Vietnam's agro-forestry-aquatic exports hit 20.45 billion USD in 7 months
The export value of agro-forestry-aquatic products reached 20.45 billion USD in the first seven months of this year, up 14.7 percent against the same period last year, reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Key farm produce raked in 10.89 billion USD (up 18 percent) while aquatic products earned 4.31 billion USD (up 17.5 percent) and forestry products brought home 4.41 billion USD (up 10.8 percent).
Vietnam shipped 3.3 million tonnes of rice worth 1.5 billion USD abroad, up 15.7 percent in volume and 13.7 percent in value compared to the Jan-July period of 2016.
Meanwhile, coffee and cashew nut exports maintained stable growth in the period thanks to higher prices. The country earned 2.12 billion USD from exporting 937,000 tonnes of coffee and 1.83 billion USD from shipping 186,000 tonnes of cashew nuts.
Vegetable and fruit exports witnessed a year-on-year rise of 50 percent in export value to 2.03 billion USD in the reviewed period.
The export value of rubber also recorded a strong surge, reaching 1.13 billion USD, 59 percent higher than that in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, pepper export turnover suffered an 18 percent fall to 800 million USD due to a 30 percent drop in prices.
Source: VNA. Date: 2017-07-27
China orders halt to red meat imports from several Australian meatworks
China has temporarily banned beef imports from six Australian meatworks, the Federal Government has confirmed.
Australia was made aware of the ban on Tuesday, and Trade Minister Steven Ciobo told the ABC he intended to work closely and constructively with industry and China to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
The ABC understands the affected abattoirs are in Queensland and NSW, and include two facilities owned by Australia's largest meat processor JBS.
Other companies affected are Kilcoy Pastoral, Australian Country Choice, the Northern Rivers Co-operative at Casino, and Thomas Food.
Mr Ciobo said the ban related to Chinese concern about labelling non-compliance.
There is no suggestion health or food safety issues are involved.
"This is obviously a very material situation," Mr Ciobo said.
"We've got, potentially, very significant amounts of trade involved in this and so it's a matter that I'm very mobilised on, my team, my office, as well as our embassy in China."
Government adopts proactive approach
Mr Ciobo said Australia and China had a strong relationship that "sees us work through irritants", such as Australia's recent ban on prawn imports.
"We intend to engage in a very constructive way," Mr Ciobo said, and sought to reassure the beef industry the Government would adopt a very "proactive" approach.
The Australian Meat Industry Council confirmed it was working with the Department of Agriculture through diplomatic channels on the issue.
There are shipments currently on the water.
The ABC understands the Australian industry believes it has resolved the labelling issues, and the Government is hopeful it can resolve the issue before those ships arrive in China.
The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources issued a statement on Wednesday saying the six affected export establishments were reported as suspended on the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China website.
"The department is working with industry and Chinese authorities to resolve the matter urgently," the statement read.
Australia's beef exports to China were worth more than $600 million last year, and China is the fourth-largest market.
More beef and lamb processors were given approval in March to export chilled meat to China in a deal struck at the highest level, between the Chinese Premier and the Australian Prime Minister.
But Australian exporters are also now confronted with a new competitor in the market as China opens up to US beef imports for the first time in 13 years.
Source: ABC News. Date: 2017-07-27
China’s love of wine drives thirst for knowledge
The speed with which China has become Australia’s largest wine market (by value) is extraordinary.
In calendar 2000 China imported $1.34 million of our wine; by 2016 it reached $520m, three months later in March it had reached $568m, a year-on-year growth of 41 per cent.
France is its leading supplier, with 44 per cent of the market, Australia is second with 25 per cent, and Chile (with a long-standing free trade agreement) third with 16 per cent. Chile’s exports (largely bulk) are declining, and Australia’s growth rate is greater than that of France. Wheels of all sorts are driving the dynamics, some more obvious than others.
The two-way trade of products and services between China and Australia is many times greater than that between China and France. More Chinese arrive in Australia every day than any other country. Chinese returning home become brand ambassadors for wine and its use in everyday living.
Despite all this, the Chinese wine market is immature.
While there is a thirst for knowledge evidenced by the many wine courses now run in China — the multi-level British Wine and Spirit Education Trust course is most important — a large gap still exists between theory and application.
Even for some hoping to become professionals (sommeliers, writers, teachers, retailers), having a glass with meals at home for casual enjoyment can still be a step too far, but not on the basis of gender. On a trip to China in May, Wine Australia arranged for 15 Chinese wine professionals (of varying experience) to each ask me one question. All were in their 20s or 30s, and all but one were female. But the statistics don’t lie. The middle and middle-upper classes who live in one of the hundred cities with a population of more than one million, have the income to fund ever-increasing consumption.
At the other end of the scale is the demand for high quality South Australian shiraz, led by Penfolds Grange and its other luxury brands.
These wines are purely aspirational for upper-middle-class buyers, but well within the reach of the millions of wealthy consumers. Treasury Wine Estates’ share price is a direct reflection of this. Then there is the so far largely ignored white wine sector. The split is 88 per cent red wine, 12 per cent white, utterly at odds with the greater compatibility of white wines with cuisine and all but winter temperatures.
Source: The Australian Business Review. Date: 2017-07-26
EU, Canada, U.S. battle for China’s pork market
Global pork trade is facing new dynamics, driven by price developments, new trade deals, political turmoil and more challenging business environments, according to RaboResearch’s latest “Global Pork Quarterly” report.
“While China’s pork imports have begun to slow down, other traditional importing countries have reported significant growth,” said Chenjun Pan, RaboResearch senior analyst – animal protein. “Looking to the second half of 2017, global pork supply is expected to increase further, and competition for global consumers will intensify.”
This potential softening bias on prices contrasts with the stability of the Rabobank Five-Nation Hog Price Index thus far in 2017.
In the first five months of 2017, China’s pork imports were flat, which contrasts with the significant growth seen in the first half of 2016. Rabobank said the recovery of local production and strong international prices is believed to be responsible for slower imports.
“In China, pork prices have declined by 30%, from the record levels of last year. As a result, Chinese traders are taking a more cautious approach to imports in 2017,” the analysis noted.
Rabobank holds the view that China’s pork production will increase by about 2% in 2017. “Hog production recovery was faster than expected in (the first half), as many producers shared a positive view of the market and made rapid herd replenishments,” the report said.
While the hog production expansion should continue in the second half of 2017, Rabobank said it has been slowed by the price plunge during the second quarter.
“The emergence of these new trade dynamics will be the most important market development in the second half of this year,” according to Justin Sherrard, RaboResearch global strategist – animal protein.
During the third quarter, Rabobank reported that the European Union experienced slower exports due to strong prices.
“Tight supply and firm demand have maintained upward pressure on prices and starting to challenge exporters. In this context, the recently announced trade pact with Japan, offering tariff reductions, is good news for European exporters,” the report said.
In the U.S., pork exports still face uncertainty due to potential trade policy changes and a strong currency but have been better than expected thus far in 2017, Rabobank said.
“With weaker demand from China offset by stronger demand from Mexico, total exports are expected to increase by about 10%, compared with 2016. Increasing U.S. exports are becoming even more important as production continues to expand,” the report noted.
From a domestic standpoint, Rabobank said two new processing plants coming on line in the U.S. late this summer will change the shape of the U.S. pork industry expansion that has been occurring over the last few years. The plants will add 7% to U.S. packing capacity, according to the report, and couldn’t come at a better time.
“As hog numbers have climbed in recent years, plant capacity has struggled to keep up, leaving capacity in short supply come late (in the fourth quarter), when hog numbers are at their seasonal peak,” the report said.
The capacity expansion story doesn’t end in 2017, Rabobank pointed out, as one of the new plants will add a second shift in the summer of 2018, and another large plant will open in early 2019.
Rabobank stressed the need for the U.S. to expand pork exports, because the increased hog supplies will likely struggle to find a home in the domestic market. Currently, the U.S. pork industry exports about 23% of production.
In Brazil, the meat industry continues to face great challenges as a result of political turmoil. Exports in recent months have declined significantly. Pork exports alone have decline by approximately 4% year over year in the first five months of 2017, which opened the door for other countries. This happened particularly in the Chinese market, where pork imports from Brazil during this period declined 22%. The steep declines were offset, however, as Russia -- the largest destination for Brazil's pork exports -- increased imports by 10%, by volume.
Rabobank noted that even with these challenges, Brazil’s pork market is still expected to deliver a positive result due to the smaller supply, lower feed prices and a favorable exchange rate.
Source: Feedstuff. Date: 2017-07-26
Citrus harvest on track to break records due to increased interest from China
Southern Australia citrus growers are on track to produce another record-breaking harvest.
For the first time China looks set to become the top export destination for citrus this year, thanks to the free trade agreement between the two countries.
Citrus Australia chief executive Judith Damiani said next month was the start of the peak for harvest and exports.
“We’re expecting the main crop, navels, to be up 10 per cent in tonnages this year compared to last year.
“That’s mostly due to a recovery from last year’s lighter crop.”
Last year Australia produced 260,000 tonnes of citrus. Navels account for 80 per cent of citrus exports.
Ms Damiani said export demand for navels continued to outstrip supply.
“We’re experiencing phenomenal demand from China,” she said.
Last year China was the second biggest importer of Australian citrus, behind Japan, but Ms Damiani predicted China would be take top spot this year.
Last year 40,000 tonnes of Australia citrus was sold to China.
“Demand from Japan has grown slowly in the past eight years but since 2103 China has taken off,” she said.
Ms Damiani credited Australia’s reputation for producing safe, premium foods, and the China-Australia FTA of 2015, with its incremental tariff reductions, for the growing interest from China.
Other factors included the Australian crop being grown counter-seasonally to Asian grown fruit, and China’s increasing affluence.
Ms Damiani said the outlook for prices was “buoyant” with $328 million of citrus sold last year.
Nutrano farming division executive manager Richard Byllaardt said the citrus growing and exporting company now had 650ha at Mildura, Queensland and in the Northern Territory.
The Mildura harvest was well under way, he said.
“The taste and flavour is as good as we’ve ever tasted, thanks to the cooler summer.”
Mr Byllaardt said Nutrano’s sales to China had doubled this year and the company would send more than 100 containers of citrus to the major cities.
He said prices were “in line” with last year”.
Nutrano planned to extend citrus acreage by 25 per cent this year in response to the Chinese demand.
Source: Weekly Times. Date: 2017-07-26
China's Agricultural Imports Rise Rapidly in 2017
CHINA - China's imports of major agricultural products continued to increase fast in the first five months of the year, driven by price gaps between domestically produced products and imported products, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Wheat imports between January and May reached 2.2 million metric tons, an increase of 67.3 per cent year-on-year, while import of soybeans increased by nearly 20 per cent to 37 million tons, and imports of beef rose by 14 per cent during the period, compared with the same period last year, Wang Ping, deputy chief of the ministry's Department of Market and Economic Information, said at a news conference on Monday.
China imported 1.68 million tons of wheat and associated products between January and April, an increase of 94 percent over the same period last year, Wang said, citing figures from the General Administration of Customs.
Imports of some major agricultural products kept increasing quickly between 2011 and 2016, with grain imports increasing at an average annual rate of 32.2 per cent, meat at an average annual rate of 24.9 per cent, and dairy at 16.6 per cent during the five-year period, according to the ministry.
"A rapid increase in imports has also had a great impact on China's domestic market for agricultural products," Mr Wang said.
"Due to a sustained increase in imports, it is predicted that beef and mutton prices in the domestic market may fall slightly this year."
The prices of many agricultural products produced in China are higher than the international level due to higher production costs, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. An exception is corn, whose average wholesale price was 1.58 yuan (23 cents) per kilogram in the first part of the year, similar to the international level, a decrease of 14.4 per cent year-on-year, according to the ministry.
Dairy industry analyst Song Liang said the average cost of dairy products in China was at least 20 per cent higher than in the European Union, largely due to higher production costs resulting from limited resources such as water and grazing land. This has caused a rapid increase in dairy imports, he said.
Due to causes such as increasing supply, prices of agricultural products in China in general have kept falling since the beginning of this year, with prices of fresh and perishable products, such as vegetables, pork, chicken and eggs seeing the biggest decline, Mr Wang, from the Ministry of Agriculture, said.
For example, the price of eggs decreased to their lowest in the last 10 years in the first half of the year before rebounding recently, and the price of poultry also declined in the first half of the year, Mr Wang said.
The major causes were increased production, as a result of higher poultry and egg prices two years ago and the falling prices of feed such as corn, and an increase in H7N9 bird flu cases during the first half of the year in China, he said.
The price of eggs started to rise in June due to reduced supply following sustained lower prices since late last year, Mr Wang said.
Egg prices may continue to rise in the second half of the year, but at a slow rate due to adequate supply, he said.
The prices of some other major agricultural products, such as pork and vegetables, may also rebound in the second half of the year, Mr Wang said.
Source: The Poultry Site. Date: 2017-07-26
Cambodia’s first banana exports
Cambodia exported its first shipment of 100 tonnes of yellow bananas to China via Vietnam on Saturday, said a Ministry of Agriculture official.
“This shipment of bananas is a first for Cambodia and these yellow bananas can be stored for up to 3 months after harvest in a room with refrigeration,” said Hean Vanhan, director-general of the Agriculture Ministry’s general directorate of agriculture.
“The 100 tonnes of yellow bananas from Anh Andong Meas Company’s plantations, in Sambor district in Ratanakkiri province, were exported in five refrigerated containers,” he added.
Mr Vanhan said Cambodia had negotiated with Vietnam to allow the shipment to transit in the country before it reaches China.
“There are other types of bananas besides the yellow ones, but they can’t be exported. They can only be stored for three days,” he said.
Three banana species – yellow, sugar and green – are all widely grown in Cambodia.
According to Mr Vanhan, Anh Andong Meas grows yellow bananas on 1,000 hectares of land.
“In total, the company has 10,000 hectares planted with all kinds of fruits for export.”
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is also encouraging mango farmers to export their fruit harvests to South Korea.
South Korea has not placed a limit on the amount of mangoes it will import from Cambodia but requires suppliers to upgrade their processing facilities by installing steaming technology to eradicate insects that may be on the fruit or inside packaging.
A local subsidiary of Hyundai Corporation, the South Korean conglomerate, is sinking $4 million into developing a processing and distribution centre in Cambodia for mangoes and other fruits.
Fresh Keo Romeat mangoes from Cambodia are popular in neighbouring Thailand and are exported daily from Kampong Speu and northwestern Battambang through the Pong Namron border crossing in the eastern Thai province of Chantaburi.
Source: Khmer Times. Date: 2017-07-25
Vietnam's booming craft beer scene
A night out drinking in Vietnam used to mean one thing: sipping Bia Hoi, a local draft beer with 3% alcohol content, from a tiny stool on the sidewalk.
But feather-light lagers aren't the only game in town anymore.
The country's craft beer scene is booming, having welcomed more than a dozen micro-breweries in the past two years.
"The beer culture in Vietnam starts with Bia Hoi," Hao Tran, managing editor of lifestyle website Vietcetera, tells CNN. The craft beer scene that has evolved has done so from people drinking beer in the Old Quarter in Hanoi or Bui Vien Street in Saigon, he says.
"But there's so much more to beer culture in Vietnam now than just that particular image."
Tapping new tastes
Vietnam is one of the biggest beer consumers in Asia drinking 3.8 billion litres a year in 2016, according to Ministry of Industry and Trade.
While stalwart brands such as Tiger, Saigon Beer, and Bia Hoi still account for the lion's share of that consumption, in Ho Chi Minh City alone artisan brewers such as Platinum , Pasteur Street Brewing Co, Winking Seal, Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness and Fuzzy Logic are providing a real alternative, says Tran.
The brands have, for example, introduced potent Indian pale ales (IPAs) and sour gose -- a tart and salty style of German beer -- to the market.
"As Vietnam has continued to experience income growth and taste for global concepts and standards, that's where craft beer has really come in," says Tran.
"The tastes and preferences of Vietnamese consumers are changing and evolving."
What's brewing
One of Vietnam's craft pioneers, Pasteur Street Brewing Co opened its doors in 2015 and now distributes not only all over Vietnam, but also to Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States -- with Japan and Europe to come later this year.
For the past two years, Pasteur Street has been leading the revolt against boring lagers and predictable pale ales -- an effort that was rewarded with three gold medals at the 2016 Asian Beer Medal competition.
Helmed by Americans John Reid and Alex Violette -- the latter is also behind Upslope Brewing Company, in Colorado -- the brewery imports its hops from the US and malts from Europe, but adds a local touch to every recipe.
The brewery's lightly hopped beers, such as the East West Pale Ale, provide stepping stones to stronger flavors for new craft converts.
In addition to a bar, restaurant and rooftop terrace, the two-story East West Brewing Company building also houses a brewery, where visitors can learn about the craft brewing process.
"It's all about really educating our (Vietnamese) consumers," Loc Truong, founder of East West Brewing Company, tells CNN. "You cannot show them what craft beer is if you don't have a craft brewery to really guide them through."
The usual nightlife scene in Vietnam revolves around drinking Bia Hoi -- most commonly consumed street-side on tiny plastic stools. At 30 cents a pint, it's a light and easy choice with just 3% alcohol content.
While stalwart brands such as Tiger, Saigon Beer, and Bia Hoi still account for the lion's share of Vietnam's beer consumption, in Ho Chi Minh City alone artisan brewers such as Platinum, Pasteur Street Brewing Co, Winking Seal, Heart of Darkness and Fuzzy Logic are providing a real alternative.
One of Vietnam's craft pioneers, Pasteur Street Brewing Co opened its doors in 2015 and now distributes not only all over Vietnam, but also to Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States -- with Japan and Europe to come later this year.
Pasteur Street has created 70 varieties, including Jasmine IPA, Passion Fruit Wheat, Lemongrass and Phu Quoc Pepper Saison and Cyclo Imperial Chocolate Stout, which won gold at last year's World Beer Cup.
The brewers reach for everything from locally made Marou chocolate (cacao plants pictured) to Dalat coffee, passion fruit, cacao and even divisive durian -- a spiky Asian fruit with a distinct smell.
The brewery's lightly hopped beers, such as the East West Pale Ale, provide stepping stones to stronger flavors for new craft converts.
In addition to a bar, restaurant and rooftop terrace, the two-story East West Brewing Company building also houses a brewery, where visitors can learn about the craft brewing process.
"It's all about really educating our (Vietnamese) consumers," Loc Truong, founder of East West Brewing Company, tells CNN. "You cannot show them what craft beer is if you don't have a craft brewery to really guide them through."
The usual nightlife scene in Vietnam revolves around drinking Bia Hoi -- most commonly consumed street-side on tiny plastic stools. At 30 cents a pint, it's a light and easy choice with just 3% alcohol content.
While stalwart brands such as Tiger, Saigon Beer, and Bia Hoi still account for the lion's share of Vietnam's beer consumption, in Ho Chi Minh City alone artisan brewers such as Platinum, Pasteur Street Brewing Co, Winking Seal, Heart of Darkness, and Fuzzy Logic are providing a real alternative.
One of Vietnam's craft pioneers, Pasteur Street Brewing Co opened its doors in 2015 and now distributes not only all over Vietnam, but also to Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States -- with Japan and Europe to come later this year.
Pasteur Street has created 70 varieties, including Jasmine IPA, Passion Fruit Wheat, Lemongrass and Phu Quoc Pepper Saison and Cyclo Imperial Chocolate Stout, which won gold at last year's World Beer Cup.
The brewers reach for everything from locally made Marou chocolate to Dalat coffee, passion fruit, cacao and even divisive durian -- a spiky Asian fruit with a distinct smell.
"It's not just a marketing ploy ... using local ingredients is what the industry is all about," says Reid. "It's about innovation and changing things up."
The brewers reach for everything from locally made Marou chocolate to Dalat coffee, passion fruit and even divisive durian -- a spiky Asian fruit with a distinct smell.
They've created 70 varieties, including Jasmine IPA, Passion Fruit Wheat, Lemongrass and Phu Quoc Pepper Saison and Cyclo Imperial Chocolate Stout, which won gold at last year's World Beer Cup.
"With the internet and access to information about what's going on on a world stage, they want to be part of that. You see craft beer happening in America, maybe some Vietnamese go visit family in California ... and they say: 'How come we don't have this in our country?'"
A welcome change
While many of the first microbreweries were set up by foreigners, Vietnamese entrepreneurs have also joined the mix.
Newly opened East West Brewing Company, for example, is run by Loc Truong, a Vietnamese-American who worked at Anheuser-Busch InBev -- the company behind brands such as Stella Artois and Corona -- before striking out with his founding partners.
"My being Vietnamese helps the craft beer industry, for sure, because that's one step to connect with the market," says Truong, who was born in Vietnam but studied in the US. "Why do people buy craft beer? It's higher quality, but who's behind it also adds value."
Truong's lightly hopped beers, such as the East West Pale Ale, he says, provide a stepping stone to stronger flavors for new craft converts.
From there, it gets more challenging, with a bolder Far East IPA, Coffee Vanilla Porter, or 12% ABV Independence Stout.
That's alongside Asia-inspired varieties, such as Le Wit, a wit-style beer made with Asian pear, and a dainty Saigon Rose that's infused with raspberries.
"A lot of people don't know that there are so many different types of flavors in beer," says Truong.
"We'll see customers coming back five or six times a week, saying they can't drink the traditional lagers or (Bia Hoi beer) anymore. Once they tried craft, they never went back."
Building a bridge
In the land of 30-cent drafts of Bia Hoi, charging consumers $5 for craft draft remains a challenge.
An on-site brewery was a crucial part of the persuasion strategy for East West Brewing Company, which opened in January.
"It's all about really educating our (Vietnamese) consumers," Loc Truong, founder of East West Brewing Company.
"You cannot show them what craft beer is if you don't have a craft brewery to really guide them through."
It helps that breweries and bars serving craft beers tend to be clustered in Ho Chi Minh City around central areas of Districts 1 and 2, where there's lots of foot traffic.
As a result, new beer-oriented tours have added to the buzz, such as the bar and brewery motorbike excursion operated by Vespa Adventures.
Inside the massive glass building, guests can mingle at the industrial-chic bar and restaurant downstairs, soak up the sun on the rooftop, or take a tour of the steel fermenting tanks and barrel-aging room.
Before opening, Truong expected expats and travelers to drive sales, but he was pleasantly surprised that 85% of his patrons were Vietnamese in the first six months of business.
Truong says that is partly due to a growing middle class in Vietnam.
With a 6% annual increase in GDP per capita, the Boston Consulting Group predicts Vietnam's middle class will account for 23% of the population of 95 million by 2020, up from 16% in 2015.
"Vietnam moves very, very fast," says Truong. "One thing catches on and the next thing you know, the whole market is shifting."
Source: CNN. Date: 2017-07-25
EU, Canada, and US battle for China’s pork market, claims Rabobank
Global pork trade is facing new dynamics, driven by price developments, new trade deals, and more challenging business environments, according to RaboResearch’s latest Global Pork Quarterly. “While China’s pork imports have begun to slow down, other traditional importing countries have reported significant growth,” says Chenjun Pan, RaboResearch Senior Analyst – Animal Protein.
“Looking to the second half of 2017, global pork supply is expected to increase further, and competition for global consumers will intensify.” This potential softening bias on prices contrasts with the stability of the Rabobank Five-Nation Hog Price Index thus far in 2017. In the first five months of 2017, China’s pork imports were flat, which contrasts with the significant growth seen in 1H 2016. The recovery of local production and strong international prices is believed to be responsible for slower imports. In China, pork prices have declined by 30%, from the record levels of last year. As a result, Chinese traders are taking a more cautious approach to imports in 2017.
Rabobank holds the view that China’s pork production will increase by about 2% in 2017. Hog production recovery was faster than expected in 1H, as many producers shared a positive view of the market and made rapid herd replenishments. While the expansion of hog production should continue in 2H 2017, it has been slowed by the price plunge in Q2.
“The emergence of these new trade dynamics will be the most important market development in the second half of this year,” according to Justin Sherrard, RaboResearch Global Strategist – Animal Protein.
Other highlights from the Pork Quarterly Q3 2017 include:
EU: slower exports due to strong prices: Tight supply and firm demand have maintained upward pressure on prices and starting to challenge exporters. In this context, the recently announced trade pact with Japan, offering tariff reductions, is good news for European exporters.
US: uncertain outlook on political front and new plant capacity: US pork exports still face uncertainty due to potential trade policy changes and a strong currency, but have been better than expected thus far in 2017. With weaker demand from China offset by stronger demand from Mexico, total exports are expected to increase by about 10%, compared with 2016. Increasing US exports are becoming even more important as production continues to expand.
Brazil: political turmoil continues to impact: Brazil faces great challenges due to political turmoil, and exports in recent months have declined significantly. However, even with these challenges, Brazil’s pork market is still expected to deliver a positive result, due to lower supply, favorable feed prices, and a favorable exchange rate.
Source: Food Ingredients 1st. Date: 2017-07-25
US-style farm set to put down deep roots near Beijing
A landmark demonstration farm modeled faithfully on a Midwestern farmstead situated in the US state of Iowa, is set to start construction in September near Beijing with the aim of helping advance the technology of modern mechanized agriculture in China.
The farm－called the Sino-US Friendship Model Farm－will cost an estimated $1 billion and will cover 3,300 acres (1,336 hectares) outside the town of Hushiha in northern Hebei province, according to a senior official.
The town in Luanping county, which is administered by the city of Chengde, is about 150 kilometers to the northeast of Beijing. A section of China's Great Wall, Jinshanling, passes through it.
Last year, an agreement on building the model farm near Chengde was signed in Hebei, when Iowa's former Governor Terry Branstad visited the province.
The farm will introduce crop varieties, and use farming equipment and techniques as well as management experience from Iowa, according to Ye Changqing, executive deputy head of the Hebei People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
It will also invite US farmers to run it, Ye said.
In addition, the farm will act as an educational base for agricultural development and become a draw for eco-agricultural tourism.
A delegation led by Chengde officials visited Iowa in April, to learn more about the farmstead and to make preparations for the creation of a similar one in China.
At the moment, the land requisition for the farm is underway.
By the end of the month, basic preparation work should be finished, including overall planning and design of the farm, said Wang Xiaodong, deputy governor of Hebei province.
He was speaking earlier in the month at Luanping, where he hosted a meeting to discuss the process.
A company, Rongsheng Group, is in charge of the planning and design work.
No specific schedule about the farm, however, has so far been disclosed.
The Midwestern state of Iowa, with which Hebei has been a sister province since 1983, is a major producer of corn and soybean in the US.
Source: China Ministry of Agriculture. Date: 2017-07-25