Author: Hithaishi CB

Heiko, currently President, Bayer Consumer Health, has deep experience and a successful track record in the global foods and nutrition industry. He started his career at Nestlé, spending more than 20 years in sales and marketing roles in Asia, before rising to lead Nestlé’s global Nutrition business division as CEO in 2014. He joined Bayer in 2018 and has since driven significant performance improvements to deliver industry-leading growth for Bayer’s Consumer Health division. Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher said: “Heiko is a global business leader with deep expertise and experience of the foods and nutrition industry and a long track record…

Protégé Ventures (PV), Singapore-based student venture capital fund, has announced an undisclosed pre-seed investment in ZOLO, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered business to business (B2B) software company founded by two alumni from two Singapore universities. Investment is considered to be the 11th student-founded startup Protégé Ventures has funded since 2017. The decision to invest in ZOLO underlines PV’s commitment to backing high-growth student startups that drive positive change and innovation in their industries. Together with ZOLO’s prior investors such as Antler, GHARAGE and NTUitive (via an equity-free grant), PV is embarking on a collaborative journey to foster innovation in the B2B food…

Strategic alliance to revolutionize maritime and aquaculture industry in the region The Negeri Sembilan government, in partnership with Malaysia listed company Tanco Holdings Berhad, have announced the signing of a joint venture agreement for the development of Malaysia’s first smart artificial intelligence (AI) container port at Dickson Bay, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan of Malaysia. This pioneer project, which has received a nod from the Ministry of Transport of Malaysia, marks a significant milestone in Negeri Sembilan’s strategic development in support of the nation’s economic growth. Midports Holdings Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Tanco (MHSB) and Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan (Pemerbadanan)…

China, the US, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Netherlands, Taiwan (China), Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia were the top importers of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in 2023 Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports soared by 38% to $749.7 million in the first two months of this year. By 2024, they are expected to reach nearly $7 billion. The sector is expected to remain a bright spot in 2024, as many businesses report they have full order books through the first quarter. After signing a protocol on phytosanitary requirements for Vietnamese fruit exported to the neighboring country last…

Department of Agriculture(DA) has been providing interventions, and facilitating marketing strategies to help farm producers in agri-fishery sector Prices of onion, tilapia, and other selected agricultural commodities have started to decline since February, based on reports from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The report shows that red onion have reflected a P25.26 decrease in its average value per kilo from January to February, posted at P188.37 and P163.11, respectively. Its retail price from the 1st phase to the second phase of February has also contracted from P174.91/kilo to P163.11/kilo, posting a P11.8 reduction. Tilapia prices have also gone down from…

Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani shared his views The Malaysia Ministry of Plantation and Commodities has been formulating plans for the revitalisation of low production levels among Malaysia’s palm oil sector smallholders. Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani in his recent address to Malaysian palm oil industry leaders at the “14th Malaysian Palm Oil Industry Dialogue 2024 on Feb 20, Johari acknowledged the importance of collective actions in navigating the multifaceted challenges confronting the industry. Johari emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to tackle pressing industry issues such as labor shortages, sustainable…

LED lighting solutions for global food and ornamental growers Fluence, a leading global provider of energy-efficient LED lighting solutions for commercial cannabis and edibles production, announces its latest lighting solutions LED lighting for food and ornamental growers: RAPTR 2 and VYPR 4. Fluence’s latest LED innovations were developed in parallel with the company’s global research program, which includes partnerships with industry leaders around the world and internal analysis of spectral optimization for various crops . The new RAPTR and VYPR offerings build on Fluence’s existing portfolio of lighting solutions to deliver robust devices with higher wattages, increased efficiencies and enhanced ROI for growers…

Increase from earlier 4.7 million tons efeective from 2024 Feb budget Indonesia Government has decided to increase subsidized fertilizer from 4.7 million tons to 9.55 million tons for the 2024 budget allocation. Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman said that the increase will ease the burden of farmers by securing fertilizer supply for them. Thus, they can focus on increasing productivity to achieve food self-sufficiency. He added that the stock of rice will increase in upcoming months as we are entering harvest season. “We planted rice in more than one million hectares of land in December 2023 and January- February…

37th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC37) The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has announced that around Forty countries from the Asia and Pacific region have agreed that transforming agrifood systems was imperative to providing food security for next-generation and beyond, The summation was delivered at close of the 37th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC37). The conference was hosted by the Government of Sri Lanka. Forty countries of Asia and the Pacific attended the APRC, with the vast majority attending in-person, including some 20 government Ministers.…

Event is co-hosted by China’s major three wholesale markets: Guangzhou Jiangnan(South China), Shanghai Huizhan (Central China) and Sunhola Group (North China) As part of its recently launched regional series of events, the Business Meet-Ups, ASIA FRUITLOGISTICA is organizing a China-focused networking and trade event to take place at theShanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center on 27-28 May 2024. The Business Meet-Up in Shanghai brings together leading buyers and suppliers from acrossthe industry to network and explore in-depth the trends and opportunities in the fast expanding China market. The two-day event includes an information-packed programme of expert talks anddiscussions organized…