April 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

April 2004 Edition

CREDIT

 
With China rushing in ever greater numbers to buy on credit, banks and businesses are making a dash into the credit reporting industry. Growth in consumer lending has been about 50 per cent in each of the past two years. In 2003 personal credit lending totalled US$189-billion. China recently gave initial approval for General Motors and two other multinationals to offer auto financing, while credit card giants such as Visa and MasterCard are eyeing the market

WINE

Californian wine makers are following in the footstep of their Australian counterparts by conquering the British market. For the first time, Britons bought more wine from North America than from Italy. Last year, sales soared by 20 per cent to US$1-billion. Australia is by far the biggest seller with sales up nine per cent to more than US$1.7-billion.

COMFORT

Ryanair, a European airline famous for its no-frill service is about to get even leaner. The Dublin-based airline is taking the knife to a number of "non-essentials"--such as reclining seats, head rests, seat pockets and window blinds. It hopes the changes will speed aircraft turnaround times and save more than US$1.9- million annually. At the same time, Ryanair wants to encourage passengers to carry only hand luggage to cut baggage-handling costs.

AGE

Americans aged 50 and up control US$7-trillion, or 70 per cent, of all U.S. wealth, bring in US$2-trillion of annual income and account for 50 per cent of all discretionary spending. Yet they are the target of only about five per cent of advertising dollars.

SILVER

Long before money made the world go round, Yemeni silver reigned supreme as a sign of wealth and power in ancient times. Assyrian texts from the seventh century BC extol the virtues of Yemeni silver, while Roman descriptions of the country mention an abundance of the metal. In modern Yemen, with its alleged terrorist connections, only 20 families still work in silver and only a handful of stores offer silver-coated daggers, chunky necklaces and inlaid trunks to a trickle of buyers.

WOOL

Two Australian sheep farmers have produced the world's finest wool, a mere 11.9 microns thick or about one-fifth the diameter of human hair, with a bale of the super fine wool now under armed guard inside a bank vault. The bale of wool is valued at more than US$752,000 when sold and is probably destined for a fashion house in Paris, Milan, New York or Tokyo. One micron is a thousandth of a millimetre and 14-16 micron wool is normally used for cashmere clothing.

STEALING

Amsterdam police will use bicycles equipped with hidden GPS transmitters to bait thieves and track them down. Cycling is a way of life in the pancake-flat Netherlands which boasts more bikes than its 16 million inhabitants. In Amsterdam alone, an estimated 120,000 bikes, over a tenth of the total, are stolen every year.

TAXES

California and New York have now joined the 43 other states which require residents voluntarily to pay sales taxes if they order books, clothing, computers and other items by mail or online from businesses based elsewhere. The National Governors Association estimates state and local governments will lose at least US$35-billion this year from Internet sales.

PIRACY

The impact of online piracy on the US music business has been described by one industry spokesperson as "devastating." There has been a 31 per cent decline in music sales between 1999 and 2002 due primarily to piracy. More music is being consumed than at any time in history, but less is being paid for. The film industry is also being threatened. In 2003, Hollywood lost US$3.5 billion from movie piracy.

RUBBER

China's growing car culture has boosted rubber prices to levels of a decade ago cutting into profits at tire makers and pushing them to raise prices. Surging prices for natural rubber have hurt many industries from surgical glove makers to producers of hoses and conveyor belts. Tire makers use up more than 70 per cent of the world's natural rubber. Ballooning rubber prices are part of a broader worldwide surge in commodity prices. Everything from steel to palm oil has risen as the global economy has revived and growth accelerated in places such as China and India.

SMELLS

A supermarket poll has revealed Britain's top 10 favourite smells. They are: Fresh bread, frying bacon, coffee, ironing, cut grass, babies, the sea, Christmas trees, perfume and fish and chips.

SMART

The Star City Bridge, being built over the Monongahela River in West Virginia, will be loaded with 770 sensors, 28 data-collection boxes and a central "brain" that will report on cracks and strains. It will be the smartest bridge in the world.

SHIPS

Ground breaking for the largest shipyard in the world has taken place on an island at the mouth of China's Yangtze River. Once the shipyard is completed in 2015 it will have the capacity to produce a total of 12 million deadweight tons of ships per year. South Korea currently operates the world's largest shipyard in the city of Ulsan. Ports in China have been open to overseas investment since 2002 with total port investment in 2003 reaching US$2.2-billion.

RIPE

A sticker that detects ripeness is being tested on pears in grocery stores in Oregon. If successful, the concept could be expanded to include melons, avocados and kiwi fruit. The "ripeSense" labels change colour as the fruit emits greater concentrations of aroma compounds. Developed and first tested in New Zealand, the sensor allows customers to select pears without squeezing and damaging them.

PETS

Britain's obesity epidemic has spread to the country's pets. Four out of five vets now describe obesity as a significant problem, with two-thirds saying that they are treating record numbers of overweight cats and dogs. Figures show that the number of pet insurance claims related to obesity in 2003 was double the total made in 2000.

ACCESS

Shipping experts say that as the polar ice recedes, the notorious North-East Passage which winds its way along Russia's frigid and barren northern coastline past Siberia could come to rival the Suez Canal as a global trade route. The arctic icecap has been thawing rapidly and the ice is half as thick as it was 50 years ago. On present calculations, the Passage could be open to year-round commercial shipping within a decade.

TASTE

For centuries, iguana has been consumed throughout Central America. Now, it is showing up in a small but growing number of North American restaurants. The budding market is also improving life in El Salvador. Raising iguanas on farms for export provides much-needed jobs. The meat is said to have a taste similar to chicken and sells for US$14 a pound.

CLIMATE

The world's second-largest reinsurer has warned that the costs of natural disasters, aggravated by global warming, are threatening to spiral out of control and will force the human race into a catastrophe of its own making. Swiss Re warns that the economic costs of such disaster threaten to double to US$150-billion a year in 10 years, hitting insurers with US$30-40- billion in claims annually. Losses to insurers from environmental events have risen exponentially over the past 30 years.

PENSIONS

Canadian companies with defined-contribution pension plans are growing concerned that they will soon face legal action from employees who are dissatisfied with their retirement plans. Close to one-quarter of the 120 firms studied said they expect to face litigation over their plans in the next two years. When the time comes, 40 per cent said they expect their employees to win.

NILE

Delegates from ten African countries that share the water of the Nile River are to meet to negotiate how to share the resources. Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania are among those calling for the water to be shared more equally. Ethiopia and Tanzania are planning projects that could reduce the volume of water reaching Egypt.

GREEN

Ten years ago, Ecuador had 10 companies that offered trips and activities geared towards enjoying and conserving the environment, today there are 300. Foreign tourism revenues to Ecuador in 2002 were US$447-million, a jump of 30 per cent from 1999. That's more cash than any of the country's exports provide, except for crude oil and bananas. The number of visitors to the country soared 28 per cent to 654,000 in 2002 from 1999 and could reach one million by 2007.

SANCTIONS

For the first time, the European Union has hit U.S. firms with sanctions as part of a trade dispute. The EU is imposing a five per cent increase in duty on a range of goods, from honey to roller skates to nuclear reactors. The aim is to force the U.S. Congress to change a law that gives an unfair tax advantage to U.S. exporters. The EU sanctions will increase by a further one per cent each month until they effect U.S. exports worth US$666-million a year.

FISHING

Angling is worth US$250-million a year to the Scottish economy. The sport supports 2,800 jobs and generates almost US$100-million in wages and self-employment income. The lure of rainbow trout saw central Scotland record the most angler days each year, accounting for more than a third of the 1.4 million total.

DIAMONDS

Hefty taxes are driving a huge part of Canada's billion-dollar diamond industry underground according to a recent study. The study found that 75 per cent of diamonds are sold underground through a parallel network of jewellers. There is a 10 per cent excise tax on jewellery in Canada that the industry has been lobbying against for decades. Federal and provincial taxes add more than 25 per cent to the price of diamonds in Canada compared with an extra six per cent in the U.S.

ACCOMMODATION

The two largest pet supply chains in the U.S. are planning to expand into the pet hospitality industry, taking a bigger bite out of the fragmented business. Petsmart Inc will add 14 more pet hotels in 2004 for a total of 23 and eventually plans to have a pet hotel in every five or six of its 640 stores. Petco Inc, which has 654 U.S. stores plans a similar expansion.

DIRECTIONS

Britain's biggest-selling hiking magazine has apologized after a recent issue contained a route that would lead climbers off the edge of a cliff on Britain's tallest peak. The magazine gives advice on making a safe descent for hikers caught in bad weather on Ben Nevis in Scotland. But the magazine's directions would instead lead readers off the north face of the 4,406 foot mountain which is notorious for its changeable weather and has claimed the lives of several climbers.

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March 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

March 2004 Edition

CARBS

 
The Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to establish new rules for carbohydrate nutrient content claims.GMA contends the ability of food and beverage companies to provide consumers with the best information about carbohydrate content is limited, as there are no regulations allowing carbohydrate nutrient content claims.

PROSPECTING

Companies have laid claims to record tracts in the Canadian Arctic, snapping up permits for more than 70-million acres in the Northwest Territories and Nunavat, drawn by hoped-for diamond riches. Nunavat issued a record 1,518 prospecting permits covering 64-million acres--a huge jump from last year when just 190 permits were issued covering about nine million acres.

SUPPORT

Across the United States, about 42 per cent of the approximately 6-million immigrants, legal and illegal, from Latin America and the Caribbean dispatch remittances home on a regular basis. As a source of capital, these remittances eclipse all investment by foreigners and foreign firms for most of the recipient countries. and count for six per cent of the gross domestic product in six of the countries. In 2002, these funds amounted to about US$30-billion.

CARDS

Banking or debit cards are the ultimate in convenience. More than 34 million banking cards are in circulation among an adult population of 21.8 million. Canadians love their banking cards using them more than 2.4 billion times in 2002. That's an average of 76 times a second for every hour of the day.

FANTASY

The Disney Co. is pulling out of Celebration, the squeaky-clean central Florida town it created from scratch as a planning experiment known as " new urbanism." However, the company that has purchased the town has promised it will still put machines on the streetlamps in December to spray fake snow on Celebration's streets and it will continue to ship in perfectly coloured leaves in the autumn to decorate the pavement.

AUSTRALIA

Investors in Australia, a country with a population slightly larger than New York State, acquired US$2.4-billion worth of U.S. real estate last year, more than foreign investors from any country but Germany. While this was only a fraction of the US$114-billion worth of American real estate that changed hands last year, it represents a threefold increase from 2002. German investors bought US$3.6 billion in American property last year, down from US$4.4-billion in 2002.

BEAUTY

In the highly competitive world of beauty, the fight is on to capitalize on the growing male appetite for beauty products. In the last three years, the men's treatment sector of the beauty industry has seen major activity in terms of mergers and acquisitions and through product launches. Driving it all is a market that has grown some 70 per cent over the last five years and that boasts an estimated worldwide retail sales volume of US$600-million. This figure excludes toiletry items such as shaving cream or aftershave.

MINES

Danish scientists say they have developed a genetically modified plant that will detect unexploded landmines of which there are estimated to be about 100 million around the world. The plants are said to turn from green to red three to six weeks after they have been planted when their roots come in contact with nitrogen dioxide evaporating from the explosives in the soil. At least 26,000 people are killed or injured by mines every year.

CONCERN

A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey has asked 1,400 CEO's worldwide about the major concerns that they face. Their biggest concern is increased competition with 63 per cent considering it a threat. The next worry is overregulation (59 per cent), followed by fears of currency fluctuation (48 per cent). Global terrorism was ranked fifth at 40 per cent after anxiety over the loss of key talent, 45 per cent.

CARS

Toyota has now surpassed Ford of the United States as the world's No 2 automaker. Toyota has confirmed worldwide sales for 2003 of 6.78 million vehicles, up 9.9 per cent from 6.17 million the previous year. Ford says its 2003 sales slipped to 6.72 million vehicles, down 3.6 per cent from 6.97 the year before. The largest automaker is General Motors which sold 8.6 million vehicles in 2003.

SUCCESS

Companies with more women in senior management positions do better financially than those with less gender diversity in their upper ranks. A study by Catalyst Inc for the Bank of Montreal reviewed the performance of the 353 companies remaining in the Fortune 500 for four of five years between 1996 and 2000. Using two measures of financial performance, the study found that those with more women in their upper ranks tended to see superior performance.

TRENDS

A cash-strapped hospital in Lisbon, Portugal, has asked the local zoo to lend X-ray equipment usually used on elephants so it can treat overweight patients. As in many other countries, obesity has been rising in Portugal as dietary habits have changed.

COOPERATION

Mining and tourism interests in British Columbia have signed an historic agreement improving the often-poisonous relations between the two groups and encouraging investment in both sectors. The memorandum of agreement calls for the groups to work together on land use issues, recognizes a two-zone system for mining and mineral exploration and outlines a conflict resolution process. Under a two-zone system, mining and exploration would be prohibited in parks and some other protected areas but allowed, subject to applicable legislation in the rest of the province.

BOOKS

Mexico City's subway has begun lending books to riders in a new program aimed at reducing crime and fostering a more hospitable atmosphere for millions of commuters. The city plans to distribute seven million paperbacks in the next two years trusting commuters to return the books but not making it a requirement. Tokyo has dozens of tiny paperback borrowing libraries at subway stations

SOURCING

With sales of more than US$245-billion a year, Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer in the U.S. More than 80 per cent of the 6,000 factories in Wal-Mart's worldwide database of suppliers are in China. Wal-Mart estimates it spent US$15-billion on Chinese-made products last year, accounting for nearly one-eighth of all Chinese exports to the United States. If Wal-Mart was a separate nation, it would rank as China's fifth-largest export market, ahead of Germany and Britain,

AUSTRALIA

The U.S. and Australia have reached a broad trade agreement, opening up some U.S. agricultural markets but leaving in place existing U.S. restrictions on sugar that had threatened to derail the deal. Two-thirds of agricultural tariffs between the two will drop to zero after the deal is approved. The proposed deal will also eliminate trade barriers and increase market access for both sides in the manufacturing and service sectors. Many Australian farmers are against the deal as it leaves key tariffs on Australian farm goods untouched while giving U.S. farmers free access.

HERBS

The World Health Organization has issued a 72-page document with advice to governments around the world on how to ensure that the US$60-billion herbal medicine business is safe and sustainable. The document covers cultivating, collecting and classifying plants with recommendations on quality control, storage, labelling and distribution. WHO looked at the guidelines used in China, Japan and the European Union as a base for developing its own recommendations.

SOUTH KOREA

After years looking east towards Japan and the U.S., South Korea is now looking west to China. Last year half of its foreign investment went to China and its exports increased 50 per cent. South Korean businesses invested US$2.5 billion in China in 2003 compared with only $50-million in Japan. South Korean companies signed deals in China at the rate of 12 a day, 22,0000 of them now have investments in China employing about one million Chinese workers.

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

In 1997, U.S. sales and rentals of DVDs represented one per cent of film studio revenues, last year it represented two-fifths of revenues. In 2003, Americans spent $22.5-billion on DVDs and videocassettes compared with $9.2-billion at the box office where receipts fell slightly for the first time in a decade. Particularly exciting for the movie industry is the fact that people are choosing to buy rather than rent DVDs as they mostly did with videos. Half the homes in the U.S. own DVD players. In 2002, only one-fifth did in Europe.

SCRAP

The U.S. exported an estimated 12-million tons of scrap steel last year, a 21-per cent increase from 9.9 million tons in 2002. Now, a growing coalition of steel producers and consumers are talking to the U.S. Commerce Department and considering whether to petition for a limit on U.S. exports of scrap steel. Experts claim that the growth in exports to Asia and elsewhere have sent scrap prices soaring to 30-year highs. If granted, the restriction on scrap exports would be the first in three decades.

CHICKENS

Mexico expects to start exporting chicken meat to the U.S. in the next few months. Canada is the only other country that exports chicken to the U.S. where consumers chew up 25.6-billion pounds of meat each year. Mexico produced 2.1 million tons of chicken meat in 2003 and 1.9-million tons of eggs, making it the world's 4th-largest chicken producer and 6th-biggest egg producer.

RETURNS

According to the International Mass Retail Association consumers return about US$200-billion worth of merchandise annually in the U.S. The cost of handling and disposing of these items comes to about $35-billion. Between five per cent and 30 per cent of a merchant's sales ends up being returned. On-line retailers have a much higher return rate.

Visa Canada cardholder returns peak in the December to January period when they represent about three per cent of overall sales.

TEA

Tea growers in India's north-eastern Assam state have warned that pests could cut output by between 10- and 15 per cent this year. The culprit is a breed of mosquito known as helpoletis which has attacked more than 25 per cent of Assam's plantations. Assam is India's biggest tea-growing region accounting for 55 per cent of the country's annual crop, The infestation comes at a time when India's $1.5-billion tea industry has been hit hard by overproduction and stiff competition from Sri Lanka and Kenya. In 2003, the country's tea exports fell to 190 million kilograms from 220 million the previous year

KNOWLEDGE

Thailand is to send up to 300,000 civil servants for monastic training, during which time they will be forced to shave their heads, don saffron robes and meditate, in order to improve their performance. The initiative will last up to eight days annually at temples throughout Thailand

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.

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February 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

February 2004 Edition

 TAXES

India has slashed or abolished taxes on popular consumer goods, a key move in the country's programme to overhaul the economy. The tax changes, effective immediately, are expected to give a major boost to India's information-technology and telecommunications industries, as tariffs come down on computers, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals and cellular phones, as well as domestic air travel. The announcement is also expected to create a greater opening for foreign companies targeting India's rapidly growing middle class.

AUDIO

According to the Association of American Publishers, the U.S. audio-book market has grown an average of 11.5 per cent annually since 1997, while consumer book sales grew 2.7 per cent annually in the same period.

LEAVE

British career women are being offered maternity leave of up to five years by some of that country's biggest employers. So desperate are employers to retain skilled staff that they are promoting the career breaks as an enticement to retain female executives who have children. After years of steady growth, the number of working mothers with dependent children appears to have reached a plateau at about 65 per cent, and experts fear that British women will follow their American counterparts who are leaving work in ever greater numbers.

IPOs

There were a total of 53 offerings in Canada last year, by comparison there were 69 IPOs in 2002. Overall, last year's IPOs were worth a total of $4.6-billion, down from $5.8-billion in 2002. Technology and media ranked first in terms of total value of IPOs last year, with eight offerings totalling $1.5-billion.

SHRIMP

The U.S. is the world's largest shrimp consumer and is the biggest market for both Thailand and Vietnam. It imports around 120,000 tonnes of the Thai shrimps, worth some $1-billion, or about half of Thailand's annual exports of the seafood. Shrimp exports from Vietnam to the U.S. rose seven-fold between 1998 and 2002, when shipments reached $470-million. Now, the U.S. Southern Shrimp Alliance, which is battling a halving of shrimp prices and job losses, is seeking anti-dumping duties of up to 200 per cent on China, Vietnam, India, Thailand, Brazil and Ecuador.

COSTS

Statistics Canada reports that on average, Canadian households spent C$60,090 in 2002, a 2.2 per cent increase from 2001 after adjusting for inflation. Personal taxes accounted for a estimated 20 per cent: transportation claimed 14 per cent while food represented 11 per cent and shelter 19 per cent. Two provinces, Alberta and Ontario, reported average levels of household spending above the national average while Newfoundland and Labrador continued to have the lowest provincial average, C$47,900.

TRENDS

Some U.S. banks, such as Bank of America, are opting for more branches with human tellers. They claim the rapid expansion in branching comes after the industry for years attempted to prod Americans out of teller lines and into cheaper ways of using services, such as ATMs and the Internet. But the public remains resolutely attached to the bank branch.

TASTE

In recent decades, a commercial buffalo, also known as bison, meat industry has developed in the U.S. which may attract new consumers looking for an alternative to beef since the advent of mad-cow disease. Buffalo are fed grass then corn or potatoes for 90 to 120 days before they are slaughtered when they weigh around 2,000 ponds (907kg). They are not fed antibiotics, growth hormones or animal byproducts.

AFRICA

The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts that Africa will likely be the home of many of the both the world's fastest-growing and slowest-growing economies in 2004. Chad's economy is tipped to grow at an impressive 54 per cent this year while Equatorial Guinea should grow at 23 per cent, both due to rising oil output. Yet, other petro-states are not so lucky. Saudi Arabia can expect growth of only 0.5 per cent, and Kuwait 1.1 per cent in 2004. Zimbabwe remains at the bottom. Its economy is expected to shrink by nearly 9 per cent this year.

FAKE

Wine fakers who pass off cheap plonk dressed up with the labels of expensive vintages are forcing genuine producers to consider bringing in microchip technology to identify their bottles. The makers of one of the world's greatest Italian wines have been forced to redesign their bottles and introduce new security measures after 12 people were arrested for producing 20,000 bogus bottles of a renowned wine. Another six million bottles of bogus Chianti have also been discovered.

GROWTH

The global semiconductor industry is expected to grow by 18 per cent this year amid double-digit growth in personal computer and mobile phone shipments. It is also predicted that the market will grow at a compound annual rate of 12.5 per cent through 2008, with revenue rising from US$160-billion in 2004 to US$282-billion in 2008. China, the world's largest consumer of mobile phones and second-largest consumer of PCs, is expected to drive this growth.

SMUGGLING

Chinese customs authorities are on the alert for smugglers attempting to use the new free-trade agreement with Hong Kong and Macau to avoid import duties. As part of a two-stage plan, China has identified 273 items made in Hong Kong and Macau that are now able to enter the mainland market duty free. By January 1st, 2006 all Hong Kong and Macau sourced products will enter China duty free.

DIAMONDS

Canada has become the third largest producer of diamonds in the world behind Botswana and Russia. From 1998 to 2002, companies have mined about 13.8 million carats of these precious stones worth about C$2.8-billion and amounting to about 15 per cent of the world's supply. The diamonds are also of high quality. In 2001, the average price per carat for a Canadian-mined diamond was $228. This was the third highest in the world behind prices for diamonds mined in Namibia and Angola.

ONIONS

Researchers are scrambling to identify a mystery disease that has emerged for the first time as a threat to Georgia's US$75-million crop of Vidalia sweet onions. Tests are being conducted on lesions that have started appearing on the leaves of onion plants in seed beds. Scientists want to know whether they have a unique cause, or are related to the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus which has plagued Georgia peanuts and tobacco. Georgia's 134 registered Vidalia growers harvested 12,500 acres of onions last year.

HOURS

The European Commission has expressed concern that British workers are being unfairly forced to work long hours due to abuse of an "opt-out" clause secured by London from EU employment rules. Britain is the only country in the EU where working hours have increased over the last decade. New figures show that about 16 per cent of Britains currently work more than 48 hours a week.

TRENDS

Fly-in communities are springing up across the United States "Pecan Plantation" in Texas, has 125 homes, all served by taxiways. Planes can land, taxi home and be parked in the drive. Teen pilots can bring aircraft to the door to pick up their dates. Many houses do not have garages, they have hangers for two cars and two planes.

TRADE

Iraq is beginning free-trade talks with its Arab neighbours in the Persian Gulf region after signing agreements to dismantle trade barriers with Iran and Turkey. In six months, Iranian trade with Iraq has nearly doubled from the same period the previous year to US$400-million. Iran and Turkey are probably the largest suppliers of consumer goods to the Iraqi economy, while the Gulf states supply cars.

SAFETY

According to a New Zealand study, silver cars are much less likely to be involved in a serious crash. People driving silver cars were 50 per cent less likely to suffer serious injury compared with drivers of white cars.

SCANNERS

Around a fifth of people in Britain are unable to read small print on food and medicine labels. Now, a new "speaking" barcode has been developed that can read out food ingredients to blind and partially-sighted shoppers and warn of allergy-inducing ingredients. The product has attracted a good response in tests.

GECKOS

Lizards climb walls using the mechanical adhesive force of millions of tiny hairs on their feet. A synthetic version of those microscopic hairs allows Gecko tape, developed by a British university, to stick to almost any surface without glue. Applications include gloves that allow a person to climb a glass wall, the ability to move computer chips in a vacuum and new bandages.

GIRLS

According to UNICEF, girls are falling behind boys in school attendance. An estimated 121 million children worldwide are missing out on formal education; 54 per cent of them are girls. In many countries, this gap grows with age because girls are less likely to move on to secondary school. Educating girls not only improves their prospects, but also those of their future children. UNICEF estimates it would cost $60-billion in external aid by 2015 to ensure universal access to primary education for both girls and boys.

INSURANCE

In a recent Canadian survey, 55 per cent of small businesses said they were negatively affected by rising insurance premium costs. They have had a bigger impact than domestic events like the SARS outbreak, the mad-cow scare or the rising Canadian dollar. International challenges--like the war in Iraq--had a negative impact on revenue for 28 per cent of respondents, while 67 per cent reported no real impact. In terms of future challenges, 11 per cent said taxes were the most crucial issue facing small businesses in the next five years.

WOOD

Every year there are about 10 million housing starts in China, but less than one per cent are built of wood. In 1997, British Columbia grabbed a 2.2 per cent share of China's wood-product imports. By 2001, that share dropped to 1.4 per cent, though the value of B.C.'s wood exports to China is rising. B.C. exported $29-million in wood products to China and Hong Kong in 1997, or 30 per cent of Canada's total of $97-million. In 2002, B.C.'s exports to China hit $47-million , or 61 per cent of Canada's $76-million.

CAMERAS

Kodak, which launched the world's first popular camera more than a century ago, will stop selling traditional 35-millimetre film cameras in the United States, Canada and Europe by year's end. Kodak hasn't made money selling film cameras in the U.S. for some time, but had continued selling them to drive film sales. Film camera sales fell 15 per cent to 12.1 million units last year. Digital cameras, which store images on microchips, outsold film cameras for the first time in 2003.

STRESS

Last month, 385 Swiss postal workers were given blues-harmonica lessons to help them relieve stress.

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.

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January 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

January 2004 Edition

 TIME

A recent survey shows that the average American adult spends 16.17 hours on the phone each month, listens to 90 hours of radio and watches 131 hours of TV. The 53 per cent of the U.S. population that uses the Internet, spends more than 25 hours online a month at home and more than 74 hours on the net at work.

OIL

China's fast-growing economy has reached such levels that the country has emerged as the largest force driving the world's growing demand for oil. Faster-than-expected growth in the U.S. and Europe is also resulting in more oil use. But the latest data and forecasts by a Paris-based global energy watchdog show China alone accounting for about a third of the world's rise in the use of oil in 2003 and in 2004 when China is expected to displace Japan to become the second-largest consumer of oil after the U.S.

MEXICO

According to World Trade, Mexico's competitiveness is taking a hit, especially in the electronics, textiles and automobile sectors, as manufacturers of these goods are turning to other countries for low-cost production. Roughly 90 per cent of Mexico's exports are sent to the U.S. For example, for the first eight months of 2003, Mexico's exports of TV receivers to the U.S., including video monitors and projectors, fell by 9.6 per cent while overall U.S. imports of these items grew by 2.1 per cent. Certain apparel exports were down 5.5 per cent while U.S. imports rose 11.8 per cent.

BISCUITS

China has built a biscuit factory to cater exclusively to its captive giant pandas, giving them a more healthy choice than the usual steamed bread which loses much of its nutritional value in cooking, resulting in malnutrition for many pandas. The cream-coloured biscuit, made of bamboo, is rich in vitamins and trace elements and the fibre content is up to 30 per cent.

NAMES

Americans are increasingly turning to the world of popular culture to name their children. Children have been named after big brands as diverse as beauty company L'Oreal, car firm Chevrolet and designer clothes company Armani. There are even two little boys, one in Michigan and one in Texas called ESPN after the sports channel.

JOBS

Canada was one of the few countries that actually saw an increase in factory jobs in recent years, despite a decline in many other countries around the world, including the U.S. A number of countries are losing jobs because of improvements in technology and increasing global competition. From 1995 to 2002, about 2 million U.S. manufacturing jobs were lost, an 11 per cent drop. Brazil had a 20 per cent drop and Japan was off 16 per cent. Even China experienced a 15 per cent decline.

SPEED

The Battelle Memorial Institute has announced that it is building the world's fastest supercomputer. The machine is expected to be capable of 1000 trillion operations a second when completed in 2005 and will cost US$500-million.The machine will be used for biomedical research, modelling world weather patterns and researching black holes.

HUNGER

After declining for years, the number of people in the world who are going hungry is on the rise according to the United Nations. It is estimated that 842 million people were undernourished in 1999-2001, the most recent years for which data are available. This is not the famine-type hunger, it's a diet that routinely supplies 1,400 to 1,700 calories daily when the U.N. says 2,300 calories a day is the minimum needed for a healthy life.

WATER

Statistics Canada reports that even in a country as rich in water resources as Canada, there are growing signs of water scarcity. According to a new report, some of the country's main glaciers have shrunk to close to their smallest size in 10,000 years. The report says Canadians are among the most profligate water users in the world with an average annual use of 1,471 cubic metres, when the total supplied to residents and industry is considered. This ranks second only to the U.S.

LABELS

Nearly nine out of 10 Canadians want Ottawa to force companies to disclose whether any food they sell contains genetically modified ingredients. The survey results show Ottawa, which has refused to make labelling of genetically engineered foods mandatory, is out of step with Canadians according to consumer groups.

VOLCANOES

Some half a billion people worldwide live within 60 miles of historically active volcanoes.

VACANCIES

Canada's hurting office market will have to wait another year for relief and even then there will be no quick fixes for the high vacancy rates. National vacancy rates are expected to inch up to 13.8 per cent in 2004 from 13.6 in 2003 per cent before starting to decline in 2005. National rental rates dropped to $14.68 square foot in 2003 from $20.00 the previous year.

SMOKING

While smoking may be declining in the West, it is still growing in developing nations, especially China, which accounts for a third of all cigarettes smoked in the world. Two out of three Chinese men smoke and they are being joined by rising numbers of teenage and woman smokers. According to some estimates, smoking claims one million lives a year in China, a figure forecast to hit three million when today's population of young men hits middle age.

ADVERTISING

Spending on advertising in Canada is expected to rise by 3.4 per cent in 2004, slightly better than the 3.3 per cent for 2003. It is estimated that Canadian spending on major media, newspapers, magazines, television, radio, cinema, outdoor and Internet, will reach US$5.57 billion in 2004, up from US$5.39 billion in 2003. Canadian advertising spending is forecast to continue rising to US$5.75 billion in 2005 and US$5.9 billion in 2006.

CELLS

Cell phone customers in the U.S. can now start switching companies without having to change numbers. After more than a six year delay, customers in the U.S.' 100 largest metropolitan areas are getting what the telecom industry calls "number portability." Customers in other parts of the country have to wait until May, 2004. The ability to switch and keep their numbers is expected to lead to a wave of low-price, feature-rich packages to try to keep existing customers and attract new ones. Portable cell phone numbers are not available in Canada.

FEES

By Enron's own reckoning, the legal and accounting costs of its bankruptcy will exceed $1-billion in 2006. Typically, legal fees in a bankruptcy drop off dramatically after a company gains approval for a plan of reorganization. But the company's budget through 2006 estimates more than $300-million will be spent after Enron confirms its plans, more than any company has ever spent confirming a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.

MARMALADE

An Austrian farmer has become the unlikely star of "a marmalade rebellion" against Brussels bureaucracy. He was fined and threatened with jail after trading standards inspectors found him selling apricot marmalade using his grandmother's recipe. According to a European ruling, marmalade can only contain citrus fruits such as lemons, limes and oranges, not apricots or other soft fruits. Such mixtures have to be labelled as jams.

ECONOMY

Canada's economy measures over C$1.2-trillion a year and export sales are more than $430-billion. But there is another economy, Canadian interests operating abroad. Canadians now own $381-billion in fixed assets abroad, foreign affiliates that generate close to $400-billion in annual sales. Even allowing for the possibility that some Canadian foreign affiliates are double-counted as Canadian exports, these sales are significant. Some 1- million people are employed in Canada's foreign affiliates.

GINSENG

A major ginseng producer is leaving B.C. and moving its operation to Ontario. A continuing problem with root rust, which affects the appearance of ginseng, and lower-than-average prices paid for B.C.'s crop are the reasons for the decision. Meanwhile, the world's largest supplier of North American-grown ginseng, another B.C. company, is expanding its B.C. operation.

BEEF

U.S beef exporters moved quickly to fill the void created in world markets when countries closed their borders to Canadian meat following the discovery of a single case of mad cow disease in Alberta last year. U.S exports of beef jumped by 17 per cent following the ban on Canadian beef exports.

CABS

Less than a year after the New York Taxi Commission agreed to run a pilot program allowing seven entertainment companies to offer some form of television service in the back seats of yellow cabs, officials have decided that the program does not work and have ordered sets to be removed. Surveys indicate that those who experienced the units showed either indifference or negativity.

TRENDS

This last Christmas, the Salvation Army went high-tech adding debit machines to its annual kettle drive in parts of Western Canada. According to Interac Inc. Canada has the highest per capita debit-card use in the world. In 2002, Canadians spent $105-billion with debit cards spread over 2.4 billion transactions.

PRESCRIPTIONS

Boston has added its name to the growing list of U.S. cities and states clamouring to buy cheap prescription drugs from Canada, renewing fears of shortages in Canadian pharmacies. Boston councillors approved a plan that calls for the city's 15,000 insured workers to get their prescriptions from Canada by July, 2004. The city hoped to cut $1-million a year from its $61-million drug budget.

TRADE

A recent merchandise trade reconciliation study shows that in 2001, two-way trade between Canada and Mexico was close to $19-billion. Mexico accounted for 3.6 per cent of Canada's imports in 2002, up from 2.4 per cent in 1995. Canada ranked as Mexico's second most important export market in 2001, after the U.S., and Mexico as Canada's fourth most important export market.

CAMERAS

A British company claims to have invented a "smart" changing room that tells shoppers whether or not an outfit suits them. A defence research firm, said to be the inspiration for Q division in James Bond films, has converted weapons technology for the machine. The system uses 3D digital cameras which can take pictures and record measurements from more than 1,000 points on a body. Six cameras scan the shopper and the new outfit, and feed the data to a computer with that can match styles to body shapes.

CONFIDENCE

A new European Commision report on the current expansion which will add 10 new countries to the Union has concluded that the newcomers as still mostly corrupt, disorganized and alarmingly ill-prepared for the cold blast of merket competition.

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

December 2003 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

December 2003 Edition

ORGANIC

 
As consumers in the West grow increasingly hungry for organic food, Chinese farmers see a niche market worth cultivating. Sales of organic food in the U.S. alone reached US$11-billion in 2002, are projected at US$13-billion in 2003 and may reach US$20-billion by 2005. In rural China, the word is out that more and more people abroad are willing to pay extra for a healthier and more environmentally friendly diet. Foreign buyers are paying from 30 to 50 per cent more for organic foods. Organic farmers work without the aid of chemical agents to control insect and weeds or to fertilize fields.

MORE ORGANIC

Sales of organic food in the UK have topped US$2-billion for the first time. Demand for organic products is growing by more than 10 per cent a year, faster than any other food and drink sector. One of the biggest rises was in sales of organic baby food, up 20 per cent over the past year. The supermarket share of the organic market has fallen slightly for the first time in five years. Part of the reason is the growing popularity of farmers' markets, farm shops and direct delivery.

MICROBES

Steel and appliance makers are joining the battle against bacteria with antimicrobial doorknobs and coffee makers. There is even a gleaming 11,000-square-foot, bug-free house in Los Angeles filled with stainless steel and appliances covered with an antimicrobial compound called Agnol. The compound contains ions of silver that interact with humidity in the air to continually suppress the growth of bacteria, mould, mildew, fungi and other microbes. Agnol can be combined with other materials for use on clothing, air and water filters or paints.

CITIES

By 2005, there will be 16 mega-cities on the planet. The largest of them will be Tokyo with 27 million people. Urban dwellers, it is predicted, will outnumber the world's rural population for the first time by 2007.

VODKA

This famous Russian drink is celebrating 500 years since it was first distilled by monks. The clear liquid, these days drunk by people around the world, is thought to have been invented in 1503 by Kremlin monks who used it as an antiseptic before they started drinking it. Studies show Russians drink more hard liquor than any other nation in the world.

GRANTS

A witch has received a US$9,000 grant from the Norwegian Industrial and Regional Development Fund to make and sell potions door to door. Her specialty elixirs include night creams for vivid dreams, a day cream to combat indecisiveness and a foot cream to change a user's bad habits. A government official said her business plan was "pretty reasonable and well thought out".

TRADE

The leaders of Canada and China have agreed to continue boosting trade between the two countries. Canada did C$20-billion in trade with China last year. Canada-China trade tripled over 10 years and is expected to double again by 2010. China exported a staggering C$16-billion of the overall sum exchanged between the countries last year. The remaining C$4-billion flowed into the coffers of the 400 companies doing business in China.

TRENDS

Some of Britain's biggest companies are using postal codes to single out customers who telephone call centres on the basis of their wealth. Sophisticated technology recognizes consumers when they call and divert their inquiry to specially trained workers authorized to give better deals to wealthier clients. Poorer customers are made to wait and may have their calls answered by automated computer systems.

FISH

More than 600 new species of fish have been discovered by a major ocean census and thousands more may be lurking undetected. Some 300 scientists from 53 countries are creating a record of all known maritime life. The 10-year Census of Marine Life project will form an open database of raw material available to everyone. So far, 15,304 species of fish have been logged. Between 2,000 and 3,000 are expected to join the list before 2010 and many will be previously unknown species.

WINE

Last year, the United States sold 74 million gallons of wine around the world. Almost all of it was varietal, or identified by the grape it is made from: cabernet, chardonnay, zinfandel or syrah. Australia, Chile and South Africa, all aggressive wine exporters, also identify most of their wines by the grapes from which they are made. Europe, France in particular, has responded by slowly moving to varietal names as well. Europe has traditionally named wines after the region in which they are produced.

ACCIDENTS

11,449 people were killed in the first nine months of this year in China's mines and factories, a jump of nearly nine per cent over the same period last year. This was despite a nationwide safety crackdown. Fatalities were down slightly in accident-plagued Chinese coal mines but the number of deaths in non-mining industries rose by 19 per cent to 5,203. Some experts blame the rise on China's shift to a market-style economy with private employers pushing workers harder and skimping on safety measures.

RICE

Scientists have found the oldest known domesticated rice. The handful of 15,000-year-old burnt grains was found by archaeologists in Korea. Their age challenges the accepted view that rice cultivation originated about 12,000 years ago in China. The rice is genetically different from modern crops which will allow researchers to trace its evolution. Today's rice is the primary food for over half the world's population, with 576,280,000 tonnes produced in 2002. In Asia, rice is responsible for almost a third of all calorific intake.

MUSIC

Research has discovered that music played in restaurants has a direct impact on the amount spent by diners. Classical music will make customers pay more, bland music is likely to have the opposite effect. Classical music increases spending owing to its "connotations of affluence, sophistication and wealth." When people feel more "cultured and sophisticated" they are more likely to spend money on items they think cultured and sophisticated people would order.

CHICKENS

Never before have chickens been so big, in fact, they are about 20 per cent heavier than 50 years ago. To keep pace with demand, the poultry industry has changed its breeding and raising techniques. The average chicken now has a thicker breast, fatter wings and chubbier drumsticks.

FURNITURE

A group of U.S. furniture manufacturers has asked the U.S. government to impose trade duties on Chinese-made bedroom furniture. The petition states that Chinese bedroom furniture is priced so low that the imports should carry duties that could be more than twice the wholesale price of the furniture.

TRUFFLES

A century ago, France produced 1,500 tonnes a year of this delicacy, but the business is in radical decline. Now, even in a good year, only 35 tonnes are produced. Despite advances in the science of truffle production, the cultivation of the fungus is extremely precarious and labour intensive. Truffle farmers are now warning that the summer heatwave has destroyed half their crop. It is likely that by Christmas, the price is likely to reach double its normal level, reaching the record-breaking sum of US$2,000 a kilogram.

SAND

Saudi Arabia has reportedly imposed strict border checks to enforce a ban on the export of sand. There are fears that the growing demand of the construction industry could lead to a shortage in the desert kingdom. Neighbouring Bahrain needs to import large quantities of sand for reclaiming land from the sea. Though sand remains plentiful in Saudi Arabia, the high costs of bagging and transporting make exploiting it difficult.

MISSISSIPPI

This politically conservative state is cultivating a small but burgeoning trade relationship with Cuba's communist-run government. Ships laden with a growing list of U.S. food and agricultural products such as beef, chicken, rice, and cheese sail regularly from Gulfport to Havana. The exports are legal under an exemption to the U.S.' four-decade trade embargo of Cuba and have spurred hopes that Mississippi will get a healthy share of U.S.-Cuban trade if relations are normalized as expected.

ECUADOR

This country is the most biodiverse in relation to its area. Its forests are home to bears, jaguars, a profusion of birds and many rare plants. Yet Ecuador is losing its trees faster than anywhere else in South America. According to official figures, 370,000 acres of primary forest are felled each year; unofficial sources put the figures twice as high. This means that half of the forests have been lost in the past three decades, much of them to illegal logging.

GRAFFITI

Even the Romans had to put up with slogans scratched on the walls of their fine new buildings by ungrateful locals. Now, researchers in Mexico have invented a new type of anti-graffiti paint. Called Deletum 5000, the product will be released in the new year. Its special ingredient are particles of silica. These particles have had both oil-repellant and water-repellant molecules attached to their surfaces. Deletum 5000 can be painted on to concrete, brick, metal, plastic and wood. and will last for ten years.

INFORMATION

Growing net, computer and phone use is driving a huge rise in the amount of information people use and generate. Researchers estimate that every year 800 megabytes of information is produced for every person on the planet. The study found that information stored on paper, film, magnetic and optical disks has doubled since 1999.

CANDY

This year, confectioners in the U.S. are expected to have generated Halloween sales of US$2-billion. Last year, the country's total confectionary sales were US$24-billion, the highest anywhere. Worldwide sales of confectionary and chewing gum are estimated to reach US$112-billion. Chewing gum sales rose by about 18 per cent in Britain last year and gum and mints have shown blistering growth in emerging markets such as China.

GRASS

Cogon grass, a fast-growing Asian weed that initially hitch-hiked to the U.S. as a packing material, is becoming a worse plant scourge than the infamous kudzu vine in many parts of the U.S. South. Cogon, considered one of the world's 10 worst weeds, kills pine seedlings and is a hot-burning fire hazard that squeezes out native plants and ruins habitats for threatened species such as the gopher, tortoise and the indigo snake. It has invaded every continent except Antarctica.

WEDDINGS

Singapore has begun its latest behaviour modification campaign, a "wedding punctuality" drive to encourage guests to turn up on time for a couples big day. The government is providing 400,000 cards for couples to insert into their invitations. Previous programs have included efforts to encourage citizens to smile more, wave at fellow motorists and switch off mobile phones in cinemas.

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

November 2003 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

November  2003 Edition

TEQUILA

 
To deserve the name of tequila, it must be distilled only from the sap of the Mexican blue agave plant. Tequila has become a favourite spirit in the US which now accounts for half of the world's tequila consumption. Last year US consumption was 7.2 million nine-litre cases worth US$2.8 billion in retail sales. Until now, 83 per cent of tequila sold in the US was imported in bulk and bottled locally. Now, the Mexican government wants to ban bulk shipments requiring that it be bottled in Mexico which will move bottling jobs south of the border.

PRICES

Commodity prices are strengthening. Copper, often seen a harbinger of economic trends, is trading in the futures market at 30-month highs. The formally boring nickel market is at a three-year high. The price of platinum is at a 2-year peak and gold is fetching more than it has for seven years.

SOYABEANS

In soyabean production, Brazil is a superpower. Within five years it could become the world's biggest producer according to the US Department of Agriculture. Soya products already account for five percent of Brazil's total exports despite a ban on genetically modified (GM) crops. In the US, 80 per cent of the soya products are GM. Under a new decree, Brazil has now announced that it will allow the planting and sale this year of a herbicide-resistant variety of soyabeans.

SANDWICHES

The right thickness of cheese to put in a sandwich has been discovered with the help of a technique to analyze aromas released as food is chewed. The study, sponsored by the British Cheese Board, shows the optimum thickness varies according to the cheese: 7mm for wensleydale; 5mm, cheshire; 4.5mm, caerphilly; 3mm, blue stilton; 2.8mm cheddar and 2.5mm for double gloucester.

SINGAPORE

Talks are continuing with a view to having a free trade agreement between Canada and Singapore within a year. Substantial progress has been made on areas such as market access in goods, financial services and government procurement. Singapore, a resource-poor island economy, has made free trade agreements a cornerstone of its economic policy--inking bilateral deals with the U.S., Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

CONSTRUCTION

A campaign has been launched to combat the British construction industry's skills shortage by encouraging more women to join the trades. The project hopes to recruit 1,400 women to help fill the 8,000 new hires a year that the industry will need until 2006.

SHOPLIFTING

More than US$4.7 billion was lost to shoplifting and employee theft in just 25 U.S. retail companies in 2002, with only 2.43 per cent of those losses resulting in a recovery. A survey shows over half a million apprehensions taking place in 25 large retail companies, representing 10,243 stores with combined 2002 annual sales exceeding US$396 billion. One in 30 employees was apprehended for theft.

SINKING

Shanghai authorities are to limit the rate at which some of the world's tallest buildings are being built after the sheer weight of the skyscrapers was found to be causing the city to sink into the sea. Geologists have found that the city subsided more than an inch last year. Two of the world's tallest buildings are in Shanghai.

MIGRATION

Statistics Canada has now published data on the number of individuals who moved from July, 2001 to June, 2002. There were 1.65 million individuals who moved in this period, up from 1.51 million in 2000\01, a 9 per cent increase. Of these, more than 290,000 changed provinces or territories, up 8 per cent from 2000\01. Nearly 991,000 moved from one census division to another within their province or territory, up 12 per cent.

DIRTY

At a party to launch Zambia's revolutionary new banknotes, guests were quick to notice the unsightly red and black stains on their fingers--the serial numbers on the new bills were rubbing off. The notes, which are made of a thin plastic polymer, are supposed to last longer, stay cleaner and be more secure than traditional paper currency. Zambian bank officials expected the plastic bank notes to save them C$5-million over the next five years. The manufacturer told the bank the ink on the bills had not been given enough time to dry.

COMMUTING

According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation, the average daily one-way commute to work in the U.S. takes just over 28 minutes. The average commuting time reported has not varied significantly in the past three years. Only six per cent of workers spend more than one hour commuting. The longest reported commute was three hours and the shortest was one minute.

SUNSCREEN

A new British study has found that sunscreen lotions may not protect against skin cancer. They have found that some of the leading brands fail to stop the sun's damaging rays from penetrating the skin.

WEALTH

In the second quarter of this year, Canadian net wealth, the country's worth in homes, cars, business inventories and fixed capital, less what is owed to foreigners, hit C$3.9 trillion or C$129,000 per capita However, Canadians owed the equivalent of one year's pay each in consumer and mortgage debt. Canada's total non-financial assets were worth C$4.1 trillion before foreign liabilities were subtracted.

SIZE

Giant avocados, large enough to make three gallons of avocado soup or two ponds of guacamole are about to go on sale in Britain. Fourteen inches in circumference and as large as a water melon, the naturally grown pears are eight times the size of normal avocado and will feed a family of six. The monster fruit are all descended from a single ancient tree in South Africa's Northern Province.

TREES

U.S. cities have lost more than 20 per cent of their trees in the past ten years, due primarily to urban sprawl and highway construction. According to a study by American Forests, the vast tree loss contributes to environmental and health problems that have cost an estimated US$234-billion. The four-year study examined 448 urban areas using satellite imaging to compare with a similar study 10 years ago and found 21 per cent less tree canopy.

SPEED

South Korea holds a large lead over the rest of the world in the percentage of inhabitants who have high-speed Internet connections. Between 60 and 70 per cent of all households have a broadband connection. At the start of 2003 there were around 63 million broadband subscribers in the world compared with 1.13-billion fixed-line users and 1.16-billion mobile phone users. Hong Kong was second with Canada in third place. However, Japan, currently 10th, is moving up fast because it is offering the world's fastest speeds and lowest prices. The U.S. is in 11th place.

DUST

Disposable cleaning cloths and dusters tout their ability to attract dust but the same properties may be found in washable microfibre cloths in which the fibres are split to create an electrostatic charge. Lambswool dusters have a similar dust-attracting property, and genuine ostrich feathers are famous for their ability to hold dust rather than scattering it.

CALIFORNIA

Rice growing in California has become a US$500-million industry that is second only to Thailand in exports of premium rice. The roughly 500,000 semi-arid acres, or 202,000 hectares, in the Sacramento Valley make up a microclimate, one of three in the world, where japonica rice flourishes; the others are in Japan and Australia. California rice production now outpaces the long-established long-grain rice industry in Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.

ACRYLICS

Over 120 big aquariums across the world from New York and Barcelona to Shanghai and Riyadh have something in common. They all use acrylic glass made by Nippura, a Japanese firm with 60 employees which has won around three-quarters of the global market for these panels. Nippura made the world's biggest panel for the Okinawa Aquarium which opened last November. The panel is 27 feet tall and 75 feet wide and provides a view into a 1.7-million tank.

PACKAGING

Sales of private label consumer packaged goods (CPG) in the U.S. are growing much faster than branded products. According to an ACNielsen study, since 1997, private label products have grown from having a presence in 69 per cent of categories tracked to 75 per cent, entering 88 new categories in that time. In 2002, private labels had the dollar volume share lead in 25 per cent of categories in which it competed, up from 21 per cent in 1997.

INSURANCE

The likelihood that genetically-modified (GM) crops will be farmed in the UK was greatly reduced after it emerged that farmers may not be able to obtain insurance cover for the potential risks of GM farming. None of the five main British insurance underwriters are willing to offer cover to farmers considering growing GM crops, or to non-GM farmers wanting protection from GM crop contamination.

NEWSPAPERS

More Canadians read community newspapers than the daily papers in the same market according to a new nationwide survey. The study, which was conducted among more than 24,000 English-speaking Canadians in 400 newspaper markets over the past few months, suggests that local papers are surprisingly well read. Of those surveyed, 69 per cent said they had read the last issue of community paper while only 47 per cent read a daily paper from the previous day. Only in Quebec and Ontario were there more readers of daily newspapers.

WOMEN

The Business Development Bank of Canada has created a new $25-million fund targeted to women entrepreneurs. Today, firms led by women are not only increasing at twice the national average in number, they are also moving into manufacturing, construction and new economy industries. Close to 150 companies in Canada headed by women entrepreneurs are producing revenue of $2-million or more and will show significant growth in the years to come.

SATELLITES

The world's over-farmed soil is sick and getting sicker. Heavy modern farm equipment is killing the soil through repeated compaction and tilling which in turn worsens salinity that kills crops. However, a new world of automatically steered tractors, guided by satellites, will allow them to run on pre-determined tracks and lessen impact on the soil.

LAZY

Austrian scientists have provided a flock of lazy rare birds with a car and driver because they are incapable of migrating on their own. Ornithologists spent more than two years breeding the Northern Bald Isis but had to drive the birds to their winter quarters in northern Italy after discovering the birds were unable to make the 500-mile trip by themselves.

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

October 2003 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

October 2003 Edition

VIETNAM

The World Bank is lending Vietnam US$100-million over the next three years to support reforms to reduce poverty, develop a market economy to replace the existing centrally managed one and devise a modern legal system. Three other donors, the U.K., the Netherlands and Sweden have also agreed to provide Vietnam with US$33.7-million in grants during the same period. In a separate grant, the World Bank is also funding a 12-year, US$5.5-million project to promote the efficient use of electricity in Vietnam.

THEFT

According to Interpol, art theft is now the No.3 criminal enterprise in the world after drug trafficking and weapons trafficking. About US$7-billion in fine art is stolen each year.

BEDS

In a market where best-selling beds cost US$599 and any bed costing more than US$1,500 is considered "luxury," a tiny but growing number of consumers are spending US$5,000, US$15,000 and even as much as US$20,000 for a mattress made of such luxury materials as cashmere and Belgian silk.

GERBILS

An explosion of gerbils is decimating vast areas of grassland in China's north-western Xinjiang region with some of the prairies completely destroyed by hundreds of rodent burrows. Officials say that gerbils have damaged more than 11 million acres of grassland, about the size of Switzerland. The Great Gerbil, found in many parts of Central Asia, can grow to be 16 inches from head to tail.

HONG KONG

The government of Hong Kong has confirmed it is studying the introduction of a sales tax as it reported that unemployment has reached more than eight per cent. This underscores how Hong Kong's economic problems might drag on, even with an improving global economy. Hong Kong's traditionally low tax rate and simple tax regime have long been big draws for investors. For companies, the primary tax is a flat-rate profit tax.

GROUNDS

Farmers in England have found a new way to make their crops grow better--compost made from instant coffee. A Kraft plant near Banbury produces 125 million jars of coffee a year. Previously, coffee waste from the process was burnt for heat, but now some 10,000 tons of residue is being transported to some farmers who mix it with straw to turn it into compost. The resulting fertilizer is rich in nitrates, making it ideal for wheat, barley and maize. Some maize treated with the composted coffee has grown a foot taller than the untreated crop.

88888888

An airline in southwestern China has paid nearly US$300,000 in an auction for the phone number "88888888," saying it hopes to make its customers happy. Many Chinese consider the number "eight" to be lucky because it rhymes with the Chinese word for getting rich. Nearly 100 other numbers were sold at the auction with the money going to charity.

REGULATIONS

Any lipstick in Canada that contains sunscreen is automatically classified as a drug by Health Canada and is subject to fees and regulations that cost cosmetic companies millions a year. And it's not just sunscreen lipstick, dandruff shampoos, fluoride toothpaste, antiperspirants, antiseptic skin toners, pimple cream, even orange juice fortified with calcium--are "drugs" according to Canada's federal regulations.

MORE REGULATIONS

Trapeze artists with one of the world's most famous circuses have been told to wear hard hats to comply with new EU safety regulations. Jugglers, tightrope walkers and other acrobats with the Moscow State Circus, currently touring Britain, have also been told to don safety head wear. Insurers have threatened to pull coverage if performers are injured without head protection. Performers have decided to use head gear during rehearsals but not during performances.

DUBAI

This country already plans to build the tallest tower, artificial islands shaped like palm trees and a map of the world. Now the Emirate is to host the world's first underwater hotel. Called Hydropolis, the hotel will resemble a giant submarine anchored in the Gulf and accessed only by a tunnel via a waterside reception area. Work on the US$600-million 220 suite facility begins this year and will be completed in 2006. The Emirate plans on becoming a holiday mecca relying on tourist dollars rather than oil

BANKING

China is taking its first tentative steps to allow privately owned banks, a move that highlights huge growth opportunities in the sector. As the world's largest untapped banking market, China represents opportunities not just for full-service banks, but for investment banks and insurance companies. China has been described as the last great frontier in finance.

FIRE

The recent devastating fires in British Columbia have had a significant economic impact on the province. Preliminary estimates by the Council of Forest Industries indicate that the fires have affected 14 billion board feet of timber valued at $5.6-billion, the equivalent of 75 per cent of Canada's softwood shipments to the US each year.

COUPONS

A surge in the use of counterfeit Internet coupons has prompted some stores to refuse accepting the money saving offers. The country's largest food chains are warning cashiers to be on the look-out for coupons offering free or heavily discounted items without barcodes and expiry dates. In the US, there are close to 100 bogus coupon offers in circulation and this fraud is estimated to cost the sector up to US$800-million annually.

BIG APPLE

Under a five-year US$166 million deal, Snapple, the beverage company and New York City are uniting to promote each other. Snapple is now the official beverage of the city and this will give Snapple exclusive rights to place vending machines in 1,200 public schools as well as other public buildings. In return Snapple will pay the schools at least US$8-million a year for five years and about US$13-million to the city. Snapple will also spend around US$12-million a year to promote New York.

COWS

India is the world's third-largest producer of leather. So plans to ban the slaughter of its 211 million cattle, while popular with many Indians, could wipe out US$700-million in exports. Hindus, who make up 82 per cent of India's 1 billion people, consider cows to be sacred. Indian exporters may lose out to China which meets a fifth of global demand. About 2.5 million Indians are employed making shoes, jackets and other leather products.

CAVITIES

Canadians' growing penchant for bottled water may help explain what some scientists are calling a steep jump in the rate of cavities among children. As families increasingly opt for spring water, most of which contains only trace amounts of naturally occurring fluoride, they are avoiding tap water that in many cities is supplemented with the decay-fighting chemical. However, other experts suggest the reasons have more to do with lifestyle and diet.

GARLIC

After years lobbying politicians for tariffs and trade regulations to ward off Chinese exports, some Californian companies have started to import garlic. China produces 66 per cent of the world's supply of garlic while the US produces three percent. Garlic was ripe for Chinese domination because the 5000-year-old plant, classified as both an herb and vegetable, has a shelf life of up to nine months. The average Chinese labourer picking garlic gets about US$1.00 per day compared to US$8.50 an hour in California.

AMERICAS

Venezuela and Brazil have called for the creation of a powerful South America trade bloc this year before continuing talks on a US-backed hemispheric free-trade zone. Brazil has warned it won't continue with FTAA negotiations unless Washington relaxes trade barriers on Latin American exports such as oranges and sugar. The US prefers that agricultural matters be negotiated at the WTO and not in FTAA talks.

POWER

The world's biggest battery has been plugged in to provide emergency power to Fairbanks, the second largest city in Alaska, in the event of a blackout. The rechargeable battery, which at 2,000 square metres is bigger than a football field, weighs 1,300 tonnes. It is stored in a warehouse near the city, where temperatures plunge to -51 degrees Centigrade. The battery will provide 40 megawatts of power, enough for 12,000 people, for up to seven minutes. This is enough time to start up diesel generators to restore power.

WALL

China is closing off vast sections of the Great Wall to tourists in an effort to protect the ancient monument from the ravishes of time and walking. Those who stray off the beaten track could face fines. Most of the Great Wall of China is not as it appears on TV or postcards. Far from it, most of the wall is in a terrible state of repair. In many parts it is overgrown, worn down by the elements and assaulted by locals who steal the stones.

HOURS

Over the years, the hours worked by Americans and Canadian have been fairly close. In 1979 Canadians worked 1,260 hours a year and Americans 1,279. In the 80s, Canadians averaged 1,354 hours and Americans 1,380 hours. But by 2000, while Canadians were working an average of 1,332 hours a year, Americans were putting in 1,455 hours on the job. Statistics Canada suggests that the gap was associated with weaker labour demand rather than a decision by Canadians to pursue more leisure.

PRODUCTS

Japan's cash registers are being kept busy with the sales of the latest wonder product--a spray on silk stocking that could mean women have no more worries about runs in their stockings. The product is called Air-Stocking, a fine silk aerosol spray that is available in terracotta, natural or bronze colours and costs $12 a can which can supply about 20 pairs of stockings in one can. The air-stockings can also be waterproofed.

WINE

Organic vineyards have begun to spring up in Chile as winemakers in the fertile central valleys, famous for high quality wines that rival those of France and California, turn an eye to growing export markets for environmentally friendly products. With an eye to boosting exports through free-trade agreements with the European Union and the U.S., organic wineries in Chile are experimenting with using natural predators to combat pests and hand weeding.

SWITZERLAND

A nation traditionally associated with watches, chocolates, well-stocked bank vaults and the Alps, Switzerland has rediscovered its strategic location in the European commercial theatre. Its economic development resurgence has as a result drawn an estimated 20 new major Canadian and U.S. operations over the past few years. Many of these companies have established shared service centres and regional and international headquarters operations.

FOXES

Motorists in Worcester, Surrey, England, have been spraying under their cars with aftershave. They are trying to deter suburban foxes that chew through brake cables during the night.

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

September 2003 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

September 2003 Edition

WINE

As a result of the heatwave that gripped Europe this summer, French wine growers began their earliest harvests ever betting that this year's vintage will be one of the most flavourful in years. The hot sun means everything will be concentrated, the flavour, the sugar and the taste. The alcohol content will also be higher. Wines that are normally at 12 per cent will be at 12.5 or even 13 per cent.

STUDENTS

Canadian students who worked moderate hours at a paid job during their last year of high school were least likely to drop out of school, according to a new report. This report used data covering youth aged 18 to 20 from the 2000 Youth in Transition Survey. However, those who worked 30 or more hours a week during their last year of high school were the most likely to end up leaving. The report confirmed previous research showing that there is a strong relationship between the number of hours students worked and dropping out of high school.

PETS

Japan's largest home and office security company is about to offer a service for pets. Owners can place a sensor, weighing about 48 grams, in a small pouch around the neck or on the back of a dog. Using satellite-based global positioning system (GPS) and mobile phone networks, the owner can locate their missing pet to within 50 metres. The service will require a $48.00 registration fee and a monthly fee of $7.00. The company hopes to register 10,000 canines by the end of the first year.

CHEMICALS

High natural gas prices are causing turmoil among U.S. chemical manufacturers, stripping the industry of long-held global advantages and speeding the move of chemicals, plastics and fertilizer production overseas. U.S. chemical companies are closing plants, laying off workers and looking to expand their own production abroad. Meanwhile, foreign producers are grabbing bigger chunks of the U.S. market for chemical-based products such as plastic shopping bags.

FRAUD

Canada and other major countries are teaming up to fight an explosion of cross-border fraud schemes, many of them Internet- based. Canada is the leading source of international business fraud schemes targeting Americans, according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. It is estimated that they cost Americans US$11-billion last year. U.S consumers filed 13,992 complaints about Canadian-based companies, accounting for more than half of the 24,213 international cross-border complaints it received.

CATFISH

Vietnamese catfish farmers say that the U.S. will destroy thousands of jobs by imposing sanctions on frozen filets shipped to America and will hamper future trade relations between the two former enemies. The U.S. has ruled that Vietnamese exporters dumped catfish on the American market at unfairly low prices. Tariffs will now range from 36.84 to 63.88 percent. Vietnam's catfish industry employs up to 400,000 people in the southern Mekong Delta and ships about a third of its exports to the U.S.

TIDES

Energy pioneers have launched the world's first offshore tidal energy turbine about a mile offshore in Lynmouth, England. The C$6-million dollar, single 11-metre long rotor blade, will be capable of producing 300 kilowatts of electricity and will be a testbed for further tidal turbines. It is hoped to convert the system to twin rotors by the end of next year.

TELEMATICS

The Canadian government is so worried about drivers being distracted by vehicle information systems that it is preparing to regulate the devices, perhaps even forcing automakers to ensure they wont operate when cars are in gear. The growing use of so-called telematics --which started with cellphones, but are now extending to computer screens offering navigation help and alarms that warn drivers when they are straying out of their lanes, threatens road safety. A British study showed drivers talking on cellphones had far slower reaction times than even drunk drivers.

WATER

Alaskan glaciers add 13.2 trillion gallons of melted water to the seas each year. Their rate of water runoff has doubled over just a few decades. Scientists believe that Alaska's melting glaciers are the number one reason the world's oceans are rising.

PHARMACIES

Growing demand from Americans has caused rapid growth in web-based Canadian pharmacies. More than 50 of these pharmacies are operating in Canada, employing roughly 2,000 Canadians and generating sales of as much as C$1-billion annually. Internet stores have also sprung up in Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, all mainly supplying the U.S. market.

REWARDS

Parents in the wealthy southern Chinese city of Guangzhou have been rewarding their children with cosmetic surgery when they pass their high school exams. Girls are being given nose jobs and work around their eyes while boys have operations to cut out excess fat as a treat for winning places to university. Guangzhou, formerly Canton, is one of the richest cities in China.

POSTCARDS

The tourism sector in Singapore has been battered badly due to the SARS epidemic and its airline pushed into the red for the first time ever. Now the government is fighting back delivering three postcards with pre-paid international postage to every household in Singapore. The aim is to encourage Singaporeans to get friends and relations to pay them a visit and in the process help revitalize the island's flagging economy.

SUN

The Sun, at 4.55 billion years old has already burned up 50 per cent of the hydrogen fuel in its core. As it slowly converts the core from hydrogen to helium it grows bigger and brighter. By the time it is nine billion years old, it will be about 40 per cent brighter than today.

MIRRORS

Some fashion shops in Beijing are using "magic mirrors" to fool fat women customers into thinking they look slimmer in their clothes. The shops are buying specially-made mirrors with a curved surface to make people look more slender when they try on items in the fitting rooms.

MEXICO

After a decade of lavish Spanish investment in Mexico, a broad range of Mexican companies are returning the favour. In the past two years, Mexican companies have invested about US$300-million in Spanish projects and acquisitions. This is small compared to the billions Spanish companies have invested in Latin America, but it does send an important message to Europe that Mexican companies are gearing up to compete well beyond the Americas.

OBESITY

Two out of three households surveyed by ACNielsen said the parent or guardian was to blame for obesity in children 17 and under, with fast-food manufacturers blamed by only 10 per cent and food manufacturers named by only one per cent. Three quarter of those surveyed said that schools should adopt new policies to address child obesity.

BAGS

Picnickers in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh could soon have a shock if they carry their lunch in a polythene bag. Under a new law, anyone found using a polythene bag could face seven years in jail or a fine. The law bans the production, storage, use, sale and distribution of plastic bags. In May, the South African government banned the use of thin plastic bags, threatening a ten-year jail sentence for offenders. In Ireland, a tax on plastic shopping bags has significantly reduced their use.

CALLS

More than 30 million Americans have so far signed up for the government's do-not-call list, a free registry for blocking unsolicited telephone sales pitches. 3.4 million have signed up in California, 2.2. million in Florida and 2 million in Texas. Eight out of every ten people who joined did so on-line rather than by telephone. Telemarketers have challenged the list in court, saying the registry will cost them US$50-billion in business and cause the loss of two million jobs.

PIGS

The little country of Denmark, with 5.4 million humans, raises 24 million pigs each year making it the world's biggest exporter of pork. While the number of farms is decreasing, their size is increasing. Twenty years ago, 60,000 Danish farms produced 13 million pigs. Now some 13,000 farmers produce twice as many. Environmentalists are concerned because pig waste would fill the equivalent of 90,000 average-size swimming pools annually. The tourist industry is worried because of the smell.

TRENDS

Firefighters in Fife, Scotland, have been given photo messaging mobile phones to enable them to send images of injuries to doctors before patients reach hospital. Doctors can also make a decision on whether to go to assist at an accident scene. The trial will run for six months and then be reviewed.

AIR

General Motors and DaimlerChrysler are dropping lawsuits against California over a landmark clean-air regulation that requires the production of low-emission cars and trucks over the next decade and a half. The move creates a temporary but monumental environmental truce between the auto industry and California which wields enormous influence over the global industry.

VANILLA

For many consumers, a tiny bottle of vanilla extract is as common to their kitchen as bread and butter. In 2000, a 4-ounce bottle of pure vanilla extract cost consumers about US$5.00. They now pay US$15.00. On the commodities market, vanilla beans cost importers about US$33.00 per kilogram in 2000: that costs is now about US$156.00. Madagascar, an island off Africa, produces 70 per cent of the world's vanilla crop. Political and environmental issues caused the spike in prices. Between 2000 and 2003, consumers began to buy much more imitation vanilla and many food companies are taking vanilla out of their recipes alltogether.

COSTS

According to an Economist survey of 134 cities, Tokyo is still the world's most expensive city. The cost of living there is 37 per cent more than in New York. However, as a result of a stronger euro, Paris has now overtaken London, which itself is nine per cent costlier than New York. At the other extreme, one can live in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo or Manila for half the cost of New York. Toronto is eighteenth on the list.

DROPPINGS

There is a 120 -year-old statue in Japan on which birds never perch and plaster with droppings. After several experiments, a scientist has determined that the gallium content of the bronze is repelling the birds. The researcher is now developing a gallium-rich spray for statues and public buildings.

SUCCESS

Britain's Royal Mail celebrated a landmark recently that many companies would have kept quiet by revealing that it is losing around 280,000 letters each week. The chief executive said that the Royal Mail's ability to mislay the equivalent of 14.5 million letters each year was "a major step in the right direction" as it had been losing 500,000 letters a week last year.

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