News from China

China dairy to buy majority stake in baby formula maker China Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd. (2319.HK) is buying a majority stake in smaller rival Yashili International Holdings Ltd. (1230.HK), which has market cap... China embarking on vast programme of urbanization China is pushing ahead with a sweeping plan to move 250 million rural residents into newly constructed towns and cities over the next dozen years — a ... Dairy pair expected to reveal milk deal Trading in the shares of two Hong Kong-listed mainland dairy firms was suspended yesterday, triggering market speculation about a possible consolidati... Chinese gov't grants support subsidies for poultry industry The government has granted subsidies of 300 million yuan (48.54 million U.S. dollars) to prop up the poultry sector as it struggles in the wake of the... Chinese export deals help secure the future of Jersey Dairy Jersey Dairy has won major contracts to supply dairy products to two key Chinese distributors in Shanghai and Hong Kong – contracts that will play a s... Chinese farmer jailed for making a rubber alien As proof of extraterrestrial life, one Chinese farmer's crudely built rubber alien, stashed in a chest freezer in his garage, was rather unconvincing.... Poultry plant fire should spark action on workplace safety Long before China's much vaunted "economic miracle" of the 1990s and 2000s, there was a popular saying in the country's dangerous professions, such as... Foot-and-mouth disease hits cattle in China An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed in cattle in southwest China's Yunnan province, the agriculture ministry said Sunday. A vi... More affluent Chinese consumers eating beef With more money in their pockets, millions of Chinese are seeking a richer diet and switching to beef, driving imports to record levels and sending lo... China arrests two over poultry plant fire Two senior executives at a poultry processing plant in China have been arrested over a fire that left 120 people dead, officials say. Monday's blaz... China meat fiasco hits reputation The proverb "for want of a nail" has been around for centuries and reminds us very small things can have very big consequences. In 1918 a certain A... Chinese farmers upset by rising rice imports Veteran farmer Fu Huoshan is expecting another bumper rice harvest this year, which is adding to the 70-year-old's anxieties amid sluggish rice sales.... Deadly fire in China poultry plant A fire at a poultry processing plant in China has killed at least 112 people, officials say. The fire broke out at a slaughterhouse in Dehui in Jil... China's food demand grows China's rising hunger is driving ever-larger acquisitions of global food assets as the shifting dietary profile of the world's most populous nation in... Floods leave thousands in distress, over 1300 livestock killed Authorities informed that heavy floods triggered by rainstorms have affected over 16,400 people while causing two deaths in China's Xinjiang Uygur reg... Chinese company is buying America's largest pork company Smithfield Farms, the U.S. pork producer and maker of hams, is getting acquired by Shuanghui International. Smithfield stockholders will get $34 pe... As China's farm output falls, can we expect rising food prices? Agriculture is an important foundation for China's economic and social development, and grain security for 1.3 billion Chinese is the top priority of ... Evolving H7N9 bird flu could close poultry markets Flu: there's good news and bad news. On the one hand, there have been no new human cases of H7N9 bird flu in China since 8 May. But we can't celeb... In China, food scares put Mao's self-sufficiency goal at risk The discovery of dangerous levels of toxic cadmium in rice sold in the southern city of Guangzhou, the latest in a series of food scandals, has piled ... Half of the rice in Guangzhou is polluted The latest in China's rolling cascade of food safety disasters comes from Guangzhou -- the capital of Guangdong province in southern China, and one of... China's bird flu outbreak cost $6.5 billion The H7N9 virus appears to have been brought under control in China largely due to restrictions at bird markets, but caused some $6.5 billion in losses... Chinese PM vows to open up markets to India Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged on Tuesday to open up domestic markets to Indian businesses and narrow a gaping trade deficit between the ... China meat issue 'urgent' Federated Farmers says it's absolutely vital the issue with meat exports into China is resolved urgently. The Government says it's working to sort ... China's meat block still unexplained Chinese officials are yet to explain exactly why they are blocking meat from entering the country. At a chaotic press conference in Parliament toda... Danone invests in Mengniu as Chinese demand food safety Danone (BN), owner of Activia yogurt and Evian water, will spend about 325 million euros ($417 million) to form a joint venture and invest in China’s ... Private Equity Pins Hopes on China Agriculture Private equity investment into China’s agriculture sector sagged in 2012, but with the government vowing to modernize farming methods and general grow... Serbia Welcomes Chinese Investment in Agriculture Serbia welcomed potential Chinese investment in its agriculture as they would be most beneficial for both countries, said Danilo Golubovic, State Secr... China underlines stable agricultural production amid challenges The Chinese government on Wednesday urged greater effort to ensure the smooth agricultural production needed to sustain growth in the world's second-l... Competition for China's dairy market CHINESE demand for New Zealand dairy products has well and truly “kicked”, however there is not enough Kiwi supply to satisfy "the dragon’s" increasin... China's farming heritage, innovation to stem agriculture trade deficit The tide of agricultural exports from New Zealand to China could begin to balance out under a new bilateral agreement to promote agricultural cooperat... Why is China a hot zone for the deadliest strains of bird flu? As influenzas go, the H7N9 virus at first seemed relatively benign: in late March, the Chinese government reported that three individuals had contract... It's safe to eat poultry: experts Poultry is safe to eat provided it is properly handled and cooked, according to a joint study group on Monday. To date, there has been no evidence ... Changing farm scene in China a boon for Thai exporters? More rural Chinese people are turning their backs on agriculture in search for higher-paid jobs in factories, confirming the expectation that China wo... Farm exports to China may get boost Major trading partner China has signed a strategy today with New Zealand to promote more agricultural co-operation between the countries. Since the... Chinese beef market could surpass Indonesia A beef industry expert says China could be a bigger beef export market than Indonesia if live trade can be opened up with Australia. The country's ... China allocates fund to support spring farming The Ministry of Finance said Friday it has allocated 7.9 billion yuan ($1.25 billion) to support spring ploughing, which is pivotal to the country's g... China media urge eating poultry despite bird flu China's poultry industry lost 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in the week after the H7N9 bird flu virus began infecting humans, state-run media said on... New China bird flu death, U.N. concerned about spread Another person died from a new strain of bird flu in China on Thursday, state media said, bringing to 10 the number of deaths from the H7N9 virus, as ... China to help in satellite monitoring of crops The Planning Commission, with Chinese financial assistance, has decided to launch a key project of satellite monitoring of crops. The project would... China bird flu: Pigeon markets fall empty Beijing's Tianlong bird market fell silent two weeks ago. The gentle sounds of cooing pigeons that usually fill the open-air market have been replaced... Residents in China ordered to cull poultry Residents of a Chinese city were ordered to cull all their poultry as authorities stepped up attempts to halt the spread of the deadly H7N9 bird flu, ... Pork prices fall, forcing down inflation rate China's pork prices, which weigh heavily in inflation calculations, registered a sharp decline in March, putting downward pressure on the country's in... China bird flu ‘devastates’ poultry business China’s deadly bird flu outbreak has dealt a “devastating” blow to the nation’s poultry sector, an industry group said on Tuesday, with sales reported... China buys 1m tons of US wheat after price drops China, the world’s biggest consumer of wheat, bought almost 1 million metric tons from the U.S. as prices slumped 30 percent from a four-year high rea... Bird flu fears hurt China Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong pared earlier steep losses on Monday after worries about a new strain of avian flu drove both indices to fresh lows ... Live poultry trade market closed in E. China Signs are seen to remind citizens that a live poultry trade market is closed in Feidong County, east China's Anhui Province, April 7, 2013. China r... 'Intense' farming in China's developed areas blamed in bird flu risk A state-backed Chinese newspaper on Sunday blamed “intense” farming methods for heightening the risk of deadly diseases such as H7N9 bird flu crossing... China confident it can control bird flu outbreak China can control the outbreak of an avian flu strain newly contracted by humans, a senior Chinese health official said on Sunday, a day after China r... Chinese farmers make fortune from agritourism Once an aquafarm close to bankruptcy, Haiwan Farm has been revitalized a decade later thanks to its successful transition to an agritourism base for u... China culls poultry as bird flu death toll reaches six China has begun a mass slaughter of poultry at a market in Shanghai, after a new bird flu virus was detected there. The H7N9 virus, a form of avian...