Wooing the tastes of the up-and-coming generation is now very much on the menu for the country’s food and drink producers.

The Chinese mainland has a huge e-commerce retail market, and the central government has adopted all sorts of measures to facilitate cross-border e-commerce imports. Traders in fresh produce and food can enjoy import tax incentives and customs clearance facilitation through cross-border e-commerce channels.

Indonesia has strengthened halal certification with the implementation of Government Regulation No. 42/2024 (GR 42/2024), enforcing provisions of the Halal Product Assurance Law. The regulation introduces clearer procedures, expanded transition periods, and new rules for recognising overseas halal certificates.

In 2022, the EU issued Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, establishing a framework for placing food contact recycled plastics on the market (‘the Regulation’, SafeGuardS 114/22).

Capitalising on their expertise in meeting the healthy food needs of Asian consumers, food manufacturers are now looking further afield.

The customs authorities of Gongbei and Hong Kong recently reached a co-operation arrangement regarding inspections and quarantining of air-to-land transhipments of fresh fruit. The agreement concerns fruit that arrives in Hong Kong by air through Hong Kong International Airport and is then transported by land to the Zhuhai Highway Port, via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

As Hong Kong SMEs look to enter the global halal market, other Asian economies have models well worth evaluating.

Julian Wipper, General Manager of the New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel, outlines how his establishment has benefitted from Halal certification and offering a more Muslim-friendly experience for tourists, diners, business travellers and many local religious festival observers.

Launch of the city’s Halal Q Mark seen as catalyst for change in food outlets, F&B exporters, hotels, retailers and travel hubs.

In Hong Kong, approximately 3,191 tonnes of food waste went to landfill every day, which was accounted for 29% of municipal solid waste. Founded in 2018, Hong Kong-based Farmacy Group has pioneered a decentralised Farming-as-a-Service model that uses vertical farming method in hydroponic growing. By transforming growing into a service, Farmacy has commercialised and scaled its solution both locally and abroad to tackle food waste problems.