"Bananas, beef and gold: China’s appetite drives ‘Made in Laos’ brand, but at what cost?" 30 October 2022

• In 2021, Laos earned more than US$900 million from agricultural exports, with more than 80 per cent of that total going to China
• Demand is gobbling up land as Laotian farms pivot to a Chinese market. There are fears Laos’ debt crisis is leaving it exposed to unethical investments

[...] ‘Made in Laos’ has become a banner of quality in China’s supermarkets, as part of a decade-old trend that started with bananas but is branching out into new crops – many like corn, which are unwanted in the domestic market but grow fast in Laos’ climate. [...] New money is driving up annual wages in some of the poorest parts of Laos – a country that the World Bank said in 2021 had an average per capita income of US$2,551 a year, which is around 65 per cent higher than a decade ago.

But the demand is also gobbling up land as Laotian farms pivot to a Chinese market that is also seeking cassava, oranges and beef. [...]

Environmental groups and Laotian smallholder farmers fear that runaway plantation growth – and industrial-scale cattle farming – will overwork the land and undercut plans for tree regeneration in one of Southeast Asia’s most forested nations.

There are also fears Laos’ debt crisis – the country owes billions of dollars to foreign governments and companies that have built its infrastructure – is leaving it exposed to unethical investments.

Mining concessions are causing particular concern – Laos exported US$55 million in gold and gold bullion last year – and several Chinese companies hold rights to vast tracts of ore-rich land in the middle of remote, pristine forests. [...]