The Raghavan Report Milling Milestones- Asia 2016 by Raghavan (‘Ragha’) Sampathkumar To say 2016 was an eventful year would really be an understatement not just for the Americans but also for the world. Among several key developments, as a food and agribusiness professional, I list the following as my favorites. Firstly, the humble grain got glorified as the IR8 rice variety celebrated its 50th anniversary. Hailed “the miracle rice”, IR8 helped prevent famine-induced deaths in the 1960s and brought millions of Asians out of acute hunger. Still rice contributes close to four fifths of all calories consumed by over 4 billion Asians. However, as diets are transforming faster, per capita rice consumption has been declining over the last few decades and consumption of livestock products, fish, fruits and vegetables has grown rapidly. Then, pulses had their fair share of recognition as the United Nations announced 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. Their rich nutritional value as “natural superfoods” and their contribution to environmental sustainability aspects are getting due attention globally, more so in the traditionally animal-protein consuming regions. The third one is a tale of two cities - New Delhi and Beijing. The two Asian giants were fighting for the notorious top spot of “the most polluted” in the world. Unlike the latter, New Delhi’s dangerous air pollution was caused by burning of wheat stubbles after harvest in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. Strong voices were raised to press the Government to review India’s overemphasis on cereal-based agricultural and food subsidization policies that made these states “the wheat bowl of India”. Further, FAO in Asia Pacific stressed the need for more action on the Anti-Microbial Resistance issue and called for concerted action by all stakeholders in the food chain. Meantime in South Korea, two strains of H5 virus (bird flu) struck in December when global meat demand will probably be at its peak. At 15kg per capita, South Korea is one of the top consumers of chicken meat in Asia. These will have significant biosecurity & food safety ramifications on domestic production and trade of meat, feed and grains globally. The Dairy Declaration of Rotterdam led by the FAO and the International Dairy Federation was a defining moment for the global dairy sector. It promulgates enhanced focus and integrated multi-stakeholder approaches with special emphasis on income, employment and livelihoods of the smallholders; sustainable development goals; nutritious and healthy diets; the need to address environmental degradation and climate change, and to support biodiversity. The final big news of the year was the merger of two behemoths – Bayer and Monsanto – in a deal valued at US$66 billion. With Syngenta’s acquisition by Sinochem and the merger of Dow and DuPont, the global agricultural input sector (crop protection chemicals, seeds and biotech) is slated for greater consolidation in future. All the above developments are important in their own myriad ways in influencing what Asia grows and eats. These in turn create several opportunities for agribusinesses in the short, medium and long term, which will be discussed at length in the forthcoming issues. vnsraghav@gmail.com Raghavan (‘Ragha’) Sampathkumar is a seasoned food and agribusiness professional with 360 degree understanding of the complex political, socio-economic, environmental and cultural perspectives of the Agri-Food value chain. He has more than 13 years of experience working in various subsectors of food & agribusiness including agro commodities, international trade, agri-inputs, biotech, and animal nutrition sectors across Asia-Pacific. 20 | February 2017 - Milling and Grain
Assembly hall opened by KSE Process Technology B.V.
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brand-new assembly hall has been opened together with staff and retirees on Monday 9th January 2017. Adriaan Smulders, director of KSE explained how this new work environment is a huge stimulation for the cooperation between the different departments. He says, “The special thing is that the crew in the assembly hall is also part f a team, from consultant/salesman up to supervisor/service mechanic.” During the festivities in Bladel, the Netherlands, several employees took to the floor to explain what the new hall means for them, as well as what it will mean for the customer, consequences including; higher quality, shorter delivery times, energy neutral producing and an increased production capacity. In addition to the current production facilities, they have already started producing in the new hall at the end of 2016, resulting in a production record. Looking forward to May, KSE will open its doors to the public. On the 20th everyone will be welcome to admire the hall, with the open house taking place during the national Dutch Technology Week and the corresponding KempenTech in Hapert. About KSE Process Technology A family business that was founded in 1973, KSE has grown into a worldwide company. Supplying dose, weigh and transport materials. Besides the ALFRA dosing and weighing systems, it provides PROMAS automation solutions and services for the animal feed industry and related industries.