NEW MILK POWDER PROCESSING FACILITY IN CHINA’S HAILUN CITY
Emerald Dairy Inc. has begun construction of a new milk powder processing facility in Hailun City, Heilongjiang Province. Upon completion in early 2009, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 9,000 tons of milk powder, bringing the company's total annual production capacity to about 18,000 tons by the end of the year. The facility could accommodate an additional 9,000 tons as market demand grows. The project would require an investment of some $20 million, which the company intends to finance through internal cash flow and potential debt or equity offerings.
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ORGANIZATIONS TO DEVELOP PAKISTAN'S AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SECTORS
The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MinFAL) to improve the competitiveness of Pakistan's agricultural and food sectors. A CSF task force would be set up to look into ways of improving production, processing, marketing, infrastructure, financing and quality in the sector. It would also provide technical assistance to develop a national horticulture policy and increase the competitiveness of the nation's fishing industry. CSF is a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Pakistan’s ministry of finance, which was established in 2006 to reposition the country's economy on a more competitive global footing.
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TETRA PAK ACQUIRES PROCESS ENGINEERING GROUP FROM DOWNER EDI
Tetra Pak has acquired the assets of two specialized food processing companies, Downer MBL Pty Ltd and Downer MBL, from Australian-based Downer EDI, for an undisclosed sum.Tetra Pak says the acquisition will strengthen its portfolio of complete production solutions for cheese and dairy powder by adding new process engineering, materials handling and project management expertise for evaporation, drying, powder handling and whey processing. Based on the agreement, 37 Downer MBL employees and 19 contractors in Australia, China and New Zealand would become part of Tetra Pak Cheese and Powder Systems, a division of Tetra Pak Processing Systems, in their respective markets.
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INDIAN COMPANY’S FIXED PRICE IPO SUBSCRIBED 1.9 TIMES
The fixed price initial public offering (IPO) of Indian company Somi Conveyor Beltings Ltd has been subscribed 1.92 times despite stock markets feeling heavy selling pressures. The company manufactures rubber conveyor belts of various sizes used for industrial applications of material handling in various industries such as sugar. It recently introduced food grade belts for tea gardens and salt industries.
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IMPROVED GINKGO BILOBA TESTING TO ENSURE QUALITY
China’s Fenchem has enhanced its ginkgo biloba extract testing to guarantee high purity of the product. Ginkgo flavonoids are a key component for the evaluation of ginkgo biloba extract. It has been found that suppliers might try to add other flavonoids to ginkgo biloba extract to increase the content of flavonoids. Fenchem has been involved in optimizing test methods to ensure the product from Fenchem is 100% ginkgo biloba. Through its high-pressure liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV) test method, the ratio of two flavonoid monomers could be determined to help identify adulterated products.
