The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Sept 4 its global food price index averaged 133.3 points in August, up 1.9% MoM and 2.5% YoY, the highest since Dec 2022. Heat and other adverse weather, disruptions to Black Sea trade logistics and tightening supply prospects for certain crops pushed up international food prices.

In the first seven months of the year Chinese seafood snack producers reported robust domestic and export sales. Exporters say differing regional taste profiles have made customized R&D and production standard practice. Shandong province exported 5.2 bln yuan of ready-to-eat deep-processed food in the period, primarily to South Korea, the US, Russia, ASEAN, Australia and the EU. Exports to markets such as Australia rose more than 10% YoY; some markets recorded increases up to 50%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.60 points, or 0.01%, at 9,019.50 on Sept 4 (Friday).