Food Bev Asia

The April 2014 issue of Food Manufacuturing Journal - Middle East & Africa puts the spotlight on Africa. As you know, 2014 has been declared the Year of Agriculture and Food Security by the African Union, which has set impressive targets of one day seeing Africa produce its own food to becoming a net food exporter. It has targeted zero hunger by 2025.  Africa has a long way to go, given the current situation and the challenges that food and beverage companies face such as storage, infrastructure, and other logistical difficulties. Whether or not Africa can accomplish its goals by then, the important thing is that governments now have initiated more programmes to accelerate agriculture, particularly in the sub-Saharan region, and have been partnering with more private companies to address food security.

This is an exciting time for everyone at Ringier as we finally publish our first supplement for the Vietnamese food and beverage industry this March.   We have also added a Vietnamese section on our website. Food processing is one of the industries experiencing rapid growth in Viet Nam, thanks in part to government policies that favor both local and international companies. For our first issue, we feature packaging for convenience foods. With a growing population – now at more than 92 million – the country is a market with huge potential for food and beverage companies. Like their Asian neighbours, Vietnamese consumers are demanding higher quality convenience foods, interested in imported food products, and are increasingly becoming sophisticated in their choices. Recently, McDonald’s opened its first outlet in Ho Chih Minh city. (Right, people have mixed feelings about it, health-wise, economy-wise, etc.) It seems late in the game for the fast-food g