals in 2009.
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Chinese buyers show strong interest in US soybeans
[25 August 2010] Chinese soybean buyers have maintained strong interest in back-month shipment of US soybeans due to positive crushing margins, said the state-run think tank China National Grain and Oils Information Center (CNGOIC). American soybeans scheduled to ship in December was quoted at USD 477/tonnes or CNY 3,810/tonne C&F, providing an anticipated margin of CNY 166/tonne from hedging on the domestic market, CNGOIC said in its weekly report. The record high June and July soy imports have driven up domestic inventory to 6.8 million tonnes, an increase of 3.3 million tonnes from the same period in 2009.
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Freight rates surge on demand
[25 August 2010] Freight rates have surged to a two-month high as traders scramble for grain imports and Chinese steelmakers increase demand. The Baltic Dry Index of shipping costs for dry bulk commodities – including grains, iron ore, coal and cement – has risen 67% in just over a month after it slid to its lowest since early 2009. The BDI’s sharp rally this month comes after Russia imposed a ban on grain exports, forcing consumers in the Middle East and north Africa to seek supplies from further afield and so increasing demand for freight. The rate for a transatlantic grain-carrying Panamax vessel is up 17.5% since the start of August at USD 26,800 a day. Traders expect a seasonal increase in demand for ore and grain shipments to boost freight rates into the fourth quarter. Russia’s export ban has put pressure on the US to supply food and feed grains.
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Poultry consumption drops in Tamil Nadu
[25 August 2010] Egg and chicken consumption in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu is declining as consumers refrain from eating animal protein following a series of festivals that started in August and will end in October. Egg price in the state's major egg production hub of Namakkal dropped to INR 2.3/egg last week, while chicken price in the state dropped to INR 35/kg from INR 37/kg. It was estimated that demand for eggs has dropped by 15%. Besides the consumption drop, plunging egg exports this year has led to a stockpile in Namakkal.
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Vietnam to vaccinate pigs against blue ear disease
[24 August 2010] Vietnam will import 200,000 doses of vaccine against the blue ear disease from China's Guangdong province to vaccinate pigs in high-risk areas country-wide. Van Dang Ky, Head of the Epidemiological Services at the Animal Health Department, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved the import of the vaccine. He said the department was conducting a trial on the vaccine and if it is effective, then country-wide vaccination will begin.
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Japfa India launches new feed
[24 August 2010] Japfa Comfeed India launched a new product in Kolkata, India last week.The product called Benefeed was launched by Country Head of Japfa India Dr H.C.Chin. According to Dr Chin, Benefeed is the outcome of the compamy's exclusive market understanding and an approach of value creation plus a result of Japfa Comfeed's renewed focus on “What Customers need” and not “What the company wants to provide”. The new feed is aimed at achieving consistent performance with targeted broiler performance objectives, while reducing feed consumption significantly.
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Processed food contributes more to DaChan's revenue
[24 August 2010] DaChan Food (Asia) Ltd announced that its turnover for the first half of this year registered an increase of 17.9% to USD 660.7 million from the same period last year. All of the three core business segments, namely chicken meat, feed and processed food, recorded stable growth. Chicken meat and feed businesses remained the largest revenue contributors accounting for 50.0% and 41.7% respectively. Its processed food business is fast becoming a key revenue contributor, making up 8.3% of total revenue during the period mainly due to enhanced product mix, diversified sales channels and outstanding performance of the branded “Sisters’ Kitchen” products. The company said the sale of processed food rose significantly.
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AgFeed to pay more for M2P2
[24 August 2010] AgFeed Industries Inc. said it will pay USD 10 million more for U.S. hog production company M2P2 as the two ironed out details of a previously announced acquisition deal. One of the largest hog production and animal nutrient companies in China, AgFeed said it now expects to pay a total of USD 26 million for M2P2, of which 49% will be paid in cash, approximately 12% in AgFeed common stock and the balance in the form of a 10-year seller note.The deal is expected to be concluded later this month.
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Australian beef exports to Asia continue to climb
[23 August 2010] Australian beef exports to South East Asia and Greater China during July jumped 18% to total 13,231 tonnes swt, lifting shipments to the region over the calendar year to July by 3%, to 71,062 tonnes swt. Strong demand has maintained Australian beef exports to the region at historically high levels. Demand for high-valued beef in Southeast Asia and Greater China continued over the January to July period, as chilled shipments increased 7% and grainfed beef volume jumped 49% on a year ago, to total 7,742 tonnes swt and 5,455 tonnes swt, respectively. Dominating exports to Southeast Asia and Greater China during the calendar year to July were volumes of manufacturing beef (36% of total beef exports), shin shank (17%), blade (8%) and knuckle (7%) that were mainly sent to Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines. The higher volumes sent to Malaysia, Hong Kong and China also reflected growing demand for beef in these markets.
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Chinese vice premier orders more stringent supervision of food safety
[23 August 2010] Chinese vice premier Li Keqiang has urged food quality authorities to strengthen supervision in order to significantly improve food safety. Mr Li, who also chairs a national food safety commission also called for efforts to optimize the supervision and accountability system for food safety, which would be made up of local governments, food companies and other related government departments. The government would hold accountable related officials in areas recording repeated food safety incidents.
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Logistical problems expected with higher grain export demand
[23 August 2010] Grain transportation demand during the fall harvest season and throughout 2010/11 marketing year is expected to be strong, but manageable. Record grain crops combined with strong exports could present intermittent logistical challenges, but may be tempered by the expected adequate capacity of the transportation infrastructure. The reduced grain production and export prospects of the major producing countries of the Former Soviet Union have increased the demand for U.S. grains. The current projected U.S. exports, however, are not expected to surpass the 2007/08 grain exports—a recent comparable year of strong U.S. grain exports.
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Pure Foods sale halted
[20 August 2010] San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has decided to halt the sale of its food unit, San Miguel Pure Foods Co Inc, after failing to agree with bidders on the amount of shares to be sold, various reports said. In a statement, SMC President Ramon Ang said that “the final bidders had sought 100 percent ownership,' however, the company is only interested in selling a minority stake (49%) of its shares in Pure Foods at this time. Several reports have named the bidders to be Universal Robina Corporation and the consortium of the Campos family and Century Pacific Group of Companies.
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Feed sales drop in Vietnam
[20 August 2010] Feed consumption in Vietnam has declined following the spread of animal diseases that has caused livestock numbers to dwindle feed prices to rise. Nguyen Quy, Director of An Phu Animal Feed Enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City, said animal diseases would continue to have a large impact on feed consumption, which could plunge by at least 15% in August. The government's Statistics Office estimated that the feed stock in July was 170% higher than the same period last year, and some feedmillers reported a drop in sales of 30-60%. Pham Duc Binh, General Director of the Thanh Binh Corporation, a feedmiller based in Dong Nai province, said despite lower raw material prices, feed price could not be reduced because raw materials being used now were imported when prices were high.
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New Zeland meat finds opportunities in emerging markets
[20 August 2010] Consumers in New Zealand meat's largest export markets, Europe and the United States, are eating cheaper and smaller cuts following the global financial crisis. However increasing meat consumption in emerging markets, like China, India and the Middle East should help lift exports. Rabobank senior analyst Hayley Moynihan says this could result in 21% more sheepmeat and almost 15% more beef being consumed globally by 2019. She said those emerging markets will compliment, rather than replace, existing high-value export meat markets.
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Cargills Sri Lanka's profit up 92%
[20 August 2010] Sri Lanka's largest supermarket chain and meat processor Cargills (Ceylon) Group posted a net profit of LKR 312 million (USD 2.73) up 92.3% in the second quarter. This was attributed to higher sales, better margins and lower finance costs. The group's revenue rose 20.6% to LKR 8.94 billion (USD 79.5), while sales cost rose at a slower pace of 18.9% to LKR 8.08 billion (USD 71.8), resulting in a gross profit of LKR 862.4 million (USD 7.6), up 38.8% , Cargills reported. It made a profit of LKR 1.39/share(USD 0.012) compared with LKR 0.72 (USD 0.0064) during the same quarter last year. Cargills also has business interests in the food processing sector and holds the local franchise for KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).
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Max’s Restaurant sees higher sales, to expand
[20 August 2010] Max’s Restaurant, one of the Philippines leading fried chicken restaurants, expects better sales this year, thanks to the improving economy and continued expansion. Max’s Inc President Robert Trota, said that the company is projecting sales growth of between 12-16% this year, an improvement from the 7% growth it posted last year, due to the stronger local economy and the opening of more branches. He said the company will be opening more restaurants in Mindanao, particularly in Zamboanga City. Other areas being explored are General Santos City in Mindanao, and Dumaguete City and Tacloban City in the Visayas. Currently, the company has 115 branches all over the country, 80 of which are in Luzon.
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Robust growth of beef and poultry in India
[19 August 2010] Beef and poultry production in India is expected to increased by 29% and 41% respectively up to the 2013-2014 fiscal year due to increased demand from higher incomes and prevalence of western style restaurants, says the latest edition of India Agribusiness Report. It said over the last five-year forecast period, production across all agricultural subsectors will be positive, spurred by increased demand, foreign direct investment. Dairy and livestock will also benefit from improved technology adoption, which could set a strong example and produce a model for other subsectors to follow. Because of marketing schemes targeted at the general population and generally greater demand for high-value dairy products such as yoghurt and cottage cheese, butter and milk production is expected to grow by 38% and 26% respectively to 2013/14.
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Aviagen sets sights on Peterson Male
[19 August 2010] Aviagen has announced plans to purchase the “Peterson Male” broiler breeder genetic line from Peterson Farms, Decatur, AR. As part of the agreement, Aviagen will also acquire use of the Peterson brand name for broiler breeder stock. “Peterson has been an important male line breeder since 1959,” said Randall Ennis, CEO, Aviagen, Inc. “Acquiring the Peterson male line is a strategic move for Aviagen’s global business as it will increase the diversity of our genetic pool, and it supports our commitment to sustainability.”
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Jollibee 1st half income up 9.6%
[19 August 2010] Despite a slowing down in its profits for the 2nd quarter this year, leading Philippine fast food chain Jollibee Food Corporation (JFC) still reported a net income of PHP 1.43 billion (USD 31.73 million) for the first six months of 2010, up 9.6% year on year thanks to expansion and higher sales. Systemwide sales, which include sales from both company-owned and franchised stores, grew 9.5% to PHP 33.91 billion (USD 750.89 million) in the first half. JFC Chief Financial Officer Ysmael Baysa said the company’s sluggish showing in the 2nd quarter was due to foreign exchange losses.
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Deyu aims for growing sales in retail sector
[19 August 2010] China’s Deyu Agriculture Corp, an emerging, vertically integrated producer, processor, marketer and distributor of agricultural products made from corn and various grains, aims to become a national producer of processed grains under its own brand names. Operating a stable corn processing business, the Beijing-based company sees its future growth in grains and processed foods. As of July 2010, the company sold its grain products to more than 3,300 supermarkets under its own “Deyu” and other brand names. In the past three years, Deyu's revenues rose at a nearly 150% compound annual growth rate reaching USD 40.7 million in 2009, while net income grew at the same pace, reaching USD 7.2 million.
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Blue ear disease affects pork consumption in Cambodia
[19 August 2010] Pork sales in Cambodia has dropped by two third as consumers are afraid that pork from infected pigs could be on sale in the market. Pork vendors in Phnom Penh and Kandal province said their sales plunged as the government sent a warning to consumers that eating infected pork could result in severe diarrhea. The warning was issued even though UN officials in Cambodia has said the disease poses no threat to humans and instructed that pork should be cooked properly before consumption.
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Jollibee to build plant in China
[17 August 2010] Philippines based Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) recently formed a joint venture with Singapore’s Hua Xia Harvest Holdings Pte Ltd to build its first commissary in China. The JV will set up Jollibee Foods Processing Pte Ltd, which will be 70% owned by JFC with the remainder held by Hua Xia. Both companies will invest USD 7.37 million for the new facility, which is expected to become operational within 2011. To be located in Shucheng County in Anhui Province it will initially supply Yonghe King stores in Beijing. JFC currently has 146 Yonghe King outlets in China. Earlier this year the company announced that it will spend PHP 600 million (USD 13.22 million) for 60 new stores in China.
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CP Laos expands to the north
[18 August 2010] CP Laos, a subsidiary of Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group, is starting to expand its business to the northern regions of Laos after capital Vientiane and other southern provinces. Misa Pommin, CP Laos' Marketing Manager, said after three years of investment in Laos, CP Laos' products have been well received by the farmers and customers in the south. With its six layer farms in Vientiane, CP Laos now supplies 60,000-70,000 eggs to consumers in the capital.
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McDonald's expands in India
[18 August 2010] McDonald's plans to open an additional 40 restaurants in India, bringing the total close to 200, said Amit Jatia, Chairman of McDonald's Western and Southern India. Despite the economic downturn last year, McDonald's managed to open 25 more restaurants and maintained its growth at 10-15%. Besides its famous nuggets and burgers, McDonald's launched a number of items with Indian flavours and sourced nearly all the raw materials locally.
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San Miguel near to closing deal on Pure Foods
[18 August 2010] San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is close to reaching a deal for the sale of its 49% stake in San Miguel Pure Foods Co Inc (SMPFC) to the consortium made up of the Campos family and Century Pacific Group for more than USD 1 billion, a report by Bloomberg said. However, SMC President Ramon Ang declined to comment on the matter, saying only that negotiations are still under way. SMPFC holds SMC’s processed meats, poultry, livestock, feeds and dairy businesses, and is the current leader in the local market’s poultry and processed meat sectors.
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Foreign investments boost Indian food processing sector
[18 August 2010] Direct foreign investments are driving the growth of the Indian food processing sector. Between 2009 and 2010, the industry saw foreign investments of up to USD 279.33 million from USD 102.64 million in 2008-09, an increase of 175% revealed the national government. Minister for food processing industries Subodh Kant Sahai said these investments are expected to bring new products, improved quality and new technology in the food processing sector, resulting in higher employment, and reduction in wastage of agri-products.Overall, the government estimates that the output of the nation’s food processing sector is increasing at the rate of more than 13% per year.
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Meat drives Chinese food processing industry
[17 August 2010] Market research company RNCOS says that rising demand for meat will drive the Chinese food processing industry to record double digit growth. The processed meat sector is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% from 2010-2013, while the processed food industry will grow at a CAGR of 33% over the next three years. Increasing affluence coupled with a growing appetite for time-saving processed food is driving the demand for more processed meat meals. Between 2000 and 2008, demand for processed meat products rocketed 345% leading it to become the fastest growing sector within the processed food industry.
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China's cabinet offers subsidies to ensure good harvest
[17 August 2010] China's cabinet, the State Council, has decided to offer more subsidies to some rice and corn farmers to help ensure a strong grain harvest amid the threat of unfavourable weather this year. The cabinet approved an additional CNY 1.1 billion (USD 162.4 million) in subsidies to farmers for buying fertilisers and for pest and disease control to improve the autumn grain harvest due in October. The autumn grain harvest accounts for 70% of the country's total grain harvest. Low temperatures and floods had delayed the harvest of early rice and planting of late-season rice and corn, which are more likely to be hit by early frost, particularly in the main corn area in the northeast.
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Philippine feed production to fall by 23%
[17 August 2010] Philippine feed production might fall by 23% for the rest of this year as lack of demand for animal feeds have led producers to cut back on production to minimise any losses. A source from the Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc (PAFMI) said there has been weak demand from the livestock and poultry sector, particularly the hog industry whose output has not gone up and is likely to even fall as piglet production is also down. Only the poultry sector which has been showing good performance, said the source, has been helping keep the feed industry on its toes. If demand does not pick up, it is unlikely that local feedmillers will import more raw materials this year, even with the projected drop in local corn production for the year, which is expected to reach only 6.8 million tonnes.Corn imports are not expected to exceed more than 80,099 tonnes for 2010, much lower than the 344,945 tonnes brought in last year.
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Philippines to get tough on chicken imports
[16 August 2010] Philippine Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has vowed to take a tougher stance on chicken imports, which he said is pulling down prices of local chicken and resulting in losses for domestic poultry raisers. Mr Alcala said he “will review import permits, as well as minimum access volume [MAV] allocations,” and that all importations will be done only after consultation with industry stakeholders. He vowed that the DA will mete out stiffer penalties to chicken smugglers, who have long been a thorn on the local producers’ side. He also said he’d much prefer if the local poultry industry take charge of any chicken importation to enable it to match the import volume with the industry requirements.
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CPF moves to invest more overseas
[16 August 2010] Thai agri conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF) is moving ahead with its overseas investment plans slated at THB 30 billion (USD 941 million) over the next five years. The investemets are part of CPF's plan to raise foreign revenue contributions to 40% by 2015. "We are committed to investing THB 6 billion (USD 188.2 million) a year over the next five years to expand production of animal feed and livestock at home and overseas," said Adirek Sripratak, the company's CEO and President. "Over 60% of that amount will go overseas, largely to expand existing operations in Russia, India, Turkey, the Philippines, Malaysia and some African countries," he said. Overseas operations played a vital role in the company's sales growth for the first six months of the year, with that sector surging 91%.
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Andok’s Manok approves new franchisees
[16 August 2010] Andok’s Litson Corp of the Philippines, which operates Andok’s Manok, one of the Philippines’ leading chicken rotisseries, is expanding further with the approval of seven new franchise deals. The new franchisees will add to 300 dine-in and take-out branches already operating all over the country. Andok’s Litson Corp’s President Leonardo Javier said that a new commissary is being planned to meet the requirements of the new franchisees. Currently the company has commissaries in Metro Manila and Iloilo province that can support only 100 franchised outlets.
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USDA predicts higher corn and soy prices
[13 August 2010] Despite the USDA's forecast of record corn and soybean crops this year, prices are epected to rise on global demand. The higher price is being driven by lower foreign production which will more than offset the higher U.S. output.The average corn prices for the 2010/11 marketing year beginning September is at USD 3.50 - 4.10 per bushel, up five cents on each end of the range from a month ago. US soybean prices for the same period is expected to be in a range of USD 8.50 - 10.00 per bushel, a 40-cent increase on each end of the range.
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FAO forecasts void in lamb supply
[13 August 2010] The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has said that within five years there could be a 300,000-tonne void in lamb supply due to growth in demand of 1.6 million tonnes, mostly from China. Meat and Livestock Australia is looking to fill this gap, but Beef and Lamb NZ chairman Mike Petersen said demand was starting to slip as well in traditional lamb export markets such as Europe. He said two things were needed to capture younger consumers - hey had to be educated on the taste of lamb and how to cook it, and exporters had to supply the meat in consumer-ready packs. Sheep flocks around the world were shrinking, creating new opportunities and Mr Petersen said New Zealand should be able to capture some of that global demand by improving on farm productivity.
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Thai pigs free of blue-ear disease
[13 August 2010] Thai authorities have affirmed that blue-ear swine disease is not present in pigs in Thailand and say exports of live swine remain at normal levels. "No outbreak of this disease has been detected here. Thai pig farms have generally adopted a standardised farming system, and exporting live pigs to Cambodia requires prior approval to move them and disease-free certification from the Livestock Development Department," said department chief Preecha Somboonprasert. Mr Preecha made the remarks after reports emerged that Cambodia had banned pig imports from neighbours Vietnam and Thailand after animals infected with blue-ear disease were smuggled into the country from Vietnam, infecting other pigs. The ban was announced on Wednesday by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who also asked market vendors to keep pork prices stable.
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Betagro targets Japanese consumers with premium eggs
[12 August 2010] Betagro Group from Thailand has found a niche in offering hygienic eggs fit for a typical Japanese meal - a raw egg on a bowl of rice. Premium-grade eggs to be launched this month by the Betagro Group will be targeted at Japanese residents of Thailand, the food service sector and consumers who can afford to pay THB 7-9 (USD 0.2-0.28) for an egg, about three times the price of a normal product. The eggs come from "biosecure farms" and the eggs will be cleaned and delivered to customers under temperature-controlled conditions.Betagro plans to supply about 50,000 hygienic eggs to market each day under the S-Pure brand and the lower-grade HyEgg brand.
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Pakistan suffers USD 57m in livestock losses
[12 August 2010] Pakistan’s livestock sector has been severely affected by the worst floods ever to hit the country. The poultry sector loss is estimated to be over BDT 4 billion (USD57.55 million). In some areas there is a shortage of chicken and eggs while in other places there is a surplus. The floods have wiped out farms, and caused destruction to roads and bridges making it impossible to deliver the surplus chicken. Former chairman of the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) Abdul Basit said that about 20% of production was affected by floods in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa. He said daily chicken production in the country is three million birds.
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Japan plants more feed rice
[12 August 2010] Producing rice for animal feed is attracting farmers' interest in Japan recently. Soaring prices of imported feeds plus the fact that it is easy to grow and generates a higher yield has made it attractive. The production increase also has been boosted by a subsidy system introduced this fiscal year by the government to improve the nation's self-sufficiency in food through efficient use of rice paddies. Under the system, a farmer is granted JPY 80,000 (USD 940) per one-tenth of a hectare for growing rice for animal consumption or other crops. According to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, 1,611 hectares were planted with feed rice in 2008, a sharp increase from 292 hectares in 2007. The figure was expected to reach 4,129 hectares in 2009.
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Suguna and Lohmann in JV for vaccine production
[11 August 2010] India's largest broiler integrator Suguna Poultry Farm Ltd and global animal health firm Lohmann Animal Health has formed a joint-venture namely Globion India Pvt Ltd to produce vaccines in Hyderabad, with an investment of about USD 15 million. Globion recently commissioned a state-of-the-art facility that complies with GMP standards. It will produce a basket of live and inactivated poultry vaccines for breeders, layers and broilers. The products will be marketed under the brand “GlobiVac”. Mr B. Soundararajan – MD of Suguna Poultry said he is confident that Globion will be able to match the high quality standards expected of the Indian poultry industry.
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Zhongpin reports higher revenues for second quarter
[11 August 2010] China’s pork processor Zhongpin announced positive performance in the second quarter with total revenues increasing by USD 53.3 million or 33% to USD 215.1 million from USD 161.8 million during the same period last year. The increase was attributed to higher sales volumes. During the period, chilled pork revenues increased 37% on higher quantity at slightly higher average prices. Frozen pork revenues rose 6% on higher quantity at lower average prices and prepared pork revenues soared 80% on higher quantity at slightly lower average prices. Sales volume of prepared pork increased 84% from the previous year. Pork and pork products totaled 97% of total revenues in the second quarter this year, down 1 percentage point from the previous year.
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Cambodia struggles to contain blue ear disease
[11 August 2010] A ban on pig imports is unlikely to save Cambodia from blue ear disease that is spreading to major pig producing areas in the country. From Svay Rieng province in May 2010, the disease has now been reported in Takeo province with 1000 pigs affected, 600 pigs of which have died. The spread of blue ear disease in Takeo prompted local livestock authorities to disinfect more than 170 farms in the province. Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a country-wide ban on live pig imports last week in a bid to control the outbreak, suspected to enter Cambodia via imported live pigs.
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China corn price to be stable in August
[11 August 2010] China's corn market will remain stable in August, according to the forecast of the State Grain and Oil Information Center. In August, the government will continue to put national and provision corn reserves on the market. August is often the season of sales, trade enterprises and farmers are likely to sell out their corn inventories. The delivery of the imported corn generally concentrates in the middle of August. These factors should push up the corn supply. Feed enterprises had already raised corn inventories in July, and will not increase them more in August. The center said that the government will strengthen corn price monitoring so as to ensure market stability in August.
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Betagro sees potential in India
[10 August 2010] Thailand's Betagro Group has confirmed that the Group has been approached by a major chicken producer in India to help develop meat production processes. betagro's Chief Executive Vanus Taepaisitphongse commented that the poultry industry in India was interesting. 'It is a huge market with many players but the sale of live birds still dominates.' He adde that Betagro has the expertise to meet the needs of the Indian company, but declined to name the company, mentioning only that it is one of the top five chicken producers in India.
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Philippines lifts ban on MBM from Canada
[10 August 2010] The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted the ban on meat and bone meal (MBM) from Canada. In a memorandum, the agency said the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has designated Canada as a Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or Mad Cow Disease) "controlled risk" area, which means the OIE deems the country’s mitigation measures sufficient to minimise the risk of transmission of the BSE agent. Canada can now export to the Philippines MBM and other processed animal protein. The Philippines banned the entry of MBM from Canada in May 2004, after a BSE-incident there that was verified and documented by the OIE.
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Focus on food safety and quality
[10 August 2010] The Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Quality Council of India (QCI) has called for increased focus on hygiene and compliance to global standards for food safety and quality. The QCI stressed that food safety and quality has to be a constant and continuous effort. The Indian food industry has to adopt strong practices of food safety and quality in order to be competitive on the global front.
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Price of barley up
[10 August 2010] The price of barley, in the last six weeks, has more than doubled to €210 a tonne (USD 279), up 130% from €90 a tonne. Barley now is trading at par with milling wheat. This comes after the drought affecting Russia and Ukraine, and it may prompt the cost of meat and poultry to rise to about 15%. Barley production is also down in the European Union and Canada.
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Malaysian company launches antibiotic-free eggs using herbs
[9 August 2010] Malaysia's Luheng Agriculture Technology is set to launch what it claims to be Asia's first antibiotic free eggs today. The company's representative Chow Khay Hoong said the concotion of herbs they use in place of antibiotics in their layer diet has been found to prevent infectious diseases among chickens. It took the company two years of research with assistance from their business partners – Beijing Beinong Luheng Sci-Tech Development Co Ltd and China Agricultural University, to produce the powdered herbs using six types of herbal plants.
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Philippine feed production to drop 23%
[9 August 2010] Lack of demand from livestock, poultry and aqua producers will lead to a drop of about 23% in Philippine feed production, a local industry official said, adding that hog production has not picked up but declined as piglet production is also down. Earlier, industry stakeholders projected a 10% decline in production. If demand does not pick up, it is unlikely that local feedmillers will import more raw materials like feed wheat despite the expected drop in local corn production this year.
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Vietnamese Swine Program yields results beyond target
[9 August 2010] With an improving economy and an increased demand for pork driving the growth in Vietnam’s commercial swine sector, Vietnamese swine farmers are increasingly aware of the importance of quality feed supply. Thus agriculture industry representatives from Vietnam who visited the US recently not only learned how to utilise US feed grains like corn, sorghum, DDGS and corn gluten meal in pig feeds, but also purchased equipment, semen, breeding stock and health products. Vietnam’s feed industry is growing at 8-10% yearly and the country has been importing DDGS and corn from the US.
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India expects to double oil meal exports to China
[9 August 2010] The Solvent Extraction Association of India, the country's largest grouping of oil crushers, is due to meet their Chinese counterparts in Shanghai in a bid to entice them to double imports of Indian oil meals. "India has the potential to double oil meal exports to India valued at INR 12 billion (USD 26 million)," the association said in a statement. It said India currently exports 400,000-500,000 tonnes valued at USD 6 billion (USD 13) of various oil meals such as soybean meal, rapeseed meal and groundnut meal to China.
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Indian SBM exports to increase 20%
[6 August 2010] India expects its soybean meal exports in the 2010-2011 fiscal year ending March 2011 to increase by 20% to 3 million tonnes due to a better soybean crop. Rajesh Agrawal, Coordinator of the Soybean Processors' Association of India, said although the monsoon rain was a little bit below average in July, it had covered all the major soybean planting areas in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, where the sowing was completed in the month. This signals a bigger monsoon crop that is sown during July-August and the harvest will start in October. The output from this year's crop is expected to be higher than 8.2 million tonnes last year when the country faced the worst drought in 37 years.
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Blue ear disease hits 13 provinces in Vietnam
[6 August 2010] Vietnam's Department of Animal Health said the blue ear disease has spread to 13 provinces with the resort city of Da Nang being the latest area hit. The department found 13,377 infected pigs in nine districts of Da Nang and destroyed 5,598 of them. The disease has also been spotted in Hoa Khuong and Hoa Lien communes of Da Nang City with 92 pigs infected.
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Cambodia bans live pig imports
[6 August 2010] Prime Minister Hun Sen has imposed a ban on live pig imports for fear that they could bring blue ear disease to the pig herds in the country. He said the ban was necessary because the disease hd infected neighbouring Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Srun Pov, Deputy Head of the Cambodian Pig Raiser Association, said Cambodia needs to import 1000 pigs/day to meet the domestic demand for pork.
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Pakistan to import more SBM from India
[6 August 2010] Pakistan will increase soybean meal imports from India by 26% to 360,000 tonnes in the 2010-2011 market year starting from October 2010. This is to meet its growing demand for animal feed, estimated the US Department of Agriculture. It said growing demand for protein meal by livestock and poultry producers has increased soybean meal use from 5-7%/year to 10-15%/year. India will remain the biggest supplier of soybean meal to Pakistan. USDA has estimated that Pakistan would demand a record 3.3 million tonnes of oil seed meals this year due to rapid expansion of the country's poultry, dairy and livestock sectors.
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Thai feedmills drop 2-5% on recommended prices
[5 August 2010] Feed millers in Thailand have agreed to cut the recommended price of their feed products by 2-5% following a meeting early this week with the Department of Internal Trade (DIT). The department’s Director-General Watcharee Wimuktayon said that after reviewing current prices of feed ingredients; it was found that production cost declined by 0.6-5% from 2008 thus selling price should be lowered accordingly. She added that the new prices will take effect from August 9 onward. Feed millers have agreed to the new price with a condition to adjust prices upward within a week if production costs climb. Meanwhile, industry sources said actual prices of feed sold in the market are generally lower than recommended prices and this order of price decrease from DIT wouldn’t really affect the real selling price.
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Saha Farm sees opportunity for egg business
[5 August 2010] Saha Farm of Thailand said it would seek out local egg trading opportunities after the liberalization of the layer breeder import. The Thai government recently agreed to allow free imports of layer breeders instead of allocating an exact quota annually to nine companies. This and other enabling factors are expected to the current high egg price. Saha Farm's President and CEO Manoonsri Chotitawan said demand for eggs is expected to continue to grow and that the company sees opportunities. She added that Saha Farm would focus on the high-end market.
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Bangladesh to boost investments in fisheries
[5 August 2010] Bangladesh is considering applying Public and Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives in the agricultural sector, especially fisheries. Finance Minister AMA Muhith said PPP normally generally happens in infrastructure projects, but it should be extended to other sectors such as agriculture and fisheries. He expects that through PPP, the overall investment in Bangladesh would be increased from 24% currently to 30-35% in the future. According to the Fisheries Department, Bangladesh produced 2.7 million tonnes of fish in 2008-09 fiscal, contributing about 3.74% to the country's GDP. More than 72,000 tonnes of fish worth BDT 32.43 billion were exported.
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Poultry conference prediction: broiler FCR 1.35 by 2014
[4 August 2010] The Asian broiler industry should be able to routinely grow a 2.1 kg broiler in 35 days with a 1.35 FCR within three years, predicted David Creswell, one of the speakers at the 2010 Poultry Feed Quality Conference in Kuala Lumpur. Dr Creswell, an independent consultant, detailed trials conducted in Thailand that demonstrate the extremely high performance levels that can be achieved with today’s broiler and the sorts of diets needed to achieve this performance.
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Investment in Bangladesh's poultry sector to double
[4 August 2010] Investment in the poultry sector in Bangladesh could double in the next 5-7 years due to its robust growth of about 20%/year over the past 15 years, said Kazi Zahedul Hasan, President of the Breeders Association of Bangladesh. The Association projected that during the period the sector would create job opportunities for about 10 million people. Saidur Rahman Babu, the association's Secretary said currently there were five grand parent Stock farms, 40-50 parent stock farms and hatcheries, 70,000 to 80,000 poultry farms and 15 to 20 pelleted poultry feed factories in the private sector. He said the sector is moving towards further processing as well.
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Shortage could jack up pork prices in December
[4 August 2010] A pork shortage is likely to push up prices in December this year if the new Philippine government administration does not address the continuing shortfall in hog production. Federation of Pork Producers of the Philippines Inc President Albert Lim said there is still a shortfall in hog output and the only reason this isn’t reflected in market prices is because demand for pork has been weak. He said had pork production been adequate, pork prices would have been lower than the current prices that hover between PHP 150-175 (USD 3.28-3.84)/kg in wet markets. However, farm price has gone down to PHP 108 (USD 2.36)/kg in Luzon and even lower in the Vis-Min region. He urged the government to distribute piglets to backyard farmers to help ensure enough supply in the latter part of the year, when pork demand shoots up because of the Christmas holidays.
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Jollibee forms joint venture for commissary in China
[4 August 2010] Jollibee Foods Corp (JFC) has forged a joint venture with Singapore’s Hua Xia Harvest Holdings Pte Ltd to build its first commissary in China. The JV will set up Jollibee Foods Processing Pte Ltd, which will be 70% owned by JFC with the remainder held by Hua Xia. Both companies will invest USD 7.37 million for the new facility, which is expected to become operational within 2011. To be located in Shucheng County in Anhui Province it will initially supply Yonghe King stores in Beijing.
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Egg, broiler price dips in India
[4 August 2010] Egg price in India has decreased as egg consumption has dropped and exports from India's southern egg production hub has plunged. The National Egg Coordination Committee in India's major egg production hub of Namakkal in southern Tamil Nadu state lowered egg price by INR 0.20 in two weeks to INR 2.45/egg (USD 0.05). It said the price cut was necessary as the consumption was declining in the austere "Aadi" month along with the plunge in egg exports from the state. R. Nallathambi, President of Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association, said egg exports from Namakkal dropped to 77 containers in July, compared with 300 containers in the same month last year. Broiler price was also dropped to INR 55/kg (USD 1.19) to INR 47/kg (USD 1.02) due to slow domestic consumption.
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Poultry conference told internal benchmarking under rated
[3 August 2010] Internal benchmarking of a poultry operation can be under rated, John Foulds an independent industry consultant told the 2010 Poultry Feed Quality Conference in Kuala Lumpur. “Internal benchmarking represents the performance within your own company and is therefore easier to use in implementing an improvement program,” he said. The conference, organised by Asian Poultry Magazine and Asian Feed Magazine attracted 175 participants from throughout South, South East Asia and China.
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Sri Lankan chicken imports a temporary measure
[3 August 2010] Colombo defended its decision to import 2000 tonne of chicken from Brazil, saying this is only a temporary measure to control chicken price hike in Sri Lanka. Anura Siriwardana, Secretary to the Ministry of Consummer Affairs, said the import is necessary to make chicken affordable for consumers. The government will try it best to prevent the imports. She said that the importation and distribution of the product will be done only by an agency approved by the government. Sri Lanka consumes about 11,000 tonnes of chicken meat a month, but the current production is only about 8000 tonne/month.
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Need for renewable protein source
[3 August 2010] As global aquaculture continues to grow at phenomenal rates, production is now dominated by feed-based species, explained Dr Mike Cremer of the US Soybean Council during the first day of the ASAIM Southeast Asia Aquaculture Conference organised by the American Soybean Association International Marketing and the US Soybean Board in Manila, Philippines from August 2-5 . The global industry now requires some 20 million tonnes of feed annually, with protein requirement for aquafeed pegged at over 10 million tonnes. As traditional protein sources like fish meal is no longer able to meet demand, alternative protein sources are needed. Toward this end, Dr Cremer said soy protein is seen to grow from meeting a third of aquaculture’s present protein need to supplying half of the global requirements by 2020.
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Thai government mulls feed price cut
[3 August 2010] Thai Department of Internal Trade’s Director-General Watcharee Wimuktayon said the sub-committee on animal feed comprising of government officials and private parties were due to review yesteday, the feed production cost structure and feed prices in the wake of reduction in the price of several feed ingredients. She said the sub-committee would consider whether to order a decrease in price for several feed items. However, feedmillers said the cost of feed production hasn’t reduced and that the government should waive the import duty on soybean meal currently at 2% to lower the cost of production and soften feed prices.
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China wins appeal against US chicken ban
[3 August 2010] China has notched up a victory against the United States after the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruled in China's favor in a dispute over the ban on import of Chinese chicken, sources close to the issue said last. The ruling is expected to come into effect soon and will help open the US market for finished chicken breast exports, the sources said. The WTO said in June, in an interim ruling, that the US decision was in violation of its rules and regulations. Ma Chuang, deputy secretary-general of the China Animal Agriculture Association said, "We expect to start seeing modest annual export volumes of 100,000 to 150,000 tonnes of finished chicken products valued at around USD 500-750 million roughly. It will by no means impact US poultry farmers or manufacturers of finished products."
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Philippines hopes to export pork by year end
[30 July 2010] The Philippine government is hoping to push through with pork exports by the end of this year, however industry members believe it may take another year or two before this can be realised. Dr Rieldrin Morales of the Bureau of Animal Industry’s Animal Health Division expects testing for the Ebola Reston Virus to happen in the third quarter of the year, which might lead to pork exports later in the year. However, Mr Albert Lim of the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc said the local hog raisers still need to increase their production capacity to cover domestic demand before they can provide for the export market.
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Pork price plunges in Vietnam
[30 July 2010] Pork price is declining in Vietnam as the spread of blue ear disease is keeping consumers away from the meat. From earlier outbreaks in the central region, the disease has spread to the southern Mekong Delta provinces causing retail prices of pork in Ho Chi Minh City to plunge by VND 2000-5000/kg (USD 0.1 - 0.25) to VND 60,000-75,000 (USD 3.1-3.9). The price of live pigs dropped by 35% to VND 2-2.5 million/100kg (USD 105-131) in affected provinces in the Mekong Delta, including Soc Trang, Giang, Long An and Bac Lieu. In the central and northern parts of the country, the disease hit Lang Son, Nghe An, Cao Bang, Quang Tri and Lao Cai provinces.
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Provisur opens new Asia-Pacific office in Bangkok
[30 July 2010] Provisur Technologies, the name behind the established brands of Beehive, Cashin, Formax and Weiler, opened its new Asia-Pacific office in Bangkok yesterday.“We believed it was extremely important to plant a sales and service flag for our brands in the region,” said Andy MacLeod, Vice President of international sales at Provisur Technologies. The company has appointed Alain Blanquart to oversee all operations as regional sales and service manager. The Provisur family of proven brands offers a complete platform of food processing equipment for automated forming, slicing, grinding, mixing, separating and packaging systems for high volume processing of beef, poultry, pork and other food products.
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Bangladesh poultry breeders oppose DOC rate and tax
[30 July 2010] Major poultry breeders and feed manufacturers in Bangladesh have opposed the government's move in fixing DOC prices, and imposing tax on corn imports and pellet feed. The government has fixed broiler and layer prices at BDT 30-32 (about USD 0.4)respectively and require that advance income tax (AIT) on corn imports and pellet feed be imposed. The breeders said the decision would not help stabilize the price of DOC because the fixed price is lower than production cost and could cause a shortage of DOC. Meanwhile, they said, the tax on imported corn and pellet feed would increase production cost and hence the retail price of chicken and eggs.
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Philippines hog output to drop
[29 July 2010] Hog production in the Philippines is expected to dip by 3% this year due to the lingering impact of damage to commercial and backyard farms caused by storms that hit the country late last year. The government, on the other hand, expects at least a 1% growth this year, citing recovery of some backyard farms from the storm damage. Some 70% of the swine population is raised in backyard farms.
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CP brand shrimp a success in China
[29 July 2010] Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc has made a successful move in China with its CP-brand food products, in particular shrimp products, according to Shanghai Lotus Supermarket Chain Stores Co Ltd. CPF began exporting its raw and processed shrimp products to China and they have been available at Lotus in China since May 2009. In just seven months, sales surged 400%. CPF hopes to achieve sales of 1 million kg of shripm in China this year, valued at THB 250 million (USD 7.76 million).
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China livestock feed output growth may slow
[29 July 2010] China’s livestock feed production may slow down this year the China National Grain and Oils Information Center said. It added that livestock feed output may increase only 3.9% to 154 million tonnes from 148 million tonnes the year before. In 2009 production expanded 8.4%.
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Welsh lamb aims for premium market in China
[29 July 2010] Welsh meat exporters may reach a deal worth of millions of British Pounds with Chinese trade delegates that are looking for imports of Welsh lamb. The deal was discussed by meat suppliers. Gywn Howells, Chief Executive of Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) – the industry body responsible for promoting Welsh red meat – appealed to China’s growing taste for high quality foods and fine dining. He contrasted the Welsh product with the mass market approach taken by countries such as Australia and New Zealand, which already supply China with lamb. “We want to seek out high value, niche markets in China,” said Mr Howells, adding that Welsh exporters won’t seek to directly compete with countries such as Australia and New Zealand. According to British tax adviser HM Revenue and Customs, any deal would provide a boost to Welsh exports, which fell 15.4% to GBP 9 billion in 2009.
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Thai layer chick & feed producers told to be fair
[28 July 2010] Internal Trade Department Director-General Watcharee Wimuktayon said the department is preparing to issue letters to nine companies allowed to import layer breeders for DOC production urging them to be fair trade deals after mounting criticism about their move to sell DOC together with feed. Ms Watcharee said they are forcing layer farmers to also buy feed in for DOC allocation and this is a breach in trade competition law. Their action will not alleviate the high egg price problem in Thailand.
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Zhongpin plans new plant in northeastern China
[28 July 2010] Zhongpin Inc will build a new plant in Nong’an county in China’s northeastern Jilin province. The company said it expects to process 1.2 million hogs annually at the new plant, which is expected to cost USD 61.5 million. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 125,000 metric tonnes, of which 70,000 tonnes will be chilled pork, 25,000 tonnes will be frozen pork and 30,000 tonnes will be prepared pork. The facility will be part of its plan to expand to national market coverage for safe and high quality food products, said Xianfu Zhu, Zhongpin’s Chairman and CEO. "We expect our new operations will support the creation of additional value for our shareholders.” Construction is slated to begin in the third quarter of 2010, with test pork production currently scheduled for late 2011.
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Vietnamese farmers wary of raising pigs
[28 July 2010] The two-month blue-ear epidemic which hit the northern province of Hai Duong in Vietnam recently has made breeders reluctant to raise pigs. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development about 600,000 pigs survived the epidemic. More than 100,000 of these are breeding sows while the remaining 500,000 porkers were quickly sold to avoid the disease, leaving many pig pens in the province empty. The outbreak caused a loss of more than VND 20 billion (USD 1.04 million) for the province.
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Cofco to commercialize non-crop ethanol production
[28 July 2010] The Chinese government efforts in promoting clean energy may spur an early commercialization of cellulosic ethanol, which differs from conventional ethanol and is made from non-edible part of plants or agricultural wastes. The move shows promising as ethanol makers are facing criticism for using grain stocks for fuel. Leading the group of companies trying to commercialize the technology in China is Cofco Group, the nation's largest fuel ethanol supplier. An official of Cofco said cellulosic ethanol will become its core business in the long run. At present, China has five fuel ethanol companies who produce a total of around 1,720,000 tonnes of ethanol, mainly from corn, wheat and cassava. Cofco wholly or partly owns four of the five companies.
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Registrations close tomorrow
[27 July 2010] Registrations for the 2010 Poultry Feed Quality Conference, being held in Kuala Lumpur on August 2-3, close on 28 July. The conference has been designed to help Asian poultry nutritionists and feed mill managers learn how to buy the best corn & DDGS and use their milling capabilities to capture the genetic potential of today's modern poultry, says Program Director, Bob Swick. Click here for further information.
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URC, consortium named as Pure Foods bidders
[27 July 2010] Reports have come out that Universal Robina Corp and a consortium made up of United Laboratories’ Campos family and Century Pacific Group of companies as the two short listed bidders for San Miguel Corp’s (SMC) stake in San Miguel Pure Foods Co Inc. SMC President Ramon Ang had earlier said two bidders were left, but declined to name them. Pure Foods had a market capitalisation of PHP 57.5 billion (USD 1.25 billion) as of last week, which would value the 49% stake at around PHP 30.55 billion (USD 661.54 million). SMC is selling a minority but significant 49% of its stake in Pure Foods, its food unit, to help fund its diversification plans.
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Indian poultry product rates slashed
[27 July 2010] Tamil Nadu broiler producers and shell egg traders have slashed farm-gate prices of their produce on account of the austere month of Aadi when consumption of poultry products declines. The lower prices will stimulate buying and reduce the accumulation of stocks. Wholesale price of live birds was INR 46/kg (USD0.97) from INR52/kg (USD1.10) last week.
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Thailand makes biggest feed wheat purchase
[27 July 2010] Thailand's feed industry has made its biggest feed wheat purchases contracting to ship some 300,000 tonnes in recent deals on expectations of lower domestic corn production and aggressive offers from the Black Sea region. Thailand’s feed wheat imports come close to similar contracts which mills in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines have signed to replace expensive corn in making animal feed as grain exporters from Ukraine and Russia offer attractive prices.
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Thai farmers told to produce wisely
[27 July 2010] Thai farmers must plan their production and spend wisely to prepare for the impact of adverse factors such as drought, unstable prices and volatile exchange rates. Office of Agricultural Economics Secretary General Apichart Jongsakul said that while the agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP is estimated to grow by 2.7% in the second half of the year, compared to 1.4% in the first half, the price of agricultural products is also seen to rise given the rising demand and lower farm outputs as a result of widespread droughts.
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Thai Egg Board enlists new layer breeder importers
[26 July 2010] Thailand’s Egg Board has allowed four new companies to import layer breeders starting from late July through end of December this year. They will bring in around 29,500 birds. The move is an effort to ease the high egg price problem in the local market. The board also agreed to delay egg exports and reduce exports to about 140 million eggs this year, or around 60% lower than last year. The board expects the egg price to normalize as soon as weather conditions improve.
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Traders lament government policies
[26 July 2010] Low prices of day-one chicks and imposed tax on feeds will severely affect Bangladeshi’s struggling poultry industry. Businessmen feel that the directive from the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, which has fixed the maximum price of one-day broiler and layer chick at BDT 30 (USD0.43) and BDT 32 (USD 0.46) respectively, will raise the prices of chicken and eggs at the retail markets in future. The government has also imposed a 5% advance income tax on import of maize, and 5% income tax on pelleted poultry feed production.
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Low prices, hot weather erasing Pakistani poultry profits
[26 July 2010] Adverse factors such as low chicken meat prices, hot weather that does not allow birds to gain much weight and high feed rates are thinning out farmers’ profits. A Pakistan Poultry Association official said that costs also increased because of higher electricity and feed charges. The production of corn, an important ingredient of poultry feed, had declined because the area under its cultivation was curtailed last year. The cost of feed accounts for 70% of the total cost of production in the poultry business and prices could come down if the government removed the 25% duty on corn imports.
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Thailand faces severe cassava shortage
[26 July 2010] Thailand is facing a severe shortage of cassava as the production in 2010/2011 crop year is estimated to plummet sharply from last season, according to a recent crop survey by the Thai Tapioca Trade Association. Growing area for this crop has reduced to 7.3 million rais (1.17 million hectare) from 7.8 million rais (1.25 million hectare), decreasing cassava output for this crop to about 15 million tonnes from around 21 million tonnes. Businesses that use tapioca as raw material for feed will be affected by the situation, the association said.
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Shanxi gains from agri policies
[26 July 2010] The implementation of agricultural policies in Shanxi Province’s has done well for its economic development bringing in some CNY 7.4 billion (USD 1.09 billion) in value-added agriculture in the first quarter of 2010, up 6.7% year-on-year. The value from pigs and other livestock products showed the largest growth while the husbandry sector made CNY 5.28 billion (USD 0.78 billion) in value up 8.1%, making up 40.4% of its husbandry and fishery sector.
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Thailand hopes to export more to Russia
[23 July 2010] Thailand aims to export more goods such as frozen chicken and rice to Russia. Leading a team of exporters to Russia recently, Thai Commerce Minister Pornthiva Nakasai said that this year’s two-way trade will surpass USD 2 billion. The value of Thai exports to Russia, meanwhile, is expected to rise to about USD 600 million this year compared to USD 400 million last year. It is also expected to revise its export projection this year to grow at least 18% or over USD 180 billion.
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Yuhe expands in Liaoning Province
[23 July 2010] China's Yuhe International Inc recently acquired five breeder farms in Haicheng City, Liaoning Province. The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Weifang Yuhe Poultry Co Ltd bought the farms from Liaoning Haicheng Songsen Stock Farming and Feed Company Ltd for CNY 21.3 million (USD 3.14 million). With this Yuhe targets their day-old broiler output to jump 67% to 250 million next year from the 150 million expected this year making them the largest farmer of parent breeders and producer of day-old broilers in China. The five breeder farms have a total production capacity of 430,000 sets of parent breeders covering an area of about 52 acres with building coverage of about 680,000sq ft.
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San Miguel gets four bids for Pure Foods
[23 July 2010] San Miguel Corporation (SMC) received and is now studying four bids for its 49% stake in its subsidiary San Miguel Pure Foods Co Inc. Although SMC President Ramon Ang did not name the bidders, he admitted that they included three local firms and one international investor. Earlier reports said that they include Carlyle Group LLC and CVC Capital Partners, Universal Robina Corp, and Del Monte Pacific Ltd. Mr Ang also declined to reveal the value of the bids.
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Philippines to get tough on chicken imports
[23 July 2010] Philippine Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has vowed to take a tougher stance on chicken imports, which he said is pulling down prices of local chicken, which results in losses for domestic poultry raisers. He said he “will review import permits, as well as minimum access volume [MAV] allocations,” and that all importations will be done only after consultation with the industry stakeholders. Mr Alcala said he preferred that the local poultry industry take charge of chicken importation, and vowed the DA would give stiffer penalties to chicken smugglers. He also pledged further assistance to domestic poultry raisers to make them more competitive in the local and global market.
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Poultry Feed Quality Conference scores a coup
[22 July 2010] Scott Beyer, an Associate Professor, in the Faculty of Animal Sciences and Industry at Kansas State University, USA is a late inclusion in the program of the Poultry Feed Quality Conference being held in Kuala Lumpur on August 2-3, 2010. Dr Beyer’s presentation ‘Processing effects of corn and sorghum performance’ will focus on particle size, enzymes, conditioning and expansion/extrusion. Click here to reach the conference web site and brochure.
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Japfa Comfeed to open new feedmill in Vietnam
[22 July 2010] Japfa Comfeed of Indonesia is set to open its fourth feedmill in Vietnam in November 2010 to cater to its newly established swine business unit as well as expanding poultry operations and commercial feed sales in the southern region of the country. Located in Vietnam's southern province of Binh Thuan, the new feedmill will have a capacity of 75 tonnes/hour and will produce swine and poultry feeds. Nguyen Quoc Trung, General Director of Japfa Comfeed Long An Ltd, said the new feedmill is one of the most modern facilities of its kind in Vietnam. It is equipped with latest milling technology from Van Aarsen of the Netherlands with its premixing unit controlled by a barcode system. This feedmill is a milestone for Japfa Comfeed in Vietnam to achieve a one million tonne feed production target by 2015.
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CP Vietnam to build processing plant for tra fish
[22 July 2010] CP Vietnam Livestock Corporation, a subsidiary of Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group in Vietnam, is planning to build a fish processing plant to support its integrated fish business being developed to create a safe fish supply chain in the country. The plant will be located in Vietnam's southern province of Dong Nai and will have a daily capacity to process 120 tonnes of tra fish (Pangasius hypopthalmus). This is equivalent to 35-40 tonnes of fillet. Naret Prompiw, Vice President of CP Vietnam's Aquaculture Business, said the construction of the plant is scheduled to start in the middle of 2011. Once completed, it will primarily produce IQF (Individual Quick Frozen) frozen fillet and value added products such as breaded fillet. All of them will be exported under the CP brand.
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CPF believes sales in 2010 will meet target
[22 July 2010] Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc’s President and CEO Adirek Sripratak said he expects CPF’s total sales this year will hit the target of THB 189 billion (USD 5.59 billion), up from THB 160 billion (USD 4.96 billion) last year. Factors that could contribute to CPF’s growth include the food shortage situation in the Middle East that has encouraged countries there to secure chicken meat and egg supplies from CPF’s Turkey operation. Also Russia switched to import more meat from Turkey after delaying imports from the US. CPF has also became the no. 1 in aqua business in India after investing in three aqua feedmills there to produce 150,000 tonnes of shrimp and fish feed a year. Sales of ready-to-eat foods under CP brand also helped boost sales for the company, Mr Adirek said.
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Thailand deregulates breeder imports
[21 July 2010] Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he believes that egg prices will decline and be back to normal as the government has deregulated imports of layer breeders. Mr Abisit said factors that caused egg prices to rise included hot weather condition and the limitation of breeder imports that led to unfair distribution of PS to small-scale farmers. This caused layer chick prices to rise and escalate farmers’ cost. The government’s decision to restructure layer breeder imports allows better utilization of PS so small farmers don’t have to rely on PS stock from major companies. Farm-gate egg price is currently at THB 2.80 (USD 0.087) per egg while retail price ranges from around THB 3-5 (USD 0.092-0.155).
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Pakistan farmers claim lower profits
[21 July 2010] Profits of poultry farmers in Pakistan have been declining for some weeks owing to the sharp decline in chicken meat prices and hot and sultry weather that does not allow birds to gain much weight. Poultry farmers said costs also increased because of higher electricity and feed charges. “The poultry feed rates have registered unusual increase this year owing to shortage of grains,” said Abdul Basit, Pakistan Poultry Association’s former chairman. He said production of corn, an important ingredient of poultry feed, had declined in the country because the area under its cultivation was curtailed last year. Mr Basit said the price of a poultry feed per bag of 50-kg had now risen to PKR 1,500 (USD 17.50) from PKR 500 (USD 5.80) a bag in July 2008. The feed rates could come down if the government removed the 25% tariff on the import of corn, he added.
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Thailand develops capabilities in nanotechnology
[21 July 2010] Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), and Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives have signed a research collaborative MoU to identify and initiate agricultural research activities. The initial phase of the collaboration will focus on nanotechnology especially in the area of food packaging and encapsulation technology for control release of fertilizers. It is predicted that nanotechnology will have a major impact on the entire food industry, changing the way food is produced, processed, packaged, transported, and consumed. The duration of the collaboration will be for five years starting from July 12, 2010 to July 11, 2015.
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Capture the genetic potential of today's modern poultry
[20 July 2010] The Poultry Feed Quality Conference has been designed to help Asian poultry nutritionists and feed mill managers learn how to buy the best corn & DDGS and use their milling capabilities to capture the genetic potential of today's modern poultry, says Program Director, Bob Swick. The conference is being held in Kuala Lumpur on August 2-3, 2010. Click here for further information.
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Malindo's new feedmill to add 400t to existing capacity
[20 July 2010] PT Malindo Tbk's third feedmill in Indonesia will be in operation by end this year adding about 400 tonnes/annum of feed capacity to its existing 450 tonnes/annum. Its existing feedmills are in Surabaya and Jakarta while the new plant is in Cikande. This new facility will cater to the growing West Java region and South Sumatra, where more broiler and layer farms appear to be emerging. The company has invested an estimated USD 12.5 million to build this new feedmill.
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China expects good wheat harvest
[20 July 2010] China's total wheat output, including winter and spring wheat, is likely to hit 115 million tonnes this year, the ministry of agriculture said on Friday. Annual wheat consumption was about 105 million tonnes, which should ensure sufficient supply, said Chen Mengshan, the ministry spokesman. His estimate was in line with a forecast by the official China National Grain and Oils Information Center. His comments came as domestic wheat prices rose on worries during the harvest that output may be lower and of poor quality due to a cold spring this year. But Chen said the country has expanded high-quality wheat and the "domestic quality was good enough. Winter wheat, which accounts for more than 90% of the country's total wheat output, hit 108.8 million tonnes this year.
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Increase in egg price in Singapore
[20 July 2010] Singapore has announced that eggs imported from Malaysia were up one cent from yesterday. The announcement came after the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority suspended the sale of eggs produced by N and N Agriculture Farm, which were found to contain an antibiotic called doxycycline. The AVA was doing a routine surveillance test on local poultry farms on Saturday. Farm staff said they did not feed their live poultry the antibiotic and they suspected there was something wrong with the feed.
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CP Vietnam starts building processing plant in Hanoi
[19 July 2010] CP Vietnam Livestock Corp, a subsidiary of Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group, has started building its new chicken processing plant in Hanoi that is expected to be operational in July 2011, said President Sooksunt Jiumjai swanglurg. He said the plant will have a capacity of 50,000 birds/day and is also equipped with a further processing unit for producing processed food like meat balls and sausages. Mr Sooksunt said the plant will have two lines, one for producing processed chicken products for the domestic market and the other for export.
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Philippine broiler production could rise by 20%
[19 July 2010] Philippine broiler production could increase by 15-20% this year with the continuous importation of GP and PS stocks, said Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (PABI) President Rita Imelda R. Palabyab, who is also the Vice President and General Manager of San Miguel Foods Inc’s poultry operations. However, she didn’t give an estimate to the amount of GP and PS stocks that have already been imported. She also noted that while there is currently an oversupply of dressed chicken in the market, it is because this is typically a lean period for poultry. Commercial raisers have complained of low farm prices, but Ms Palabyab said prices will likely improve in the two weeks.
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Rise in agri imports into Vietnam
[19 July 2010] The import value of agricultural materials and products in the first half of the year sharply increased because of the rising demand and prices, fuelled by rising incomes, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. During this time, the country spent USD 6.38 billion on agri imports, up 36.3% over the same period last year. Wheat registered the highest growth in both import value and volume. In six months, Vietnam imported 1.2 million tonnes of wheat, worth USD 289 million. These numbers represented an increase of 70% compared with the last half year.
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Fisheries sector to grow by 8% despite El Niño
[19 July 2010] The Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said that despite the extensive damage to the fisheries sector brought by the El Niño weather phenomenon in the first half of 2010, fisheries production is likely to grow by 8% for the whole year. Seaweed and fin fisheries production will be the main drivers of the industry’s growth, while mariculture parks will also be a significant contributor for the industry. Although the sector has generally been on a growth path, production during the first quarter of this year fell slightly by 0.63% because of the El Niño.
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Kerchin links with NZ firms to grow beef operations
[16 July 2010] China's second largest beef processor Inner Mongolia Kerchin Cattle Industry Co Ltd has signed a multi-million dollar deal with two New Zealand companies, Te Mania Livestock and FoodCap. This is the first official agricultural contract to emerge from the free trade agreement between both countries. Te Mania Livestock, specializing in breeding quality Angus beef cattle, will provide cattle semen and breeding know-how and help Kerchin improve the quality of beef produced at its feedlots in Inner Mongolia. Kerchin will also capitalize on the frozen meat supply chain system from Auckland-based FoodCap and set up packing facilities in some major cities in China. Kerchin Cattle Industry Co Ltd currently has an annual slaughter capacity of 100,000 heads.
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HCMC GGP farm adds capacity
[16 July 2010] New First Grade Breeding Pig Co, a GGP pig farm based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has started building its second farm with 1200 GGP sows in the city's suburban district of Cuu Chi. Director Nguyen Van Tan said the construction of the new farm will be completed in the middle of 2010. It is located on a 22ha plot of land and will be divided into three units consisting of breeding/farrowing, nursery and grower/ finisher. All the houses will have controlled environments and be equipped with automatic feeding and drinking systems. The grower/finisher unit will also be equipped with a feed intake monitoring system using ear tags equipped with RFID (radio frequency identification) to track feed consumption of individual pigs.
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Virginia Foods to expand operations
[16 July 2010] Virginia Foods Inc, a Cebu, Philippines based meat processor, plans to spend PHP 80 million (USD 1.73 million) this year to expand operations and improve product quality. Virginia Foods Vice-President Stanley Go said in a statement that his company is looking at further expanding its distribution network in the Visayas and Mindanao, where its different products have entered the market. Mr Go said the company “still foresee the need to extend our consumer base” in the region. The company manufactures the Virginia, El Rancho, Winner, Champion, and Australian brands of canned goods and frozen processed meat.
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DLD to produce more vaccines
[16 July 2010] Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development (DLD) plans to produce more swine and poultry vaccines as it aims to further reduce the diseases among livestock and reduce vaccine imports. DLD owns four vaccine producing plant that deliver 13 types of vaccines for livestock such as pig, duck and chicken. It has a 25% or THB 652 million (USD 20.13 million) market share in Thailand. The industry here is worth around THB 2.5 billion/year (USD 77.24 million). Vaccines that are in high demand include duck plague, fowl cholera and FMD for pig and swine fever. As of May 2010, the DLD produced 32.52 million doses of duck plague and 24.43 million doses of fowl cholera, up from 28.91 million doses and 26.43 million doses, respectively in the same period a year ago.
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GFPT expects JV to improve earnings
[15 July 2010] Thailand's GFPT expects to generate more income soon after its new joint venture GFPT Nichirei (Thailand), or GFN, starts operations in August, according to an analyst report by UOB Kay Hian Securities. GFN, a joint venture between GFPT and Japan's Nichirei Foods, will process 20,000-30,000 chickens a month initially and will raise the capacity to 70,000 in October. It is forecast to start turning a profit next year. GFPT's performance will be enhanced after GFN's operations commenced as it is the chicken supplier of the joint venture. GFPT can write off the difference as a cost whenever chicken prices fall. GFPT will also add two more production lines at its chicken processing facility. UOB forecasts GFPT's net profit will rise 17% to THB 1.24 billion (USD 38.29 million) this year mostly on growth in export sales.
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China buys nearly 1 million tonnes of US corn
[15 July 2010] As of July, China has purchased nearly 1 million tonnes of corn from the US since April, a record high for the same period since 1995. Liuhe Group, one of China’s largest feed producers has completed the customs procedures for some 115,000 tonnes of corn imported from the US, a source close to the deal told Asian Poultry Magazine. China has ample corn reserves after bumper harvests for several years running and is able to keep domestic corn prices under control, according to the Sate Administration of Grain. Chinese corn prices have reached new highs as a result of the severe drought in corn producing areas in China since 2009, said an industry analyst. Currently, the price of US No.2 yellow corn after tariff payment is around CNY 1,860 (USD274)per tonne, which is CNY 90-180/tonne lower than domestic ones.
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Major egg companies see prices normalize
[15 July 2010] Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc and Betagro Group see the current high egg price situation as a temporary phenomenon and expect it to normalise soon. CPF’s President and CEO Adirek Sripratak said the high egg price situation will ease when the weather improves in the second half of the year. Egg supply will start to improve, he added. Senior Vice President of Thailand’s Betagro Group Wasit Taepaisitphongse said he expects egg prices to be back to normal in two to three months. Betagro supports the government’s measures to tackle current high egg prices which include extending of hen laying period to 82 weeks from 78 weeks, delay in egg exports and allocating 50,000 PS to farmers nationwide. Betagro Group and CPF are among nine private enterprises allocated a breeder import quota by the Department of Livestock Development.
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China’s grain output expected to fall slightly
[15 July 2010] An agricultural expert has warned of a "slight drop" in China's total grain output this year as a result of frequent natural disasters. Lu Bu, a researcher from the Institute of Agriculture Resources and Regional Planning at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said 1% to 2% of grain loss is foreseeable, adding that fortunately, the decrease will be minimal compared with the total grain yield of the country. The flood-plagued six provinces are not major grain producing regions, he added. By June 20, a total of 1.3 million hectares of crops had been damaged by heavy rains in five provinces, including Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
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Conference told management of piglets should be a key goal
[14 July 2010] The correct feeding and management of the young pig before and after weaning for optimum lifetime performance is a key goal for any pig production enterprise, claimed Professor John Pluske of Murdoch University, Australia, during the 2010 Pig Feed Quality Conference in Ho Chi Minh City. Data offered by Prof Pluske showed that the weight of the pig at birth explains a sizable proportion of the variation in postnatal growth.
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Saha Farms expects strong exports growth
[14 July 2010] Saha Farm in Thailand, says its exports will grow 20-30% next year, thanks higher chicken production after its three new production facilities start operation. Chairman Panya Chotitawan said the new processing plants cost THB 10 billion (USD 309.07 million) in total and are scheduled to open next month. The new facilities will double the company’s production capacity from 600 tonnes/day at present, or an increase of around 100,000 tonnes/year. Saha Farm expects to export 100,000 tonnes of chicken this year, 75% of which will be cooked meat. The company has already shipped 33,000 tonnes in the first six months of the year, up around 50% from exports in the same period last year.
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Charoen Pokphand Group reinvests in central China
[14 July 2010] Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) of Thailand recently signed agreements with Xiangyang district, in Xiangfan, central China’s Hubei province and the Yidu municipal government to strengthen cooperation on aqua-farming and food processing. According to the agreement, CP will set up a new company in Xiangfan with a total investment of CNY 92 million (USD 13.5 million). The new company will be named Xiangfan Chia Tai Animal Husbandry and Food Co Ltd. The group started investment in Hubei in 1992 and has invested CNY 670 million (USD98.5 million) in the province.
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South Korea defers beef talks with Canada
[14 July 2010] South Korea's Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the two-day negotiations with Canada on beef imports has been defered. The talks that were due to start yesterday has been delayed due to a lack of sufficient information about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) disease. Canada, which received a "controlled risk" status from the World Organization for Animal Health in 2007, has been demanding that Seoul lift the ban that has been in place since May 2003. South Korea has claimed it is willing to import Canadian beef, but stressed that strict limits need to be imposed due the 17 cases of BSE reported by Canada. The latest case was reported in February.
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Hainan's farm cooperatives speed up agricultural development
[14 July 2010] Specialised and farmer-friendly cooperatives are developing fast in Hainan, China’s southernmost province, which has seen diversified development in agriculture. As of the end of 2009, Hainan registered and set up 2,342 farmer specialization cooperatives with investments of more than CNY 1.8 billion. The Department of Agriculture of Hainan has invested nearly CNY 12 million on training and supporting farmers on formation of farming cooperatives.
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Productivity still the prime driver in profitability
[13 July 2010] “There is no doubt that adverse movement in feed costs or pig prices can compromise profitability but in the final analysis they are not the main drivers,” claimed Tony Edwards at the 2010 Pig Feed Quality Conference organised by Asian Pork Magazine and Asian Feed Magazine in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Profits will be low unless productivity is maintained.“The main driver is in fact productivity - irrespective of feed cost or pig prices, profits will be low unless productivity is maintained.”
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Sierad on expansion trail
[13 July 2010] Indonesia's PT Sierad Produce Tbk is on an expansion trail with a bank loan commitment worth IDR 423.5 billion (USD 46.8 million). According to Head of Corporate Secretary of Sierad Produce Elies Lestari Setiawan, corporate expansion in 2010-2011 requires a total of IDR 605 billion (USD 66.9 million). Ms Elies said the company will start development projects in July-August. This would include the development of a breeding farm and hatchery in Banten, opening of 50 Belmart outlets, the development of a slaughterhouse in Mojokerto as well as commercial farms.
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Lower corn exports from China
[13 July 2010] Data from China Customs' suggest that the country’s total corn exports in June was 9,421 tonnes, down 41.56% from the previous month; while total exports for the first six month this year was 80,391 tonnes, an increase of 35% year-on-year. Meanwhile, China started to import more corn in April, with a large volume imported by Liuhe Group in June. A USDA report said that corn production in 2009/10 is estimated to drop 9% from the previous year to 150 million tonnes although government agencies reported a bumper harvest for the sixth consecutive year. Previous field observations in most of the major corn producing provinces in the northeast and the North China Plain revealed that corn yields were substantially impacted by adverse weather patterns.
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Taiwan food conglomerate to set up aqua feedmill in India
[13 July 2010] Taiwanese food giant Uni-President Enterprises Corporation (UPEC) has chosen India, one of the world’s four largest shrimp producers, as its priority for overseas expansion. The conglomerate plans to open a mill for aquafeed production this year. The new feedmill is expected to produce 10,000 tonnes per year. UPEC operates feedmills in Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines. Its core business includes food manufacturing and investments of other related businesses.
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Pig feed quality conference opens in HCMC
[12 July 2010] The 2010 Pig Feed Quality Conference organised by Asian Agribusiness Media opened in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam today. In the course of the two days, spekers from the region as well as the US and Europe will present a series of topics that address pig performance, with a detailed dissection of current levels of performance, what performance levels to expect in the next 10 years, and how that performance can be achieved.All the topics have been selected to provide practical, usable information.
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PRRS reported in pig farms in Thailand
[12 July 2010] Livestock officers in Thailand have inspected pig farms in various provinces following reports of the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) that has killed a large number of pigs in Nong Khai province. They have visited pig farms in Buriram province to advice farmers on hygiene and farm management and urged them to urgently report any symptoms of illness in pigs. In Nakhon Pranom province, the Livestock Development Department has coordinated with local organizations to expedite inspections in slaughterhouses and meat vendors. Nakhon Phanom is another province where pigs are reported to be struck by PPRS.
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Good demand for quality beef in Southeast Asia and China
[12 July 2010] Australian beef exports to Southeast Asia and Greater China jumped 20% in 2009-10 on the previous year to 131,216 tonnes swt, despite the high Aussie dollar and subdued supply towards the end of 2009-10. Demand for quality beef iin these markets however remained buoyant, with both chilled shipments and grainfed beef exports in 2009-10 reaching new records (13,978 tonnes swt and 9,463 tonnes swt, respectively).
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Thailand promotes foreign investment in halal food
[9 July 2010] Thailand’s National Food Institute (NFI) and the Board of Investment plan to organize a road show in Muslim countries to draw interest in investments in the integrated halal food business in Thailand, said NFI’s Director Petch Chinabutr. The potential investments include sheep farming and food processing businesses. Investors from Malaysia and some from the Middle East are interested in investments in the integrated food business in the Industrial Estate in southern province of Nakhon Srithammarat. Thailand exports around THB 80 billion (USD 2.47 million) worth of halal food each year, still much smaller than the world trade value of USD 550 billion a year.
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Indo Livestock reflects growth of sector in Indonesia
[9 July 2010] Indo Livestock 2010 which opened at the Jakarta Convention Centre yesterday, has grown bigger and stronger and reflects the growth of the industry in Indonesia.The country's meat production is projected to reach 371,000 tonnes this year, a slight increase from 352,400 tonnes it recorded in 2009. Its poultry market also registered a 4.2% production growth from 2009, primarily due to demand for a substitute for high-priced beef and pork.
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Bangladeshi poultry farmers want DOC prices fixed
[9 July 2010] Bangladesh Poultry Farm Protection National Council, a grouping of small-scale poultry farmers in Bangladesh, have urged the government to monitor the prices of layer and broiler chicks to ensure that they will be sold at its set prices. The council said the government asked hatchery owners to sell layer DOC at BDT 32/chick (USD 0.46) and broiler DOC at BDT 30/chick (USD 0.43), but they are defying the government's order by selling them at BDT 65-70/chick (USD 0.9-1), claimed the council's Secretary Khandaker Md Mohsin. The council voiced their demand at a recent gathering attended by poultry farmers from across the country.
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Thailand gets strict on prohibited substances in shrimp
[9 July 2010] The Fishery Department of Thailand said it willinvestigate the use of substances in the group of quinolone/fluoro quinolone in shrimp farms. Theses substances, are used to stop the growth of bacteria in aquaculture, are prohibited in shrimp farming by two major importers - the US and Canada. Both countries are concerned about the negative effects of residues. The Fishery Department will recall farming licenses from farms that use this banned materials.
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Philippine unlikely to export pork this year
[8 July 2010] The Philippines' plan to export pork is unlikely to happen this year as the country is still waiting for Mindanao to be declared free of the Ebola Reston Virus (ERV). The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is still waiting for test and antigen kits for ERV to arrive from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the US. Singapore has renewed its interest to resume talks on pork imports from the Philippines, sending a team of health experts to the country in March to inspect facilities in Mindanao. BAI officials said testing for ERV will increase the confidence of Singapore in the safety of pork products in the region, particularly in General Santos City, which the government has prioritised for the testing. The Philippines was all set to send its first pork shipments to Singapore in December 2008 when the Philippine Departments of Agriculture and of Health issued a hold order after announcing that the ERV had been found in blood samples from pigs in Luzon.
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China’s Lifecome Biochemistry teams up with Zamira
[8 July 2010] China's Lifecome Biochemistry Co Ltd, a joint-ventured animal health product manufacturer in Pucheng, Fujian province, has teamed up with Australia-based Zamira Life Sciences Pty Ltd, to take advantage of the latter’s strong marketing capability in the overseas market. Founded in 2003, Lifecome’s business has grown in recent years with exports of its flagship Bacitracin series products accounting for 60% of the country’s total exports. Lifecome’s animal health premixes have been positioned in the high-end market in South East Asia. Zamira markets research-based products for improved health, well-being and productivity in food-producing animals.
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India expects better corn production
[8 July 2010] India's corn production in 2009-10 is expected to be almost 20 million tonne, up from 19.37 million tonne last year because of increased seed replacement by farmers and more acreage in Punjab and Haryana, a senior official with the Directorate of Maize Research said on Tuesday. Corn is preferred by many farmers because of better price and it requires less water compared to paddy. "With farmers using hybrid varieties the seed replacement rate has been constantly rising in maize growing regions," Sangit Kumar, project director, DMR, under Indian Council for Agricultural Research said.
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Thai government tackle high egg price problem
[8 July 2010] The government of Thailand has come up with measures to tackle the rising egg price issue. It is urging producers to extend the laying period of the existing 2 million layer hens to 82 weeks from 78 weeks so as to increase market supply by 1.2 million eggs per day. Exporters also have been asked to delay export flow and set aside a central quota of DOC of 50,000 heads per month. The government also has asked traders to temporarily change egg packing from tray to lower-cost packaging like normal plastic bags so as to further reduce the cost of the eggs that has been hovering at THB 3-5/egg.
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Jollibee forecasts higher Q2 sales
[7 July 2010] Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) said its sales will continue to grow in the second quarter, thanks to higher spending boosted by the Philippine national elections. JFC Chairman and CEO Tony Tan Caktiong also said that barring any unforeseen events, the company is expecting its systemwide sales to grow for the entire year. During the first quarter, JFC reported an 8.4% growth in systemwide retail sales, which is a measure of all sales to consumer to PHP 16.3 billion (USD 34.45 million). As part of its PHP 4 billion (USD 86.11 million) capital expenditure program, the company plans to open 200 stores across all its brands in both the domestic and overseas market. Last year, JFC opened 168 stores worldwide, 58 of which are overseas.
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Sri Lanka to import chicken from Brazil
[7 July 2010] The Sri Lankan government plans to import 3000 tonnes of chicken meat from Brazil to address short supply in the doestoc market. Minister of Cooperatives and Internal Trade Johnston Fernando said the government has decided to import the amount of chicken meat from Brazil to curb the shortage of processed chicken, an item that is subject to a price control of LKR 350/kg (USD 3.1). The shortage of processed chicken is a result of farmers abandoning their businesses due to rising feed cost from the government's restriction on corn imports a year ago. The processed chicken price control has made matters worse as the farmers cannot recover the cost of production.
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Technology to fuel growth of Indonesia's livestock sector
[7 July 2010] The organisers of VIV Asia 2011 are luring Indonesian producers to the show in Bangkok, Thailand next March, as the Indonesian livestock industry has shown great determination to reduce its dependence on imported meat through a program designed to achieve its meat self-sufficiency by 2014. According to Teerayuth Leelakajornkit, Senior Project Manager, N.C.C. Exhibition Organizer Co Ltd, technology will be very crucial for the success of Indonesia’s growth as well as other livestock industries in Asia. "VIV Asia 2011 stands to offer world class opportunities for Indonesian buyers and seller to grow their business domestically and internationally,” he added.
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Orissa to boost egg and chicken meat production
[7 July 2010] The Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Department of India's Orissa state is planning to compensate value added tax (VAT) paid on corn and broken rice used as poultry feed as an incentive to boost poultry production in the state. The move is aimed at boosting egg production in the state to achieve 10 million eggs/day by 2010. The scheme would be applicable to layer farmers with 10,000 laying hens or more, broiler farmers with over 4000 birds/month and integrators with 50,000 birds/month capacity. The department said the state has about 600 layer farmers and 30 broiler farmers eligible for the scheme. They will be granted a reimbursement of VAT on corn and broken rice up to 4%.
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Betagro to remove artificial flavours from sausages sold in mass markets
[6 July 2010] Thailand's Betagro Grop will remove artificial flavours from the economical range of its sausage products by 2011 to boost its food safety image, according to Executive Vice President Nopporn Vayuchote. He said although the artificial flavours are food grade and not harmful for consumption, they will be removed so that all sausages from the lowest to premium range contain only natural ingredients. In doing so, the cost of production may increase, but it would be offset by consumers' trust in the safety and quality of its products. Betagro's three sausage plants in Thailand have a combined capacity of 36,000 tonnes. Up to 90% of the production from these plants is of entry-level grade that is sold in wet markets, and to cafeterias and food hawkers.
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Alliance Tuna to acquire Hiep Thanh Seafood in Vietnam
[6 July 2010] Philippine tuna processor Alliance Tuna International plans to acquire Vietnam fish processor Hiep Thanh Seafood in a move to extend its product range into Vietnamese catfish and market it globally through its worldwide sales networks. Alliance Tuna has signed a memorandum of agreement with Hiep Thanh for a 90-day due diligence as it is looking to buy a 51% stake for USD 13.1 million. It said Vietnamese catfish is gaining popularity due to its white flesh and affordable price. The company will use its existing marketing channels and direct access to supermarket chains around the world to distribute the Vietnamese catfish products.
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India needs USD 30 billion to develop its food processing industry
[6 July 2010] With an investment of USD 30 billion, India would completely transform its food processing industry into a modern, organized one that could significantly lift its share of processed foods in the domestic market and boost revenue from processed food exports, according to a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham). A study has predicated that the investment would create a sufficient infrastructure to transform the country's food processing into an organized sector. With the infrastructure in place, the level of food processing in fruit and vegetable sector would increase from 2.2% to 10% by 2015, fisheries sector from 26% to 40%, poultry sector from 6% to 15%, buffalo meat sector from 20% to 40% and milk sector from 35% to 60%. By then, the country's would boost its processed food exports by 70% to USD 25 billion against the processed food imports of USD 13 billion.
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Philippine poultry industry seen to grow in 2010
[6 July 2010] Barring any substantial storm damage, the Philippine poultry industry is seen to grow this year, United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) Vice President Elias Jose Inciong said. He said industry members are pretty confident of the growth, which will only be undermined if adverse weather hits the country and the quality and quantity of available feeds drop. He said despite the government outlook that corn production will continue to fall, imported raw materials will likely be enough to cover any potential shortage. Chicken production, which accounts for some 75% of the poultry industry’s total output, slightly grew in the first quarter of the year, however, corn production dropped significantly.
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PPA wants to buy corn from the government of Pakistan
[5 July 2010] Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) has planned to buy one million tonnes of wheat at an export price from the government's reserve for poultry feed production. The Pakistani government initially planned to export surplus of wheat in its reserve, but the PPA proposed that it should be diverted for use as a substitute to corn, which is a major ingredient in poultry feed and is facing a shortage. By selling the surplus wheat to feedmillers feed and chicken prices can be maintained. Importing corn for making feed would be costly as it is subject to a 25% tariff. Pakistan needs about two million tonnes of corn/year for poultry feed production.
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Food safety top concern among Chinese consumers
[5 July 2010] Food safety is now the top concern of Chinese consumers, with 72% putting it ahead of 10 other issues including social security, medical, marriage and safety, according to a recent survey. The survey, jointly conducted by the Beijing-based Xiaokang Magazine and Tsinghua University in 12 cities in June, said Chinese people's concern over food safety was dramatically increased after the melamine scandal that haunted the country’s milk industry in 2008. While consumers' confidence in food safety still remains low, with 40% confident about the safety of food bought at supermarkets, and only 20% trust Chinese milk powder brands, according to the survey. A new food safety monitoring organization was founded to deal with this problem in February this year, with three Chinese vice premiers as the head.
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More corn and soybean planted
[5 July 2010] The USDA's hal yearly report estimates that U.S. farmers planted 87.872 million acres of corn and a record 78.868 million acres of soybeans in 2010, both 2% higher than last year. Compared to 2009, the largest increases in planted corn acreage were in Illinois and Kansas. Record high soybean acreages are estimated in Kansas, Nebraska, New York, and Pennsylvania and tie with the previous record highs in Minnesota and Oklahoma. Wheat acreage is estimated to be 54.3 million acres, down 8% from 2009. If the acres planted and trend yields are realized, the fall soybean and corn harvest may reach near-record levels, requiring more storage and/or transportation demand than normal.
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Nutreco acquires Tomboy Aqua Feed in Vietnam
[2 July 2010] Nutreco, global animal nutritional product supplier and fish feed manufacturer from the Netherlands, has fully acquired Vietnam's leading aquafeed manufacturer Tomboy Aqua Feed in a move to expand its global market position in feed specialties and fish feed in growth markets. Tomboy has two feed plants in Ho Chi Minh City and Long An province, producing shrimp and fish feeds with sales of USD 22.4 million in 2009. Knut Nesse, Nutreco Executive Vice-President Aquaculture said the acquisition perfectly fits Nutreco's growth strategy to further develop positions in strategic markets with feed for new species such as shrimp. It offers the company an entrance into Vietnam and an interesting platform for future growth.
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Japan favors quality meat
[2 July 2010] The impact of the global financial crisis that affected the restaurant business and overall meat consumption in Japan last year has sparked demand for cheaper meat products, leading more Japanese to cook at home, according to Japan Meat Traders Association. Mr Tatsuo Iwama, the association’s executive director who spoke at a seminar during the Eighth China International Meat Industry Exhibition (CIMIE) pointed out that despite price competitiveness, there has been growing concern over food safety in Japan after the poisoned dumplings case in 2008. He added that market share of cooked chicken imports from China saw a decline from 2005 to 2009, down from 60% to 40%, while Thailand gained from 40% to 60% thanks to the latter’s efforts in developing consumer-oriented products. Commenting on the newly signed food safety pact between China and Japan, he said one of the objectives of the pact is to eliminate Japanese anxiety triggered by the frozen poisoned dumpling incident.
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China's summer grain output declines
[2 July 2010] China's summer grain output has slightly declined, ending six years of consecutive bumper harvest, revealed the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA). The summer grain output stands at 123 million tonnes, slightly down from 123.35 million tonnes in the same period last year, said MOA. China has suffered the most natural disasters this year, hitting a historic level in 60 years, said Li Maosong, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. "Wheat crops [a major product of summer grain] have been affected by persistent cold weather, as well as severe drought and floods that had ravaged wheat-producing areas in east China," Mr Li said, adding that the total grain output this year will also be affected.
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Prantalay launches new seafood product at Thaifex
[2 July 2010] Prantalay Marketing Co Ltd, the manufacturer and distributor of “Prantalay” frozen seafood products, launched its new product “Noodle Bowl” that contains seasoned meat. This new introduction is part of its strategy to increase production for ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products. The introduction of the first menu, noodle with stir-fried baby clams meat and chili paste, was well accepted, with sales totaling around d THB 10 million over a six-month period. The company plans to introduce two more menus and expects to churn around THB 60- million for noodle bowl by 2011. Prantalay targets total sales from all its products such as ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat frozen seafood, sushi and others, at THB 1.3 billion in 2010.
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South Korea snubs ratification of KORUS FTA
[2 July 2010] South Korea has snubbed the Obama administration's efforts to push through the KORUS free trade pact that both countries signed in April 2007. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Johg-hoon said his country will not entertain revisions to the FTA despite the Obama camp's calls for resolutions to concerns over lopsided auto trade and restrictions on U.S. beef exports. The KORUS FTA has yet to be ratified by both countries.
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Govt intervention needed to stabilize DOC price
[1 July 2010] Bangladesh Poultry Farm Protection National Council early this week demanded that the government ensure the sale of layer and broiler chicks at the price set earlier to protect the poultry industry. The organisation claimed that the animal/wildlife resources directorate asked the hatchery owners to sell DOC at BDT 32 (USD 0.45) and broiler at BDT 30 (USD 0.43). The decision was to be made effective from June 15 but the hatchery owners are defying the government order by selling layer and broiler chicks for BDT 65-70 (USD 0.93 - 1.0). Poultry farmers are incurring huge losses, because of this.
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Rise in Australian beef exports to Asia
[1 July 2010] Australian beef exports to Southeast Asia and Greater China increased 13% in May from April to 10,172 tonnes swt. May shipments remained 2% lower compared with May 2009, affected by falls in exports to Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand. Meanwhile, trade to Taiwan, Philippines and Malaysia continued an upward trend. Over the calendar year to May, beef exports to Southeast Asia and Greater China decreased 3% on a year ago, to 44,954 tonnes swt, after being affected by tight supplies earlier this year. Manufacturing beef remained the most popular cut exported to the region during the period, with total shipments staying at 15,325 tonnes swt.
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Indian soybean meal exports to drop 34%
[1 July 2010] Soybean meal exports from India, Asia largest soybean meal exporter, is forecast to drop by 34% to 2.1 million tonnes between October 2009 to September 2010 due to rising seed prices, said Rajesh Agrawal, Coordindatior of the Soybean Processors' Association of India. This has resulted in a 14% decline in soybean meal prices in Chicago and a boost in shipments from Brazil and the US to traditional buyers from India that include Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. Mr Agrawal said soybean meal shipments from India in June 2010 may exceed 60,228 tonnes shipped in the previous month, but it is difficult to achieve 2.5 million tonnes in the year, ending September 2010.
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Thaifex shows growing pace of Asia food industry
[1 July 2010] Thaifex – World of Food Asia 2010 opened in Bangkok this week, with 992 local and overseas exhibitors showing their products and innovations. Over 22,000 trade visitors from around the world are expected to attend the show over five days from June 30 through July 4. This year Thaifex expanded its exhibitor profile to include World of Halal conference, with around 100 halal suppliers and manufacturers present. It also has key discussions on halal market needs and latest halal food regulation in the program.
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Thai PM calls for new egg trade system
[29 June 2010] Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed to tackle the rising price of chicken eggs and create a more balanced pricing system to satisfy both egg producers and consumers.He said he has received many complaints about the rising price of eggs and is trying to solve the issue urgently. The price of eggs is traditionally seen as a prime reflector of a government's efficiency in controlling the price of consumer goods. Mr Abhisit said many factors have caused the price to rise including bird flu, the drought and the ineffective management of the egg trade.Egg production was hit heavily by the bird flu epidemic during the final quarter of last year and a top-down overhaul in the production and trade of eggs is needed, he said. He said a meeting will be held next week to revise the trading system.
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Strong international meat trade contingent at Beijing exhibition
[30 June 2010] A large number of international meat traders and meat producer organizations are exhibiting at the 2010 China International Meat industry Exhibition in Beijing. Groups from Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland and the Netherlands are mounting a strong attempt to increase exports to China reflecting a belief that the country maybe moving away from self sufficiency.
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Vangili Feeds to launch specialty eggs in India
[30 June 2010] Indian egg producer Vangili Feeds is planning to launch specialty eggs enriched with vitamins from DSM Nutritional Products in August to cash in on growing interest in health food in India. Interest in health food is growing among educated people, especially those working in the technology sector. Specialty eggs, which offer health benefits from nutrients like folic acid, fit with well their lifestyle. The specialty eggs will be targeted at children, patients with heart problems and pregnant women. The branded, specialty egg market in India is about 6 million eggs/month, far smaller than the total market of 3.6 billion eggs/month, but its growth is about 20%/year.
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Vietnamese meat processors turn to imported pork
[30 June 2010] Vietnamese meat processors are turning to use imported pork for making traditional products such as Vietnamese sausages as its price is half of locally produced pork. Freshness of pork is essential to the quality of the Vietnamese sausage, but the processors are likely to compromise when frozen pork is only VND 35,000/kg (USD 1.8) or half of warm pork. This has resulted in a surge in pork imports into Vietnam which jumped fivefold during January-May to 47,500 tonnes or 95% of the total meat import in the period, according to the figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
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Ducks die from water contamination
[30 June 2010] Tests on dead ducks found in the fields of several villages in Phitsanulok Province in Thailand have shown that they died from water contamination, allaying fears of a resurgence of the bird flu. According to CPF, this is unlikely to affects its profitability as its sales contribution from ducks is very small. In fact, the company could stand to benefit as increased concern among consumers about eating duck will cause them to switch to eating chicken or pork instead.
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Rising corn price spreads to eggs and meat
[29 June 2010] With maize price hovering at high levels in China's Dalian City, Liaoning Province, meat and egg prices have also grown over 10% in the past two weeks. In the past week, Dalian's live pig price rose over 10% from CNY 13.5-15.0/kg (USD 1.98 - 2.2) to CNY 15.0-16.5/kg (USD 2.2 - 2.42). Last week, the average corn sourcing price in China rose to CNY 1,919.39/tonne (USD 282.3) and ex-warehouse price to CNY 1,918.54/tonne (USD 282.24), both at record highs. Market insiders said the price of corn would be pushed higher in the second half of the year by the recovering livestock industry.
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Obama pushes for better deal with S. Korea
[29 June 2010] The long-standing disagreement with Soth Korea on US beef exports is one of the issues that President Obama has directed the U.S. Trade Representative to resolve with regards to the KORUS bilateral free trade agreement. Described as a 'critical trade deal' it will cut Korea's current tariff to zero from 40% over 15 years. The U.S. beef industry would reap USD 15 million in new tariff benefits in the first year alone with some USD 325 million in tariff reductions per year upon full implementation. At their height, U.S. beef exports to South Korea totaled USD 815 million. Last Friday, China announced it is opening its border to imports of Canadian beef.
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Vietnam to boost pig production by 18% in two years
[28 June 2010] Vietnam plans to increase its pig production by 18% to 32 million heads by 2013 through expansion of pig farming in the northern and central parts of the country, according to Nguyen Thanh Son, Deputy Director General of the Husbandry Department. He said Vietnam needs 3.9 million tonnes/year to meet the demand for pork of by it 90 million population. Currently, the country's pork production is only 1 million tonne/year. To meet the pig production target, Mr Son said the department plans to set up breeding centres in the Red River Delta in the north and central provinces to supply improved breeds and provide technical support for the farmers in these areas.
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Islamabad Feeds plans new feedmill
[28 June 2010] Pakistan's Islamabad Feeds plan to build a new feedmill that is expected to be operational within two years. To be located in Okara district of Punjab province, the plant will have a capacity of 250,000 tonnes/year, the same capacity of its existing feedmill in Islamabad. Dr Munawar Ali, Islamabad Feeds' General Manager - Production, said the new feedmill will supply feeds for its integrated broiler business that is being established.
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Thai court summons DLD to clarify layer PS import quota case
[28 June 2010] Thailand's administrative court has proceeded with a case filed by 113 layer farmers against a committee overseeing policy and development of the egg industry or Egg Board, demanding a limit on layer parent stock imports be revoked. Norasih Trakulchang, a leading member of the farmers, said the court has accepted the case and summoned representatives of the Livestock Development Department (DLD), to defend the allegation. The DLD limited the number of PS imports to 405,721 PS/year and allocated it to eight layer PS importers and one layer farmer cooperative. The move was aimed at stabilizing the egg price by controlling the production in proportion to the domestic demand through limiting the number of PS and hence commercial layers. But instead of fairly distributing layer chicks, some of the importers diverted them to their own commercial layer farms or forced the farmers to buy their feed along with the chicks.
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Canadian beef back on shelves in China
[28 June 2010] China has lifted a ban on imports of Canadian beef, following an agreement by both parties to a staged opening of China's beef market. With this, Canada has become the first country affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy to regain market access iinto China. Imports will begin with Canadian boneless beef derived from animals younger than 30 months of age as well as beef tallow for industrial use. Access to the Chinese market for these products is estimated to be worth USD 110 million, according to the Canadian Beef Export Federation.
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Agribusiness turning into an asset class
[25 June 2010] Globally agribusiness is emerging as an asset class and this is due to declining arable land per capita, increasing per capita incomes in emerging economies and rising demand for biofuels. Speaking at a briefing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday, John Baker Regional Head Asia, Food and Agribusiness Advisory of Rabobank International said despite the rising interest in agricultural commodities, short and long-term market volatility has declined in recent months and this is beginning to exert a greater influence on agricultural commodity prices.He also noted increased investor interest in agricultural land.
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Meat imports into Vietnam soar threefold
[25 June 2010] Meat imports into Vietnam during January to May 2010 soared threefold year-on-year to 50,000 tonnes, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Rising meat imports are worrisome as much of the imports are near expiry and heance cheap. The price of imported chicken meat is VND 20,000/kg (USD 1.05) or about 60% below the domestic price and VND 35,000 (USD 1.85) for imported pork or half of the domestic price. Inspection authorities under the ministry said they have spotted about two containers of meats a month that failed to pass the hygiene inspection.
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China clears first shipment of US corn in 15 years
[25 June 2010] Chinese authorities were prompt in clearing the first shipload of US corn to China in 15 years this week. The vessel, carrying 55,000 metric tonnes (2.2 million bushels) of US No.2 yellow corn, arrived at the Longkou Port in Shandong Province on June 21. Dan Keefe, USGC marketing specialist said discharging operations is expected to be completed by tomorrow, weather permitting.“Samples were being drawn on a regular basis. There were no negative comments or observations made of the corn. The quality was consistent with a No.2 US FGIS grade and the corn was in good condition,” said Mr Keefe. Another vessel of U.S. corn is scheduled to discharge in July 2010.
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Egg prices keep rising in Thailand
[25 June 2010] Egg prices in Thailand have risen and are expected to continue to move up due to ample demand of consumption and hot weather that has ffected egg production. The wholesale price of egg is now THB 3.30 (USD 0.102) and retail price is THB 3.50 (USD 0.108) while production cost is around THB 2.45 (USD 0.076). The Department of Internal Trade has asked egg traders and producers to peg the prices at the recommended level of THB 2.80 (USD 0.086) for farm-gate price, THB 3 (USD 0.093) for wholesale price and THB 3.30 (USD 0.102) for retail price for at least three months to help ease the pressure on consumers. The department will monitor the prices closely and will review price recommendations as the situation changes.
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QL Resources expands in Indonesia and Vietnam
[24 June 2010] QL Resources will spend MYR 75 million (USD 22 million) in the next two years to beef up its poultry-farming business in Indonesia and Vietnam. It ventured into the two markets this year in its efforts to expand in the region. "The two countries have a big population and are very close to Malaysia. Competition is also relatively low there still," said QL Resources Managing Director Chia Song Kun. The company expects to start construction works under its breeder and layer project in Indonesia in August. Under Phase 1, the target is to produce 500,000 eggs a day and one million day-old chicks a month. The layer project in Vietnam has started, with a target of producing 500,000 eggs a day under Phase 1.
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Philippines promotes rice-duck farming
[24 June 2010] The Philippine Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has joined forces with the Department of Agriculture (DA) in promoting rice-duck farming in Agusan Del Sur Province.DAR officials said the system has proven successful in Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. It is effective in eliminating insects and weeds when farmers raise ducks and rice simultaneously. "Given the continuous increase of population coupled with steadily shrinking farm size in the country, we have introduced organic farming systems in agrarian reform communities," said Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser C. Pangandaman. The DAR chief explained that rice production almost always requires the use of agro-chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides often in heavy doses and these are harmful to the environment.
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China makes food safety a priority
[24 June 2010] Abattoirs across China have been directed to make food safety their first mission and supply safe meat. The '2010 China Food Safety Summit' held in Beijing recently reiterated the "Safety Meat" doctrine, making production and supply of safe food the highest and most honorable integrity in food enterprises. Ten cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Shandong have become pilot cities to push forward seven major practices that include regulating abattoirs, lifting food safety and hygiene standard, promoting industry technology, forming a meat quality information and tracking system, and regulating the commercial practices of meat enterprises.
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China to buy more corn
[24 June 2010] The US Grains council expects China, the world's second-largest corn consumer, to buy more than 1 million metric tonnes in the next 18 months. This represents about 40% more than it bought from the US since April. The nation's economic growth has lifted demand for meat and feed grains, said Thomas Dorr, President of the council. China has purchased at least 715,000 tons of corn for delivery by August 31, according to US Department of Agriculture data. China, a net corn exporter until last year, hadn't bought any US corn until April, when the USDA announced its purchase of 115,000 tons, the first since at least January 2009, according to the agency's data.
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Milestone for global halal standards
[23 June 2010] The International Halal Integrity Alliance (IHI) launched four modules of the ICCI-IHI Alliance Halal Standards on Monday. This represents a major milestone in the global effort to harmonise the governing standards of the fragmanted Halal industry. The four modules covering logistics, food services, slaughtering & processing and animal welfare, was unveiled at the World Halal Forum in Kuala Lumpur. The Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has been entrusted to spearhead the global Halal agenda of the Organisation of Islamic Conference's (OIC) 57 member countries.
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New fully automated cold store in HCMC
[23 June 2010] Preferred Freezer Services-Antara Vietnam has opened a cold store with total capacity of 226,500 cubic meters in Ho Chi Minh City which is recognized as the largest of its kind in the Southeast Asia. Its long-term funding is provided by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group and FMO, the entrepreneurial development bank from the Netherlands.It will facilitate Vietnamese seafood and agricultural producers to meet global food safety standards, General Director of Preferred Freezer Services-Antara Vietnam, Winston Barrie said. The 24,400 pallet freezer with the 1,670 square meters + 5 0 degree loading dock is the first fully automated warehouse in Vietnam.
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India expects bigger soybean crop
[23 June 2010] India expects a bigger soybean crop this year as southwest monsoon rains have covered major soybean planting areas, prompting farmers to start sowing. Soybean production in India dropped 13.6% year-on-year to 8.2 million tonnes in 2009 due to severe droughts. The arrival of the monsoon last week coupled with a forecast of healthy rains by the Meteorological Department has signaled a bigger soybean crop in 2010. A trader said this could lead soybean contracts for July to drop from INR 1915/quintal (USD 41.6) last week to INR 1875 (USD 40.5) this week.
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Vietnam buys feed wheat from the UK
[23 June 2010] Vietnam has imported feed wheat from the UK for the first time with the first shipment of 57,000 tonnes due to arrive soon. The importation was made through UK-based Frontier Agriculture Ltd that delivered the shipment of feed wheat from the old crop marketing year ending June, reported Down Jones. The shipment represents the third time this year that UK wheat exporters have sold feed wheat to countries outside the EU. Earlier in the year, UK feed wheat was shipped the Philippines and the US. Depreciation of the British Pound has made prices attractive to buyers outside Europe.
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Meat marketing guru to speak at Ho Chi Minh pig conference
[22 June 2010] Michael O’Keeffe, an international consultant to the meat retail industry is a late inclusion in the program of the Pig Feed Quality Conference being held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 12-13, 2010. His presentation ‘Marketing your product: creating a point of difference and developing a brand’ will look at how the branding of pig meat will become important to maintain the profitability of the pig production enterprise. Click here to access a detailed program on the conference web site.
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Industry stakeholders told to elevate Halal as a premium brand
[22 June 2010] Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia has called on industry stakeholders to build Halal into a premium brand recognized throughout the world as a symbol of quality and excellence. "In the halal sector, the critical component of integrity is traditionally carried out by Islamic bodies. As uch, it is imperative that best practices are incorporated by these bodies in order to better position them to protect the ntegrity of the halal market." He said this at the opening of the Halal Week in Kuala Lumpur yesterday during which trade in this sector is expected to exceed MYR 3.8 billon (USD 1.1 billion).
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Islamabad Farms to open two new PS farms
[22 June 2010] Islamabad Farms will open two new broiler PS farms with 150,000 breeders in the next few months to serve the growing demand for broiler DOC in Pakistan. General Manager Dr Munawar Ali said the first farm with 50,000 PS will be operational in August and the second farm with 100,000 PS will be operational in October. He said demand for DOC is growing rapidly as the country's broiler industry is recovering from the crisis caused by the bird flu outbreaks and plunging broiler meat consumption two years ago. The recovery is being seen in rising prices of DOC that have gone up to PKR 35-50/DOC (USD 0.4-0.58) since March 2009. Prior to this, the prices fell to only PKR 5-10/DOC (USD 0.058-0.177).
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Rising demand for branded chicken meat in Vietnam
[22 June 2010] Demand for branded, local chicken meat is growing in Vietnam as consumers are turning away from imported products that authorities tainted and not fit for consumption recently. Maximart, a supermarket chain in Ho Chi Minh City, said sales of branded, locally produced chicken meat at its stores in the city soared 50% to 120kg/day in June from the previous month. The branded products include CP, Phu An Sinh and Binh Minh. It said demand for chicken meat under these brands is increasing, especially for chicken wings. The price of branded chicken wings at the stores jumped 23% in June to VND 84,000 (USD 4.4) from the month earlier.
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German equipment exports to Thailand grow 40%
[21 June 2010] Exports of food processing equipment from Germany to Thailand grew 40% in 2009 to EUR 70 million (USD 86.25 million), said Andres Hager, Managing Director of German's food processing equipment manufacturer Magurit Gefrierschneider GmbH. Speaking at ProPak Asia 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand, Mr Hager said the growth would continue to increase in 2010 as Thailand's food processing industry is gearing up towards high technology in order to achieve higher quality products.
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CPF share price rise on profitable performance
[21 June 2010] Share price of Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc rose to a record high since its listing in 1984. The company posted a record profit of THB 3.22 billion (USD 98.8 million) in the first quarter, up 318% over the same period last year. Operating results in the second quarter are expected to continue as exports continue to be robust and chicken and pig prices remain at high levels, while raw material cost stays steady as the company still holds an adequate stock, analysts say. CPF shares closed at THB 19.80 (USD 0.61) last Thursday, with a target price of THB 20.50 (USD 0.63).
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Thai sausage market recovers
[21 June 2010] The sausage market in Thailand is recovering after plunging 15-20% during the country's political turmoil in May and early June as tourists were fled the country, said Dr Nopporn Vayuchote, Executive Vice President of Betagro Group. He said the recovery is due in part to the demand from schools and educational institutes that have begun the first semester of the year. However, demand for sausages in Thailand in particular the higher quality ones are from hotels and restaurants across the country. Betagro has three sausage plants in Thailand that produce 36,000 tonnes/year. The company is the country's biggest sausage exporter, exporting 3000 tonne/year mainly to Japan. Its export volume accounts for about 30% of total sausage exports from Thailand.
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China wins WTO appeal on US poultry ban
[18 June 2010] China has notched a victory in the dispute against the United States over the latter's ban on poultry imports, according to an interim report by the World Trade Organization (WTO). "We think the US will not try to impose a similar ban in the next fiscal year, since it would be regarded as open defiance of the latest WTO ruling," said an official of the Ministry of Commerce. The WTO interim ruling said the US import ban on China's poultry violates Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, or the SPS Agreement - which spells out how governments can apply food safety and animal and plant health measures - as well as most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment and general elimination of quantitative restrictions under the WTO legal framework. The US can appeal against the decision, but the report will be considered the panel's final verdict if the US loses the appeal.
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Burger King to invest USD 12m for five year expansion
[18 June 2010] PERF Restaurant Inc, the Philippine master franchisee for fastfood chain Burger King Corp, plans to spend up to PHP 600 million (USD 12.98 million) to put up more outlets over the next five years. Company executive Wilson Young said that this would mean almost doubling the current 26 stores to 50. He said the new outlets will be stand-alone, which can be operated for 24 hours, unlike the mall-based stores which “are limited to a nine-to-nine operation.” Each new store will cost about PHP 25 million (USD 0.54 million) to put up. There are currently 10 stand-alone Burger King outlets in the Philippines, the remainder are based in malls and other commercial establishments.
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Propak Asia 1020 marks the region growth
[18 June 2010] Propak Asia 2010 currently underway in Bangkok, Thailand has seen a 14% increase in registration over last year. The large array of meat processing technology suppliers here have put on display innovations and equipment that measure up to capacities that suit small and medium operations. On the first day of the show, executives from Thailand’s leading sausage producers namely Charoen Pokphand Foods, Betagro, Saha Farm and Health Food gathered to celebrate their achievement in the International Quality Competition of the German Butchers’ Association held recently at IFFAin Germany. HE Hanns Heinrich Shumacher, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Thailand presented to the award to them.
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Pakistan meat production up 4%
[18 June 2010] Meat production in Pakistan that includes beef, mutton and poultry grew 4% to 2.95 million tonnes in the last fiscal year, ending June 30, 2010, official statistics have showed. The growth in mutton production was 2.2%, beef 3.4% and poultry meat 8.6%. Pakistan also experienced an impressive growth in meat and live animal exports valued at USD 60.2 million and USD 14 million in the fiscal respectively. The growth was attributed to better veterinary services and improved husbandry practices, especially among small scale farmers who are the major meat producers in the country.
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Marfrig's acquisition of Keystone signals expansion in Asia
[17 June 2010] Brazilian processed food company Marfrig Alimentos S.A. is set to acquire Keystone Foods for USD 1.26 billion, and through this, expand its presence in Asia, particularly in China, to serve growing demand for the likes of McDonald's. More than 20% of Marfrig's total exports already go to Asia. "Keystone brings to Marfrig attractive synergies in the integration of the value chain in Asia, mainly in China, as well as in Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand," said Marfrig Director of Investor Relations Ricardo Florence .
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ProPak Asia to generate USD 420 million in trade
[17 June 2010] ProPak Asia 2010, a regional event for packaging and food processing industries, began yesterday in Bangkok, Thailand with optimism that trade between local and international visitors, and exhibitors during the four -day show could reach USD 120 million and higher to USD 300 after the event. Organised by Bangkok Exhibition Services, the event, which is held annually at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Bitec), attracted more than 900 exhibitors. Over 30,000 visitors from 63 countries are expected to attend.This year's event is held under the theme, "Go Clean, Go Green," to focus on innovations in clean and environmentally friendly technology.
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SMC takes over grains terminal
[17 June 2010] San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is taking over the operations of the Mariveles Grain Terminal, the most modern grain handling facility in the Philippines, after it acquired Mariveles Grain Corporation (MGC) from Asian Terminals Inc (ATI). MGC holds a permit to operate the Mariveles Grain Terminal until February 2033. It offers unloading, conveying, storage, outloading, weighing, bagging and sampling services and handles bulk cargo of commodities like wheat, soybean meal, corn and soybeans. The terminal can accommodate vessels of up to 70,000 deadweight tonnes, discharge cargo of up to 10,000 tonnes daily and store 180,000 tonnes of soybean meal and grain. SMC has been keen on acquiring MGC as this would help the company become a distribution and logistics powerhouse, as well as help SMC to expand the 500,000 tonnes annual capacity of its feed mill located near the grains terminal.
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Proconco helps Vietnamese catfish farmers to implement GAP
[17 June 2010] Vietnam's feed manufacturer Proconco has teamed up with an importer from the US to help Vietnamese catfish farmers to comply with GAP or good agricultural practices. The move is helping farmers boost exports through establised food safety standards. Proconco will provide feed and technical support to the participating farmers, while Mazetta Group, a US importer and distributor, will buy the fish produced under the project on contract that is expected to reach 600 tonnes this year and increase to 1000 tonnes in the following year.
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Philippines lift ban on poultry imports from Turkey
[17 June 2010] The Philippine Department of Agriculture has lifted the ban on poultry products from Turkey following the confirmation by the Office Internationale des Epizooties that the latter is now free of the H5N1 avian influenza (AI) virus. Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla issued an order saying that “based on the evaluation of the Bureau of Animal industry, the risk of contamination from importing poultry and poultry products from Turkey is negligible.” the order read. Turkey reported its first outbreak of H5N1 AI in October 2006, and the OIE reports that the “stamping out, including disinfection of all affected establishments, was completed on March 22, 2008." Although Turkey is not a traditional source of imported poultry for the Philippines, the Philippine government can now start processing import permits for the importation of wild birds and poultry products from Turkey.
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London Biscuits' offer in TPC lapses
[16 June 2010] The conditional mandatory takeover offer by London Biscuits Berhad of Malaysian egg producer TPC Plus Berhad, has lapsed after the former failed to secure over 50% of TPC's shares upon the close of the offer period. London Biscuits had only secured an additional 13.88% of valid acceptances to its 33.11% stake after the second closing date on June 10. London Biscuits had conditionally offered to acquire the remaining shares of 50 sen each in TPC Plus for 30 sen per share, it said.
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Japan’s biggest pork, beef city hit by FMD
[16 June 2010] Culling is underay in the city of Miyakonojo in Japan's Miyazaki prefecture to stem the outbreak of food-and-mouth disease. The city is the country's largest production center for beef and pork. In 2007 it was home to 376,100 pigs and 67,000 beef cattle and produced around USD 247 million worth of pork and roughly USD 166 million worth of beef cattle in 2006. Authorities fear the disease could spread to nearby Kagoshima prefecture, which accounts for 14% of Japan's total hogs and 13% of its beef cattle herd as of February 2009.
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Philippines close to total FMD-free status
[16 June 2010] The Philippines is nearer to its certification as an FMD-free country after the Office Internationale des Epizooties (OIE) issued in May a certification recognising two of the three zones in Luzon as FMD-free without vaccination. Only Zone 2, comprising the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon and Pangasinan, as well as the Metro Manila area, are still awaiting their certification, but the DA can apply for certification for this zone as early as August this year. In a statement, Agriculture Secretary said that OIE’s recognition of the FMD-free zones in Luzon is a welcome development and that the local hog industry is likely to expand now that export opportunities are likely to be opened for the country.
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Philippines bans poultry imports from Netherlands
[16 June 2010] The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) has issued a temporary ban on poultry and wild bird imports from Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands after the confirmation of an outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) in free-ranger layer hens in the province. Although the Netherlands is not a traditional source of poultry products for the Philippines, the DA has ordered veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors to halt and confiscate all shipments of poultry and poultry products into the country originating from the Netherlands. The Philippines remain the only major poultry producing country is Southeast Asia to be free of the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza and is working hard to keep the virus out of the country.
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Nineteen presentations focus on profitability in the pig enterprise
[15 June 2010] Program Director Ian Partridge has put together an extraordinary group of 15 speakers for the Pig Feed Quality Conference being held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 12-13, 2010. Presentations include ‘Feeding growers for performance and carcass quality’, ‘The use of cassava meal in pig diets’, ‘Formulating low protein swine diets based on net energy’, ‘Optimal use of Paylean and Improvac’, and ‘Global raw material supply’. Click here to access a detailed program on the conference web site.
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China’s traditional meat producer opens fastfood restaurant
[15 June 2010] Tianfuhao Food Co Ltd, a Beijing-based producer of Chinese traditional cooked meats such as braised and stir-fried meats, has recently opened its first Chinese-style fastfood restaurant in downtown Beijing. Sauced pork rice and braised pork rice areg the flagship set meals alongside others like sauced duck rice and chicken rice. They are priced between CHY 10-30. Tianfuhao said the restaurant targets local residents and white-collar workers. Tianfuhao, one of China’s time-honored brands in cooked meat production. It achieved a sales revenue of CNY350 million in 2008. The company currently operates more than 400 outlets in the retail sector in the capital.
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Vitarich seeks way to pay for debts
[15 June 2010] Philippine feed manufacturer and poultry producer Vitarich Corporation is considering three options to raise funds to pay its PHP 3.2 billion (USD 68.5 million) debt. These options are the sale of non-core assets, debt-to-equity conversion or an increase in the company’s authorised capital stock. Under the debt-to-equity conversion plan, Vitarich will issue some 90 million worth of shares to creditors that might be interested in the scheme. These proposals have been approved by the company’s board, and will be presented for approval at its stock holders meeting later in June. Creditors have also not yet approved the plan. Lower sales have pulled down Vitarich’s total revenues by 30% during the first three months this year to only PHP 502.3 million (USD 10.75 million).
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New aqua feedmill to be built in eastern Visayas
[15 June 2010] The first aqua feedmill in the Philippines' eastern region of Visayas will be built by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar), to boost mariculture there. The plant will have a capacity of 3 tonnes/hour and be equipped with milling technology from Denmark, said Bfar's Regional Director Juan D. Albaladejo. He said the plant's construction will start in early 2010 and when completed it will supply aqua feed for the region that has over 500 fish cages worth over PHP 200 million (USD 4.3 million). Mr Albaladejo said the plant, which is the first aqua feedmill in the region, will use root crops and by-catch fish that are abundant locally as raw materials.
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Review of Pakistan's wheat exports urged
[15 June 2010] Pakistan should drop its plan to export two million tonnes of wheat and keep it in reserve for use in difficult times, said Abdul Basit, former Chairman of the Poultry Association. He said export could induce a huge loss to the government as logistics cost would be much higher than the export price. Therefore, the government should build modern silos for long-term wheat or other grain storage. Mr Basit said it would be more beneficial to supply this wheat to poultry feed producers at export price as it will eventually end up as chicken meat, which is the cheapest animal protein.
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Vietnam's imports of US grains and DDGS up 600%
[14 June 2010] Vietnam's imports of feed grains including DDGS (Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles) from the US surged 575% to USD 121.7 million year-on-year during January to March 2010, making these the largest import items from the US in the period, according to Vietnam trade office in the US. The feed grain import will continue to rise sharply in the latter part of the year due to growing demand and insufficient supplies of locally produced corn. In the first quarter of 2010, Vietnam spent USD 613 million or an increase of 133.2% year-on-year on feed raw material imports.
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Thai DOC, chicken prices remain high on demand
[14 June 2010] Prices of DOC and chicken in Thailand remain high on continued demand while supply is limited. The DOC price quoted by Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc was THB 20.50 (USD 0.63) per head in the last week of May, compared with around THB 18.50 (USD 0.57) earlier in the month. Average nationwide farm-gate chicken price was THB 41.89 (USD 1.28) in the last week of May, up from around THB 40.50 (USD 1.24) in the beginning of the month. Wholesale price of chicken in markets in Bangkok averaged at THB 47.50 (USD 1.46), in the last week of May, higher than THB 36.50 (USD 1.12) in the first week of the month.The prices are believed to be highest in more than 30 years. Industry participants said the price hike was due to demand as farmers see chicken prices are at an attractive level but parent stock is limited while the disease situation in some cases has also contributed to the decline in chick production.
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Indian oil meal exports recover
[14 June 2010] Indian oil meal exports are showing signs of recovery. Shipments in April dropped slightly by 3% compared with nearly 50% in November. The Solvent Extractors Association said India shipped 173,000 tonnes of oil meals in May 2010 or a 2.8% drop from the same period last year. In November 2009, exports plunged 49% year-on-year to 347,000 tonnes. Recovery is also seen in increasing shipments of rice bran extraction and castor meal. Rice bran exports grew 22% in May to 14,300 tonnes from April and castor meal exports grew 53% to 22,642 tonnes.
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Philippine cassava output likely to rise in 2010
[14 June 2010] Cassava production in the Philippines increased 7% in the first quarter of 2010, leading the Department of Agriculture (DA) to project higher cassava production for the year. Data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) showed that cassava production reached 434,320 tonnes from January-March from 405,930 tonnes in the same period last year, thanks to additional areas that were planted to the crop in Central Mindanao, and the provinces of Bohol, Negros Oriental, Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental. Cassava is one of the alternative ingredients for animal feed, but in the Philippines is used primarily for flour, cassava chips for snacks. It is also used for biofuels. Candido Damo, Cassava Project Leader of the DA’s Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Corn Program said demand for cassava this year is expected to reach 5 million tonnes, and will likely double to 10 million tonnes in 2014.
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Zhongpin to construct new facility in Jiangyan
[14 June 2010] Zhongpin Inc has announced that it will start construction of a new plant and a distribution centre this August. It will produce chilled, frozen and prepared pork products and broaden its cold-chain logistics business in Jiangyan, eastern China’s Jiangsu province. Costing USD 63 million, the plant, Taizhou Zhongpin Food Co Ltd, will have an annual capacity of 130,000 tonnes, with chilled pork, including easy-to-cook pork accounting for 80,000 tonnes, frozen pork 20,000 tonnes and prepared pork 30,000 tonnes. Xianfu Zhu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zhongpin, said that the move will be Zhongpin's first production and logistics entry into the eastern China market, where the company expects to create additional returns on investment for its shareholders.
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Pig Feed Quality Conference early bird and team discounts close June 18
[11 June 2010] Early bird and team discounts for the Pig Feed Quality Conference being held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 12-13, 2010 will close on by June 18. An extraordinary group of 15 speakers, most of whom are involved on a daily basis in the pig industry and most with intimate experience in Asia, will present 19 papers as comprehensive as: Feeding growers for performance and carcass quality - Tony Edwards; The use of cassava meal in pig diets - Prof Uthai Kantho; Formulating low protein swine diets based on net energy - Sheila Ramos; Optimal use of Paylean and Improvac - David Henman; and Global raw material supply - Nantawat Suthiwanich. Click here to reach the conference web site and the conference brochure.
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Chicken consumption to double in India
[11 June 2010] Industry players in India have predicted that chicken consumption in the country will double in the next 4-5 years. They say that the eating-out phenomenon, with more quick service restaurant chains opening up, is changing the consumption profile of Indians. The current chicken consumption is under 3 kg per head a year. To cope with the doubling of demand by 2014-15, the industry will need to expand at a rate of 12-15% annually, requiring an investment of INR 300 (USD 6.38) per commercial broiler and INR 450-500 (USD 9.57-10.63) per commercial layer, not including the land cost, says Venkateshwara Hatcheries' Deputy general manager PG Pedgaonkar.
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Japan and China sign food safety pact
[11 June 2010] Japan and China have endorsed a bilateral pact to improve food safety standards and restore confidence. Under the agreement signed earlier this week, authorities from both states are allowed to inspect one another’s processing facilities should concerns be raised over the safety of food imports. The pact follows the dumplings scandal more than two years ago when 10 Japanese fell ill after eating pesiticide-tainted gyoza dumplings imported from China. The countries have pledged to hold annual meetings and will form an action plan on food safety to resolve issues quickly and effectively.
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Pakistan and Vietnam tighten trade collaboration
[11 June 2010] Pakistan and Vietnam have agreed to set up a joint working group on agriculture, livestock and fisheries to work out an action plan for cooperation in the three areas. The agreement was made last week during a joint ministerial commission in Islamabad. The commission is also considering a free trade agreement which could lead to an FTA with Asean.
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Drought dampens hen egg production in Thailand
[11 June 2010] The drought in many areas in Thailand that has raised temperatures to 43-44 degree Celsius in some cases (the appropriate temperature for layer hens is around 20-30 degree Celsius), has stressed layer hens. The birds are eating less and laying fewer eggs compared to during normal conditions, said Mongkol Pipatsattayanuwong, President of the Association of Hen-Egg Farmers, Traders and Exporters. “Laying percentage has dropped significantly to 25-26 million eggs per day (in early June) from around 28-30 million eggs/day over the last two months,” Mr Mongkol said. Moreover, the eggs are smaller. The drought situation has also led to a lack of water supply and poor water quality, prompting layer farmers to secure water from outside sources. This has raised production cost to THB2.50 (USD 0.077) per egg from around THB2.20/egg (USD 0.067).
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Philippine cassava output likely to rise in 2010
[11 June 2010] Cassava production in the Philippines increased 7% during the first quarter of 2010, leading the Department of Agriculture (DA) to project higher cassava production for the year. Data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) showed that cassava production reached 434,320 tonnes from January-March from 405,930 tonnes in the same period last year, thanks to additional areas that were planted to the crop in Central Mindanao, and the provinces of Bohol, Negros Oriental, Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental. Cassava is one of the alternative ingredients for animal feed, but in the Philippines is used primarily for flour, cassava chips for snacks. It is also used for biofuel. In a report by BusinessWorld, Candido Damo, Cassava Project Leader of the DA’s Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Corn Program said demand for cassava this year is expected to reach five million tonnes, and will likely double to 10 million tonnes in 2014.
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Betagro Group to expand in south Thailand
[9 June 2010] The Betagro Group will expand its broiler business in the south of Thailand to tap into growing demand in this region. A chicken processing plant is set to be established in Puttalung province to facilitate this, said Narongchai Srisantisaeng, Senior Vice President, Regional and Feed Business.The Group has mapped out an aggressive expansion plan to span over the next few years that includes a chicken processing plant in Pattalung Province, where the Group currently has a pig slaughter house, a feed mill, a pig breeding farm and a layer egg farm, said Mr Naraongchai.
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Canada and India sign food processing agreement
[9 June 2010] The Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT) and the University of Saskatchewan, Canada signed an MOU early this week to develop research technologies and cut wastage in the Indian food processing sector.India's Minister of food processing industries, Subodh Kant Sahai said the move would create high quality and competent manpower for the growth of the food processing sector in India. Mr Sahai also said the pact would support his goal to increase “processing levels in the country from the current 10% to 20% by 2015 and reduce the annual wastage of around INR 500 billion (USD 10.6 billion).
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Sri Lanka to import chicken meat
[9 June 2010] The Sri Lankan government plans to import 3500 tonnes of chicken meat to ease the shortage and rising prices in the country. The import is likely to be sought from the UK, the US, Australia and Brazil, which are free from the bird flu. There is a shortfall in chicken meat in Sri Lanka as the government's ban on corn imports has caused farmers to withdraw from business due to rising feed costs. This has sent the price of processed chicken up to LKR 600/kg (USD 5.2).
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India wants China to import bovine meat
[9 June 2010] The Indian government has asked China to open up its markets for its bovine meat, basmati rice, and seven varieties of fruits and vegetables to deliver on its promise to help the country reduce the heavy trade imbalance. Visiting minister of state for agriculture KV Thomas urged his counterpart Niu Dun to open up Chinese markets for more agro products from India. "China requires bovine meat in large quantities and WHO has already cleared India of problems relating to foot and mouth disease," said Mr Thomas.
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India's VH Group builds feedmill in Vietnam
[8 June 2010] Venky's (Vietnam) Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of India's largest poultry conglomerate Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group (VH Group) has started building a poultry feedmill in Vietnam as a stepping stone to expand into the Southeast Asian region. Located in Bourbon An Hoa Industrial Park in the southern province of Tay Ninh, the plant is scheduled to be built completely by the end of 2010. Once operational it will produce 4500 tonne/month of poultry feeds supplying the poultry farms, mainly in south Vietnam. Venky's (Vietnam) also plans to build a poultry diagnostic laboratory equipped with latest testing facilities to provide free diagnostic and technical services to Vietnamese poultry farmers.
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Korea's Rainbow Feed and Cargill join forces in purchase and logistics
[8 June 2010] Korea's Rainbow Feed and Cargill Agri Purina Inc, a subsidiary in South Korea of US-based global agri-food firm Cargill Inc, has signed an MOU to buy raw materials together and share logistics facilities. Oh Seung Hoon, Swine Production Manager of Rainbow Feed said the collaboration will help Rainbow Feed improve raw material purchase and handling as well as save through bulk purchases. He said Cargill will also transfer its knowhow and technology in grain management to Rainbow Feed.
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High price as egg production drops
[8 June 2010] A drop in production in the poultry belt in and around Namakkal, India has caused the price of eggs to reach an unprecedented high of INR 3/piece (USD 0.06) in the city. A poultry association spokesperson in Namakkal said the tend is expected to continue for some time. Last week eggs retailed at INR 2.70 (USD 0.057) each while in the wholesale market, a hundred were priced at INR 260 (USD 5.52).
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Taiwan to ensure proper labeling of US beef
[8 June 2010] Taiwan's Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang has confirmed that the country will send officials to conduct on-site inspections of U.S. meat packers that export beef to Taiwan. They will inspect five to 10 slaughterhouses or packing facilities in August or September to ensure that U.S. beef exports are adequately labeled in compliance with Taiwanese regulations. Minister Yaung said the examination procedures and customs clearance will be faster after the labeling problems are addressed. Taiwan took another step foward in April in reopening its market to U.S. beef by allowing imports of selected categories of U.S. beef offal.
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Hong Kong shelves central slaughtering plan
[7 June 2010] Authorities in Hong Kong have decided to shelve plans for central slaughtering of poultry mooted about 13 years ago. It was initially seen as an essential measure to protect the public from potentially fatal bird flu, but a consultant engaged to study central slaughtering, which was to have replaced the live chicken trade, concluded it was not viable. Secretary for Food and Health Dr York Chow Yat-ngok said the current low risk of bird flu in the city meant central slaughtering was no longer needed, at least for now. The priority was to maintain public health while allowing those who could afford live chickens to buy what they wanted, Chow said. Central slaughtering was first discussed after six people died of bird flu in 1997.
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Vietnam to boost domestic pork consumption
[7 June 2010] Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has insructed authorities in cities and provinces across Vietnam to facilitate the transport and consumption of domestically-produced pork.This is to boost sales of pork that has been stagnant in recent month as consumers stopped buying local pork because of the spread of porcine blue-ear disease. The disease reduced pork consumption in Hanoi by between 30% and 40%, and pig and pork prices by 15%, Nguyen Thanh Son, deputy head of MARD said.
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Higher corn output likely to ease Chinese price hike
[7 June 2010] China produced 163.97 million tonnes of corn in 2009, down 1.17%, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics cited by the China National Grain and Oils Information Center (CNGOIC). The figure was in line with CNGOIC's own estimate but higher than the expectation by some independent institutions due to drought. Many traders have ignored the CNGOIC estimate saying it may have been encouraged by overly-optimistic forecasts from local government officials. Expectations of a scant supply coupled with a recovery of demand from feed and corn processing industries, have pushed up China’s corn prices in some areas to a record level and prompted large imports from the US. Prof Cheng Guoqiang, a researcher with the State Council's Development Research Center pointed out that the price rise was partly due to the country’s reserves and poor logistics for transporting corn from the major growing areas in the northeast.
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