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Growing population, rising incomes drive demand for food products: StanchartASIA'S rising affluence is giving investors food for thought about how best to tap into this story of rapidly rising consumption.mini storageOne compelling answer, it seems, lies in that most basic of human needs - food.Some data on food stocks should whet the appetite of most hungry investors.The head of food and beverage and soft commodities research at Standard Chartered Bank, Mr Adrian Foulger, wrote in a report that Asian food stocks outperformed the broader stock market in the region in each of the past five years.A study by Standard Chartered found that food companies, ranging from farms to processed food producers, could bring in returns of between 18 and 50 per cent. The total stock value of the more than 300 fast-growing food companies surveyed came in at some US$400 billion (S$499.6 billion).Food companies also did better regardless of whether underlying food prices rose or fell.Mr Foulger offered several reasons for the strong showing of Asian food companies. For one thing, Asia's population is expanding, which raises demand for products across the entire food chain. Incomes in the region are also on the rise, thanks to continued job creation and better gross domestic product numbers in the high-growth continent.This will lead to a shift towards urbanisation, changing people's dietary habits along the way.Such faster-paced lifestyles would heighten demand for processed or packaged foods, benefiting food retailers as well.One particular segment for investors to consider is premium brands, aft儲存r the recent drop in Asian share prices over uncertainty about the US Federal Reserve's pullback of monetary stimulus.Mr Foulger noted that big Asian food brands, particularly packaged food and drinks companies, are trading at an average multiple of 21 times their underlying earnings."This suggests considerable upside even if they rise to their 12-year average price-earnings multiple of 27. Moreover, the share price declines have triggered mergers and acquisitions activity, which is likely to add legs to a coming rebound in prices."The picture for some Singapore food companies, however, may not be as rosy as that for their regional counterparts.For example, OCBC Investment Research analyst Lim Siyi noted in a recent report that bakery chain BreadTalk's operating margins will remain depressed in the coming quarters.He added that declining margins will erode the financial health of the company and may not serve its best interests in the long run.There is also concern that Breadtalk's target of having 2,000 stores in all by 2018 may result in management pursuing store openings without considering the related opportunity cost.Nevertheless, Mr Lim wrote: "To be clear, BreadTalk has a capable management team that has grown the business considerably over the years."UOB Kay Hian, meanwhile, noted in a report on instant food and beverage maker Super Group that the company's near-term prospects could be hampered by difficult operating conditions in markets such as Myanmar and the Philippines.But it added: "Super is a good Asia consumer proxy in the long term."feimok@sph.com.sg迷你倉