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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.
Farmers harvest rice in Aceh Besar, Indonesia. The first planting season of the year is just months away in much of Asia. Photo: EPA
US, Israel war on Iran

Why spike in fertiliser prices could boost China’s political clout

Beijing could see its regional leverage grow as the Iran war hits supply, though weaponisation of exports is unlikely, analysts say.

100 Top Tables: Cities of Gastronomy

Macau’s culinary festival blends luxury dining with sustainability

Supported by
Macau Government Tourism Office
The Philippines

How soaring fuel prices are pushing Filipino farmers to the brink

China food security

How China’s massive pig farms created a serious pork supply glut

Vast hog farms – some rising 26 storeys high – have caused China’s pig herd to swell, but consumers dislike the industrially produced meat.

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Pigs feed inside a sprawling 26-storey hog farm in central China’s Hubei province. Photo: Xinhua
Indonesia

Indonesia slashes free meals budget to save US$2.3 billion as fuel prices soar

President Prabowo Subianto had previously insisted that the meal programme would be untouched.

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US-China trade war

Trump pitches China trade ‘win’ to US farmers ahead of Xi meeting, midterms

Claims come despite farmers remaining unsure if China will meet its 25 million-tonne commitment for 2026, as planting season approaches.

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China food security

China rushes to stabilise fertiliser market as Iran war chokes off imports

China is pushing firms to release their fertiliser reserves in time for the vital spring planting season, as supplies of key inputs tighten.

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Smoke rises over Tehran following an explosion on March 7. The US-Israel war on Iran has disrupted global fertiliser supply chains, creating issues for Chinese producers. Photo: Reuters
China consumption

How ‘salmon’ raised in landlocked Xinjiang is netting fans in China

Aquaculture in the far-western region is expected to grow even more rapidly after a dependence on imported eggs is diminished or ended.

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China food security

China taps reserves as Iran war disrupts 30% of global fertiliser trade

War in the Middle East is causing global disruption – from oil to agriculture – as countries, including China, enter spring planting season.

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Food and Drinks

How a Taiwanese chemist built a soy empire in Australia

Eric Hsu put his chemistry degree to good use, turning his garage-based business into one of Australia’s biggest makers of soy products.

King International co-founder and managing director Eric Hsu was born in Taiwan and worked as a chemist before immigrating to Australia in the 1980s. Photo: Eric Hsu
Artificial intelligence

AI | AI to narrow China’s rural-urban economic divide

Farmers, schools and healthcare facilities in rural China are benefiting from policies designed to promote the use of artificial intelligence nationwide.

AI to narrow China’s rural-urban economic divide
Thailand

Inside the coconut cartel: how Chinese money squeezes Thai farmers

With Chinese investors seizing the supply chain, Thai coconuts now fetch less than a piece of chewing gum, wiping out profits for growers.

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Thailand

‘Farmers bear the cost’: Iran war knocks out Thai Mideast rice exports

The situation could ripple through the nation’s economy and further batter growers struggling with falling domestic prices.

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China consumption

Beijing urged to boost rural pensions as lawmakers fight for farmers’ fair share

Appeals highlight a long-standing lack of benefits for elderly citizens outside cities, and proposals include leveraging state assets and new taxes to bridge the vast disparity.

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An elderly Chinese farmer works a vegetable field in Anhui province. Photo: Getty Images
China food security

China targets record food-security push in shadow of US-Israeli war with Iran

Beijing is pushing for bigger harvests in its new five-year plan, coinciding with renewed pressure on global supply chains.

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Workers harvest rice in China’s Zhejiang province in October. Photo: Xinhua
US, Israel war on Iran

Sowing the seeds of hunger: war on Iran puts Asia’s next harvest at risk

As Gulf gas plants go offline, missing fertiliser shipments today could mean empty shelves and record food prices by autumn.

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China trade

Iran war fallout grows as China struggles to import vital fertiliser chemical

Supplies of sulphur – a key fertiliser ingredient – are tightening in China just as the spring planting season begins.

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Food and Drinks

Shine muscat grapes grown in Hong Kong? She’s doing it – using baby formula

Yan Fuqin’s organic farm in Kwu Tung uses Mead Johnson formula to grow soft, creamy shine muscat grapes, but its future is under threat.

Organic farmer Yan Fuqin holds a bunch of her farm’s shine muscat grapes at her stall at Hong Kong’s Tsuen Wan Market. Photo: Hei Kiu Au
Food and Drinks

Can Cadbury chocolate-fed Wagyu outshine Japan’s finest beef?

Raising cattle on confectionery might sound crazy, but to Australian Wagyu producer Mayura Station, it’s ingenious and makes a difference.

China food security

Explaining China’s 2026 rural blueprint

SCMP Plus annotates the No 1 document released by the Communist Party’s Central Committee and State Council setting out key rural policies for the year.

China food security

Opinion | How China’s national food security push could reshape global markets

Amid increasing pressure from trade wars and climate change, Beijing is reframing agriculture as a matter of national security.

Farmers pick grapes in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province on June 6, 2025. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
US-China trade war

Trump lashes out at US Supreme Court, rolls out new 10% global tariffs

Decision threatens administration’s trade agenda; casts shadow on Xi-Trump summit as some China tariffs wiped out before Beijing talks.

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US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on so-called reciprocal tariffs during an event at the White House last April. Photo: AFP
China-Africa relations

China helps Zimbabwe grow US$1.2 billion tobacco crop amid debt, health concerns

As Zimbabwe’s largest agricultural export and a primary foreign currency earner, tobacco dominates its trade with Beijing.

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Consumer protection in Hong Kong

Editorial | Food poisoning cases in Hong Kong must prompt swift mitigation efforts

Amid the latest spate of illnesses, the city needs to adopt proactive and transparent strategies to ensure that customers can dine safely.

China-Latin America relations

Brazil races to China beef cap as 55% tariff risks price collapse

January surge puts 1.1 million tonne cap at risk, as Brasilia weighs export curbs to avert price slump and job losses.

Brazil is one of the world’s largest beef exporters, with China its single biggest overseas market in recent years. Photo: Getty Images
China consumption

China overhauls CPI basket, with never-before-seen unveiling of its composition

Beijing’s five-year recalibration aims to better reflect consumption, as policymakers shift weight away from food and housing.

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For China’s consumer price index (CPI) basket, Beijing has increased the weight of transport and communications to 14.3 per cent in its latest five-year adjustment. Photo: Getty Images
US-China relations

As Bessent tips next US-China trade talks, analysts see Trump-Xi meeting prep

Treasury Secretary Bessent confirms preparations for high-level dialogue, with analysts expecting a focus on specific transactional wins over a relationship reset.

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China consumption

China failed to hit 2025 soybean meal dependence target. US deal makes it harder

Beijing sees soybeans as the agricultural industry’s biggest vulnerability, while plans to cut their use in animal feed have little success.

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