News
China sees craze for ready-to-cook dishes
By Lin Lili, People’s Daily
More and more ready-to-cook dishes are getting onto the dining tables of the Chinese.
According to statistics, a rising demand for ready-to-cook food has been observed in China since 2022.
During the five-day May Day holiday this year, the sales of ready-to-cook dishes surged over 80 percent year on year on Tmall, an online marketplace of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, and the growth soared to 230 percent during the mid-year “618” shopping festival.
Besides, HemaGongfang, a restaurant chain under Alibaba-invested futuristic supermarket HemaXiansheng, also saw the sales of semi-finished food double in May this year.
“I started liking this way of cooking after I tried ready-to-cook meals during the past Chinese New Year,” said Chen Xiao, who lives in Longgang district, Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province.
He said ready-to-cook meals taste much better than instant noodles and are more convenient than take-away food, so they are perfect for nine-to-fivers.
Restaurants and hotels were major consumers of ready-to-cook food, as it made meals more standard and improved efficiency. However, in recent years, ready-to-cook food has been more and more sought after by individual consumers.
For most of the consumers, ready-to-cook food frees them from washing vegetables and seasoning the dishes. With semi-finished food, all they have to do is to open the packages and heat the dishes. Meals can be ready in just a few minutes.
Ready-to-cook food not only makes cooking easier, but also creates a new market where a number of players are competing.
In recent years, many time-honored restaurant brands and chain restaurants have launched ready-to-cook products. What’s more, the market is even joined by some seasoning producers.
So far, over 5,000 types of ready-to-cook dishes have been put on the shelf on JD.com, a leading online retailing platform in China, and many other online marketplaces have announced to join the market, including MeituanMaicai, an online grocery shopping service under Meituan, China’s leading e-commerce platform for services, as well as Missfresh, an online neighborhood retail platform.
Besides, 66,700 enterprises had been engaged in the industry of ready-to-cook food as of May this year.
Li Feng, who’s in charge of a ready-to-cook food program of MeituanMaicai, said e-commerce platforms could help inexperienced enterprises rapidly gain a foothold in the industry and assist them in terms of online-offline integration.
The ready-to-cook food industry concerns both rural vitalization and consumption reform. It bears important significance for advancing rural development, expanding domestic demand and driving consumption. The industry enjoys bright prospects.
According to statistics, the output value of the Chinese ready-to-cook food market hit 350 billion yuan ($51.7 billion) in 2021. The figure is expected to reach 410 billion yuan this year and 1 trillion within the next five years.
A series of measures and standards have been rolled out to support the industry. In January this year, China National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on promoting consumption, which encouraged the sales of semi-finished food and partially processed vegetables. Recently, China Cuisine Association launched a standard for ready-to-cook dishes, raising specific requirements on the ingredients, hygiene, packaging and storage of ready-to-cook food. Similar specifications have also been issued by China Hospitality Association on June 28.
As the industry gradually gets regulated, more and more convenient and delicious ready-to-cook dishes are expected to hit the market.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to maintain the status quo in a dispute over the party’s candidates emerging from the Benue State APC primaries for the 2027 general election.
The order was made on Thursday by Justice Inyang Ekwo during proceedings in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1429/2026, filed by Engr. Sesugh Akaagba and other aggrieved APC candidates from Benue State against the APC and INEC.
The plaintiffs had, through an ex parte motion filed on July 5, 2026, sought six interim reliefs, including an order restraining the APC from substituting its validly nominated candidates in Benue State through its June 29, 2026 correspondence, or any subsequent communication, to INEC, pending determination of the substantive suit.
They also sought an order compelling the APC to immediately transmit to INEC the names of candidates validly nominated during the primaries monitored by the electoral commission.
When the matter first came up on July 8, 2026, the court declined to grant the interim application immediately, directing both APC and INEC to appear and respond before any decision was taken. The matter was adjourned to July 16.
At Thursday’s proceedings, counsel representing the APC and INEC were present in court, while the plaintiffs were represented by Mohammed Ndarani, SAN, alongside his legal team.
In his ruling, Justice Ekwo held that since issues had been joined by the parties particularly with INEC now before the court, the defendants were required by law to preserve the subject matter of the litigation pending determination of the substantive suit.
When counsel to the plaintiffs urged the court to caution APC and INEC against taking any further action that could affect the disputed list of candidates, the judge responded that it was “not a matter of advice but of law,” stressing that the defendants were bound to maintain the status quo.
The court consequently restrained APC and INEC from taking any action capable of altering the disputed list of candidates pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The defendants did not object to the restraining order.
At the commencement of proceedings, the court noted that all parties had voluntarily submitted to its jurisdiction by duly filing and exchanging their respective processes.
It held that there was no procedural or jurisdictional impediment to the expeditious determination of the substantive action, and directed that the matter be heard without further delay.
In furtherance of the objective of preserving the res and safeguarding the efficacy of the judicial process, the court ordered all parties to maintain the status quo pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit, restraining any act or omission capable of prejudicing the rights of the parties or rendering the proceedings nugatory.
The court further directed that INEC be served forthwith with the originating and all consequential processes.
The effect of the subsisting order is that INEC is restrained from tampering with the existing list of candidates pending final determination of the suit, and from receiving, recognising, or acting upon any purported substituted list of National Assembly candidates from Benue State submitted by the APC.
The matter was adjourned to July 21, 2026, for hearing of the substantive suit.
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and former First Lady Patience Ibifaka Jonathan recently celebrated a significant family milestone as they attended the graduation ceremony of their son, Ariara Goodluck Jonathan, at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom.
The proud parents joined family members and well-wishers to witness Ariara receive his degree, marking the successful completion of his academic programme. The occasion was filled with joy as the Jonathan family commemorated the achievement, highlighting the importance they place on education and personal development.
The graduation ceremony attracted warm congratulatory messages from friends, associates, and admirers, who wished the graduate continued success in his future endeavours.
The Following names joined the political family of Sen. Dr. George Akume today after leaving the sinking Alia ship .
Under the leadership of Barr. Emmanuel Jime .
The are ;
Chief Nelson Alapa
Douglas pepe SAN senatorial Aspirant zone A,
Engr Peter Ashiekaa
QS Clement Beetseh
Former commissioners
Joy Luga
Ann itodo
Barr martins Shaagee
Miss Dorcas
Prof Usar Joseh
Prof Cephas Tushima
Chief Patrick Idoko
Hon Patience Akor
Hon Fred Idoko
Hon Lawrence Ekpo Onoja Jnr
Hon Andrew Abah
Hon Agbo Innocent Ikwumonu
Hon Simon Omachoko
Hon David Egboja
Dr John Garba
Among together,
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