In June 2018, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Agriculture announced plans to double production of lamb and beef in the coming decade. During the first five months of 2018, the country produced 107.7 thousand tonnes of meat products, marking 14.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth. In 2017, Kazakhstan exported around 4,000 tonnes of beef. The government expects to significantly boost the export volumes to China in 2018, as the latter has recently removed some of the earlier restrictions on meat imports from Kazakhstan (Globalmeatnews.com)

The expansion of Pakistan's food sector will continue at a robust pace across our forecast period, with a growing urban population and an expanding middle class offering opportunities for strong growth in all segments. We note that over the coming quarters, should the July 2018 general election lead to sustained political unrest it could pose downside risks to our forecasts.

In July 2018, Almarai became a boycott target of Saudi consumers after the company raised prices on its core dairy products. A social media campaign is circulating photos of a popular yogurt drink plastered with a red X and the phrase “let it go sour” and “change it with another” (in Arabic) after Almarai raised the price of a litre of milk by SAR0.25 (USD0.7). In a statement, Almarai said it raised prices because its own costs went up after the government cut energy subsidies and introduced new fees on foreign workers.

In July 2017, leaders of the Visegrad Four countries, which include Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, demanded that EU legislates stop what they allege is a practice of major food manufacturers: selling branded products of an inferior quality compared to the same branded product sold in Western Europe. In H1 2018, a number of countries - including Serbia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea - banned the imports of Hungarian pork due to African Swine Flu found in the country.

In May 2018, Austrian food group Agrana announced that it has suspended negotiations for the acquisition of Serbian sugar producer Sunoko due to the challenging European sugar market environment. In May 2018, Nestle announced the sale of its Serbian chocolate brand Cipiripi to Paracinka, a subsidiary of Serbian food distributor Silbo. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed with Nestle stating that the divestment was part of 'a continuous portfolio audit'. In June 2018, it was announced that Chinese poultry producer Qingdao Rongxing Foods is planning to build a logistics centre in northern Serbia as part of the company’s plans to expand its foothold in European markets.

Malaysia's food and drink industry is substantial and is characterised by an increasing number of local industry products, such as snack foods, poultry, dairy products, eggs, tropical fruits and vegetables, soft drinks and beer.

白酒经历持续两个月的大幅调整后，无论是调整幅度还是调整事件，对未来悲观的预期和业绩的调整，都已经得到了充分的风险释放。只要市场短期企稳，白酒就有望止跌反弹；即使市场走弱，白酒也有望获得相对收益，直到 9 月份的终端销售情况明晰后，再决定未来的方向。

高端酒验证行业景气度，上半年茅台、五粮液增速维持高增速。其中茅台 Q2 收入同比增长 46.40%，归母净利润同比增长 41.53%，均较 Q1 明显加速。五粮液 2018 年上半年预告显示，收入同比增长36%左右，利润总额同比增长 39%左右。2017 年是次高端本轮拓张的第一年，收入和业绩复苏式增长，2018 上半年次高端延续扩容趋势，铺货的增速放缓但真实动销需求仍旧可期。增速回归，行业健康增长，展望下半年和明年仍有望维持较高增速。

面对中秋之前茅台一批价和烟酒店终端价一路上涨的现象，茅台接连出台稳定市场价的政策，包括双节旺季投放7000吨茅台酒以及允许专卖店和经销商于8月底前就执行9、10月份的计划。在经销商都积极提前执行9月至10月的配额的情况下，中秋旺季市场上茅台酒的供应量有望达到1万吨左右，与去年三季度的发货量较为一致，茅台酒供应量的增加将直接促进渠道批价的回落，缓解供需矛盾。