- Fixing Asia’s Food Systems is a five-part research programme, commissioned by Cargill and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which builds on a survey of 820 industry leaders in the region along with desk research and expert interviews.
- Ninety percent of survey respondents are concerned about their food systems’ ability to maintain local food security. Yet, only 32% feel their organisations have the ability to determine the success of their food systems.
- Population growth, urbanisation and changing food demands are already pressuring Asia’s food systems and will threaten food security if not addressed.
- Stronger partnerships between the public and private sectors and across countries are required, as is tighter integration across local and regional supply chains.
- 93% per cent believe interregional trade liberalisation is important for their organisation’s business.
New research launched by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) today explores a range of issues around food systems in Asia.
The first piece of the series, “Separate Tables: Bringing together Asia’s food systems”, is a deep dive into six key megatrends: urbanisation, the double burden of undernutrition and obesity, technology constraints, the need for transparency and sustainability, and politics. Together, these trends paint a picture of fragmented food systems across Asia struggling as they are pulled in different directions.
The research shows that business leaders overwhelmingly agree that there is cause for alarm around Asia’s food security, with 90% of survey respondents expressing concern about local food systems. There are solutions available, however. Examples include greater collaborations to enforce food safety standards, educate farmers and improve supply chain infrastructure.
Yet these industry-driven solutions can only go so far. A number of other factors—including differing regulations, border policies, import duties, taxes, food cultures, self-sufficiency programmes and uneven economic development—require more robust thinking and policy solutions. Experts see a lack of coherent policies, institutions and regulations as fundamental issues that need to be addressed for Asia’s food system to truly make the needed progress.
Future articles in the series will go deeper into fragmented supply chains, structural changes in Asian diets, water challenges, and innovation’s role in creating new solutions and foods for the future.
Together, “Fixing Asia’s food systems” provides both an in-depth and comprehensive overview of the challenges all stakeholders need to address and a collection of potential solutions to help drive change at the pace that’s needed.
“As Asia’s population grows and urbanises, it is imperative that regional co-operation improves and food supply chains become smarter, better integrated and more efficient,” says Rashmi Dalai, an EIU managing editor and the project manager for Fixing Asia’s Food Systems. “However, this is no easy task. A complex ecosystem of often divergent policy and societal concerns needs to be brought into alignment. This can only be done by first agreeing on the issues at hand and the urgency with which they need to be addressed.”
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About the research
In October 2017 the EIU conducted a survey on Asia’s food systems, sponsored by Cargill. The 820 respondents were business leaders in Asia’s food industry, located in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The research was complemented with primary research, including interviews with four regional experts.
About The Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world leader in global business intelligence. It is the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, which publishes The Economist newspaper. The Economist Intelligence Unit helps executives make better decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies. More information can be found at www.eiu.com or www.twitter.com/theeiu.
About Cargill
Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive. We combine 153 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.
