March 2013 Edition
GARLIC
Trade in illegal garlic in Europe has become so serious that inspectors have had to resort to forensic data analysis, mobile X-ray machines, DNA labs and a whistleblowing website. Contraband garlic in the EU has been depriving authorities of tens of millions of euros in lost taxes. China produced 18,560,000 tons of garlic in 2010, 82 per cent of the world's output, according to the United Nations. Growers from other countries complain they cannot compete against the cheap, abundant Chinese crop. Garlic smuggling cases are, after meat and sugar, the most common type of agricultural investigations probed in Europe.
THREATS
According to the World Economic Forum, a major systemic financial failure, extreme weather patterns, a water-supply crisis, weapons of mass destruction, cyber attacks and stark income disparity, are just a few of the major risks to the global economy this year. The single most likely risk in the next decade is severe income disparity, according to a study, based on a survey of more than 1,000 experts in industry, government and academia who were asked to assess 50 global risks. This is the second year in a row the widening gaps between the world's richest and poorest citizens was flagged as the most likely global risk.
ADVERTISING
Operating revenues for the Canadian advertising and related services industry rose 2.1 per cent between 2010 and 2011 to C$6.9-billion. The strongest increase was in Alberta with 11.2 per cent and the lowest in New Brunswick with a 16.5 per cent decrease. Among the different industries, the strongest growth was posted by direct mail advertising. As in previous years, firms in Ontario accounted for most of the revenue generated by the industry with 59.9 per cent, followed by Quebec, 23.4 per cent and British Columbia with 8.4 per cent.
CARS
Canadians ignored the anaemic economic recovery and warnings about mushrooming household debt to drive 1,676-million cars off dealers' lots in 2012, with favourable financing conditions propelling the industry to the second-highest sales year on record. The best year was in 2002 with sales of 1,707-million vehicles sold. The strong Canadian dollar helped but over the past decade, new auto prices have dropped an average of one per cent each year.
DIET
Researchers in the Netherlands say that the wriggly beetle larvae known as mealworms could one day dominate supermarket shelves as a more sustainable alternative to chicken, beef, pork and milk. Currently, livestock use about 70 per cent of all farmland. In addition, the demand for animal protein continues to rise globally, and is expected to grow by up to 80 per cent between 2012 and 2050. The researchers found that growing mealworms released less greenhouse gases than producing cow milk, chicken, pork and beef. Growing mealworms takes up only about ten per cent of land used to produce beef, 30 per cent for pork and 40 per cent of the land used to produce chicken to generate similar amounts of protein.
GERMS
According to scientists, brass door knobs, handles and handrails should be brought back into common use in public places to help combat superbugs. Researchers have discovered that copper and alloys made from the metal, including brass, can prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Plastic and stainless steel surfaces, which are now widely used in hospitals and public settings, allow bacteria to survive and spread when people touch them, Even if the bacteria die, DNA that gives them resistance to antibiotics and survive can be passed on to other bacteria on these surfaces. Copper and brass however, can kill the bacteria and destroy this DNA.
HOUSING
With a surge in record-setting trophy sales to billionaires, the Manhattan apartment market had its strongest year in 2012 since the peak of the real-estate boom in 2008. The number of sales rose by 10.5 per cent compared with a year earlier, even for lower priced apartments and median prices continued to rebound. Five of the 10 most-expensive residential sales on record in Manhattan closed in 2012, including the three most expensive. There were 11 sales at more than US$30-million each, more than double the number in 2011. The record sale was a condominium on West 62nd Street which sold for $88-million.
SAFETY
A smart test road with glow-in-the-dark pavement and weather indicators will be installed by the middle of the year in the Netherlands. The inventor has developed a photo-luminescing powder that will replace road markings, charging up in sunlight to provide up to 10 hours of glow-in-the-dark time once darkness falls. Special paint will also be used to paint markers like snowflakes across the road's surface, images which will become visible when temperatures drop to a certain level, warning drivers that the surface will likely be slippery.
RICE
Thailand is trying to put together a cartel of rice-producing countries. But unlike oil, rice rots. The alliance, which could include Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos may be announced soon with a view to raising rice prices in global markets. The five Asian nations are expected to export 15-million tons of milled rice this year, about 40 per cent of the total global trade in the staple.
PATENTS
China's patent office received more applications than any other country's in 2011, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, a body that follows 126 patent offices. China received 526,412 applications, exceeding those for America and Japan. Globally, filings rose by 7.8 per cent, breaking the two million mark. China has accounted for 72 per cent of the world's patent-filing growth between 2009 and 2011. The U.S. contributed 16 per cent. Almost one million patents were granted in 2011; Japan has approved the most, but the U.S. has the most patents in force, more than 2.1-million out of an estimated 7.9-million worldwide.
HEMP
Canada's small hemp industry is growing, but still faces hurdles because of its illegal and potent cousin marijuana. Production of hemp is forecast to almost double by 2015, which will translate to about C$100-million to the Canadian economy. About 200 growers across the country have been licensed by Health Canada and can only plant seeds that have been approved by the federal government. Hemp is filled with nutritious Omega 3 and 6 and is used to make breakfast cereals, pretzels, protein powders, salad dressings and lactose-free milk. Fibres from the hearty plant is made into building products, paper and clothes. Hemp oil is used to make cosmetics.
GOLD
Scientists in Southampton, UK., are now able to change the colour of gold, which could have implications for jewellery-making and security features. The technique used by the scientists involves embossing tiny raised or indented patterns on the metal's surface, altering the way that it absorbs or reflects light, thus changing its colour to the naked eye. The gold can now be made red or green, or a multitude of other hues.
METALS
The U.S. Department of Energy is giving US$120-million to set up a new research centre charged with developing new methods of rare earth production. Rare earths are 17 chemically similar elements crucial to making many hightech products, such as phones and PCs. They are also used in wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars. The U.S. wants to reduce its dependency on China, which produces more than 85 per cent of the world's rare earth elements. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there may be deposits of rare earths in 14 US states.
FOOTBALL
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reports that nearly one million tourists attended a Premier League football match last year, helping to boost the British economy by spending US$1.12-billion. Over 900,000 visitors spent an average of $1,256, an increase from 2010, when 750,000 visitors attended football games. The most popular teams to visit were Manchester United,and Liverpool. London clubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham were the next most popular.
WINDOWS
There was a lot of interest in the Winbot 7 at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It automatically moves along the surface of a window while cleaning and squeegeeing the glass. What makes this robot better than some others is that it uses a vacuum seal to stick onto the window instead of a separate magnet. To clean a window, you plug it into a power port, spray the cleaning pads with a solution, place it against a window and turn it on.
PCs
PC makers sold 89.8-million units worldwide in the fourth quarter of last year, down 6.4 per cent from the same quarter in 2011. For all of 2012, 352-million PCs were sold, down 3.2 per cent from 2011. That was the first annual decline since 2001. A 2.8 per cent growth is forecast for 2013. Analysts now say that people are waiting up to ten years to replace computers rather than five in the past.
TECHNOLOGY
The hotly-anticipated Pebble smartwatch, which was created thanks to US$15-million in crowdsourced funds, is now available. The Pebble has a e-ink display, similar to those found on e-readers, and lasts seven days on one battery charge. The 1.26in screen is able the display a multitude of apps as well as tell the time. On the Pebble website, the cost of the watch is US$149. Wearers can also receive text messages and e-mails through the device.
CHIPS
U.K consumers are going to have to pay more for the 382-million fish-and-chip meals they eat each year after the second wettest year in a century. Most of the country's 10,500 outlets have raised their prices for chips about 10 per cent. A medium portion of chips now costs US$2.42, 30 cents more than a month previously. This may increase again because the new crop won't be ready until summer. The average person in the U.K. eats 104.5-kilograms of potatoes a year, almost twice as many as in the U.S.
CRANES
Four cranes, each 14 stories high and costing US$40-million, have just been unloaded from China in the port of Baltimore and are being prepared for operations. They are part of the city's gamble that when supersize container ships start coming through the expanded Panama Canal in 2015, Baltimore will be one of the few ports on the East Coast ready for their business.
SIZE
San Francisco's building code has been downsized. A pilot program has been approved which will see efficiency units or apartments with reduced square footage requirements. Approval has been given to an ordinance that will change the definition of an efficiency dwelling to include units that are as small as 220 square feet, including the bathroom and closets. The Planning Commission is required to provide an analysis of the smaller living program before it can be expanded. Currently, one bedroom apartments or studios rent for about $3,000 a month.
CONVENIENCE
The idea behind the SwipeTie is simple. a silk necktie with a patch of microfibre fabric (the same stuff used for lens-cleaning cloths) behind the tip of the tie, at the ready to wipe smudges and greasy fingerprints from the screen of a smart phone or tablet.
Thank you for reading the A & A Economic News Digest. For more information visit our website www.aacb.com or contact A & A Contract Customs Brokers Ltd. at strehler@aacb.com.
Past issues of the A&A Economic News Digest can be found at http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/index.asp
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