Agriculture and fishing
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 ...
Thai Union enforces strict ethics for tuna supplies
Thai Union Group, the world’s largest tuna canner, has stopped receiving supplies from about 1,200 fishing boats in Thailand over the past one to two years as part of its strictly-enforced code for responsible sourcing and conduct. As part of its global rebranding launched on 18 September, the ...
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 ...
Mekong dams will wipe out fisheries, study says
Preliminary findings from a soon-to-be released report have reinforced dismal projections for the future of Cambodia’s fisheries if 11 planned mainstream hydropower dams are built on the Mekong River. Presented on 21 October at the Greater Mekong Forum on Water, Food and Energy in Phnom Penh, the ...
Indonesia destroys Thai, Vietnamese trawlers
Photos from Indonesia on 21 October show the Indonesian navy blowing up fishing boats it seized from Thailand and Vietnam. Keep reading ...
Myanmar fishermen protest Thai hires
The hiring of Thai helmsmen on Myanmar fishing boats has been criticised by the local fishing industry. Two Myanmar companies last year hired Thai captains on the grounds that they were familiar with the use of sonar to find fish. Faced with opposition by local fishermen, the ...
Mandalay farmers battle municipal committee
Angry farmers in Mandalay have hit back at local officials by launching a court action against those they say destroyed huts and signboards on their land. A private company, Phwit Phyo Thit, has signed an agreement with Mandalay City Development Committee to build a golf resort ...
New rules aim to stop crocodile escapes
Crocodile farms will need walls at least 1.5 metres high around their pits under planned government guidelines, an official said on 16 October, after 28 crocodiles escaped in early October. Keep reading ...
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 ...
