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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.
Ashaan Carter lies on his mother at a Portland children’s hospital during his treatment for infant botulism in November 2025 after drinking ByHeart baby formula donated to vulnerable families. Photo: AP
United States

ByHeart baby formula botulism likely linked to contaminated milk powder: FDA

FDA testing found the type of bacteria that could cause the illness in two samples used to make ByHeart’s baby milk powder.

China trade

Vietnam grabs bigger slice of China’s durian market as Thailand loses ground

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China food security

Rooted in resilience: how China’s seed push has planted agricultural ‘chips’

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Brazil

Brazil beef exports seen as stable in 2026 as industry pivots beyond China

Beef lobby Abiec said volumes not sold to China could be redirected other markets.

A butcher weighs meat at a butcher shop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2024. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan snaps into action as alligator weed chokes waterways

The seemingly innocuous alligator weed, or Alternanthera philoxeroides, poses a real problem, especially to rice farmers.

Malaysia

How a crop of young farmers is reshaping agriculture in Southeast Asia

Young people across Southeast Asia are using city spaces and new technologies to improve on traditional farming methods to grow produce.

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | What a Chinese hero’s fatal love of raw fish warns us about uncooked food

The recent sale of the most expensive tuna in Tokyo reflects sushi’s popularity, but an episode in Chinese history shows raw food’s dangers.

A Kiyomura staff member holds meat from the 243kg bluefin tuna the company recently bought at a Tokyo fish auction for a record US$3.2 million. Photo: Reuters
Singapore

Can Singapore’s farming future grow in Malaysia’s US$123 million food hub?

The city state’s farmers eye the Johor-Singapore SEZ for cheaper land and labour to boost food security amid high local costs.

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Trending in China

‘Hold on tight’: China woman wins 22 pig-catching contests, biggest hog weighs 73kg

31-year-old who excelled at tug of war, shot-put in her youth is top exponent of pinning down swine; says technique relies on speed.

Science

China creates world’s first clone-hybrid rice that could double global output

Team developed 6 apomictic rice varieties tested over multiple generations in Hainan and Zhejiang provinces.

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Photo: Getty Images
Food and Drinks

Why crab is now fine dining’s ultimate luxury ingredient

American chefs are embracing this delicacy, used in omakase in New York and crab rice in San Francisco, as prices soar to over US$2,000 for a king crab.

Crab meat has become the season’s signifier in the luxury dining scene. Photo: @kinkan_la/Instagram
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

From Thursday, over-quota imports from Brazil, Australia, US and other trade partners face new duties to help local producers recover amid price declines.

Malaysia

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

Bumper harvests prompt traders to offer rock-bottom prices as locals and tourists grab time-based deals on the spiky fruit.

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A worker checks a durian at a shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: AFP
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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