WADE TRADE NEWS
Volume 7, Issue 11 : November 2008
Dear Subscriber
Welcome to Wade Trade News import-export news for November 2008. In this issue – despite the world financial crisis – we’ll bring you some good news on trade opportunities in India, South Korea, Australia and Africa. There are also details of a useful site to help you identify new markets, and sites to help you get started trading leather or motor parts.
Indian Economy Performing Well
*****************************Although the global financial crisis is badly affecting many economies around the world, the impact on India is minimal – so says the International Monetary Fund (
www.imf.org).
At a press conference on the world economic outlook in Washington recently the IMF’s Economic Counsellor and Director (Research Department) Oliver Blanchard said that the Indian economy would continue to do well despite the impact of the global credit crunch. He said: “We don’t see a major drag from this impact on the country. Overall, we see the Indian economy continuing to perform well. That reflects the fact that India is still largely a closed economy, has strong internal growth dynamics, from rapid productive growth, from its process of integration into the global economy that is still continuing.” The IMF expects the Indian economy to grow 8% in 2008 and 7% in 2009.
South Korea-Australia FTA Talks Begin
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South Korea and Australia began their three day preparatory talks on a free trade agreement recently, at a meeting between South Korea’s President Lee Myung-Bak and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Australia’s Minister for Trade Simon Crean said: “These preparatory talks represent an important step towards ensuring that Australian exporters maximise their opportunities in the Korean market, particularly at a time when Korea’s other major trading partners such as the United States and the European Union are seeking improved access through free trade agreements.”
In 2007, South Korea was the fourth-largest export market for Australia, with exports worth US$9.8 billion. Energy, minerals and metals accounted for around 60% of Australia’s exports. For more info. South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website is at
www.mofat.go.kr.
Africa To Export Bananas ?
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Banana and plantain growers, scientists, entrepreneurs and policy makers from around the world met in Mombassa, Kenya, last month at a conference aiming to make bananas a major African cash crop.
In Africa, many products are made from the banana crop including beer, wine, juice, sauce, mats, handbags, envelopes, postcards, flour, soap and breakfast cereals. However as a result of poor investment in processing and marketing most income from bananas still comes mainly from the sale of fresh fruit. Currently, bananas are just a subsistence crop for African farmers, but the idea is to make them into a major export cash earner for millions of Africa’s rural poor.
The five day meeting was organised by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (
www.iita.org) in partnership with Bioversity International (
www.bioversityinternational.org). Bioversity International is the largest global organisation dedicated to helping poor people to make better use of agricultural methods to improve their lives.
Shanghai Most Attractive Business City
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Global business investors voted Shanghai as likely to be the most attractive global city over the next three years, showing high confidence in the future of emerging cities, according to a recent survey. The booming financial centre of China was followed by other emerging cities including Beijing, Mumbai, Moscow and Dubai – as well as the established city of New York, said the survey by the Greater Paris Investment Agency (
www.europinvest-paris.com/eng/), Thierry Jacquillat, President of the organisation, said it was the first worldwide survey to include cities in emerging nations such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. The ranking in terms of current business confidence put New York as number one, followed by Beijing, Shanghai, London and Paris.
How To Find The Biggest Future Markets
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Did you know that by 2050 the following countries will be amongst the ten largest markets in the world: Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Brazil and Congo? Reliable, useful statistics are essential if you want to understand and predict new markets. This site – GeoHive – can help you do that. GeoHive is a site with geographical data, statistics on population, the Earth and more. The main kind of data you can find there is population statistics and projections for regions, countries, provinces and cities plus economic factors like wealth, infrastructure, natural phenomena and many more. To get statistics for any country you can go directly to the ‘by Country’ section, while the ‘Global’ section has regional and country comparisons. There is also a section with links to statistical agencies and other reputable sources:
www.geohive.com.
Looking Into Leather
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Ever thought about importing or exporting leather? It’s not quite as big as oil or gas, but it is still one of the most often-traded commodities around the world and used in all kinds of products – from clothes and shoes to upholstery and protective gear. Leatherbiz International Leather Industry Resources at
www.leatherbiz.com is an invaluable website if you’re in, or would like to get involved in, the world leather industry. Most of leatherbiz.com is available free of charge (some is only available to paid members). It includes a product and supplier database, a forum, a comprehensive worldwide events calendar and ‘Reference Point’ – providing information on the leather industry generally plus links to other useful sites and resources. You can also view the latest issue of ‘World Leather’ magazine free of charge.
Why Not Trade Motor Parts ?
*************************The credit crunch means that more drivers worldwide are looking to repair their cars rather than buy new ones. So motor parts and accessories could be a good thing to import-export. If you’re interested in looking at the possibilities here’s a handy site: The Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) has information on the world market, market research, news, details of trade fairs and other events, information on useful industry publications and links to other automotive industry groups and associations around the world. Take a look –
www.aftermarketsuppliers.org.
Until next time,
Mark Hempshell
Editor