Topic “In the News News” — Exporter Magazine

Multinational conglomerate General Electric (GE) will invest more than USD$2 billion (NZD$2.54 billion) through 2012 in China to set up joint ventures with Chinese companies and expand its innovative capacity in the country, according to ChinaDaily.com The worldwide growth in the food processing sector, fast-expanding emerging markets and increasingly strict regulatory regimes are all set to drive global demand for food safety products to US$13.6 billion (NZD$17.23 billion) by 2014, according FoodProductionDaily.com. Austrian company Borouge has developed a new multimodal polypropylene (PP) film material that is suitable for microwaving food as the material is temperature resistant, provides good venting and seal-peel properties, according to FoodProductionDaily.com. An ageing workforce, more men shopping for the family, and whether to cater to obesity or counter it are some of the food trends likely to affect decision-making in the food industry in 2011, according to FoodNavigator.com. New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry is anxious over the recent confirmation by biosecurity experts that the bacteria – Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa) – has infected New Zealand vines, according to the NZ Herald. More than 40 executives from Britain’s biggest companies, including Alliance Boots, Virgin, Shell and Barclays are accompanying British ministers in the hope of leveraging high-level political backing to increase their presence in China.