A University of Sydney PhD student has discovered that a patient’s diet and cookery styles impacts on the required doses of medicines commonly used to treat illnesses such as depression and psychosis. Vidya Perera, a final year PhD student in the university’s Faculty of Pharmacy, found that people from South Asia could need lower doses of these medicines because they are likely to have lower levels of CYP1A2, an enzyme that metabolises drugs. Vegetables such as cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli... ...Read more »

US-based global food company Heinz has reported a 6% decrease in net income to US$226.1m for the three months to 27 July 2011. The company’s results in emerging markets, including Asia, were stronger but results from developed Pacific markets were adversely affected by shrinking gross margins from house-branded competition within Australia, and the high Australian dollar impacting Australian-sourced exports. Heinz’s first-quarter report says costs relating to its global restructuring programme,... ...Read more »

Malaysian private-equity fund Navis Capital has reportedly made the second round of bidding for Carrefour’s Singaporean and Malaysian assets. According to reports by Reuters, a source said Navis would not be bidding for Carrefour’s Thai assets. The retailer’s sale of its assets in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have been shrouded in secrecy, with the retailer denying the disposals, which could raise US$1bn for the retailer. However, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal... ...Read more »

Fonterra is eyeing growing UHT milk markets in Asia-Pacific New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra plans to export UHT milk to Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam after boosting capacity at a processing plant in Auckland. The company has spent NZ$8m (US$5.8m) on upgrading its site in Takanini, investment that will see the plant fill 600,000 more packs of UHT milk each week – a rise of 30% – and take its annual production to 90m litres. “Global consumption of UHT is expected to grow at a compound... ...Read more »

Carrefour has reportedly dropped Tesco and Aeon from the bidding for its businesses in three south-east Asian markets.According to the Wall Street Journal, the remaining bidders reportedly include Carrefour’s French peer Casino and PTT PCL, an energy company that has convenience stores at its gas stations. Other bidders are Thai retailers Big C, which Casino part owns and Central Group, as well as Thai FMCG firm Berli Jucker Pcl. While Carrefour has remained tight-lipped on its plans, it reportedly... ...Read more »

Spanish food group SOS Corporacion Alimentaria has struck a distribution deal for its Bertolli olive oil brand in Japan.SOS said yesterday that importer Japan Europe Trading Co. (JET) would handle Bertolli to strengthen the brand’s presence in the retail and foodservice channels. “JET is an importer of high-end Italian brands, recognised by the trade and by the Japanese consumer,” SOS said. “Supporting that distribution, JET participates in activities to promote Mediterranean... ...Read more »

* Pre-tax profits up 10%; trading profits rise 12% * Turnover climbs almost 7% * Asia trading profits increase 18.9% UK retail giant Tesco yesterday (20 April) booked a 10.1% rise in annual profits as earnings in Asia jumped and the company boosted its domestic business with investment in loyalty scheme Clubcard. Tesco reported underlying pre-tax profits of GBP3.34bn (US$5.13bn) for the 52 weeks to 27 February, a rise of 10.1% on the year. Trading profit was up 12.3% to GBP3.41bn, while group sales... ...Read more »

Nestle on Friday (19 February) became the latest of the largest food manufacturers to set out its stall for further expansion in the world’s emerging markets. The company, the world’s largest food maker, emphasised its plans for Latin America, Asia and Africa after publishing a set of full-year results that the group claimed showed it had outperformed the market in 2009. CEO Paul Bulcke said emerging markets in those regions accounted for 35% of Nestle’s annual turnover. The business,... ...Read more »

Baxters Food Group, the UK soup maker, is planning to use Australia as a manufacturing base for its chutneys business to push the products into new markets in Asia. The company, which snapped up Australian vegetables-to-pesto firm Sole Mio last year, wants to use its production facility in the market to launch its “side-of-plate” products in the country – and further afield in the region. Baxters has launched a series of products, including chutneys and relishes, in the UK over... ...Read more »

For retail and consumer-products companies, most of Asia continues to present growth opportunities, albeit at a slower rate in the short term, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers report, Glimmers amid the gloom. At the same time, markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Latin America will contract. “Well before the current global economic malaise, multinationals had been shifting strategy to concentrate on emerging markets because that’s where the growth was coming from,”... ...Read more »