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

US-China trade war

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

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Scott Bessent

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

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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Pre-made meals are taking off in China, but many diners are increasingly incensed about the premium prices and lack of disclosure. Photo: Shutterstock
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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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.

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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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US President Donald Trump unveiled a new national security blueprint on Friday, prioritising US dominance in the Western Hemisphere. Photo: EPA
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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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.

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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A man moves relief supplies delivered by a Navy helicopter in an area affected by deadly flash floods in Palembayan, Agam regency, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
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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Billions of animals, including pigs, are reared and eaten around the world each year. Photo: Reuters
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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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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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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Illustration: Brian Wang
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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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Hong Kong economy

Editorial | Keeta’s fair play pledge will in the end benefit Hong Kong consumers

Credit also goes to the Competition Commission for leaning on the company to help create a more level playing field for all participants.

US-China trade war

US-China: a fragile truce, divergent accounts and a Thanksgiving test

Washington pushes a rare earth timeline Beijing never acknowledged, underscoring how far apart the two sides still appear to be.

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China-Japan relations

Japan-China row worsens as Beijing threatens more reprisals

China’s new pressure on Japan following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments about Taiwan makes it hard to see when bilateral relations will stabilise again.

China’s President Xi Jinping and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Combination photo: AFP
China food security

‘Impossible to achieve’: why China can’t grow enough soybeans to feed itself

The shift from soybean exporter to world’s top buyer has reshaped global markets and forced Beijing to confront new security risks.

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Trending in China

Brawny man, dubbed China’s ‘hottest village cadre’, promotes local produce

28-year-old former professional kayaker attracts millions of mostly women online with his physique; teases with tank tops, fitness shirts.

China-Japan relations

Beijing warns Tokyo of ‘further action’ if Takaichi doesn’t budge on Taiwan stand

China has reportedly reimposed an import ban on Japanese seafood just weeks after lifting it.

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China has told Japan it will suspend imports of Japanese seafood, Kyodo News said. Photo: JIJI Press/AFP
Malaysia

‘Durian’s Indonesia’s national fruit’: Malaysia, Jakarta clash over delicacy

A minister cited higher production and rejected Malaysia’s proposal, saying ‘I believe durian is Indonesia’s national fruit’.

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A staff member presents a Malaysian Musang King durian at a fruit distributor’s operating centre in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong province. Photo: Xinhua
US-China trade war

Bankruptcies, suicides: US farmers detail cost of trade tensions

Strains with Beijing have deepened American agriculture woes, fuelling stress and bankruptcies amid high costs and low prices.

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US-China relations

US soybean futures rebound on signs China is ramping up purchases

Prices in Chicago rose as much as 3.2 per cent on Monday, a 17-month high, after Trump said China is in the process of buying soybeans.

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China consumption

Shanghai dreams of a new era of ‘AI restaurants’. But can diners stomach it?

The Chinese city aims to pioneer a new age of ‘smart dining’, where automated kitchens, robot servers and data-driven menus are the norm.

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A server robot waits tables at a restaurant in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. Automation is rapidly spreading in China’s vast catering sector, with Shanghai aiming to accelerate the rollout of new technologies. Photo: Xinhua
US-China relations

Opinion | In ‘soybean diplomacy’ with the US, China now holds the remote control

China, no longer reliant on US soybeans, has leverage: resuming purchases to calm tensions or cutting them when relations fray.

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Soybeans are harvested on the Warpup Farm in Warren, Indiana, on September 17. Photo: AP
Donald Trump

Trump cuts tariffs on beef, coffee and other foods, in inflation U-turn

The move marks a sharp reversal from the US president, who has insisted that his import duties are not fuelling higher grocery prices.

South Korea

South Korean farmers sue state utility, claiming its coal habit ruined crops

The groundbreaking lawsuit questions if power companies’ impact on climate change and the resulting agricultural losses can be quantified.

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