Agricultural commodities, processing and products
Crop products and commodities
Rice scare in Poipet reveals plastic pieces
A rice-milling company has admitted to letting pieces of plastic from its machinery make their way into bags of rice after residents and authorities in Banteay Meanchey’s Poipet town raised fears of “plastic rice” upon finding their rice abnormally sticky since the Pchum Ben holiday. Keep ...
Laos hosts Chinese banana rush
Northern Laos is emerging as an important source of fresh bananas for the Chinese market, with several different investors from China itself understood to be establishing plantations covering thousands of hectares across several different regions. The investors have been drawn to the region by good availability ...
Vietnam blocks Chinese apple imports over island dispute
China’s apple exporters will have to come up with new, non-controversial packaging if they want to resume sending the fruit to Vietnam, authorities said on 22 October. Keep reading ...
Xayaboury province bans further investment in banana farms
Xayaboury province will impose restrictions on banana farms following reports which suggested that farms in several provinces had used harmful chemicals which leaked into the soil and threatened local livelihoods. Governor of the northwestern province, Mr Phongsavanh Sitthavong, recently informed the media that Xayaboury would allow ...
Devastating Myanmar floods send paddy prices skyward
Surging demand following the widespread destruction of paddy fields during the recent flooding has forced a record spike in prices, say the Myanmar Rice Federation and local paddy and rice traders in Naypyidaw. Since September, the price per 100 baskets of Manaw Thukha old crop in ...
Surge in Red River hurts Vietnamese crops
After hydrologists warned last week that huge discharges of water from Chinese reservoirs upstream would flood the Hong (Red River) in the north, water levels have risen sharply, damaging ships and destroying crops. The Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper reported that the water discharge ...
Chemically grown vegetables remain widespread in Laos
Organic vegetables are not widely consumed in Vientiane because many people don’t give much thought to the fruits and vegetables they are eating. Awareness of organics is low because the ingestion of chemicals in food is normally at low levels and only harmful over time. Keep reading ...
Thailand's organic village scheme set for expansion
The Thai government has pitched the idea of developing the organic village scheme in a move to strengthen local communities and farmers. The scheme, organised through a partnership with the Organic Agriculture Association of Thailand, will launch in five provinces: Chiang Mai, Surin, Lampang, Phetchabun and ...
Vietnam's fruit and veg exports on track to hit $2 billion this year
Vietnam’s fruit and vegetables are getting more popular overseas with exports growing 26.5 percent annually, local media reported. In the January-September period, the revenue was estimated at over $1.4 billion, up 16.5 percent year-on-year. Keep reading ...
Thai Government tells rice farmers to choose another crop
The government has called on farmers across the country to grow plants that require less water than rice amid the ongoing risk of drought. “Farmers, for example, can grow corn-for-animal feed and pods instead,” government spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on 4 October. Keep reading ...
