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Yomiuri Shimbun
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
2025 Expo ‘a Mirror of the Times' That Highlights International Affairs
The Yomiuri Shimbun King Frederik X of Denmark, fourth from left, walks on the Grand Ring at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. More than 50 days have passed since the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo began. Exhibits that evoke the future of society are popular, and the number of visitors is increasing after an initially slow start. Although they tend to be overlooked amid the spectacular exhibits, some events and activities during this 50-day period have reflected the complex state of the world today. The king's sales A procession led by the king of Denmark passed along the Grand Ring, the world's largest wooden structure and the symbol of the Expo, and made its way to the Japan Pavilion. Visitors held up their smartphones to record the scene. On April 24, it was Denmark's turn to mark 'National Day,' in which countries participating in the Expo showcase their cultures. King Frederik X — the successor to Queen Margrethe II, who enjoyed immense popularity during her 52-year reign — led the party, which included Danish corporate leaders. King Frederik chose Japan as the first Asian country to visit after his accession to the throne in January last year, accompanied by a business delegation including Danish Crown, his nation's largest meat producer. One of the accompanying members wrote in an email before arriving in Japan that she considered this visit to Japan to be 'particularly important.' One reason why is the Trump administration's tariff policy. Japan is gaining importance as a market amidst the instability of the global free trade system, and it has 'a long-standing partnership [with Denmark] grounded in mutual respect and values,' as King Frederik said in a speech at the Expo. The day before arriving in Osaka, the king stopped by Ippudo, a ramen chain restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, that uses pork supplied by Danish Crown. He enjoyed a bowl in front of the press, helping to promote Danish products. 'A window to the world' Denmark has a population of just under 6 million, which is less than Chiba Prefecture. Two-thirds of its food production is exported, and the country relies on international trade to support its economy. 'We are a small country in a big world. So, we are a strong believer of free trade,' stressed delegation member Soren Sondergaard, who is president of the Danish Agriculture & Food Council. 'We don't like tariffs at all. For Denmark, Japan is a big, big, big export market for us where we would like to export more. ' After leaving the Expo site, Mr. Sondergaard and the delegation went to the head office of Suntory Holdings in Kita Ward, Osaka, which obtained beer manufacturing technology from Carlsberg in Denmark. They met with members of Japanese companies, with the 52 Danish participants exceeding the 42 from Japan. Following the event, a lively reception was held at the PRONTO bar on the ground floor of the building. Business exchange events related to Denmark are often held in Tokyo, so holding one in Osaka is a rare occurrence. Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Jacob Jensen emphasized, 'I believe that a small country like Denmark, with an open economy, we have huge interest in having loyal and long partnerships with good friends like Japan.' 'When you look at a map, you have Japan here, you have Denmark, long way, 13 hours in a plane directly, but still, we are very close in the way that we do business, in the way that we have values, democracies,' Jensen said. 'We have an open society, and we have also trust as a keyword in our society. Even though … we are far from each other in geography, I think we are very close in our mindset. The Expo is a window to the world.' A diplomatic stage The Expo also serves as a diplomatic stage in connection with ongoing global conflicts. Israel is exhibiting a 2,000-year-old building stone weighing approximately 1.5 tons from the Old City of East Jerusalem that dates back to the early Hasmonean Kingdom, a Jewish dynasty. The dynasty was established when the Jews regained their independence from Hellenistic rule. Gilad Cohen, Israel's ambassador to Japan, stated at the opening ceremony on April 23 that 'the pavilion expresses the connection between the people of Israel, their homeland and their capital, Jerusalem.' However, East Jerusalem is an area that Israel occupied after the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinian side considers it to be the capital of a future state. Most of the international community, which supports the 'two-state solution' between Israel and a future Palestinian state, does not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and maintains that the status of Jerusalem should be decided through peace talks between Israel and Palestine. An expert on Middle Eastern politics said, 'Israel's exhibition at the Expo could cause controversy over its claim to the territory.' The Palestinian pavilion at the Expo site had not directly addressed the Gaza conflict. However, as the Israeli Army restarted its military operations in Gaza, the pavilion displayed QR codes at the end of May that link to information about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to visitors. 'The world must see and acknowledge the truth. It's time for awareness to turn into action,' a Palestinian official said. 'Gaza has endured over 600 days of relentless suffering — children's lives lost, civilians bombed out of their shelters, famine ravaging communities and aid being misused for military purposes. It's a humanitarian crisis that demands urgent attention and tangible steps to end the suffering,' the official said. Russia withdrew from the Expo, but Ukraine is holding an exhibition to convey its position. To show their solidarity, a representative from the European Union visited the pavilion on May 9, followed by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on the 14th and Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide on June 2. Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, is participating in the Expo under the name of a private company. The absence of the word 'Taiwan' in the exhibition area is seen as an attempt to avoid China's objections by framing it as a 'non-governmental' activity. While the Olympic Games, known as the 'Festival of Peace,' uphold political neutrality in the Olympic Charter, the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions that defines the nature of the Expo does not include neutrality provisions. Therefore, politics is not strictly off-limits. The Expo is often referred to as 'a mirror of the times.' With just over four months remaining, we will witness more realities of the global situation at this festive event. Political Pulse appears every Saturday. Kenji Nakanishi Kenji Nakanishi is a deputy editor in the City News Department of the Yomiuri Shimbun Osaka.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Danish Crown divides 'core business' into three
Meat group Danish Crown has restructured its 'core business' into three distinct units to 'create a more efficient structure'. The co-op has divided its Danish Crown Business Unit into Danish Crown Industry, Danish Crown Foods and Danish Crown UK. In a statement issued on Friday (4 April), the company said it was aiming to 'ensure full focus on value creation and regain competitiveness in the pig market'. CEO Niels Duedahl, who took over the role in September from Jais Valeur, said: 'We must ensure a sharp focus on value creation.' He added each of the three new units 'must generate earnings that can be passed on to the owners'. The restructuring comes after Danish Crown conducted a 'thorough analysis,' which determined that the 2021 merger of its Pork and Foods divisions was 'not working as intended'. Duedahl said: 'Instead of continuing to spend resources on a complex integration, we choose to make a division.' The company said Danish Crown Industry will oversee the operation of pig slaughterhouses and sales to industrial customers. The unit will employ approximately 5,200 employees and generate a turnover of around DKr17bn ($2.5bn). Danish Crown Foods will look after the sales and production of fresh and processed products for retail and foodservice customers. Employing around 3,000 staff, this division has a turnover of around DKr13bn. Danish Crown UK will function as a standalone unit with approximately 1,000 employees and a turnover of DKr4bn. The company, which owns the Tulip brand, said the UK arm can 'best be developed' with a 'strong and local management' team dedicated to efficiently running local production sites and consistently serving customers across the region. Each of the three business units will operate under separate leadership and will be evaluated independently based on their own performance, Duedahl explained. During the transition period, Duedahl will serve as interim CEO for all three units, while the company searches for permanent managing directors. He believes the new structure will give each business unit a 'much sharper focus, stronger management power and clarity on where and how they can and should create profit'. Despite the internal split, the company confirmed that for accounting and external communication purposes, the divisions will continue to be referred to collectively as Danish Crown. The Danish Crown Group now comprises eight business units: Danish Crown Industry, Danish Crown Foods, Danish Crown Beef, Danish Crown UK, DAT-Schaub, ESS-FOOD, KLS, and Sokolow. In February, the group announced it would cease operations at its processed meat factory in Pinghu, China. Located near Shanghai and opened in 2019, the site was put up for sale in January. "Danish Crown divides 'core business' into three " was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Danish Crown to cease operations at China unit
Danish Crown has decided to stop operations at its processed meat factory in Pinghu in China and is in talks to sell the facility. The plant, which opened in 2019 and is located near Shanghai, was put up for sale by the company last month. In a statement, Danish Crown said the factory has not reached the 'intended profitability' due to 'ongoing challenges'. Attempts to address the issue have been 'unsuccessful', it added. Danish Crown CFO Anders Aakær Jensen said: 'It is clear to us that the operations in Pinghu is not the right strategic fit for Danish Crown. 'To carry on our current set-up in Pinghu is no longer a viable option, and therefore we have decided that the time is right to bring those operations to an end while we work diligently to reach a final decision about the future of the factory itself.' Jensen confirmed the meat co-operative has signed a letter of intent with a 'preferred buyer and agreed terms for a divestment'. 'While these talks are promising, we expect they will still take a few months to conclude,' Jensen added. The pork giant said the end of operations in Pinghu could result in 112 redundancies. The company intends to 'repurpose the quality equipment' from the site elsewhere in its global supply chain. Danish Crown has a casings business, DAT-Schaub, with operations in China that will continue. "The closure and sale of the factory in Pinghu will have a minor effect on our business in China," a Danish Crown spokesperson told Just Food. "In the financial year 2023/24 we had a turnover in China of DKr2.8bn ($390.4m), mostly from the export of Danish pork meat to China. We expect a turnover at the same level this financial year." Last month, Danish Crown announced it had decided to stop selling retail-packed fresh meat in Germany as part of efforts to improve its profitability. The decision will lead to the winding down of the Oldenburg Convenience division in Oldenburg in north-west Germany by the end of February. "Danish Crown to cease operations at China unit" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Danish Crown to cease operations at China unit
Danish Crown has decided to stop operations at its processed meat factory in Pinghu in China and is in talks to sell the facility. The plant, which opened in 2019 and is located near Shanghai, was put up for sale by the company last month. In a statement, Danish Crown said the factory has not reached the 'intended profitability' due to 'ongoing challenges'. Attempts to address the issue have been 'unsuccessful', it added. Danish Crown CFO Anders Aakær Jensen said: 'It is clear to us that the operations in Pinghu is not the right strategic fit for Danish Crown. 'To carry on our current set-up in Pinghu is no longer a viable option, and therefore we have decided that the time is right to bring those operations to an end while we work diligently to reach a final decision about the future of the factory itself.' Jensen confirmed the meat co-operative has signed a letter of intent with a 'preferred buyer and agreed terms for a divestment'. 'While these talks are promising, we expect they will still take a few months to conclude,' Jensen added. The pork giant said the end of operations in Pinghu could result in 112 redundancies. The company intends to 'repurpose the quality equipment' from the site elsewhere in its global supply chain. Danish Crown has a casings business, DAT-Schaub, with operations in China that will continue. "The closure and sale of the factory in Pinghu will have a minor effect on our business in China," a Danish Crown spokesperson told Just Food. "In the financial year 2023/24 we had a turnover in China of DKr2.8bn ($390.4m), mostly from the export of Danish pork meat to China. We expect a turnover at the same level this financial year." Last month, Danish Crown announced it had decided to stop selling retail-packed fresh meat in Germany as part of efforts to improve its profitability. The decision will lead to the winding down of the Oldenburg Convenience division in Oldenburg in north-west Germany by the end of February. "Danish Crown to cease operations at China unit" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Reuters
27-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Danish Crown closes factory in China, lays off 112 employees
COPENHAGEN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Meat producer and Danish Crown said on Thursday it would close its factory in Pinghu in China following a strategic review and said the factory did not fit into its strategy. The farmer-owned Danish company, one of the world's biggest pork exporters, opened the factory in 2019 to expand its business in China. "It has however never succeeded in generating the expected earnings, even though significant efforts were made during the period to rectify a poor start," it said in a statement. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Danish Crown will lay off 112 employees as a part of the closure, it said.
