The Chinese milk industry is still struggling to recover from the effect of the melamine crisis that rocked the industry in September 2008, says the latest report from USDA’s Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN).
Chinese authorities have closed a Shanghai dairy involved in the 2008 melamine scandal and arrested three of its executives after finding more milk powder tainted with the toxic chemical.
The different language, culture and regulatory set-up may make running an ingredients company in China a daunting proposition for Western executives. But Yossi Gohary, general manager of Solbar Ningbo, says it’s all about cultural compromise.
This week, Fonterra announces support for a Chinese charity to protect infants and mothers in rural areas and Friesland says it will not budge on its provisional 2007 milk price.
As the contamination of Chinese milk sends ripples through the global food industry, Eversheds lawyers Richard Matthews and Elizabeth Hyde lay out the due diligence procedures that food companies must go through when sourcing from outside the EU.
The melamine milk crisis throws up some serious questions that foreign food firms must ask before they hop aboard a joint venture to take them into China. What food safety features is it fitted with? And are they robust enough to be life-savers if disaster...
The vast offer of aid to China following its devastating earthquake in May reflects the food industry’s increasing move towards displaying strategic corporate responsibility.
China will remove the import duty on Indonesian cocoa from 1
January next year, a move likely to increase demand for the beans
from the world's third biggest producer.
China is preparing to launch a new national standard on raw milk to
prevent dairy products containing antibiotic residues from reaching
the marketplace.
Swiss liquid packaging group SIG has sold 14 new filling lines in
one go to leading Chinese dairy Yili, reflecting the speed and
scale of growth in the country's dairy sector.
Fonterra, the world's biggest exporter of dairy products, said
today that it has gained approval from the Chinese government for
its purchase of a 43 per cent stake in dairy company San Lu.
China is luring more and more of the world's dairy firms through a
strong growth in domestic demand, says a new report, indicating
European companies have some ground to catch up.
Kraft Foods, the US snack and dairy firm, has agreed to remove all
genetically modified ingredients from its products in China, in a
sign anti-GM attitudes are on the increase.
The French group launched its first dairy research centre in Asia
at the same time as raising its stake in China's Bright Dairy &
Food Co to 11.55 per cent.
Arla Foods' factory re-jig paid off this week as the group signed a
joint-venture deal with China's leading dairy firm to get its added
value milk powder products into one of the world's fastest emerging
dairy markets.
China is on its way to becoming the largest exporter of tomato
paste in the world as Xinjiang Production and Construction
Corporation (XPCC) increases its production capacity for tomato
paste to 500 million tons a year, writes Hridyesh...
As Chinese producers move in on western markets, the first response
by many established players is to protect and defend their previous
market positions. It's a doomed strategy.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) has completed its
first food trade mission to China, meeting with buyers, importers
and distributors to assess the possibility of future trade
opportunities.
Pressure on soy prices likely to continue with a new report
revealing China is expected to reduce its principal soybean
planting area, while increasing corn and rice planting in 2005.
French dairy giant Danone has received approval from the Chinese
authorities to more than double its existing stake in China's
biggest dairy company, Tom Armitage reports.
China has reportedly poured nearly US$50 million into research and
development (R&D) for its domestic dairy sector over the past
three years in an attempt to tackle some of the obstacles holding
back one of the world's most...
Increasing affluence and changes in diet in China to open up new
opportunites for European yeast extract suppliers, but the threat
from Chinese suppliers has kicked off, writes Lindsey
Partos.
Number one natural colours firm Chr Hansen makes inroads into the
lucrative Chinese market, this week unveiling a new food colour
factory to meet a rise in local demand, and marking the first step
in a raft of investments in the region.
Number six global flavours player Takasago International has
established a new division in Shanghai aimed at expanding its
manufacturing and retail presence in China as well cutting costs.
As food ingredients suppliers take a stake in the burgeoning
Chinese market new figures released by the United Nations confirm
foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Asia and the Pacific
rose by a massive 55 per cent in 2004 on...
China has been the dominant supplier of many herbs, spices and
ingredients to the Russian market for the last 10 years, but a
reduction in Chinese crop areas to make way for more profitable
products has given local growers from the...
Rexam, the UK-based global packaging company, has reached an
agreement to acquire the 40 per cent shareholding it does not own
in the Chinese beverage can business, Rexam Beverage Can Zhao Qing,
from its joint venture partner, Hua...
American Dairy, one of the leading producers and distributors of
milk powder and soybean products, has said that it is well poised
to expand into China's emerging dairy industry, claiming that it
has succeeded where many of the...
Chr Hansen breaks into the lucrative Chinese market constructing
its first production facilities to provide more flexibility to
serve the burgeoning local food industry, reports Lindsey
Partos.
China has become the second largest importer of packaging machinery
in the world, a topic that will be highlighted this week at
Interfood Shanghai 2004.
China's soft drink industry continues to boom, with market analysts
Canadean estimating that continued growth now means annual
production is in excess of 20 billion litres. And with retail
prices continuing to fall and expendable...
China Resources Breweries Limited, an associate of South
African-based SABMiller and a subsidiary of China Resources
Enterprise, is set to invest $82.2 million (€68m) in the
construction of a new brewery in the city of Dongguan, in...
Over the course of the last few months the China beer market has
witnessed frenzied activity as international brewery companies race
to increase their footprint in what is now the world's second
largest market by volume. But...
Penn Biotech, a Canadian firm specialising in agro biotechnology,
says that it's Chinese subsidiary has received a request from one
of the world's largest potato processors to initially supply over
1.3 million pounds of...
Flavour firms operating on the global scene will turn their sights
to Asia to up returns as evidence suggests new flavours are
emerging in China in the brand war between foreign and domestic
food makers.
Competition for European suppliers of honey has ramped up with
Brussels clearing the way to end a two year ban on food imports
from China which should pave the way for cheaper raw materials for
honey formulations.
Despite claims by Brazilian authorities that exports of soybean are
about to be resumed to China, officials from China's State Grain
Administration have categorically said that trade is not about to
start again at any time in...
US food giant General Mills is to increase wholesale prices on
several categories of foods in response to rising raw materials
costs. The increase is thought to be between two to nine per cent
on selected lines.
As grain stocks are depleted across the world, China's food
producers have found sourcing the commodity an increasingly
expensive and time consuming issue, writes Simon Pitman.
However, a report from independent intelligence...
New Zealand dairy giant Fonterrra has outlined ambitions to tap in
on anticipated growth in demand for dairy imports to China.
Speaking at a conference in Auckland today CEO Andrew Ferrier said
that the country represented 'considerable...
China has reassured Argentine soy producers that it will continue
to buy its soy, after the producers started to show signs of
nervousness in reaction to trade agreements signed last week with
the Brazilian government and Brazilian...
