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Food and agriculture

Food and agriculture
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on food and agriculture, with a focus on Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia.
Soybeans are loaded into a truck so they can be hauled to an elevator and sold in Dwight, Illinois. Photo: TNS
China trade

Fearing deflated China demand, US soybean growers pivot to new buyers, biofuel

With Chinese imports low according to a trade association, farmers are compensating by finding new markets and selling to biofuel makers.

Malaysia

Palm oil to cool data centres? Malaysia explores option as water demand surges

Science

Fruit fusion: how will the market react to China’s lychee-longan creation?

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Climate change

Drought declared in ‘almost three-quarters’ of England, government says

England and Wales both experienced the driest July on record, the UK’s Met Office said, with a fifth heatwave forecast for the week ahead.

People sit on a bench in dry grass at Hampstead Heath in London, Britain, on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Letters | Child nutrition in Asia is a worthy investment

Readers discuss the region’s nutrition problem, the US’ yen intervention, and the future of Bhutan’s traditional arts.

US-China relations

China buys at least 10 more cargoes of US soybeans, traders say

These are the latest in a flurry of purchases ahead of President Xi Jinping’s expected US visit in September.

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Science

Chinese AI robot delivers needle-free pig vaccinations with 93% accuracy

Beijing researchers combine artificial intelligence and a six-axis robotic arm to automate swine vaccinations.

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A team led by Li Bin of the Intelligent Equipment Research Centre of the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences uses tracking, AI and a robotic arm to deliver vaccines to farmed pigs. Photo: Handout
China-Latin America relations

Cuban spy-base allegations, new Trump tariffs: 7 Latin America relations reads

From global soybean market updates to China’s best trade partners, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in July 2026.

Food and Drinks

‘We were just 2 kids’: how Hong Kong Gen Z pair started Chinese wine business

Anson Sik and Edson Bichon’s Purple Rain Wine is bringing Chinese natural wines – many from obscure vineyards – to drinkers in Hong Kong.

US-China relations

Chinese buyers acquire US soybeans for October-November, traders say

The ‌sales volume of at least 840,000 tonnes was among China’s largest single-day purchases this month.

Farmer Susan Watkins holds soybean seeds on her farm in Sutherland, Virginia, in April. Photo: Reuters
China food security

China’s ageing farmers deploy drones as agriculture-automation trend spreads

Ageing rural populations are driving up demand for intelligent aerial devices, and the ‘irresistible trend” is expected to sweep through Southeast Asia.

An agricultural drone operates in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on July 18. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
Food and Drinks

Where does your coffee come from? Starbucks buyer on drink’s complex journey

Christian Hackenberg shares why coffee growing and buying is far from simple, and the challenges farmers face from Indonesia to China.

Africa

‘Super’ El Nino: Africa facing mass migration, US$20 billion in damages

A UN report estimated that by 2035 developing countries ‌will collectively need around US$365 billion each year to tackle climate change.

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China trade

China’s durian imports from Thailand, Malaysia soar as glut stresses growers

Chinese imports of the pungent fruit have increased by 47 per cent in the first half of 2026, prompting a sharp decline in prices.

Workers process durians for export to China in Lam Dong, Vietnam, as Southeast Asian exporters offloaded a glut of the pungent, spiky fruit, sparking a drop in prices. Photo: Xinhua
Banking & finance

What are ‘climate black swan’ events, and why are global investors so worried?

As the threat of a super El Nino disrupts Asia’s food market, global banks warn investors to prepare for sudden, unexpected climate shifts.

A farmer harvests rice crop in a paddy field on the outskirts of Guwahati, India. Experts warn El Nino may disrupt the global rice market. Photo: AP/File photo
China-EU relations

China, EU pushing ahead on joint research despite trade tensions

Joint 2025-2027 research agreement covers climate and agriculture, state media says, signalling will to collaborate in spite of differences.

China-Latin America relations

Brazil widens lead over US in China’s soybean market despite Trump-Xi deal

China’s Brazilian soybean imports up 13.7 per cent in June compared to a year earlier; US figures fell 20.6 per cent over the same period.

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India

Dry, wet, dry again: India’s monsoon swings threaten crops, power supply

India’s fifth-driest June on record was followed by a sudden deluge that dumped about a month’s worth of rain in a single week.

Indian farm workers replant paddy saplings after monsoon rains in the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India on July 10. Photo: AP
Food and Drinks

US$1,100 for 1kg? Hunting the wild mushrooms of Yunnan

In China’s wild-mushroom capital, there are more than 1,000 species of edible varieties, and many are highly prized in Chinese dishes.

China trade

China’s imports from Africa surge after Beijing expands zero-tariff policy

China’s growing hunger for critical minerals partly drove the increase, but the tariff reduction is also fuelling trade in several new sectors.

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Indonesia

Indonesia’s free meals scheme cut leaves kitchen operators in limbo

Each operator spent at least US$83,000 to build one kitchen, ⁠and had to take bank loans or sell assets to fund it.

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Indonesian students eat their free meals at a primary school in Banda Aceh on March 31. Photo: EPA
Singapore

In Singapore, ‘durian tsunami’ won’t last long as prices rise and wave ebbs

‘If you want to eat durians, better eat them now already,’ a seller says as supplies become less abundant.

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Live streamers sell durians through an online platform at a shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last month. Photo: AFP
The Philippines

‘All talk’: farmers warn Philippines isn’t ready for ‘super’ El Nino

Rice output could be slashed by 700,000 tonnes as dams dry up, evoking memories of the Philippine drought of 1997-98.

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Malaysia

Anwar, Anutin hit diplomatic high notes to mask Malaysia-Thailand tensions

Despite the leaders’ personal chemistry, the seafood row shows the ‘frictions’ embedded within the countries’ relationship, analysts say.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Tanker transit through Strait of Hormuz plunges as US-Iran ceasefire fractures

Renewed hostilities could undermine credibility of future ceasefires with long-term impact on global energy markets, inflation and risk premiums, analyst says.

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Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on July 8. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

EU launches anti-dumping probe into imports of Chinese ducks

Five European duck producers allege that Chinese counterparts exporting Pekin ducks benefit from state subsidies, cheap feed and other policy support.

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Pekin ducks at a farm in West Bengal, India. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Malaysia

Even rock-bottom prices fail to stop premium durian thefts in Malaysia

‘It is shameful to steal. These fruits are the farmers’ livelihood,’ Penang Fruit Farmers Association chairman Kie Kim Hwa says.

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United States

USDA lowers reported beef export sales by 90% amid growing doubts over data

The original report was widely dismissed as inaccurate, amid concerns over the agency’s big staff cuts under the Trump administration.

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