Food Briefs International

And as a result of the growing number of prospective customers, its potential remains strong in the country. The frozen food can be stored indefinitely with the establishment of a good cold chain. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM), Malaysia recorded 26 food items with more than 100% selfsufficiency ratio (SSR) in 2021 slightly better compared to 19 in 2020.

Scientists from NTU Singapore have successfully bioengineered an important protein in plants to increase the yield of oil from their fruits and seeds – a holy grail for the global agri-food industry.

October 2022 marks an all-time high for food inflation in the UK, increasing to 11.6 percent and affecting basic products such as model farms of the project is in Multan.

China’s support helps Pakistan to cut oil seed imports. As Pakistan has been confronted with severe economic challenges especially after massive countryside floods, with the shrinking foreign exchange reserves, the country’s various imports are putting additional financial strain milk. With cost-of-living crisis continuing to affect consumers across the UK, the (BRC) has revealed that food inflation in October 2022 has increased to a record-breaking 11.6 percent.

Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said that the new phase of seed cooperation between Pakistan and China was critically important for Pakistan to meet our food security challenge in the future. He said that the South Asian country was in dire need of seed cooperation to meet the climate change challenges. China helped Pakistan take seven herbal seeds to the Chinese space station for space breeding by exposing them to cosmic radiation and microgravity to mutate their genes.

Three U.S. agencies have forged a partnership to improve global food safety standards. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are launching the Food Safety for Food Security Partnership (FS4FS).

As nearly 1 million tonnes of aquaculture wastes are discarded each year across Vietnam, businesses are exploring ways to reclaim the waste to shore up their environmental credentials and revenue streams.

FAO assures Pakistan of support in agriculture

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has assured Pakistan that it will continue to play a leading role in transforming the country’s agriculture food systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, sustainable and resilient. This is a challenge that has gained urgency following recent floods that have devastated the country’s agriculture sector.

In Pakistan, the FAO will require massive and sustained investments in climate change adaptation and resilience, especially within the agri-food sectors as this is crucial to ensure better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all — the ‘4 Betters’ that are at the core of the FAO Strategic Framework for the next decade, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said while speaking at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan, in Geneva.

The FAO hief said the organisation had also been leading preparations for the agriculture, fisheries and livestock section of the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) and has contributed to developing the livelihood component of the UN’s Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework (4RF).

Under the 4R framework, at least $4 billion are urgently needed to facilitate the immediate recovery of the agriculture sector, and to lay the foundations for lasting resilience, according to FAO. An estimated 4.4 million acres of farmland — enough to cultivate crops for 14.6 million people — were damaged, and more than 800,000 animals perished in the floods.

In all, more than $9 billion in losses were incurred by the agriculture sector. What’s more, over 80 per cent of such losses were absorbed by the crop subsector, which means that food production will be compromised in the immediate future without substantial support.

To date, the FAO has mobilised over $25 million and has provided over 600,000 affected people with seeds and fertilisers. In addition, livestock vaccination campaigns have been completed in the Balochistan province and are being finalised in Sindh, while livestock feed distribution will begin shortly. The FAO’s role in Pakistan includes the provision of technical leadership for the Transforming Indus Basin Initiative, funded by Green Climate Fund.

Through this programme, some 1.3 million people in vulnerable areas of the Indus River basin will see improved yields and increased returns of between 30 and 80 per cent in their production. In all, about 16m people will benefit from the programme, either directly or indirectly, Dongyu explained.

Pakistanis in a fix over deepening food price disparities

Higher import and transportation costs, crop availability, the demand and supply gap, hoarding, exchange rate issues, etc have led to massive price disparities in prices of essential food items in various cities of the country.

According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the rate of 20kg flour bag in Karachi has reached a record Rs2,800-3,000 as compared to Rs1,295 in Islamabad, Lahore and Gujranwala, while the same bag is being sold for Rs1,300-2,880 in Larkana, Sukkur and Hyderabad. In Quetta and Peshawar, these flour bags sell for Rs1,295-2,700.

The port city of Karachi does not cultivate wheat and it depends on the arrival of grain, mainly from producing areas in interior Sindh.

In Khuzdar, a live broiler chicken is available at Rs460 per kg as compared to Rs410-450 in Quetta, while in Karachi it is sold at Rs390-420.

The bird costs Rs375 in Peshawar and Rs390-400 in Islamabad. The highest egg rates of Rs275-300 per dozen prevail in

Karachi, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Quetta, while the lowest egg rates of Rs250-270 are in Multan, Bahawalpur and Sukkur.

Faisalabad has the highest price of Rs295 per kg for masoor as compared to Rs250-280 in Karachi and Rs235-240 in Peshawar. In Quetta, Moong rate hovers between Rs300-310 as compared to Rs210-280 in other cities.

The price of gram pulse holds the peak of Rs280-290 per kg in Quetta as compared to Rs220-260 per kg in Karachi and Rs200-250 in other cities.

Potatoes from the new crop are selling at Rs35-50 per kg in Karachi and some cities of Punjab, consumers of Islamabad are paying Rs60-90 per kg followed by Rs50-70 per kg in Peshawar and Rs60-70 in Quetta.

In Islamabad, onion carries a price of Rs240-280 per kg as against Rs180-220 in other parts of the country. Floods in August devastated Sindh crops and only a few quantities are arriving from some producing areas at higher prices. Even the import of onions from various countries had failed to bring down prices.

Experts eye Kiwifruit potential in Pakistan

Experts believe that Kiwifruit, a highvalue crop, which was introduced in Pakistan during the last decade has great potential and can help more Pakistani farmers throw off poverty.

We imported Kiwi plants and did various locational trials in KPK, Islamabad as well as on the Punjab side. The result from the Mansehra area of KPK was outstanding," said Naveed Ahmed, Scientific Officer of PARC-NTHRI Shinkiari.

Kiwi gets 30 kg to 35 kg of fruits per plant internationally, while Pakistani kiwi gets 40 kg to 45 kg of fruit production on average. Some plants even gave 100 kg of fruits per plant. Naveed gave evidence proving Pakistan's advantages in the Kiwi production industry. Our locally produced fruit is also sweeter. That is the reason that its value is high in markets. Kiwi farmer Ateeq ur Rehman added.

Chairman of PARC Dr. Ghulam

Muhammad Ali encouraged farmers of

Gilgit-Baltistan to focus on the research of Kiwi fruit this year. "We should spread awareness among people and motivate people to grow kiwi fruit, because, by looking at the demand of people for this fruit, this would be the most expensive fruit in the near future. All the people are showing interest in this fruit," Naveed Ahmed said.

Kiwi is native to China, where Kiwi plantation area and output rank first in the world. The Kiwi industry has helped a lot of Chinese counties get out of poverty, Chinese media reported.

With improved planting technology and the use of order agriculture, fruit farmers' income further increased. At present, our county kiwifruit planting area reached 28,800 hectares. The annual per capita net income of farmers also increased, said Yang Yuan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Zhouzhi County, an agricultural County of China known as the "Kiwi hometown". At present, more than 300,000 people in the county are engaged in Kiwifruit-related industries.

In addition to using Kiwifruit to get farmers out of poverty and boost the country's economy, China is also discovering Kiwi's higher value with its organic farming experience.

They are very interested in the production and industry chain of China's organic fruit products. We are also the training base of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Pakistan is also a member of SCO. Next, we can go abroad with these safe and high-quality agricultural models. According to the needs of foreign friends, we will help update and improve their agricultural model." Wang Xiaotie said.

Huge market exists in China for Pakistani pine nuts

A large market exists in China for Pakistani dried fruits. China is also one of the biggest buyers of pine nuts from Pakistan. Talking to media, Dr Nurullah, Senior Scientific Officer at the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), said

Pakistan is an incredibly fortunate country with a wide range of abilities in every genre. It is especially true for dry fruits. Pakistan produces a lot of different types of dried fruits, and it also exports a lot of them.

“Pakistan can generate a huge amount of income if it focuses on pine nuts production on a larger level. They are grown in areas like Waziristan, Zhob, and Chillas. The tree is hard and tall and can endure excessive drought, high winds, and severe cold in winter. The harvesting of pine trees takes place in September or October. Nearly 20% of the Pakistani forests are comprised of chilgoza trees,” he said. “In terms of market share, Pakistani pine nuts enjoy a huge amount of popularity in China,” he added. The amount of Pakistani pine nuts exported to China from January to September this year has reached a record high figure of $47.691 million, according to the official data published by the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC).

Dr Nurullah mentioned that more than 42% of China’s imports come from Pakistan, making Pakistan the second largest exporter of pine nuts to the neighbouring country. According to the GACC, in the first nine months of 2022, China imported 4,290.642 tons of pine nuts from Pakistan, which are worth nearly $48 million. At the same time, China imported 15,253.90 tons of pine nuts from all over the world, worth roughly $112.98 million during the same period. According to research, China has become the main market of Pakistani pine nuts in the last few years, which is why local growers are pleased that they can make a good profit from the neighbouring country. Since the Chinese government has played a crucial role in having flexible trade policies with Pakistan, Pakistan has been able to export pine nuts in huge quantities to China even during the pandemic. In the second phase of the ChinaPakistan Free Trade Agreement, Pakistani pine nuts don’t have any tariffs on their export to China, so we can sell them at a competitive price. This year’s prices may be raised as a result of the floods and fire that destroyed thousands of pine trees, which might result in a shortage of pine nuts. To earn a big income, the government should focus on promoting the production of this fruit, where it can be grown easily. Also, we lack good storage facilities, as dried fruits are not perishable, thus they can be stored for a long time.

Pakistan is ideal for growing all crops, fruit

Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) Chairman Dr Ghulam

Muhammad Ali has said that Pakistan had conducive weather conditions with diverse human resources with a potential to grow different crops and fruit of international standards and contribute to the national economy. He was speaking as a chief guest to the participants of the first day of the citrus festival organisd by the University of Haripur.

He said that the weather conditions of Pakistan were so ideal for growing crops and orchards that farmers could grow every kind of crop and fruit with a little effort. “Our youth needs to be given a platform and direction. They have the talent to grow hybrid seeds, chilghoza and olive,” he said.

Dr Ali said that benefiting from the technological advances was the need of the hour for achieving the desired targets of economic wellbeing of farmers and the country as well through capacity building of human resources.

He said that the talent of the young agriculture graduates could be utilised for improved agricultural output with an effort of giving them hands-on training. He added that the PARC was available for capacity building of youths in this regard.

He urged the attaches posted in foreign embassies to explore the market and create space for the Pakistani agro based and agricultural products.

Dr Muhammad Nawaz Khan, Director General Research Punjab Agriculture Department, said that Sargodha’s Kino was earning $200 million during the two months exports every year and the Khanpuri orange, which was famous for its taste, could also be exported and the farmers could earn a better living.

He said that the farmers, researchers and industrialists must join hands and utilise their efforts for increasing the per annum yield by making it an exportable commodity.

Prof Dr Farid said that the dairy and agro based products have the potential to give a turn around to the national economy with a little effort. Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Shafiqur Rehman said that the faculty members, and students of the University of Haripur would contribute their maximum share in promotion of Khanpuri orange and improving its quality and produce.

Only fortified crops offer sustainable food security, better nutrition in Pakistan: experts

Amid fears of considerable decline in the wheat production due to effects of climate change for the 2022-2023 season, biofortified crops, especially Zincenriched wheat, has the potential to help bring food security to Pakistan and overcome widespread and preventable zinc deficiency in the larger population, food and agriculture experts said recently.

Pakistan faces serious challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition, especially among women and children. Nearly one in every five children under five years old and over 20 per cent of women are zinc deficient. Climatic changes, including extreme flooding, have further deteriorated the situation. Economists believe that malnutrition costs Pakistan $7.6 billion every year due to lost labour, healthcare expenses, and lower productivity of human capital.

Authorities in Pakistan anticipate considerable climate-related decline in wheat production for the 2022-2023 season, and yet food and agriculture experts are hopeful that production of zinc-enriched biofortified wheat will rapidly increase to approximately 5.4 million metric tonnes (MT) in the wheat cropping season of 2023, up from 3.5 MT in 2022.

The warming climate is a direct nutritional and economic threat to billions of smallholder farmers in Pakistan who rely on staple food crops for much of their diet and income. “Pakistan is leading the way globally when it comes to scaling zinc wheat production,” said Jenny Walton, HarvestPlus Head of Commercialization and Scaling, following a recent visit to Pakistan during which she inaugurated zinc wheat flour production at a chakki mill in Faisalabad. “Zinc wheat has commercial benefit for all supply chain players and results in a nutritious product that consumers need and want,” she added.

The owner of a chakki mill in Faisalabad, Mahboob Ahmed, echoed this sentiment, “At my mill there is a no difference in the price of the whole grain wheat flour made from zinc-enriched varieties compared to conventional wheat varieties. My income has increased as more people are coming to my shop to buy zinc wheat flour.”

He added, “I am thankful to HarvestPlus for building my capacity to supply people of my area with zinc wheat flour, which is good for their health and supports their immunity against diseases.”

To date, three varieties of biofortified zinc wheat —Zincol 2016, Akbar 2019, and Nawab 2022 — have been developed by the national and provincial wheat programmes with the support of international scientific organisations. These varieties are available for production and consumption in Pakistan.

Pakistan-China red chili project to help uplift

Pakistan’s agriculture sector

Launched in 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a corridor linking Pakistan’s Gwadar Port with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while in the new phase expands to the fields of agriculture, livelihood, etc.

Echoing the CPEC’s cooperation in agriculture, China Machinery Engineering Corporation and Sichuan Litong Food Group have established a company and carried out a red chili contract farming project in 2021, and one of six model farms of the project is in Multan.

Their nursery is among thousands of acres of model farms where the company teamed up with locals for contract farm- ing of Chinese chili varieties, with an aim to export the crops back to China after harvest and earn foreign exchange revenue for Pakistan.

Talking to media, Muhammad Adnan, executive manager of the company, said that local farmers’ interest in cultivating Chinese chili is increasing due to its better yield and strong resistance to diseases.

“Local chili is highly vulnerable to diseases, and farmers are hesitant to grow it, but the Chinese varieties are robust, easy to pick, and are sold at a higher price directly to Chinese companies from the farms, without any involvement of middleman, making it highly popular among local farmers,” he added.

Adnan said that in the near future, primary and deep processing units for value-added services of the crop will also be established in Pakistan, adding more value and jobs for locals. The most crucial time for the crop is in January as the seedling process is underway in tunnels and the plants are easily rotten because of disease or low temperature.

China’s support helps Pakistan to cut oil seed imports: experts

As Pakistan has been confronted with severe economic challenges especially after massive countryside floods, with the shrinking foreign exchange reserves, the country’s various imports are putting additional financial strain.

Statistics from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) show that in FY2021, Pakistan’s imports of soya beans, whether or not broken, reached about $1.145 billion, a strong growth of about 50% yearon-year, exhibiting the country’s urgent demand for soybeans.

However, in the first quarter of FY2023, Pakistan’s soybean imports were

$269 million, down about 18% year-onyear, which may had been affected by the decline of the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Soybean production should be adequately considered by Pakistan because of the country’s over dependence on imports of soybeans. Lack of high-quality seeds, high-yielding planting patterns and machinery restricting Pak soybean production “We are dependent on imports. It is very expensive which causes increase in the price of feed, oil etc. day by day. It is our need to plant it in our country,” Hafiz Saad Bin Mustafa, Oilseed Scientist, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute said.

According to him, In Pakistan, all crops are non-GMO except cotton. “Most foreign varieties that we import are of mild areas and GMO. They can neither be planted here nor can they survive here. So seeds of local varieties should be multiplied and should be promoted in the potential areas that we have identified by our trials and adoptability studies,” Hafiz said.

As he sees it, since soybean is mostly cultivated in such countries as America, Brazil and Argentina where there is mild climate, Pakistan needs to develop its own non-GMO soybean verities that can perform well in high temperatures.

“We do not produce good quality seeds, and the total seed production is twenty percent in different crops. There is a huge gap. At present we are dependent on imported seeds for different crops even for wheat, rice, cotton and vegetables, and the same is with soybeans. We should produce it locally,” Dr. Zahir Ahmad, In-charge, Soybean Breading Lab, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) said.

According to Dr. Zahir Ahmad, farmer needs specific planters, harvesters and threshers. “Mechanization is one of the best approaches by which we can increase soybean production. In this way we need less labor, less time and less storage time,” he said. Talking about the latest progress of soybean production in Pakistan, Dr. Zahir Ahmad emphasized that now their focus is intercropping-specific soybean promotion, which is a highyielding technology from China.

Over 92% wheat sowing target achieved

Over 92.08 percent of the set target of wheat sowing in the country has been achieved for season 2022-23, to produce about 28.4 million tons of grains to meet domestic requirements and keep the strategic reserves.

According to the Provincial Crop Reporting Services, by January 2, 2023, the wheat crop was cultivated on over 21.04 million acres as against the set targets of 22.85 million acres.

While talking to APP here on Monday, Food Security Commissioner in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research Imtiaz Ali Gopang said, it was anticipated that crop sowing targets set for the current season would be achieved as the standing water of catastrophic floods and torrential rains receded from the arable areas of Sindh, enabling the farmers to sow the crop.

Besides, he said, in some areas sugarcane crop was not fully harvested and fields were occupied by the matured crop, adding that due to the start of the crushing season of sugarcane, these lands were now ready for sowing.

Gopang said that final wheat sowing data would be compiled by mid of the current month (January) and would depict the actual picture, adding that area under wheat sowing would further go up due to timely rains in rain-fed areas of the country.

Besides all other factors, the government had also provided incentives and facilitated the growers, particularly farmers of worst flood-hit areas, for ensuring timely sowing of crops and earmarked an amount of Rs 1,819 billion under Prime Minister Kissan Package, he highlighted.

The agriculture loans amounting to Rs 663.9 billion were released during the month of November 2022 and it was expected that the loan disbursement would surpass Rs 800 billion mark by the end of last month, Imtiaz informed. The agriculture loan was the component of Prime Minister Kissan Package of Rs 1,819 billion to revive Pakistan’s agriculture sector, particularly restoring the agriculture of areas affected by catastrophic floods during monsoon season.

He said the package comprised 15 main points to restore and revive the agriculture sector in the country to ensure food safety and security in the country, adding that significant progress had been made in all points.

The prime minister on October 31, 2022, he said, had announced the package and the cabinet accorded the approval to this effect on November 17. Prime Minister was taking a keen interest and holding a fortnightly meeting in order to review the progress on the package, he assured.

Besides, the government has also announced to waive off markup for the farmers from the flood-devastated areas, the food security commissioner said, adding that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had also issued a notification to this effect, and a 100 percent markup amounting to Rs10.62 billion would be waived off.

Bangladesh

BB forms Tk5,000cr refinance scheme for farmers to boost food production

The Bangladesh Bank has created a Tk5,000 crore refinance scheme for farmers, aiming to ensure food security by boosting domestic production amid the worsening global food crisis.

Under this scheme, farmers will get loans for cultivating paddy, fish and vegetables at an interest rate of 4% only, which they can repay in 18 months including three months of grace period, according to a central bank notice issued recently.

Besides, banks will be able to borrow from the central bank at an interest of only 0.5% to provide farmers with loans under this scheme. Farmers can avail of the loans till 30 June 2024, which can be extended if necessary, said the central bank.

The notice further stated that a global food crisis has occurred due to disruptions in the international supply chain. Given the situation, the central bank has come up with the decision to finance farmers in order to ensure food security.

Economists see this decision in a positive light as they say that the only way to deal with the global food crisis and to control import costs amid the country's forex reserve crisis is to increase food and agricultural production locally. In particu- lar, increased production in the rice, pulses, potatoes, fisheries and poultry sectors can keep the country safe from the threat of famine, they add. In view of that, they consider the government's proactive initiative to create a refinancing scheme to provide low-interest loans to farmers very positive.

The government is taking various steps to increase food production out of the fear that the ongoing global food crisis will become more pronounced around the world in 2023. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has decided not to reduce agricultural subsidies, and ensure uninterrupted fertiliser and irrigation facilities. In this context, the Bangladesh Bank has formed this fund before Boro season that caters to rice demand for eight months in a year in the country.

Canada

Canada’s plant-based food sector gaining momentum

As 2022 comes to an end, Protein Industries Canada is celebrating the advancement of Canada’s plantbased food and ingredient sector, and the achievement of significant milestones as an organization.

“Over the past four years, Protein Industries Canada and our industry partners have made tremendous progress, including investing more than $477 million into Canada’s plant-based food, feed and ingredient ecosystem through 55 innovative projects,” CEO of Protein Industries Canada Bill Greuel said. “We now have projects that span from British Columbia to Prince Edward Island and beyond. More so, the result of this investment is becoming increasingly tangible, with new ingredients and food products making their way onto grocery shelves and restaurant menus in Canada and beyond.”

Plant-based foods present an incredible opportunity for Canada. Driven by a growing global population and an expanding middle class, combined with consumers choosing plant-based foods for health, environmental and animal welfare reasons, it is expected that by 2035 the annual global market will be worth upwards of more than $250 billion for Canada, this represents a potential $25 billion in annual sales by 2035, supported by 17,000 jobs.

“I am proud of the progress of Protein Industries Canada and the work we have accomplished; however, I am more pleased to see the growth of the sector and achievements of our partners,” Greuel said. “Having recently returned from multiple overseas trips, I can attest that the international ecosystem is paying attention to Canada and our companies. Our approach to collaborative innovation, our natural advantages in crop production, our commitment to sustainability, and our supportive governments are all factors distinguishing Canada from our competitors.”

Protein Industries Canada, one of Canada’s five Global Innovation Clusters, accelerates innovation in plant-based protein. Working with trailblazing companies, Protein Industries Canada provides a structure that lessens risk and allows for bold initiatives, creating new ingredients and food products, facilitating industry partnerships, and opening doors to investment opportunities. With a current portfolio of nearly half a billion dollars in innovative R&D projects, Protein Industries Canada is working with companies to create solutions to a global food challenge.

“Over the past four years, the Canadian ecosystem has embraced the opportunity presented to us and have collaborated to innovate new processes, ingredients and food products. I am excited to build on the momentum we have and accomplish even more over the next five years,” Greuel said.

Protein Industries Canada’s first agreement with the federal government comes to end in March 2023 and was recapitalized by the federal government in Budget 2022. Protein Industries Canada will begin a new round of coinvestments in the Spring of 2023.

China

China pulls off new record in grain output, expected to remain cornerstone of global food security

China pulled off a new record in grain output in 2022, official data showed, defying the uncooperative weather at home and the ripples of the Ukraine crisis. The difficult feat attests to the country’s targeted and effective response to a conflux of headwinds, as food security is adamantly high on the government’s agenda, experts said.

China’s capability to sufficiently feed nearly one-fifth of the world’s population against all odds and at reasonable prices offers reassurance to a patchy global grain market, they noted, expecting the country to remain a cornerstone of global food security and economic stability.

China’s grain output in 2022 hit 686.53 billion kilograms, an increase of 0.5 percent from the year before, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said recently. The number pointed to a new record high and marked the eighth consecutive year that the country’s total grain production has exceeded 650 billion kilograms.

The area of cultivated farmland stood at 1.775 billion mu (118.33 million hectares), up 0.6 percent from last year. Per unit output of grain reached 387 kg per mu, the NBS said.

The bumper harvest comes despite extreme regional weather conditions, including rare autumn flooding in the northern part of the country and extended drought and high temperature in the south, on top of COVID-induced disruptions, Wang Guirong, an NBS official, wrote in a statement dissecting the results.

In addition to extreme weather events that slammed part of the country with floods and some other parts with droughts, a spike in fertilizer prices amid the Ukraine tensions was seen weighing on the domestic grain market. Still, the nation pulled off a good result, Nie Fengying, deputy director of the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told the media.

He cited targeted moves at the central and local government levels to fight against droughts and floods such as the allocation of funds from government finances for drought and flood relief, the assignment of agricultural experts to onsite guidance that helped farmers with crop management in accordance with weather swings.

Pumping groundwater to irrigate drought-plagued crops was also among targeted and effective measures that come in handy as the government ratchets up its focus on food security, Jiao remarked. Ensuring food production is a key component of wide-ranging efforts to strengthen food security, he emphasized, pointing to calls to fill Chinese people’s rice bowls, mainly with Chinese grain.

India

The frozen food industry booms with each passing day

The global economy is preparing itself to pick up momentum in the post-pandemic era despite economic slowdowns and fluctuations in the economy all around the world. Despite all the odds, the frozen foods industry remains strong and continues to grow.

Consumer behaviour and consumption patterns have witnessed an exponential shift in the post. Pandemic age as consumers have started resorting to convenient and healthier food options for their Palates. Frozen foods are seen to be a go-to option these days, due to three key ancillary factors – value For money, convenience and healthiness.

Currently, the frozen foods industry is experiencing a significant increase in sales with each passing day. According to the results of a recent study conducted by the Research and Markets, India’s frozen food market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 7.7% and reach USD 1,841.28 Million by

2027. The frozen food industry in India is still in its infancy but growing fast. A huge market is yet to be explored. And as a result of the growing number of prospective customers, its potential remains strong in the country. The frozen food can be stored indefinitely with the establishment of a good cold chain.

It can reach every corner and crevice of the country and global interest in Indian frozen food is phenomenal. Moreover, it is pertinent to note that the frozen food industry is growing by leaps and bounds across the globe as well. A recently released Comprehensive

Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR) stated that the frozen foods market has the ability to capture a spurring growth rate of 5.93% between 2022 and 2030.

It underlined that the market value for this industry by 2030-end could be close to USD 338.5 Billion. These statistics stand testament to the fact that frozen foods are being welcomed with open arms Among modern households, but what is the driving force behind this transition? Well, the secret lies in The health packed benefits of frozen foods now.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s food supply unsustainable in the long term, say experts

Access to affordable and nutritious food is becoming more difficult globally, following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and climate change. Consequently, this crisis has propelled Malaysia’s food security to the top of national concerns.

Emerging from the pandemic, Malaysia is now ranked 41st on the Global Security Food Index (GSFI), with a heavy reliance on imports for essential food products.

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM), Malaysia recorded 26 food items with more than 100% self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) in 2021 slightly better compared to 19 in 2020.

Economist Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi said the country’s food security ranking is poor — considering its abundant water, climate and availability of lands — compared to its land-scarce neighbour Singapore, which came in at No 28. “We should be doing much better than this. Our agrifood industry is quite underdeveloped, which is why we import a lot of food,” Nungsari told to media.

Last year, a deficit of RM25 billion was recorded as Malaysia’s imports of agrofood stood at RM64 billion compared to RM39 billion exports.

For the last 10 years, Malaysia’s imports of food accumulated to RM482.8 billion, while exports amounted to RM296 billion, based on DoSM data. The data also shows that Malaysia is highly dependent on imports of mutton (from Australia), mango (Thailand), coconut (India) and beef (Indonesia) to meet domestic demand. Moreover, Malaysia also saw a staggering high import of chillies, ginger and round cabbage.

“We cannot grow or produce all the food we import, but we can certainly aim to be competitive, not just for local consumption but for export markets.

“It only makes sense to go into agrifood if we are competitive enough to export,” he noted. To tackle the food supply, he opined that the authorities should offer longer land tenures to encourage farmers to invest in technology.

Singapore

Bioengineering crops to yield more vegetable oils

Scientists from NTU Singapore have successfully bioengineered an important protein in plants to increase the yield of oil from their fruits and seeds – a holy grail for the global agri-food industry.

Their patent-pending method can increase oil content in seeds by 15 to 18 per cent, which is a significant improvement since major oil-producing crops such as soybean, sunflower, rapeseed, and peanut, already have a high percentage of oil in their seeds.

This innovation can help the world in its quest for sustainability, helping to reduce the amount of arable land needed for oil-yielding crops while increasing the yield to meet the world’s growing demand for vegetable oil, especially when facing effects of climate change.

Lead scientists Assoc Prof Gao Yonggui and Asst Prof Ma Wei said their method can also aid the agri-food industry in addressing United Nation’s sustainable development goals, since vegetable oil is an essential part of the human diet and used extensively in food processing.

The global market for plant oils is estimated to be worth US$241.4 billion in 2021 and is expected to increase to US$ 324.1 billion by 2027, according to industry estimates. The team expects that their method will have economic impact if adopted by industry players.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Expert Consultant on novel foods, NTU Michael Fam Chair Professor William Chen, gave his independent views, saying that more advanced technologies to grow more food with higher nutrition value such as this, is required to increase food security and tackle world hunger.

United Kingdome

UK food inflation continues to break records

October 2022 marks an all-time high for food inflation in the UK, increasing to 11.6 percent and affecting basic products such as milk. With cost-of-living crisis continuing to affect consumers across the UK, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed that food inflation in October 2022 has increased to a recordbreaking 11.6 percent.

Previously, in September 2022, food inflation reached 10.6 percent, however the additional percentage increase in October has affected basic items such as tea bags, milk and sugar.

Explaining the recording breaking inflation rates, Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the BRC said: “Prices were pushed up because of the significant input cost pressures faced by retailers due to rising commodity and energy prices and a tight labour market.

“While some supply chain costs are beginning to fall, this is more than offset by the cost of energy, meaning a difficult time ahead for retailers and households alike.”

What’s more, shop price annual inflation has also hit an all time high, accelerating to 6.6 percent in October 2022, up from 5.7 percent in September.

Delving deeper, specific food categories were also subject to price increases during October 2022. Fresh food inflation increased to 13.3 percent, up from 12.1 percent in September, marking the highest food inflation rate in the fresh food category on record.

Furthermore, ambient food inflation accelerated to 9.4 percent which was a 0.8 percent increase from the precious month (8.6 percent), achieving the fastest rate of increase in the ambient food category on record.

“With pressure growing on discretionary spend across both non-food and food retail, delivering good value is the table stake in the battle for shopper loyalty over the next eight weeks,” said Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business Insight at NielsenIQ.

As the prices of food are continuing to increase, a survey has revealed that consumers may have to make sacrifices when it comes to their weekly shop.

In a survey conducted, a quarter (24.9 percent) of respondents said that they had stopped buying a food or beverage product in the previous three months due to an increase in price. This percentage is significantly higher than the survey results from 10 months previously, where 17.6 percent of shoppers claimed to omit purchases due to steep costs.

Usa

U.S. Agencies Partner to Advance Food Safety Standards Globally

Three U.S. agencies have forged a partnership to improve global food safety standards. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are launching the Food Safety for Food

Security Partnership (FS4FS). The initiative includes the investment of $15 million over the next five years to support the availability and trade of safe food products to reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries.

During the U.S.–Africa Leaders Summit, many African heads of state reached out to USDA for help in developing science- and risk-based measures and standards to ensure the supply and safety of their countries’ food. Through FS4FS will work together with these nations to address their needs, which are vital to ensuring greater access to safe and nutritious food across Africa. The partnership will focus on transforming agrifood systems through food safety delivered through policies and institutions, as well as farmer, consumer, and industry readiness.

FS4FS will build upon the work of Feed the Future with countries around the world. Led by USAID, Feed the Future brings together partners from across various sectors and the U.S. Government to help countries change the way their food systems work.

To improve trade, and food safety and security, FS4FS aims to support the development of sanitary and phytosanitary systems in Feed the Future countries. Through the partnership, longstanding barriers to participation in the food system will be addressed through capacity-building.

With its capital investment, the partnership will provide technical assistance, knowledge management, and digital tools to strengthen the policy and regulatory environments in participating countries. The collective efforts will help achieve global food security goals by decreasing foodborne illnesses and reducing trade suppression.

VIETNAM Vietnam’s seafood producers spot business opportunity in aquaculture waste

As nearly 1 million tonnes of aquaculture wastes are discarded each year across Vietnam, businesses are exploring ways to reclaim the waste to shore up their environmental credentials and revenue streams.

Vinh Hoan Corporation extracts proteins from fish waste for use in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

"Our company isolates collagen and gelatine from fish skin, two proteins that are used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals", said Vinh Hoan's general director Nguyen Ngo Vi Tam. According to reporting in Vietnam+, about 19 percent of the firm’s revenues come from aquaculture byproducts and 7 percent is yielded from recovering collagen and gelatine.

Tam explained that her company opened its first gelatine and collagen plant in 2015. The facility – the first of its kind in Vietnam – has an annual capacity of 2,000 tonnes. As of 2021, Vinh Hoan’s aquaculture byproducts and collagen/gelatine products yielded over $88.4 million (2.2 trillion VND) in rev- enues. The collagen and gelatine segment contributed $25.6 million (642 billion VND) to Vinh Hoan’s revenues.

Another company, Nam Viet, recently followed suit – opening a plant that can process 780 tonnes of collagen. Market forecasters now estimate that collagen segment could grow by 6 percent annually to reach $8 billion by 2027.

Other firms are profiting from re-utilising shrimp waste. Vietnam Food (VNF) is deriving polymers like chitosan from shrimp heads. According to Phan Thanh Loc, Vietnam Food’s CEO, chitosans can be used in anti-obesity and blood clotting medications.

"We process shrimp heads into various products, including chitosan and hydrolysed liquid. Our shrimp-derived hydrolysed liquid is unique," he said. Loc believes that the value of shrimp could quintuple if they could be reclaimed as animal feed. He also estimates that the value could jump twenty times if they were incorporated into functional foods and thirty times if they could be used in pharmaceutical products. However, of the shrimp producers who re-utilise their waste shells, most opt to use them in animal feed as the other segments require investing in high-tech processing equipment.

Vietnam’s industry insiders believe that the aquaculture segment generates nearly 1 million tonnes of waste each year – if left as is, this volume of waste comes with significant environmental drawbacks. It also represents and untapped business upsell.