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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.
Students pray before eating free meals supplied by an Indonesian government programme at an elementary school in Banda Aceh in 2025. Fuel and fertiliser costs may impact child nutrition in Asia, with long-term consequences. Photo: AFP

Letters | Child nutrition in Asia is a worthy investment

Readers discuss the region’s nutrition problem, the US’ yen intervention, and the future of Bhutan’s traditional arts.

US-China relations

China buys at least 10 more cargoes of US soybeans, traders say

Science

Chinese AI robot delivers needle-free pig vaccinations with 93% accuracy

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China-Latin America relations

Cuban spy-base allegations, new Trump tariffs: 7 Latin America relations reads

From global soybean market updates to China’s best trade partners, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in July 2026.

The Havana Capitol is seen reflected in a puddle on July 11. Photo: AFP
Food and Drinks

‘We were just 2 kids’: how Hong Kong Gen Z pair started Chinese wine business

Anson Sik and Edson Bichon’s Purple Rain Wine is bringing Chinese natural wines – many from obscure vineyards – to drinkers in Hong Kong.

US-China relations

Chinese buyers acquire US soybeans for October-November, traders say

The ‌sales volume of at least 840,000 tonnes was among China’s largest single-day purchases this month.

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China food security

China’s ageing farmers deploy drones as agriculture-automation trend spreads

Ageing rural populations are driving up demand for intelligent aerial devices, and the ‘irresistible trend” is expected to sweep through Southeast Asia.

An agricultural drone operates in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on July 18. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
Food and Drinks

Where does your coffee come from? Starbucks buyer on drink’s complex journey

Christian Hackenberg shares why coffee growing and buying is far from simple, and the challenges farmers face from Indonesia to China.

Africa

‘Super’ El Nino: Africa facing mass migration, US$20 billion in damages

A UN report estimated that by 2035 developing countries ‌will collectively need around US$365 billion each year to tackle climate change.

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China trade

China’s durian imports from Thailand, Malaysia soar as glut stresses growers

Chinese imports of the pungent fruit have increased by 47 per cent in the first half of 2026, prompting a sharp decline in prices.

Workers process durians for export to China in Lam Dong, Vietnam, as Southeast Asian exporters offloaded a glut of the pungent, spiky fruit, sparking a drop in prices. Photo: Xinhua
Banking & finance

What are ‘climate black swan’ events, and why are global investors so worried?

As the threat of a super El Nino disrupts Asia’s food market, global banks warn investors to prepare for sudden, unexpected climate shifts.

A farmer harvests rice crop in a paddy field on the outskirts of Guwahati, India. Experts warn El Nino may disrupt the global rice market. Photo: AP/File photo
China-EU relations

China, EU pushing ahead on joint research despite trade tensions

Joint 2025-2027 research agreement covers climate and agriculture, state media says, signalling will to collaborate in spite of differences.

China-Latin America relations

Brazil widens lead over US in China’s soybean market despite Trump-Xi deal

China’s Brazilian soybean imports up 13.7 per cent in June compared to a year earlier; US figures fell 20.6 per cent over the same period.

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India

Dry, wet, dry again: India’s monsoon swings threaten crops, power supply

India’s fifth-driest June on record was followed by a sudden deluge that dumped about a month’s worth of rain in a single week.

Indian farm workers replant paddy saplings after monsoon rains in the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India on July 10. Photo: AP
Food and Drinks

US$1,100 for 1kg? Hunting the wild mushrooms of Yunnan

In China’s wild-mushroom capital, there are more than 1,000 species of edible varieties, and many are highly prized in Chinese dishes.

Ganbajun, Jianshouqing and Songrong, some of many mushrooms grown in Yunnan. Photos: Hong 0871
China trade

China’s imports from Africa surge after Beijing expands zero-tariff policy

China’s growing hunger for critical minerals partly drove the increase, but the tariff reduction is also fuelling trade in several new sectors.

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Indonesia

Indonesia’s free meals scheme cut leaves kitchen operators in limbo

Each operator spent at least US$83,000 to build one kitchen, ⁠and had to take bank loans or sell assets to fund it.

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Singapore

In Singapore, ‘durian tsunami’ won’t last long as prices rise and wave ebbs

‘If you want to eat durians, better eat them now already,’ a seller says as supplies become less abundant.

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Live streamers sell durians through an online platform at a shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last month. Photo: AFP
The Philippines

‘All talk’: farmers warn Philippines isn’t ready for ‘super’ El Nino

Rice output could be slashed by 700,000 tonnes as dams dry up, evoking memories of the Philippine drought of 1997-98.

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Malaysia

Anwar, Anutin hit diplomatic high notes to mask Malaysia-Thailand tensions

Despite the leaders’ personal chemistry, the seafood row shows the ‘frictions’ embedded within the countries’ relationship, analysts say.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Tanker transit through Strait of Hormuz plunges as US-Iran ceasefire fractures

Renewed hostilities could undermine credibility of future ceasefires with long-term impact on global energy markets, inflation and risk premiums, analyst says.

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Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on July 8. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

EU launches anti-dumping probe into imports of Chinese ducks

Five European duck producers allege that Chinese counterparts exporting Pekin ducks benefit from state subsidies, cheap feed and other policy support.

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Pekin ducks at a farm in West Bengal, India. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Malaysia

Even rock-bottom prices fail to stop premium durian thefts in Malaysia

‘It is shameful to steal. These fruits are the farmers’ livelihood,’ Penang Fruit Farmers Association chairman Kie Kim Hwa says.

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United States

USDA lowers reported beef export sales by 90% amid growing doubts over data

The original report was widely dismissed as inaccurate, amid concerns over the agency’s big staff cuts under the Trump administration.

Malaysia

Malaysia, Thailand make peace over seafood row after Anwar and Anutin meet

The two leaders also agreed to develop a ⁠special border economic ⁠zone and boost agricultural cooperation.

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Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (left) with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim in Putrajaya on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
China-Latin America relations

A year into Trump’s tariffs, Brazil trades less with US and more with China

Trading report lands as USTR weighs extra 25 per cent levy and Flavio Bolsonaro tells hearing that Lula ‘licks China’s boots’.

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A worker washes coffee beans at a plantation near Pocos de Caldas, Brazil. Brazilian coffee exporters now sell most of their produce to Europe. Photo: AP
Japan

In Japan’s tuna boom, fishermen struggle to keep profits above water

A quota system is forcing many fishermen to dump the prized sushi fish in the Pacific, squeezing their income.

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The Netherlands

Dutch trade minister in China for high-stakes talks on tech war, tariff tensions

Minister is accompanied by representatives from 17 Dutch companies from sectors including logistics, agriculture and hi-tech.

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