Agricultural commodities, processing and products
Crop products and commodities
New rice deals hammered out with African countries
Thailand has clinched several deals to sell 765,000 tonnes of rice worth US$313 million to African countries. Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said during a five-day visit to South Africa that Thai exporters had signed 11 memorandums of understanding with African importers for the rice, worth 10.9 ...
Vietnam to resume importing Australian oranges, tangerines and grapes from August
Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has said resumed permission for importing three Australian fruits including oranges, tangerines and grapes is expected to be given on 1 August. Keep reading ...
Report slams push for rubber
Protected areas and other biodiversity hotspots across Southeast Asia are increasingly under threat from expanding rubber plantations, with Cambodia at risk of losing more ecologically important land than any of its neighbours, a recent study reports. According to the study, if current trends continue, Cambodia stands ...
Southern Thailand hit by weak rubber prices
At a time when little is going right for Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, Thailand is being hit hard by weak global demand for its major agricultural exports. Among the people most affected are the country’s rubber producers, suffering depressed prices since January 2014. After surging to more ...
Lao farmers devastated by severe drought
A lack of rainfall and scorching heat is destroying the livelihoods of Lao farmers, who say their crops are dying amid an ongoing drought in the Southeast Asian region linked to the El Niño phenomenon. The drought since May has left those in Laos who rely on ...
Myanmar rice traders hope slowdown of Chinese buyers is temporary
The arrest of several Chinese buyers for tax evasion and the weakening Chinese economy is hurting trade with Myanmar’s largest rice export market, said U Soe Tun, vice chair of the Myanmar Rice Federation. China is the destination for over half of Myanmar’s rice exports. This ...
Cambodia rice farmers may be advised to plant early-maturing varieties if drought conditions persist
Cambodia rice farmers have started planting for the 2015 main rice crop in May and will continue until July end. However, unusually high temperatures and low rainfall are raising concerns that this year’s paddy production will suffer significantly due to the drought-inducing El Nino weather ...
Cambodian rice fed' dispels fake rice claims
The Cambodian Rice Federation held a press conference yesterday to allay fears drummed up by local media that fake rice is being distributed in the Kingdom. Rumours began to surface this week when a reporter with local news site Khmerload published a story claiming to have ...
Laos: Officials discuss national food and nutrition security
Stakeholders from the government, development partners, civil society organisations and the private sector gathered on 10 July to discuss and exchange information on food and nutrition security in Laos. Meeting at the Policy Dialogue on Food and Nutrition Security and the Asean Integrated Food Security Framework in ...
Mekong Delta summer-autumn rice output seen up 1.6 pct
The summer-autumn paddy rice output in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s food basket, is projected to rise 1.6 percent from last year to 9.07 million tonnes, the Vietnam Economic Times newspaper reported, citing data from the agriculture ministry. Keep reading ...
