Bangladesh’s Fishery Revolution
With a 25-fold growth in farmed fish market over the last three decades, Bangladesh has been experiencing a quiet revolution in aquaculture.
The country grows nearly 20 lakh tonnes of farmed fish a year, and an overwhelming 75 percent of the farmers sell fish to wholesalers.
In the mid-80s, 60 percent (75,000 tonnes) of the farmed fish output of 1.24 lakh tonnes was traded in markets. Now, more than 90 percent of aquaculture production of 20 lakh tonnes is sold commercially.
An international study on Bangladesh’s growth in fish culture came up with the data, debunking the traditional view that the country’s fish farming is mainly subsistence-oriented.
Carried out by researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Michigan State University in the US, the study was published recently in Aquaculture, an international journal.
It says 42 percent of the marketed farmed fish is consumed in urban areas, and that share is growing fast.
The Washington-based global think tank, IFPRI, notes, “The fish value chain in Bangladesh is growing and transforming very rapidly, in all segments. The quiet revolution in the fish value chain is a domestic market revolution: 94% of aquaculture production is destined for domestic consumption.”
With an annual production of nearly 20 lakh tonnes of cultured fish, Bangladesh is the world’s fifth largest producer of inland aquaculture after China, Indonesia, India and Vietnam, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) stated in its report titled “State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016”.
Ricardo Hernandez, IFPRI research coordinator and lead author of the study, said “Aquaculture has become an important driver of Bangladesh economy and the industry now employs as many persons as the garment sector, another growing success story in the country.”
Just over a decade ago, rural farmers usually sold their fish to local traders, but now they are selling two-thirds of their product to large wholesalers based in towns and cities, he said.
The study points out that volumes and actors in the fisheries tripled in Bangladesh in the last 10 years.
Statistics of Bangladesh’s Department of Fisheries (DoF) also reflect the fast change in the dynamics of the country’s fish production.
Within the last 10-12 years, the contribution of farmed fish to net fish output has grown from 43 percent to 56 percent, meaning that cultured fish (farmed in inland closed water) now overtakes the volume of captured fish (grown in natural free-flowing open water).
DoF figures show that the country’s annual fish production stands at 37 lakh tonnes, and nearly 56 percent of that comes from farmed fish, 28 percent from captured fish and the rest from marine fisheries.
Hernandez said, “What really surprised me about these findings was the extent of the growth in many sectors, not just in production but also in many off-farm segments, such as rural and urban traders, input dealers and feed mills.
“The rapid increase in mainly small and medium actors has produced a more competitive environment that has pushed the adoption of new technologies, which has increased productivity. This has greatly benefited poor and low-income consumers.”
This rapid growth has been driven by increased demand; improvements in technology, communications and infrastructure; and investments by millions of farm households and small and medium enterprises, he added.
The study says, “Very little change was brought about by NGO or government action, although the government did play an important role in the early stages with infrastructure investment (such as investment in fish seed production, electricity and roads), a pro-business outlook, and a laissez-faire approach to land use and crop choice.”
The researchers observed that Bangladesh saw proliferation of feed mills, hatcheries, farmers and traders as well as increase in the use of hired labour and investment in agricultural equipment.
Hernandez said, “Both rural and urban poor households have been able to improve their diets by consuming more protein and micronutrients from a source other than rice.”
According to the DoF, fisheries contribute 3.69 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP and over 23 percent of agricultural GDP. With an average fish intake of 53 gram per person a day, fish now account for 60 percent of protein supply for the entire population.
Besides, one crore 78 lakh people are fully or partially employed in the fisheries sector.
Aquaculture saw a robust growth of 8.2 percent, much higher compared to the average growth rate of all fisheries (5.4 percent) in the last one decade.
The IFPRI-led study noted that there has been rapid capital deepening in the form of investments by hundreds of thousands of actors in the fish value chain; apparent in a great jump in feed use, investment in equipment and pond construction, and investments in mills, hatcheries and vehicles.
These investments have been made by, and provided opportunities for, a multitude of smallholder farmers and small and medium enterprises throughout the chain, it observed.
It also made mention of the diversification and specialisation beyond carps in production of commercial species such as tilapia and pangasius catfish, which have raised yields.
Source: The Daily Star
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The Sacrificial Pig，来自南澳巴罗莎山谷的芳香，为养猪人量身打造的
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A winning formula? China invests in Canadian dairy to help feed its baby boom
Donald Trump called Canada’s supply-managed dairy sector a “disgrace.”
Indeed, Canada’s strict system of production quotas, import restrictions and price and quality controls is a perennial target for free traders.
But guess who likes it? The biggest market Canada is wooing right now: China.
Supply management is a big reason why a Chinese corporation is investing an unprecedented $225 million in eastern Ontario. Feihe International, Inc. wants cows. Goats, too. Lots of them.
That’s because as China’s one-child policy phases out, it’s going to need a lot of baby formula.
“It’s one of the largest economic development projects in our city’s history,” said Kingston, Ont., mayor Bryan Paterson, calling Canada’s largest-ever foreign investment in agri-food “off the charts.”
“It might be out of the ordinary, but I think that’s what was most exciting.”
Feihe International Inc.’s future baby formula plant is now under construction on a 40-acre site in Kingston, Ont.’s Cataraqui Estates Business Park. (Feihe International Inc.)
The first concrete trucks are already pouring at the future site of a 28,000-square-metre infant formula plant. When the state-of-the-art facility opens in 2019, it will employ over 200 people in manufacturing and research jobs. Over a thousand more could come from its construction and eventual supply chains.
A small team of Chinese managers have moved to Kingston. Everyone else will be local.
Last winter, Feihe brought the mayor and a delegation from Kingston over to northeastern China for a tour of its factories and farms. Paterson was struck by how geographically similar it was to eastern Ontario.
With one big difference: scale.
A “typical rural village” they visited was three times the size of Kingston, he said.
“When you have millions and millions of babies, you need to be able to manufacture a lot of infant baby formula.”
Bringing formula production back
Canada hasn’t made its own baby formula for years. The Canadian Dairy Commission tried for a couple of years to find a domestic processor. Demand for butter was up, and baby formula uses the non-butterfat part of milk. But no Canadian processors were interested in expanding into formula.
The CDC broadened its search internationally, to European and Asian companies.
In Feihe, the CDC found its fit: a manufacturer with over 50 years of experience and keen to expand to North America.
Promotional materials describe Feihe as the top domestic manufacturer of cow’s milk formula in China in 2016, with brands in over 100,000 retail outlets across that country — mostly in medium-sized cities where urbanization is expanding and the number of middle-class consumers is rising fast.
Business proposals obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act anticipate strong growth for China’s formula market. Only one in four Chinese mothers breastfeed exclusively for their baby’s first six months. The gradual phase-out of China’s one-child policy is poised to spark a baby boom.
Delegations from Kingston, including this group seen last winter at Feihe International’s Beijing head office, have been visiting China to discuss not only the new baby formula plant but future manufacturing and research projects. (Office of Mayor Bryan Paterson)
Roughly 85 per cent of the powdered formula made in Kingston could be shipped back to China.
But that’s an awfully long boat ride. Why come all the way to Canada for milk?
Quality concerns
It’s all about reputation.
In 2008, Chinese dairy products such as baby formula were discovered tainted with melamine. Hundreds of thousands became sick, and at least six children died. Since then, many Chinese distrust domestic milk and prefer foreign brands.
The world’s top dairy producers have eyed China for years. But New Zealand’s dominant dairy cooperative was a minority shareholder in Sanlu, the company at the heart of the melamine scandal.
Sagging global prices for milk are now forcing farms around the world out of business. Not so in Canada.
“I know that might sound silly for some people, but this is a good side of supply management,” said Canadian Dairy Commission spokesperson Chantal Paul. “[The Chinese] know that they’re going to have their supply.”
Canada enjoys a lot of goodwill right now, and Justing Trudeau has a relatively high profile in China.
“New Zealand doesn’t have [Norman] Bethune,” quipped Carey Bidtnes from the Kingston Economic Development Corporation, a reference to the Canadian doctor who became famous in China in the late ’30s.
Not enough goats
Feihe plans two production lines in Kingston, starting in 2019: one mixing and drying formula from cow’s milk, a second with goat’s milk.
Canada’s marketing boards make supplying the cow’s milk straightforward — demand in Eastern Canada’s pool is expected to rise by about one per cent.
Supplying enough goat’s milk is another story. But there’s no supply management for goats. You could milk every one in Ontario and it still wouldn’t fill Feihe’s order.
Ontario’s goat industry produces about 52 million litres annually. But that milk is already spoken for.
If Feihe wants 75 million litres, the industry must double or triple its size. In the short term, goat milk may be trucked in from Quebec or the U.S. Over time, Feihe wants to build up a local industry.
‘Lots would love to expand’
It all spells opportunity for anyone frustrated by how expensive it is to get into the cattle business — milk goats instead.
That’s Andy Jackson’s strategy.
The young farmer from Winchester, Ont., said Ontario’s goat industry today is where the cattle business was three or four decades ago. It needs to improve breeding and nutrition to boost production.
Surveying a converted barn full of Saanen and Nubian goats — milking breeds popular in Europe — Jackson described how he’s reducing kid mortality and improving the quality of his milk.
Some Chinese investment has flopped, he knows. But his research suggests Feihe isn’t a fly-by-night company.
“Hey, at the end of the day, whoever buys the product,” he said.
He and his partner used to joke about wanting to expand from 300 to more than 2,000 goats within five years.
“With this plant coming into effect, that’ll make that joke actually be able to happen,” he said.
Source: CBC News. Date: 2017-08-03
Australian Grains Industry Conference: Be wary of China reforms
Australian grain exporters will need to be wary of new disease and import standards in China as its Government starts to implement a range of revolutionary food safety and agriculture policy reforms.
That’s according to Beijing-based Chinese policy specialist Erlend Ek who spoke at yesterday’s Australian Grains Industry Conference in Melbourne.
Mr Ek, who is a researcher for China Policy, said Chinese media reported last month a shipment of Australian grain was stopped at a Chinese port due to new ergot standards which came into effect at the end of June.
Ergot is caused by a fungus, which besides reducing yields, can also be toxic to animals and humans.
Exports generally have a maximum tolerance level for any shipments which might harbour the ergot fungus.
Mr Ek said the Chinese government’s policy on food production was moving from being self sufficient to a more market-based approach where food quality and environmental concerns have become a priority.
“They are heading toward quality; they want to be seen as a quality producer,” Mr Ek said.
Mr Ek said as a result of the “massive changes” happening with food and agriculture policy in China, hundreds of new standards have been updated.
“They have just revised 6000 national standards for food,” he said.
“The ergot issue comes as a result of this.
“It was released 23 June and on 5 July there were reports that Australian ships were stopped (as a result of this standard).”
However sources have told The Weekly Times they were not aware of a shipment being stopped, and no Australian authorities had been told about an ergot issue with a grain shipment.
But they acknowledged ergot might be an issue in the future.
Other Chinese government changes includes the winding back of subsidies and price supports for local farmers, because price levels were well above global prices, Mr Ek said.
“Support and subsidy system is reaching its ceiling in its (World Trade Organisation) commitment moving away from market distortion and price support,” he said.
This was designed to make farmers more professional, and drive efficiency through the industry.
“China is at a critical stage of a transition from planned economy … toward a modern agriculture industry.
“(The government is saying) let’s make farming professional and more of an industry, and we need to allow other sectors to invest in agriculture.”
This will involve changing the current collective ownership structure of agricultural land, to allow companies and individuals to trade in the collective ownership of land.
This was expected to be confirmed at the Chinese government annual congress later this year.
However he said there was still opportunities for Australian agriculture these included providing grain exports, but quality standards would need to be met.
“Chinese production will hit 600 million tonnes by 2020, but and demand is expected to hit 700 million so they will need imports to make up (the difference,)” Mr Ek said.
“They imported about 105 million tonnes last year, and this year (imports) will hit 120 million tonnes, most of this is soybeans.”
Source: Weekly Times. Date: 2017-08-03
Latent risks as Aussie meat beefs up VN market share
As the demand for imported beef soars, Australian exporters are strengthening their market share in Vietnam, but the situation is fraught with risk, experts say.
A Dau tu (Investment Review) newspaper report says Vietnam has become one of the largest importers of Australian cattle. In 2016, it ranked fourth among 32 countries importing Australian cattle.
The report quoted Tong Xuan Chinh, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Animal Husbandry Department, as saying Vietnam began importing Australian cattle in 2010.
In 2012, the country had just four enterprises importing Australian cows but by 2015, the number had risen to several dozen with a total of 360,000 heads of cattle imported.
Vietnamese businesses are now rushing to import Australian cows and fattening them for sale to slaughterhouses. As a result, inventories of live cattle have swelled significantly.
The inventory of Australian live cattle in 2015 was estimated at 100,000 heads due to oversupply, Chinh told Dau tu, adding that in 2016, imports of cattle from Australia to Vietnam slowed dramatically as feedlot operators moved to lower their inventories.
Before 2010, Australian cattle exporters were not aware of the attractive Vietnamese market. Their main partner at the time was Indonesia, importing nearly 1 million cows from Australia per year, said Luong Minh Tung, Chairman of Yen Phu Beef and Dairy Cattle Breeding JSC in Ninh Binh province.
In 2011, the Australian government issued a ban on cow exports to Indonesia after reports surfaced about inhumane slaughter in some of its abattoirs, Tung said, adding that Australia also lost their strategic partner after the decision.
This was the context that Australian businesses, urgently looking for new partners, found Vietnamese ones, Tung said.
The import of Australian cattle for fattening had been expected to open up a new direction for the fed-cattle industry. However, Tung said, there were always latent risks in imports.
He said there were too many businesses involved in importing Australian cattle, which could lead to supply exceeding demand.
Instead of importing culled beef of large weights, Vietnamese firms preferred to import calves in order to fatten and sell to slaughterhouses, which offers greater profits, Tung said.
However, as Vietnam didn’t have favorable conditions like Australia to breed cows, local importers have to invest a lot in infrastructure to support the influx of Australian cattle, meeting strict importing-related requirements.
According to Hoang Dung, Director of the Hai Phong Investment and Animal Poultry Products Import Export JSC., or Animex Haiphong, Australia requires all slaughterhouses in importing countries to have modern equipment and comply with ECAS (exporter supply chain assurance system) needs.
Businesses whose abattoirs are not in line with ECAS will be banned from purchasing Australian cows.
Such bans could cause huge losses to many Vietnamese slaughterhouses, Dung said, adding that although there were thousands of standard slaughterhouses, only 100 units or so had been approved by the Australian side.
Dung also said many small and medium-scale cattle breeders were facing severe competition from large rivals, like the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agriculture International JSC (HNG), which has poured trillions of dong into importing Australian cattle to Vietnam for fattening and selling.
“Small businesses usually import several thousand heads of cattle each time and will purchase more only after they have already sold them out. Meanwhile, HNG buys 30,000 to 40,000 heads of cattle each time,” Dung said.
The Da utu report said that at the end of 2016, the Viet Eco Farm JSC. launched a beef store chain called “Healthy beef” in Can Tho city, providing fresh, high quality Australian beef products in large quantities.
In the short term, the company aims to supply beef for the Mekong Delta region, but plans to expand its market in other parts of the country, establishing new distribution channels.
Viet Eco Farm also imports Australian calves to fatten and sells mature cows to abattoirs at thousands of heads per time. The company has invested a lot in breeding facilities and modern slaughter lines, and set up 450ha of pasture land to raise cattle.
Chairman of the Vietnam Livestock Association Nguyen Dang Quang said the amount of imported Australian cattle was increasing rapidly, being sold at reasonable prices, enjoying preferential tariffs and becoming more popular with Vietnamese consumers.
Australian beef is “dominating” the Vietnamese market, Quang said, adding that the more fierce rivalry between Vietnamese firms, the more benefits Australia exporters could enjoy.
Quang said it is imperative the country imposes technical barriers on Australian beef so as to protect the domestic cattle industry.
Source: VNA. Date: 2017-08-03
China’s love of wine drives thirst for knowledge
The speed with which China has become Australia’s largest wine market (by value) is extraordinary.
In calendar 2000 China imported $1.34 million of our wine; by 2016 it reached $520m, three months later in March it had reached $568m, a year-on-year growth of 41 per cent.
France is its leading supplier, with 44 per cent of the market, Australia is second with 25 per cent, and Chile (with a long-standing free trade agreement) third with 16 per cent. Chile’s exports (largely bulk) are declining, and Australia’s growth rate is greater than that of France. Wheels of all sorts are driving the dynamics, some more obvious than others.
The two-way trade of products and services between China and Australia is many times greater than that between China and France. More Chinese arrive in Australia every day than any other country. Chinese returning home become brand ambassadors for wine and its use in everyday living.
Despite all this, the Chinese wine market is immature.
While there is a thirst for knowledge evidenced by the many wine courses now run in China — the multi-level British Wine and Spirit Education Trust course is most important — a large gap still exists between theory and application.
Even for some hoping to become professionals (sommeliers, writers, teachers, retailers), having a glass with meals at home for casual enjoyment can still be a step too far, but not on the basis of gender. On a trip to China in May, Wine Australia arranged for 15 Chinese wine professionals (of varying experience) to each ask me one question. All were in their 20s or 30s, and all but one were female. But the statistics don’t lie. The middle and middle-upper classes who live in one of the hundred cities with a population of more than one million, have the income to fund ever-increasing consumption.
At the other end of the scale is the demand for high quality South Australian shiraz, led by Penfolds Grange and its other luxury brands.
These wines are purely aspirational for upper-middle-class buyers, but well within the reach of the millions of wealthy consumers. Treasury Wine Estates’ share price is a direct reflection of this. Then there is the so far largely ignored white wine sector. The split is 88 per cent red wine, 12 per cent white, utterly at odds with the greater compatibility of white wines with cuisine and all but winter temperatures.
Source: The Australian Business Review.
China orders halt to red meat imports from several Australian meatworks
China has temporarily banned beef imports from six Australian meatworks, the Federal Government has confirmed.
Australia was made aware of the ban on Tuesday, and Trade Minister Steven Ciobo told the ABC he intended to work closely and constructively with industry and China to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
The ABC understands the affected abattoirs are in Queensland and NSW, and include two facilities owned by Australia’s largest meat processor JBS.
Other companies affected are Kilcoy Pastoral, Australian Country Choice, the Northern Rivers Co-operative at Casino, and Thomas Food.
Mr Ciobo said the ban related to Chinese concern about labelling non-compliance.
There is no suggestion health or food safety issues are involved.
“This is obviously a very material situation,” Mr Ciobo said.
“We’ve got, potentially, very significant amounts of trade involved in this and so it’s a matter that I’m very mobilised on, my team, my office, as well as our embassy in China.”
Government adopts proactive approach
Mr Ciobo said Australia and China had a strong relationship that “sees us work through irritants”, such as Australia’s recent ban on prawn imports.
“We intend to engage in a very constructive way,” Mr Ciobo said, and sought to reassure the beef industry the Government would adopt a very “proactive” approach.
The Australian Meat Industry Council confirmed it was working with the Department of Agriculture through diplomatic channels on the issue.
There are shipments currently on the water.
The ABC understands the Australian industry believes it has resolved the labelling issues, and the Government is hopeful it can resolve the issue before those ships arrive in China.
The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources issued a statement on Wednesday saying the six affected export establishments were reported as suspended on the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China website.
“The department is working with industry and Chinese authorities to resolve the matter urgently,” the statement read.
Australia’s beef exports to China were worth more than $600 million last year, and China is the fourth-largest market.
More beef and lamb processors were given approval in March to export chilled meat to China in a deal struck at the highest level, between the Chinese Premier and the Australian Prime Minister.
But Australian exporters are also now confronted with a new competitor in the market as China opens up to US beef imports for the first time in 13 years.
Source: ABC News. Date: 2017-07-27
Vietnam’s agro-forestry-aquatic exports hit 20.45 billion USD in 7 months
The export value of agro-forestry-aquatic products reached 20.45 billion USD in the first seven months of this year, up 14.7 percent against the same period last year, reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Key farm produce raked in 10.89 billion USD (up 18 percent) while aquatic products earned 4.31 billion USD (up 17.5 percent) and forestry products brought home 4.41 billion USD (up 10.8 percent).
Vietnam shipped 3.3 million tonnes of rice worth 1.5 billion USD abroad, up 15.7 percent in volume and 13.7 percent in value compared to the Jan-July period of 2016.
Meanwhile, coffee and cashew nut exports maintained stable growth in the period thanks to higher prices. The country earned 2.12 billion USD from exporting 937,000 tonnes of coffee and 1.83 billion USD from shipping 186,000 tonnes of cashew nuts.
Vegetable and fruit exports witnessed a year-on-year rise of 50 percent in export value to 2.03 billion USD in the reviewed period.
The export value of rubber also recorded a strong surge, reaching 1.13 billion USD, 59 percent higher than that in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, pepper export turnover suffered an 18 percent fall to 800 million USD due to a 30 percent drop in prices.
Source: VNA. Date: 2017-07-27
Why IoT, big data & smart farming are the future of agriculture
The farming industry will become arguably more important than ever before in the next few decades.
The world will need to produce 70% more food in 2050 than it did in 2006 in order to feed the growing population of the Earth, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. To meet this demand, farmers and agricultural companies are turning to the Internet of Things for analytics and greater production capabilities.
Technological innovation in farming is nothing new. Handheld tools were the standards hundreds of years ago, and then the Industrial Revolution brought about the cotton gin. The 1800s brought about grain elevators, chemical fertilizers, and the first gas-powered tractor. Fast forward to the late 1900s, when farmers start using satellites to plan their work.
The IoT is set to push the future of farming to the next level. Smart agriculture is already becoming more commonplace among farmers, and high tech farming is quickly becoming the standard thanks to agricultural drones and sensors.
Below, we’ve outlined IoT applications in agriculture and how “Internet of Things farming” will help farmers meet the world’s food demands in the coming years.
High Tech Farming: Precision Farming & Smart Agriculture
Farmers have already begun employing some high tech farming techniques and technologies in order to improve the efficiency of their day-to-day work. For example, sensors placed in fields allow farmers to obtain detailed maps of both the topography and resources in the area, as well as variables such as acidity and temperature of the soil. They can also access climate forecasts to predict weather patterns in the coming days and weeks.
Farmers can use their smartphones to remotely monitor their equipment, crops, and livestock, as well as obtain stats on their livestock feeding and produce. They can even use this technology to run statistical predictions for their crops and livestock.
And drones have become an invaluable tool for farmers to survey their lands and generate crop data.
As a concrete example, John Deere (one of the biggest names in farming equipment) has begun connecting its tractors to the Internet and has created a method to display data about farmers’ crop yields. Similar to smart cars, the company is pioneering self-driving tractors, which would free up farmers to perform other tasks and further increase efficiency.
All of these techniques help make up precision farming or precision agriculture, the process of using satellite imagery and other technology (such as sensors) to observe and record data with the goal of improving production output while minimizing cost and preserving resources.
Future of Farming: IoT, Agricultural Sensors, & Farming Drones
Smart agriculture and precision farming are taking off, but they could just be the precursors to even greater use of technology in the farming world.
BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, predicts that IoT device installations in the agriculture world will increase from 30 million in 2015 to 75 million in 2020, for a compound annual growth rate of 20%.
The U.S. currently leads the world in IoT smart agriculture, as it produces 7,340 kgs of cereal (e.g. wheat, rice, maize, barley, etc.) per hectare (2.5 acres) of farmland, compared to the global average of 3,851 kgs of cereal per hectare.
And this efficiency should only improve in the coming decades as farms become more connected. OnFarm, which makes a connected farm IoT platform, expects the average farm to generate an average of 4.1 million data points per day in 2050, up from 190,000 in 2014.
Furthermore, OnFarm ran several studies and discovered that for the average farm, yield rose by 1.75%, energy costs dropped $7 to $13 per acre, and water use for irrigation fell by 8%.
Given all of the potential benefits of these IoT applications in agriculture, it’s understandable that farmers are increasingly turning to agricultural drones and satellites for the future of farming.
The future of farming is in collecting and analyzing big data in agriculture in order to maximize efficiency. But there are far more trends to understand with the IoT, and the Internet of Things will touch many more industries than just farming.
Source: Business Insider. Date: 2017-07-27
