Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
$VLD
V+LJK5LVN'LHW%ORRPEHUJ*DGIO\
PHOTOGRAPHER:
BALINT
PORNECZI/BLOOMBERG
Andy Mukherjee
OF
23:28
-0.01
EST
0.12
AUD
The big story in global food markets over the past decade has been the unleashing of
pent-up Asian demand for protein. As prosperity rose, per capita pork consumption in
China jumped 27 percent between 2001 and 2013. Dal, the legumes that together with
milk meet the bulk of India's protein needs, is now four times as expensiveas it was 10
years ago.
Milled Rice
Wheat
12%changesinceDec.'03
10
8
6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6
-8
Dec '04
Dec '05
Dec '06
Dec '07
Dec '08
Dec '09
Dec '10
Dec '11
KWWSZZZEORRPEHUJFRPJDGIO\DUWLFOHVZKLWHEUHDGLVQWKHDOWK\H[FHSWIRUELRWHFKLQDVLD
$VLD
V+LJK5LVN'LHW%ORRPEHUJ*DGIO\
With lifestyle diseases taking over from those bred by poverty, it's little wonder then
that health-care stocks on the MSCI Asia-Pacic Index have seen average annual
earnings expansionof 67 percent over the past three years, versus 23 percent in the U.S.
and 28 percent in Europe:
In Good Health
Healthcare stocks in Asia have the best earnings per share growth globally
70%
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
U.S.
Asia
Europe
Latin America
Source: Bloomberg
For a biotech company like Holista, whose shares have risen almost 56 percent this
year, it's time to take a hard look at the dough. The company claims that a combination
of its all-natural formula -- extracts ofokra, barley, lentils and fenugreek -- and Swiss
bakery-ingredient makerVeripan's sourdoughhas brought down the glycemic index
reading of white bread to the lowest level achieved in trials anywhere. The lower the
GI, the less rapid the increase in blood glucose.
KWWSZZZEORRPEHUJFRPJDGIO\DUWLFOHVZKLWHEUHDGLVQWKHDOWK\H[FHSWIRUELRWHFKLQDVLD
$VLD
V+LJK5LVN'LHW%ORRPEHUJ*DGIO\
For now, protein remains the bigger draw. But expect carbs to become an increasingly
important segment as the Westernization of food habits leads to an unhealthy
convergence of body mass. It's already happening:in Malaysia, for instance, 14 percent
of the population is obese, according to the World Health Organization.
The shift in breakfast patterns from porridge to bread may not seem like much, but
over a couple of generations, the costs could pile up and threaten to break Asian
governments' budgetary rice bowls.
This column does not necessarily reect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.
To contact the author of this story:
Andy Mukherjee in Singapore at amukherjee@bloomberg.net
KWWSZZZEORRPEHUJFRPJDGIO\DUWLFOHVZKLWHEUHDGLVQWKHDOWK\H[FHSWIRUELRWHFKLQDVLD