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Tuna export revenue increases 21 per cent in Vietnam

Tuna export turnover in Vietnam has risen 21 per cent year-on-year to hit US$271mn in the first half of 2017, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP)

According to VASEP, the tuna fillet earned most of the revenue, accounting for more than 48 per cent of total tuna exports. This was followed by canned tuna export, which was around 30 per cent, and other processed tuna of around 15 per cent.

Vietnam exports tuna to 97 countries. The US, the EU, Israel, ASEAN, Japan, Canada, China and Mexico are the major export markets for tuna, accounting for almost 88 per cent of total tuna export value in the first six months.

With the shipments of tuna having been raised to 125 per cent to Mexico, the country surpasses Canada and China to become Vietnam’s sixth largest tuna importer, said VASEP.

However, in spite of the growing export market, tuna exports are facing difficulties in terms of raw materials and import duties in some of the key markets. The VASEP has proposed to government to develop and promote purse seine fishing.

The association suggested that Vietnam should make an agreement with the EU to finalise a quota for tuna exports to the market. It further proposed to eliminate tariffs on tuna exports to Japan, as Thailand and the Philippines have already done, in order to improve the relevance of Vietnamese products in the international markets.

In February 2017, VASEP said that Vietnam is expecting to earn US$524mn from tuna export in 2017, a rise of eight per cent compared with 2016.

Source: Far Eastern Agriculture. Date: 2017-08-21

 


Beef plants suspended from China play the waiting game

Audits on the six Australian beef processing plants dealing with China's recent suspension over labelling issues are now complete. 

Exporters are “waiting patiently” for news on whether Chinese officials have been appeased.

It appears the concerns stem from minor operational matters easily fixed but analysts say the real issue is how long it takes to convince those on the China side that there is no risk and business as usual should be resumed.

Notwithstanding the $100 million potential cost Australia’s trade minister has put on the fall-out of the suspension, analysts point out it is just one event on a very complex current global beef trade scene.

To put it in context, Australia exports 10 per cent of its beef to China and has 31 plants accredited to supply China.

Rabobank senior analyst animal protein Angus Gidley-Baird said that equates to around a 25,000 head capacity, with the six plants involved in the suspension accounting for 6000 head.

“We don’t know how much those individual plants focus on China but there is the ability to balance this out and it should be a short term thing that is easy to resolve,” he said, during a talk at the Graham Centre Beef Forum in Wagga Wagga this month.

Indeed, international beef trade is an increasingly complex beast with people pulling levers all over the place.

Interestingly, Mr Gidley-Baird believes Chinese pork production will be something that plays a key role in the fortunes of Australian beef producers in 2017.

How so?

A two percent lift in pork production in China, a country which already has 375 million pigs, is expected this year.

“That increased pork production means China’s demand for imports will decrease,” Mr Gidley-Baird explained.

“The Canadians, Americans and Europeans sending pork to China will find they have more in their markets, keeping competitive pressure on retail prices for all proteins,” he said.

“Beef producers sending product to the likes of the US will find they have increasing pressure from pork.”

India’s cattle ban  

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in India has just upheld a High Court decision that the government’s ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter can not be implemented.

A political and religious decision, made in accordance with the Indian president’s election platform, the ban sent shockwaves through the international beef scene given India is one of the world’s largest exporters of bovine product.

US Department of Agriculture figures show India last year exported 1.7m tonnes of bovine product, compared to Australia’s 1.4m.

The Indian Government now has three months to revise its policy.

Mr Gidley-Baird said if India stopped supplying beef to the world, it should not have a big direct impact on Australia.

“I’d argue Australian beef shouldn’t be in the same market as Indian buffalo and therefore a direct substitution is not necessarily going to occur,” he said.

“It’s a cheap commodity red meat. Vietnam is their biggest market and a lot of that finds its way to China.

“Poultry and pork might be more direct beneficiaries if India implemented the ban.”

Brazil’s affairs

Corruption scandals in Brazil have highlighted just how sensitive the world beef market is to food safety issues, according to Mr Gidley-Baird.

When global media outlets broke news about possible tainting of Brazilian beef exports in March, every country importing their product shut the market immediately.

“Brazil did a wonderful job in the couple of days that followed to explain to its customers it wasn’t a food safety issue but a corruption issue and to their credit they were able to get all their export markets opened again within a week,” Mr Gidley-Baird said.

More recently, the US has closed its market to Brazil over further food safety concerns.

That won’t have a big impact on Brazil in the sense that very little volume went to the US, Mr Gidley-Baird said.

“The bigger impact will be the fact the Brazilians were using that US access to bolster arguments for better access into the likes of Japan and Korea,” he said.

“Effectively, it gives us breathing space space in these markets.”

The other issue at play with Brazil is their changing economy, which affects the willingness of the Brazilian consumer to eat red meat.

Given 80pc of Brazil’s product is consumed at home, any shift from the local customer away from beef means larger volumes need to be sent to other markets.

Source:Queensland Country Life. Date: 2017-08-21


China's wine joins best-sellers

Two Chinese winemakers were among the world's top 10 best-selling wine brands in 2016, according to recently published data, as Britain's two biggest supermarket chains begin stocking Chinese wine.

A list compiled by UK trade publication The Drinks Business had China's Changyu as the fourth best-selling wine brand, by volume. It sold 15 million cases, which was the same volume it sold in 2015.

Beijing-based Great Wall was the 10th best-selling brand. It sold 7 million cases in 2016, down from 7.8 million in 2015. United States brand Barefoot was the best-selling product last year, selling 22.5 million cases.

Chinese wine consumption rose by 7 percent last year, and The Drinks Business estimates that, by 2020, China will have surpassed the UK to become the second-most-valuable wine market, behind the US.

Changyu and Great Wall dominate domestic consumption in China, and the companies are making inroads into the international market. Great Wall owns brands in Chile and France, while Changyu exports to several major European markets, including the UK.

This year, the UK's two leading supermarket chains, Tesco and Sainsbury's, began selling mid-range Changyu wines, starting at 7 pounds ($9) a bottle. UK wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd has had four Changyu wines in permanent stock since 2013.

Chris Mercer, online editor for wine magazine Decanter, said the appearance of affordable Chinese wines in the UK comes as supermarkets look to import more wines from outside the eurozone.

"You are seeing the exchange rate between sterling and the euro becomes really unfavorable," Mercer said.

"Everyone has realized that China is producing a shedload of wine, and the general consensus is that the quality is getting better."

In January, Sainsbury's began stocking Changyu Noble Dragon Red Cabernet Gernischt at an introductory price of 8 pounds a bottle.

Source: China Daily. Date: 2017-08-18

 


Chinese, Dutch firms meet to expand cooperation on agricultrue, food

More than 200 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from China and the Netherlands gathered Tuesday for their first-ever match-making party designed to help expand bilateral cooperation in agriculture and the food industry. 

The SMEs, including about 150 Dutch and 60-plus Chinese firms from a wide range of sectors such as seed cultivation, greenhouse technology, automation technology, dairy production, aquaculture and biological control, reached agreements on 196 cooperation intentions during the gathering in this biggest European port city. 

A representative of the Dutch company Lely Group, which is world famous for its milking robot, told Xinhua that the company has been trying to export machinery to China in the last four years and the match-making event proved to be a good chance for them to further explore potential Chinese partners. 

"We are here to meet people. We know that the dairy industry is getting more and more important in China. Of course we want to play a part in this development, as a supplier of automatic systems," said the group's international business manager Marcel van Leeuwen. 

The Chinese SMEs came mainly from China's biggest agricultural provinces like Henan, Jilin and Inner Mongolia. 

A representative of a Chinese milk producer, who only gave his surname as Qu, said he wished to bring Dutch cheese-making technology to his hometown in Jilin. If possible, he would also try to raise Dutch Holstein cows there. 

"We've found a partner who showed great interest. We are still in the discussion process and will continue our talks in the afternoon. The Netherlands has world-leading cheese-making technologies and is also famous for cattle breeding and its herd management systems. I think it is worth coming here," Qu said. 

The Bank of China, the organizer of the event, also joined the match-making talks. It took the opportunity to promote its cross-border yuan financing products and offered consultation services to both Chinese and Dutch SMEs. 

A financial institution should invest to bring enterprises together and create more cooperation opportunities for them, said Wang Jian, head of the bank's SME services. 

"Only eyeing immediate income or profits is a too narrow vision. Clients' needs and benefits must be given a priority. Chinese SMEs have not yet enough ability to go international. They need a national bank to help them enter the international market and get connected with their partners in foreign countries," he told Xinhua. 

Chinese Ambassador to The Netherlands Chen Xu, Commissioner of The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency Jeroen Nijland and Mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb attended the opening ceremony of the gathering. 

It was the fourth SME match-making event initiated by the Bank of China since last year. The previous ones took place in Germany, Malaysia and France.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture China. Date: 2017-08-18

 


Farm produce quality improves in China

Farm produce quality has improved consistently in China thanks to stringent oversight, official data showed Thursday.

Farm produce quality has improved steadily over the past five years as more than 96 percent of the output passed a quality check. In the first half of this year, the number reached 97.6 percent, said Guang Defu, director of the Bureau of Quality and Safety Supervision for Agro-products of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The ministry has laid out comprehensive safety standards including more than 6,000 quality standards in pesticide and veterinary residue and more than 5,000 other industry standards. Green and organic food standards have been applied in a greater scope, he told a press briefing on farm produce safety.

A national safety monitoring network has been established with 117,000 superintendents on duty, and they have intensified the crackdown on illegal use of ractopamine and other restricted pesticides.

"It is safe to say China's farm produce is safe and reliable," said Guang Defu, adding that problems still exist and supervision remains a daunting task.

He emphasized the importance of establishing a quality traceable system and vowed to deal with heavy metal pollution to improve food safety.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture China. Date: 2017-08-18

 


China corn output forecast to fall slightly

Policy shifts, adverse weather conditions and logistical bottlenecks are factors contributing to an expected downtick in forecast corn production in China during the 2017-18 marketing year, according to an Aug. 3 Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.In its report, the USDA forecast 2017-18 corn production in China at 210 million tonnes, down 5 million tonnes from the agency’s forecast in July and down 4% from the 2016-17 marketing year. According to the USDA, high temperatures have negatively affected yield potential for the 2017-18 crop.

Meanwhile, corn harvested area for the 2017-18 marketing year was forecast at 35 million hectares, down 5% from 2017-17, led lower by policy-driven issues, the USDA noted.

“China’s corn growers typically plant starting on May 1,” the USDA noted. “Lower planted area in Heilongjiang province alone accounts for more than one-third of the decline in national harvested area. MOA promotes corn growers to switch from planting corn for grain to soybeans (nearly half of the total change in area), wheat, sweet corn, silage corn, millet, and forage. Nearly all of the MY 2017-18 estimated harvested area has been sown. Across most of North East China, early crop development in parts of North East China was supported by irrigated land and existing soil moisture.”

Corn consumption in China for the 2017-18 marketing year was left unchanged from the July forecast of 238 million tonnes. The 2017-18 marketing year will be the first full marketing year since China announced supply side structural reforms.

“Freight bottlenecks for truck, rail, and vessels are driving local prices higher than domestic internal trade,” the USDA noted in its report. “Current local market tightness is partly attributed to China’s State Administration of Grain requirements that auction buyers arrange and execute their own transportation. Major state-owned enterprises accounted for the majority of auction buyers at the start of the auction period. However, as the harvest draws closer, small and medium-sized auction buyers are at a significant transportation disadvantage, impacting logistics across North China. Industry sources report that high-quality corn supplies remain tight in North China.”

Source: World Grain. Date: 2017-08-18


Japan, South Korea Counter Weaker Chinese Pork Imports

JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA & CHINA - Both Japan and South Korea have reported year-on-year increases in fresh/frozen pork imports during the first half of 2017, according to Bethan Wilkins, AHDB Pork analyst. 

With Chinese import demand slowing in the second quarter, these destinations have become increasingly important outlets for the global pork market.

During the first six months of 2017, Japan imported 459,000 tonnes of pork, 7 per cent more than in the same period last year. Shipments from Canada in particular were 19 per cent higher year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the other key suppliers, the EU and US, saw more modest increases of 3 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.

The expansion in EU shipments was largely driven by increasing imports from Spain in the second quarter. Conversely, US shipments actually fell 1 per cent on the year in Q2.

For South Korea, fresh/frozen pork imports increased 12 per cent on 2016 during the first half of the year, reaching 257,000 tonnes.

Disease outbreaks in both the beef and poultry sectors have reportedly boosted demand for pig meat this year.

EU shipments, which were up 25 per cent year-on-year and now provide over half of import requirements, drove the overall expansion.

Within this, volumes from Germany and the Netherlands were up 46 per cent and 58 per cent respectively.

The sharp increase in German shipments in particular is likely related to the temporary suspension of exports to China from a number of key plants earlier this year.

The UK also supplies pig meat to South Korea, albeit in small volumes (1,600 tonnes), but shipments were nonetheless 50 per cent higher than a year earlier.

 

Looking forwards, Chinese import demand is could remain behind 2016 levels in the latter half of the year.

Reports suggest there are expectations extensive farm closures could occur during Q3 under environmental regulations, leading to a temporary oversupply of pork on the market.

As such, how Japanese and South Korean import demand develops throughout the rest of 2017 could be key to global market balance.

Nonetheless, the outlook for South Korean demand at least seems positive, with pork likely to continue benefitting from disease pressures in the other protein sectors.

Source: The Pig Site. Date: 2017-08-17

 


Chinese authorities to visit Irish beef plants in the coming weeks

A group of Chinese inspectors is set to visit a number of Irish beef plants later this month.

Members of the Chinese Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) are due to arrive in Ireland during the last week of August to inspect a number Irish beef processing facilities.

This visit is a step in the right direction for Irish beef exporters’ hopes of accessing the lucrative Chinese market. And, a successful outcome would further advance the process of opening the market to Irish beef.

This is particularly important as China was the second-largest importer of beef on the global stage in 2016. In addition, Chinese beef imports are expected to reach 1.2 million tonnes by 2025.

Back in April, the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed said it’s “a case of when, rather than if” when it comes to accessing the Chinese market with Irish beef.

He made the comments following a meeting with the the Chinese AQSIQ Minister Zhi Shuping, who has responsibility for the Chinese Quarantine and Inspection Service.

At the time, both minsters signed a formal protocol on beef exports to China. The protocol specifically focused on frozen beef under 30-months-of-age.

US Beef Moves A Step Closer To Accessing China

American beef exports to China are set to resume again after a 14-year absence, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in June.

The US has reached an agreement with Chinese officials on export protocols, which will allow for shipments to begin.

China’s beef imports have increased from $275 million in 2012 to $2.5 billion in 2016, according to the USDA. China was the second-largest importer of beef in the world last year, taking in 825,000t.

However, the US has been banned from China’s market since 2003. China implemented the ban on US beef amid concerns about BSE.

Following negotiations, it has been agreed that US beef exports to China must meet specified requirements under the USDA Export Verification (EV) Programme.

Source: Agriland. Date: 2017-08-17

 


In India, an Uber for farm machinery aims to make a difference in rural areas

Uber has inspired countless businesses to adopt its asset-light and on-demand approach to their industries. The examples are countless. Food delivery, dry cleaning, jet planes, home services rental bikes, or even phone chargers to name but a few — but how about farming equipment?

That’s the case in India, where a startup called EM3 AgriServices is helping rural farmers literally get their hands on specialist (and expensive) equipment and machines that would ordinarily be out of their reach. The goal is to help them earn their livelihood with cutting-edge tech without breaking the bank.

The concept is actually quite straightforward. EM3 works with farmers who own equipment like tractors, harvesters and other mechanical implements by allowing them to ‘rent’ out their assets to help pay off the purchase or generate additional revenue. Farmers, typically those in remote regional with small holdings and limited capital, then get access to quality implements and machines on a pay-as-you-use basis on either an hourly or acreage pricing.

That’s important when most farms in India are smaller than three acres. Tight economics, and a reliance on loans to make big-ticket purchases, are thought to be a key factor responsible for a high level of suicides among farmers over the past twenty years.

“The average Indian farm holding is just one percent of what you’d find in U.S., so farmers aren’t able to afford technology, even basic mechanization, because the capital load is too high,” EM3 founder and managing director Rohtash Mal (pictured above) told TechCrunch in an interview.

And he should know. Mal, a 63-year-old self-confessed “corporate world veteran,” started EM3 with his son Adwitiya Mal (CEO) in 2013 after a spell in charge of agriculture machinery manufacturer Escorts gave him a glimpse into the struggles of Indian farmers.

“In the farm equipment business one thing became clear, we did everything we could to help customers buy our products, but the fact is that the small farm could not afford the rate of technology,” Mal senior said.

“We’re inspired by what happens in tech world, but this hasn’t been done in agriculture before. The need wasn’t there in a lot of markets, such as the U.S., which were the foundation heads of technology, but the need is here in India,” he added.

The company calls its business farming-as-a-service — or Faas.

Unlike Uber, which has pioneered an online business model, EM3 is ‘tech-enabled’ rather than ‘tech.’ That’s to say that while it uses common on-demand tech to manage supply-demand, customer data and more, the majority of its business is offline. That’s because, quite simply, its customer base remains disconnected from the internet.

“The majority of farmers are not on smartphones,” Mal junior said. “The smartphone penetration is increasing but it isn’t at critical mass yet so we have a physical on the ground presence.”

So where there are apps for those ahead of the curve, EM3 operates call centers for handling requests from farmers — both inventory owners and prospective renters — and it deploys local representatives in the villages that it serves. But even the select farmers who are online and own smartphones find something comforting and secure about talking to a person on the other end of the phone when it comes to business matters that impact their life, the EM3 execs said.

To date, EM3 has focused on central parts of India where it claims to have worked with 8,000 farms through its 10 service centers. Mal senior explained that its platform covers machinery and services that span all seasons, but customer activity levels do vary during different parts of the farming calendar and based on location, crop type, etc.

The startup recently partnered with the local government of Rajasthan, India’s largest province by size and a major agriculture producer, to make a push into helping thousands more farmers. It is planning further forays, too, after raising significant funding from investors.

EM3 closed a $10 million in Series B financing led by Global Innovation Fund and VC firm Aspada which will be put to work expanding into more regions, increasing its inventory and developing tech. EM3 previously raised a $3.3 million Series A round led by Aspada in 2015.

Further down the line, Mal senior said he can envisage its business moving into other areas of a farmer’s business where it believes it can add value.

“There’s no other company [offering this service yet, but I’m sure there will be me-toos,” he said.

“We are still significantly ahead, but will have to add more and more to the menu of services to keep our lead. We want to become more dedicated to the farmer and look for more opportunities in farming and adjacent spaces.”

Already there is competition with Gold Farm and Trringo, a subsidiary of automotive conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, opening similar services over the past year.

Interest in agritech in India has heated up in recent years. Earlier in 2017, Accel backed AgroStar, a startup that offers a range of guidance and e-commerce services targeted at rural farmers, in its first deal in the sector. Plenty of other VCs in the country have expressed their interest about getting into the space, which has the potential to harness the power of technology to help many farmers in a profound way.

Source: Techcrunch. Date: 2017-08-17

 


Asia at risk from intensive farming

A range of health and environmental risks associated with Asian meat production has the potential to significantly impact businesses and threaten investor returns in the region, a new report has warned.

Asia’s meat, seafood and dairy industries face a range of badly managed sustainability risks, from deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions to food fraud and the misuse of antibiotics, according to a new report by the Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (FAIRR) initiative.

The report reviews risks around five issues that it says could result in greater regulatory controls, price volatility, weaker consumer demand and continuity problems in supply chains, all of which could impair businesses and jeopardise investor returns.

The issues highlighted are food safety and nutrition; public health risks due to antibiotic resistance and the outbreak of livestock viruses; the high environmental footprint of meat production; changing consumer views on animal welfare standards; and labour standards.

Asian meat demand is predicted to grow 19% from 2013 to 2025 to 144m tonnes.

FAIRR noted that a shift towards more intensive farming practices in China in particular is driving up antibiotic use, just as there is a global push to reduce usage in the face of antibiotic resistance. China already consumes almost half of the world’s antibiotics, and due to increased intensive farming, Asia is estimated to increase antibiotic usage in chicken and pigs by 129% and 124% respectively by 2030.

The report stated that threats in Asia also affect the global supply chain. In 2016, China’s demand for animal feed saw it import 35% of Brazil’s total soybean production – encouraging further deforestation in South America – with potentially enormous consequences for global carbon budgets.

Despite the focus on risk, the report said there are also excellent opportunities in Asian markets for more sustainable production. It highlighted that consumer concerns, particularly over health and safety, are resulting in increased demand for differentiated products such as organic meat, vegetarian and plant-based foods or higher welfare meats. Between 2012 and 2016, new product launches with vegetarian claims increased by 140% and new product launches with vegan claims increased by 440% in Southeast Asia.

Source: Footprint. Date: 2017-08-17

 


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