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Food and agriculture

Food and agriculture
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on food and agriculture, with a focus on Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia.
A combine harvests a soybean field in Tracy, Minnesota, in October. Photo: TNS
US-China relations

China buys two-thirds of pledged US soybeans as 2025 closes

Beijing has moved to reduce tariffs on the crop and lifted import bans on three US exporters after talks between Xi and Trump.

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China trade

China imposes beef-import quota, adds over-quota tariffs to guard local industry

Malaysia

‘It’s cheap and worth it’: Malaysia’s durian glut triggers ‘happy hour’ frenzy

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Mainland China

Video | China creates ‘bone-free’ fish for easier eating

The breakthrough comes from a six-year research programme using gene-editing technology to remove intermuscular bones from gibel carp.

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China consumption

Wild goose chase? France works to rouse China’s appetite for foie gras imports

French producers hope their famed pate can win a slice of China’s market, but price sensitivities and domestic competition could mean their goose is cooked.

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US-China trade war

China reportedly sticking to its soybean deal with US, but worries remain

Beijing secures 7 million tonnes of soybeans, passing halfway mark of its US purchase agreement. However, little has been shipped so far.

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Blockchain

Video | How a Shanghai start-up is digitalising Chinese tea

Safety, verification and trust behind start-up company Teakan Technology’s goal to make traditional Chinese tea digitally traceable.

Safety, verification and trust behind start-up company Teakan Technology’s goal to make traditional Chinese tea digitally traceable
China trade

Battle for China’s durian market gets even juicier as Laos enters the fray

Laos could present a real challenge to other players in China’s vast durian market due to its low costs and logistical advantages.

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China food security

Explainer | What does future hold for Brazil, US in China’s soybean balancing act?

The two countries remain top suppliers, but efforts to promote self-sufficiency are set to reduce reliance on imports.

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Indonesia

Calls to halt Indonesia’s free meal drive after horror crash injures 21 children

One child lost 18 teeth and had to undergo reconstructive surgery. Critics blame the scheme’s ‘chaotic’ roll-out for the tragedy.

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Indonesian students eat a free school meal in Aceh Besar earlier this year. Photo: EPA
China-EU relations

China slaps anti-dumping duties on EU pork, but lowers final rates

Beijing goes ahead with tariffs of up to 19.8 per cent on pork products from the European Union after intense lobbying by several leaders.

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A customer purchases pork at a supermarket in China’s central Anhui province. China is the world’s largest pork consumer. Photo: Getty Images
Hong Kong property

With luxury absent, new entrants steady Hong Kong retail property

Newcomers from across Asia and Europe take advantage of cheaper rents while big-ticket brands delay major commitments.

France

French farmers spray manure, block roads over cow ‘mass slaughter’ policy

Farmers in southern France are incensed by the government’s mandatory slaughter of herds to contain ‘lumpy skin disease’.

China trade

China’s food-security push to slash soy imports by two-thirds: Goldman Sachs

Beijing is lowering feed content and making related advancements that analysts say could reduce China’s foreign-soybean dependence dramatically within a decade.

Soybeans are loaded into a truck in August so they can be hauled to an elevator in the US state of Illinois. Photo: TNS
US-China trade war

‘A slap in the face’: some US farmers unhappy with Trump’s US$12 billion bailout

US soybean growers, who were hit hardest by tariff disputes, have voiced frustration that overdue funding falls well short of what they need.

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A soybean farmer inspects his harvest at his family’s farm in Maryland in October. US farmers fear that the government’s new US$12 billion farm aid package will not provide enough funding. Photo: AFP
Scott Bessent

Trump’s Treasury Secretary Bessent says he has divested his soybean farm

Move comes after a US ethics watchdog said that Bessent had not fully complied with his pledge to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

Mainland China

Boiling point: China’s pre-made meals are testing trust at the table

In a nation with famously high food standards, restaurant goers say they must choose between taste, transparency and industrial efficiency.

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China consumption

Flash in the pan: how China’s plant-based meat craze fizzled

The closure of Beyond Meat’s China business, despite heavy financing and marketing, underscores challenges that scuppered many vegan meat firms.

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Beyond Meat burger patties on sale in New York. Photo: Reuters
IPO

Exclusive | Meet the Illinois farmer sowing the seeds of the world’s biggest IPOs of 2026

Jeff Rowe, a fifth-generation Illinois farmer, runs a Chinese-owned Swiss company in Basel that is aiming for one of the world’s largest IPOs in Hong Kong, due in 2026.

China-Latin America relations

Trump’s national security blueprint aims to combat China’s rise in Latin America

Framework pledges to stop competitors from threatening the stability and political alignment of neighbouring countries in the region.

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China-Latin America relations

Trump seizes on China ‘ban’ in Brazil soy trade, but data shows US gains small

China halted imports of soybeans from five Brazil-based exporters after pesticide-treated wheat was found mixed into cargo bound for Beijing.

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US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday that US farmers are benefiting from China’s recent ban on select Brazilian soybean shipments. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Spain

Suspected swine fever cases rise as Spain struggles to limit damage to exports

Two cases and 12 possible infections reported as the European Union’s top pork producer scrambles to limit economic impact.

A warning sign reading ‘African Swine Fever Surveillance Zone’, near Barcelona. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Flood death tolls rise in Indonesia, Sri Lanka as aid trickles in

Flooding has killed hundreds in both countries and displaced thousands, as damaged roads and downed power lines hamper rescue efforts.

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Spain

Spain stops pork exports to China after African swine flu cases

Pork farms within a 20km radius of where two boar died, in the nation that is the EU’s leading pork producer, will face restrictions.

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China-Latin America relations

China halts soy imports from Brazil plants, pivots to US amid food safety probe

China’s ban follows detection of pesticide-treated wheat in soy cargo as Beijing ramps up US farm purchases after trade talks.

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A customs officer checks soybeans imported from Brazil at a wharf in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. China has halted some soybean imports from Brazil due to contamination issues. Photo: Getty Images
Indonesia

Indonesian durian sellers smell big opportunity in China, world’s largest market

In 2024, Indonesia exported US$1.8 million worth of the fruit to Thailand and Hong Kong, and began shipping fresh durians to China this year.

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Durian for sale at a roadside stall in Lombok, Indonesia. Photo: Getty Images
China consumption

After peaking, decline of China’s European wine imports worries makers

Chinese drinkers are spending less amid an economic slowdown, diluting the profits of Europe’s fine wine producers.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Why next year’s G20 could be make or break for global development

As the US prepares to chair the G20, it faces a strategic choice: engage or revert to a narrower agenda.

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