MAY 1995 Edition
CANADA-U.S.TRADE
It's that time of year when the Canadian Department of
Foreign Affairs and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative report on how
well we are treating each other. This year there are fewer problems than a year
ago. Canadian merchandise exports to the U.S. increased 16.3 per cent in 1994
to $128.9 billion (U.S.). Merchandise exports to Canada from the U.S. rose 14
per cent to $114.3 billion. Two-way trade grew by 22 per cent.
The Canadian government is still concerned about a range
of U.S. trade barriers at the federal, state and local levels. Topping this
list are unilateral U.S. trade sanctions, including antidumping measures and
countervail duties. The greatest concern of the U.S. is about Canadian policies
in the cultural sector that Washington argues have unfairly restricted U.S.
interests. In particular, policies related to the restriction of U.S. satellite
broadcasting services. Also, Canadian taxation policies which are seen as
restricting U.S. access to the Canadian magazine market.
APPLES
Last year, orchardists in the Okanagan protested the lack
of tariff protection against apples exported to Canada from the U.S. They sold
more apples last year than ever before--but at lower prices. Valley growers
produced 4.6 million 40-pound boxes of apples in 1994, compared with 3.5
million the year before. However, net returns for Okanagan packinghouses were
2.5 per cent less than in 1993-94 and 5.7 per cent lower than 1992-93 and 10
per cent less than the year before.
TECHNOLOGY
A Coquitlam, B.C. cab company is the first one in North
America to track its cars on a digital map and will know where each one is
within 100 feet. Richmond-based Digital Dispatch Systems has installed
digital dispatching systems in other Vancouver
cab companies and some in the U.S., but not the tracking system. The DDS system
allows the dispatcher to send the nearest cab to the customer while minimizing
non-paying miles to the driver. The DDS mapping software draws maps on a
20-inch screen and by using a mouse, the dispatcher can zoom in and out to find
a cab.
READING
Four years ago, the cycle of supply and demand pulled the
price of newsprint to its lowest price since the 1920s. Last Fall that changed.
Northern bleached softwood kraft pulp, used in fine papers from foolscap to
magazine stock, sold for $390 (U.S) a tonne in late 1993 when the cycle hit
bottom. It currently sells for $825 (U.S.) and the price is expected to reach
$910 by June and over $1000 by next year. The effects are already being felt
throughout book, newspaper and magazine publishing, where paper represents
nearly one-third of production costs. In some cases the costs of books will
rise by more than a dollar a copy. Magazines and newspapers are increasing
their newsstand prices and subscription rates. Price of paper is not the only
problem facing publishers. Because of the low dollar, European and Asian buyers
are gobbling up the still-affordable (for them) North American pulp and
newsprint supplies. The resulting paper shortage means that stores will take
longer to re-stock popular books.
TREES
A new generation of high-speed trees promises to boost
timber production in Britain, while benefitting wildlife and the environment.
The first commercial crop of Bishop pine, which grows 40 per cent faster than
conventional conifers, is to be harvested in Dorset after more than 20 years of
forestry research. The pine, a native of Bishop County in California, is
nicknamed "the fastest tree in the west"--some specimens planted two
decades ago have already outstripped Scotch pines which were planted 70 years
ago.
TRENDS
Canadians, and people from 12 other countries, dipped
into the Internet about 205,000 times to get free information about the recent
budget. Just 7,842 people used the old-fashioned telephone. That means about 26
people used computers to get information for every one person who used a
telephone to dial a 1-800 number. This was the first year the finance
department put budget documents online on the Internet. More than 100,000
Internet "hits" were recorded in the first three days. The experiment
was so successful the department plans to expand its use of Internet to make
other documents publicly available.
INCENTIVES
The federal government will set aside $10 million over
five years to help pay the wages of young graduates who find work with companies
trying to break into the export market. 50 per cent of a graduate's salary will
be paid in the first year of employment and the second year of employment up to
$15,000 and 25 per cent in the third year up to $7,500. The government insists
this is not a subsidy to businesses but
a subsidy to graduates.
DIET
About a quarter of young British women no longer eat
meat, mostly for health reasons. A Gallop poll has showed the percentage of
vegetarians among the population has more than doubled to 4.5 per cent since
1984, with women more than twice as likely to have a meat-free diet than men.
The most significant finding is that one in four 16-to-24 year old women are
now vegetarian.
POLLUTION
Hemmed in by mountains on three sides and facing onshore
Pacific breezes, the Vancouver-Lower Mainland region, where two thirds of B.C.
residents live, is facing smog problems in the decade ahead similar to those of
Los Angeles and Mexico City. Because of skyrocketing urban growth and traffic
congestion, the government is now planning legislation to adopt the highest
automobile emission standards in Canada which will have implications for
taxpayers, health-care costs and the Canadian auto industry. The standards will
match or exceed those of California. The province will start bringing all heavy
vehicles, such as trucks, under the pollution control inspection system imposed
on Lower Mainland automobiles in 1992. Merely to maintain the existing air
quality will require tougher standards on vehicle emissions, mileage and fuel
quality as well as alternative fuel sources and increases in public transit.
Auto manufacturers say that B.C. car buyers may face substantially higher
prices than other Canadians and some of them might even stop selling in B.C.
EXPORT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
The EDC is offering a new service to assist small
businesses to succeed in the global marketplace. By calling 1-800-850-9626,
smaller firms can instantly access help to finance and insure sales of their
goods and services abroad. In addition to providing one-stop shopping for EDC
services, the Ottawa-based team will be able to direct smaller exporters to
other appropriate government services and programs. Small and medium-sized
businesses make up 84 per cent of EDC's customer base.
CHANGE
Visa has announced a pilot project for a "stored
value card" for consumers tired of scrounging for correct change. It will
look like any other charge card except it will have a tiny microprocessor. The
consumer goes to the bank, withdraws $50 from the bank machine and
"loads" that amount on the microchip. When used, the card is put
through a small computer, the cost is withdrawn from the card and the balance
is displayed. The card is intended for transactions of $10 or less such as
newspapers, bus fare, renting a video or a parking meter. Visa estimates that
purchases of $10 or less added up to $75 billion in Canada last year. This is
unlike the debit card where money is withdrawn at the time of purchase.
HOUSING IN JAPAN
The Japanese market for building products and
manufactured housing offers significant opportunities for Canadian companies
able to supply high-quality value-added building products at competitive
prices. Housing starts are running consistently at annual levels of 1.5 million
as Japan continues to replace its aging and inferior housing stock. Since the
Japanese building code was changed to permit 2X4 house construction, Canadian-
style 2X4 housing has received a broad level of acceptance from Japanese
builders and home-buyers. For many years now, Japan has been Canada's number
one overseas market for softwood lumber for use in the construction of
traditional post-and-beam and 2X4 homes. The reconstruction of Kobe resulting
from the earthquake will also begin later this year. Interested companies can
contact Wayne House, Japan Division of Foreign Affairs at: Tel: 613-995-1678 or
fax: 613-943-8286.
CANADIAN TRAVEL
During the first nine months of 1994, Canadians took 121
million trips to Canadian destinations. Reasons for travelling were: pleasure,
39.3 per cent; visits to friends and relatives, 33.2 per cent; business and
convention trips, 14.8 per cent; personal and other reasons, 12.7 per cent.
ABMs
Almost half of all adults in North America use banking
machines regularly. Young people and those with high incomes use ABMs most.
Friday is the most popular day to visit the machines, followed by Saturdays.
The typical user averages 7.4 times a month. The average amount withdrawn is
$60.45.
OSTRICHES
Ostrich farming is still a fledgling business in Canada
but the industry is already worth $50 million a year. They are the largest
living birds and can weigh as much as 345 pounds. Breeders can debone around
150 pounds of meat per bird. At $2,500 to $3,000 a bird, the cost works out to
around $20 a pound. It is claimed that they taste like fillet mignon but have
45 per cent less fat and 32 per cent less cholesterol than chicken. They have
as much protein as beef but half the calories. More than half of Canada's
20,000 birds are in Alberta, the rest in other Prairie provinces and B.C. Two
hundred of Canada's roughly 1,000 breeders are in B.C. To corner one-half of a
per cent of Canada's meat market (beef, pork, chicken, etc), the industry would
have to produce 300,000 birds a year.
B.C. EXPORTS
In 1990, B.C.'s export markets were reasonably balanced
between Asian and U.S. trade with roughly 38 per cent going into Asia. This is
changing. Last year, the Asian share of B.C.'s $22.8 billion in exports
represented only a 33.7 per cent share while the U.S. share surpassed 55 per
cent. While the overall value of B.C.'s trade with Asia went up an impressive
14.9 per cent to $7.6 billion from 1993's $6.6 billion, this is only part of
the story. The growth in trade with Japan,
our most important trading partner in the region went up by 14.4 per cent from $4.9 billion to
$5.6 billion representing 24.7 per cent of that 33.7 per cent share. The next
most important Asian trading partner is South Korea at a distant $739.6 million
up 27.3 per cent from $580.9 in 1993, a 3.7 per cent share. The only other
major trading partner is the People's Republic of China with 1.3 per cent
share. So rather than B.C. having a balanced export economy, the province is
still over-dependent on two major trading partners.
TEENAGERS
The economic clout of teenagers is unequalled by any
previous generation. In 1992, U.S. adolescents had an income of $70-$90-billion
from wages, allowances, gifts and handouts--and influenced the spending of an
estimated $140-billion of their parents' money.
ONLY IN BRITAIN
This month, 60 scientists from Britain's Natural History
Museum have been donning pumps and taking dancing lessons. They hope to
explain, in ballet, the workings of the DNA molecule.
ONLY IN PAKISTAN
Pakistani stockbrokers, in despair over a bear market,
sacrificed 10 goats in the parking lot of the Karachi Stock Exchange. Volume
rose to a record 23.3 million shares.
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