August 2005 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

August 2005 Edition

EQUALITY

The world Economic Forum ranks 58 economies according to the "gender gap", a measure of how well an economy employs the talents of the female half of the population. The measure reflects job opportunities, pay, political representation, health care and education. The gap is narrowest in Nordic countries. China, near the middle of the group, outranks some much richer countries, such as Italy in 48th place. Canada is 7th out of 58 countries and the U.S. is 17th.

PUBLISHING

Canadian publishers are pumping out more periodicals than ever before and pulling in far greater revenues. Between 1993 and 2003, the industry has shown steady gains in the number of magazines, total revenue and circulation. Industry revenues hit nearly C$1.6-billion in 2003, up 22 per cent from 1998 and a 56 per cent increase from 1993. During the 10-year period, the industry's profit margin rose from 5 per cent to 9.7 per cent. In 2003, 1,633 publishers produced 2,383 periodicals and sold 778 million copies, a 42 per cent increase over 10 years earlier.

COMPUTERS

In a sure sign that the era of mobile computing has arrived, notebooks have for the first time outsold desktops in the U.S. earlier this year. After tracking sales from a sampling of electronics retailers, notebook sales accounted for 53 per cent of the total computer market, up from 46 per cent a year earlier. Spurring demand for notebooks is their price drop as quality has improved. Notebook prices have fallen 17 per cent in the past year, while desktop prices have dipped only four per cent. Last year, 80 per cent of notebooks offered wireless, this year it's 95 per cent.

MEXICO

Foreign direct investment shot up 46 per cent in Mexico in 2004 which should cover the current account deficit. The manufacturing sector captured over half of the total $16.6-billion investment, with nearly 30 per cent going towards financial services. The U.S. was responsible for almost half of the foreign direct investment followed by Spain with just under 35 per cent of the FDI.

CORKED

It is estimated that as many as one in 10 bottles of wine is contaminated with TCA or trichloroanisole, a chemical compound sometimes created when cork is washed. This contamination costs consumers about US$750-million each year. Now, a French biochemist from Burgundy has invented a device called Dream Taste which, it is claimed, can return foul-smelling noxious red, white or sparkling wine to its former glory in less than an hour. It works by using an ionised material known as copolymer to absorb the cork-tainted molecules in the wine.

SMOKES

Global cigarette production per person has fallen to its lowest level since 1972, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

INDIA

The levels of foreign ownership in India's telecommunications industry have been raised from 49 per cent to 74 per cent. This will set the stage for more competition in the world's fastest growing cell phone market. India's cell phone market has 2 million new subscribers signing up each month, and accounts for about half of the total 100 million phone connections in that country.

BEES

About 60 per cent of all food consumed in the U.S. has a bee connection. Without bees, the country would lose about $20-billion in crops--almonds, citrus fruits, pears cucumbers and apples--from plants that are not self-pollinating. Bee numbers are declining fast however. The varroa mite, a bee parasite first found in Java a century ago, spread to the U.S. in 1987 and has recently taken hold. This year, the numbers of bees has fallen about 50 per cent in six months. and has especially hurt the Californian almond industry which accounts for 88 per cent of the world's almond crop.

AUSTRIA

This country retains its position among the top European economies. After a slowdown in 2003, strong exports pushed GDP growth to two per cent in 2004. Unemployment remains low but experts believe the country should eliminate the pensions system's incentives for early retirement and get more of its older citizens into the labour force. Public sector debt is high at 65-per cent of GDP. Also, while Austria spends a great deal on higher education, graduation rates are among the lowest in Europe.

OUTPUT

According to the International Monetary Fund, rich countries accounted for more than 50 per cent of the world's GDP but only 15 per cent of its population in 2004. The rich also dominated trade. A third of exports came from the euro area, home to just 5 per cent of the world's people. China's fabled export machine supplied just six per cent.

SHIPPING

Rates for shipping iron ore, grain, coal and other commodities fell by 25 per cent earlier in the summer, reflecting a slowdown in the movement of many raw materials around the globe. The upshot is lower transportation costs for a multitude of industries such as appliance makers and chemical producers. Surging demand and a shortage of ships pushed freight rates to record highs in December of last year, but since then, the main industry indicator for commodity freight rates has fallen by more than half.

WHITENING

A dental researcher in the U.S. is claiming that tooth whiteners that could enhance teeth's natural healing ability may soon be available in over-the-counter gels and strips. His team has developed a whitening formula that contains amorphous calcium phosphate, a compound originally developed to remineralize teeth and reverse early enamel lesions. The product will replenish essential minerals in teeth as it whitens.

WEALTH

Last year, another 600,000 people became millionaires according to the World Wealth Report. There are now 8.3 million people world-wide with US$1-million or more in financial assets.

HEIGHT

Competition for jobs and marriage partners has sparked a national height craze in China that has people lined up to be surgically stretched or to purchase torture rack-like stretching machines. It is a commonly held belief in China that taller people will have more opportunity for promotion. A private hospital in Beijing has become famous for its height-extending practice which puts patients out of action for six months or more. The average Chinese women is about 5 foot 2 inches tall and the average man about 5 foot 6 inches.

PREFERENCES

According to a double-blind taste test conducted in 10 locations across the U.S., consumers by a 51 per cent to 49 per cent say they prefer the taste of private label items over their national brand counterparts in 12 popular categories. This survey underscores the growing popularity of store brands offered by the nation's supermarkets, drug stores and discount stores. Sales of store brands in the U.S. currently exceed US$50-billion annually.

AGRICULTURE

The value of Canadian agricultural production rose in 2004 to C$47.1-billion after falling almost 10 per cent in 2003. 2002 and 2003 were years where the consequences of back-to-back droughts and the closure of the U.S. border to live cattle exports were strongly felt. All provinces except New Brunswick and Manitoba recorded increases in the total value of agricultural production.

HIGHWAYS

The U.S. government is poised to roll out a new strip of asphalt all the way from Laredo, Texas up to Port Huron, Michigan. Interstate I-69, called by some the "NAFTA superhighway, will, if completed stretch over 200 miles, through Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan. The main purpose of this interstate will be to provide a channel for trading goods between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, and if enacted, the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

DEFORESTATION

Brazilian deforestation jumped to its second highest level on record in 2003-04 to 10,088 square miles, an area the size of Belgium or slightly bigger than the state of New Hampshire.

SNACK TIME

The majority of U.S. children across four demographic groups consume most of their fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks, according to a new survey. 46 per cent of respondents said their children eat most of their fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks while 30 per cent said dinner was the meal occasion where kids eat the most produce. In addition, 60 per cent of all respondents said that taste is the primary barrier standing in the way of kids' produce consumption. Only 13 per cent stated that a brand name is extremely important when they shop for fresh produce.

CAMERAS

CVS Corp has begun selling a US$29.99 pocket-sized disposable digital camcorder hoping to boost its photo lab business and become as popular as the single-use film and digital camera. The camcorder weighs less than 150 grams and holds 20 minutes of digital video and sound. It features a 3.6 centimetre colour playback screen and an ability to delete video. It saves video on a memory chip.

KOREA

The Canadian government's drive to start formal free-trade talks with South Korea and thus gain a key foothold in Asia is running into opposition from the auto sector, beef producers and the shipbuilding industry. Canada's trade deficit with South Korea has more than doubled since 1999, rising to $3.56-billion from $1.58-billion. More than half of that came from a $1.9-billion deficit in auto products last year.

INVENTIONS

A Barcelona inventor has developed a washing machine that encourages men to share the burden of doing the laundry. Endowed with software that recognizes the fingerprint of household members, the machine shuts down when the same person tries to use it twice in a row and obliges men to assist more around the home. The inventor has had so many calls from women, that the machine had to be rushed into production.

OUTSOURCING

India now controls 44 per cent of the global offshore outsourcing market for software with revenues of US$17.2-billion in the year ending March 2005. As many as 400 of the Fortune 500 companies now either have their own centres in India or outsource to Indian technology firms. India's market share is expected to expand to 51 per cent by 2005 when annual revenues are expected to reach US$48-billion.

TRENDS

McDonalds, through its subsidiary Redbox, which deployed more than 100 DVD- rental kiosks in the Denver area last year, will expand the programme to more than 1,200 locations by year's end and plans to work with major grocery chains in its expanded DVD-rental programme. Each vending machine offers approximately 100 titles at $1.00 per night per title. Renters pay with credit or debit cards and if consumers hold onto any one title for 25 nights, the disc is theirs.

FITNESS

In Kyrgzstan, council leaders and members of parliament will have to pass physical tests to prove they are fit for office. Tests for the politicians will include running, jumping, weightlifting, marksmanship and grenade throwing.

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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July 2005 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

July 2005 Edition

 GM

The way developed countries have reacted to genetically modified (GM) is in contrast to the way they have been embraced in poorer countries. China is studying two strains of modified rice that the government is hoping to commercialize. The results show that in the hands of small farmers, who dominate the countryside, these strains produce higher yields, consume less pesticide and are better for the health of those farmers than non-GM strains. Also, both strains are designed to enhance protection against insects.

ASYLUM

The number of people seeking political asylum in rich countries fell by around 22 per cent between 2003 and 2004. In the Netherlands, applications have dropped by 27 per cent, due to tougher policies. The U.S., the top destination for asylum-seekers in 2003, saw a 29 per cent decline in new applicants last year. Applications rose in France, which entertained more pleas for asylum than any other rich country in 2004. Russia, for the second year in a row, produced more asylum-seekers than any other country.

PORTS

The General Accounting Office of the U.S. says the nation's $1-trillion agricultural industry is at risk from fewer inspections of imported food and threats of animal and plant diseases. Agriculture accounts for 13 per cent of GDP and 18 per cent of domestic employment. There has been a decline in agricultural inspections at U.S. ports. In 2002, there were 40.9 million inspections, but the number dropped to 37.5 million in 2004.

E-BUSINESS

According to The Economist, Denmark is still the best place to do e-business. It has ranked the "e-readiness" of the world's 65 largest economies to find the countries most amenable to internet-based business. The factors considered included broadband and mobile-phone penetration, as well as government regulation. America rose from sixth to second place in the ranking since last year. Britain fell from second to fifth and India, despite being an IT superpower, is ranked only 49th. Canada is 10th, up from 12th.

FURNITURE

Brazilian furniture makers are intent to capture a bigger share of the retail furniture market thanks to an abundance of raw materials such as fast-growing pine and eucalyptus trees. Presently, Italy is the world's top furniture producer with exports valued at US$6-billion annually, followed by China at US$2-billion. Brazil expects to export US$1-billion this year and overtake Italy and China before long. The leading destinations for Brazilian furniture are the U.S., Argentina and France.

TEQUILA

The recently implemented free trade agreement between Japan and Mexico along with the removal of the 25.2 yen-per-litre tariff on tequila. Exports of tequila will increase 30 per cent this year and will double in three years. Japan will become one of the world's five largest importers of tequila. Japan is currently 7th after the U.S., Germany, Greece, England, Canada and Italy. The Free Trade agreement Mexico signed with Europe in 1997 saw tequila exports to the EU increase by 50 per cent.

GOLF

Swindlers are spreading Chinese-made counterfeit golf gear to internet auction sites around the world The increasing sophistication of these swindlers has prompted six major manufacturers to cooperate in a bid to close down suppliers at their source. Demand for fakes is spurring production that siphons tens of millions of dollars from equipment makers each year. In addition, equipment makers can hardly turn their backs on China's low-cost, high skilled workforce and take their designs elsewhere. Clubs that retail for $70 to $90 each cost $3 to $5 to make in China.

SUGAR

For more than 70 years, the U.S. sugar industry has thrived under a sweet deal of price guarantees and strict import quotas. But domestic growers see the Central America Free Trade Agreement as the thin edge of a dangerous wedge. The stakes are high. Last year the sugar subsidy regime raised the price paid by Americans for their sugar by nearly US$2-billion. The sugar lobby is leading a broad anti-CAFTA coalition which also includes organized labour and textile makers.

SLAVES

The global demand for cheap labour has helped force at least 12.3 million people into slave-like work worldwide and created a multibillion-dollar human trafficking industry, according to a United Nations agency. The International Labour Organization says the vast majority of those affected are in Asia and Latin America, many working in agriculture or imprisoned in work camps. Almost half of those forced into these working conditions are children. Sex-workers in Western countries are the single biggest moneymakers in the human- trafficking industry generating US$28-billion annually.

SMARTWATER

This is a clear, odourless, non-toxic liquid embedded with high-tech microscopic particles that carry a unique code. It's invisible to the naked eye but glows under ultraviolet light. The fluid comes in a small container, and once a drop or two is dabbed on an item such as a piece of stereo equipment, jewellery or a car and allowed to dry, it is virtually impossible to remove. When forensic technicians come across an item treated with the liquid, they just read the coded particles to identify the owner.

FIRINGS

Companies worldwide replaced CEOs at a record pace last year as investors sought to boost earnings and share prices. One in seven CEOs at the world's 2,500 largest publicly traded companies lost their jobs in 2004 compared with one in ten a year earlier. The rate of dismissals has surged 300 per cent since 1995. In Europe, ousted CEOs left after an average of 21/2 years, on U.S. boards it was 41/2 years.

FACT

The London Observer reports that the average cow in the European Union receives more than $3.25 a day in subsidies, more than the amount that half the world's human population survives on.

CULTURE

In 2004, the U.S. was the marketplace for 92 per cent of Canadian culture goods exports (books, CDs, films, paintings, etc). Canada exported more than C$2.1-billion to the U.S. in 2004, down 9.8 per cent from 2003. Imports of culture goods from the U.S. edged down to just over $3.5-billion, the first decline in seven years.

NICKEL

The world's biggest nickel producers are already benefiting from prices near 16-year highs and have now identified a new market.They are now training their sights on the small but fast-growing market for hybrid electric/gasoline vehicles, which use nickel-containing rechargeable batteries. Hybrids are a drop in the world of car sales, but purchases have soared as oil prices stay high and countries try to limit emissions.

PIRACY

Despite the fact that the software piracy rate dropped by one per cent in 2004, losses due to piracy soared US$4-billion, to US$33-billion. More than a third (35 per cent) of software installed on personal computers worldwide was pirated in 2004. The world spent more than US$59-billion on commercial packaged PC software last year but over US$90-billion was actually installed. Countries with the highest piracy rates were Vietnam, Ukraine and China. Those with the lowest rates were the U.S., New Zealand and Austria.

TRAFFIC

Between 2000 and 2003 the number of trucks on Canadian roads actually edged down 0.2 per cent while there were 5.5 per cent more cars on the roads. In 2000, for every truck registered, there were 25 cars, three years later there were 27 cars on the roads. In terms of the largest trucks, such as 18-wheelers, there were 63 cars for every truck. However, trucks were driven 2.5 times as many kilometres on average than cars. In 2003, 53 per cent of Canadian exports and 79 per cent of imports were moved by truck.

LUMBER

Two years ago, China was the 12th largest importer of Canadian wood. Today it is the fourth-biggest and this year it is expected to surpass Britain to become the third largest importer, behind only the U.S. and Japan. Most of the new, wood-frame houses in China are built of Canadian wood but the Canadian industry is barely scratching the surface. China still accounts for only about C$80-million of Canada's $40-billion in wood and pulp exports. Up to 1,500 wood-frame houses are built in China every year, a tiny percentage of the country's 10 million annual housing starts.

TIRES

The mammoth 3.65 metre tires, which cost up to US$30,000 each, found on mining dump trucks are in short supply worldwide leaving earth-moving industries, including coal, in the lurch.The shortage is because of a rise in equipment orders, an increase in worldwide mining because of increased mineral prices and growth in China and other Asian countries. Goodyear Tire has said that every large tire produced through 2006 is already spoken for. Between 2003 and 2004, demand for large tires grew 20 per cent.

TRADE

Arab and South American countries have set the stage for a free-trade accord by signing a co-operation agreement. It is estimated that South America's bilateral trade with Arab nations is presently about US$10-billion annually. Brazil currently accounts for about US$8-billion of this trade and hopes to increase this to US$15-billion by 2007.

DROUGHT

Canadian beef and grain exporters, who have endured several tough years, stand to reap benefit from a deadly dry spell that has hit farmers in Australia which is a fiercely competitive exporter of beef, wheat, barley and canola and appears headed for one of the worst droughts in a century. Canada beef shippers feel that the Australian plight could be one of the final straws that convinces Asian countries to lift import bans on Canadian beef imposed after mad-cow disease was discovered. The Canadian Wheat Board also sees opportunities in countries where Australia could have problems delivering product.

POLLEN

This year the pollen count in Tokyo is the highest on record and is forecast to reach 13 times higher than last year. One in four city residents is affected. The two biggest offenders, cedar and cyprus trees, were planted after the Second World War as part of a national reforestation program and together cover 18 per cent of the country. Replacing them could take 100 years.

GROCERIES

India plans to open its booming retail sector to foreign investment, initially by providing access for international grocery companies. This is a US$190-billion industry and it will be opened in a way that encourages investment while protecting the jobs of millions of small shopkeepers.

HAVENS

Although they have only one per cent of the globe's inhabitants, they hold a quarter of U.S. stocks and nearly a third of all the world's assets. Tax havens are 70 mostly tiny nations that offer no-tax or low-tax status where the wealthy can keep their money. It is estimated that nations lose US$255-billion each year in tax revenues because of the havens.

MOPS

Users of conventional floor mops spend as much time cleaning the mop as they spend cleaning the floor.

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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June 2005 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

June 2005 Edition

 BUTTONS

There used to be seven major button makers in Canada three to four decades ago. Now, only one small one is left. The trend has escalated this year as global import quotas were lifted from Chinese textiles and apparel, driving more clothing production to that country. And as more garment-making moved to China, so the button-making followed.

GLACIERS

Nine out of 10 marine glaciers around the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula have retreated over the past half century according to a recent study. As the local climate warms, the rate of disappearing is accelerating. The mountainous peninsula will look more like the Alps and will harbour more plants and wildlife if the warming continues. Despite the changes, the melting glaciers will contribute little to rising sea levels.

BORDERS

Chronic congestion caused by tighter security at the U.S.-Canada border costs the U.S. economy $4.13-billion (U.S.) a year, according to an Ontario Chamber of Commerce study. Unlike tariffs, border delays don't produce revenue for government. The chamber's estimate is based on delays in truck shipments, losses to tourism and environmental impacts. The group has previously pegged the losses to the Canadian economy at C$6-billion a year.

BUILDINGS

Hong Kong has 7,417 skyscrapers, more than any other city. By definition, a building must be over 35 metres tall to qualify as a skyscraper. New York ranks second with 5,444 skyscrapers; Los Angeles has just 450. Chicago's Sears Tower has more floors than any of its rivals, though other skyscrapers are taller. Toronto has 1,800 and Vancouver 500.

RETIREMENT

In a recent survey by the Globe and Mail, 34 per cent of respondents stated that they wished to ease into retirement with part-time or contract work. 27 per cent wanted to finish work as soon as they can and 16 per cent wanted to take early retirement. 14 per cent want to keep working as long as possible and nine per cent plan to start a second career.

TUNGSTEN

This metal hardens anything from saw blades to turbine blades and it goes into light bulbs and weaponry. The U.S. has a stockpile that could meet all that country's demand for the next three years but prices have been going crazy. China controls 85 per cent of the world output and uses maybe 35-40 per cent of it and, as demand increases, has taken steps that cut supply. Inside China, prices rose sharply last year by some 70 per cent for the concentrate that leaves the mine. But this year prices have rocketed even more.

SALES

On-line sales by Canadian companies and government departments jumped by almost 50 per cent last year as companies did more business with each other over the Internet. Since 2000, Canadian on-line sales have more than quintupled. Last year, total on-line sales rose to C$28.3-billion as sales by private companies climbed by 45.5 per cent and those by the public sector more than doubled. More than 17,000 enterprises participated in the survey which measured sales over the Internet, with or without on-line payment.

PERFORMANCE

While most U.S. companies use performance plans to determine employee salary raises or bonuses, they are not likely to check if the plans actually help the bottom line. Of 129 major U.S. companies surveyed, 66 per cent said they used performance plans--preset benchmarks for employees to hit--to determine pay increases, and 47 per cent use them to dole out bonuses. But the survey showed that companies track the plans' success inadequately and 30 per cent of the companies didn't even measure program success at all.

BABES

The market for infant wear (newborns to three-year-olds) is declining in Canada. Last year, it fell 11 per cent to C$561.6-million from C$591.4 in 2003, after having picked up a little from the previous year. This market is expected to remain relatively flat, or decline, as birth rates continue to dip about one per cent annually. However, more affluent parents and are willing to pay more for the right products.

EXPORTS

China surpassed Japan to become the world's third-largest exporter of goods in 2004 behind the United States and Germany. A WTO-issued report cited the increased global demand for Chinese electronics as the prime motivator for the country's move up in the ranks.

SAFETY

Japan Airlines admitted recently that it has been more concerned about punctuality than safety. This startling admission comes after a series of serious mishaps. The airline acknowledged that the string of mishaps stemmed from a lack of awareness in the organization that safety should be the main priority.

ROBOTS

Researchers at Utah State University have developed a "guidebot" to help sight-impaired users get around supermarkets. The robot senses its location via electronic tags and navigates according to commands inputted through a braille keyboard. The system could be used to locate a specific brand of food if supply-chain management technology extends to supermarket shelves.

WINTER SPORTS

Citizens of the City of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates will soon be able to cool off at a local resort with tumbling snowflakes, skiing and snowboarding on five trails. By September a thick insulated roof with a sky blue ceiling will seal in the site with its 200 foot vertical drop and trails as long as 1,300 feet. It will have 23 massive air conditioners and snowmaking equipments will cover a concrete mountain with 28 inches of powdery snow. Called Ski Dubai, it will comprise about one fifth of the floor plan of the $1-billion Emirates Mall.

MAPLE SYRUP

In the 1950s, the U.S., mainly in New England, produced 80 per cent of the world's maple syrup and Canada produced the remaining 20 per cent. Now, because of temperature rise and erratic weather patterns, the countries' market share have flip-flopped with Quebec alone producing over three- quarters of the global supply. If current climate projections hold true, New England forests will be dominated by oaks and hickory trees, not maples, by the end of this century.

MEDICINE

Americans buy much more medicine per person than the residents of any other country. Almost half of all people take at least one prescription medication and one in six take three or more. The number of prescriptions has increased by two-thirds over the past decade.

TRADE

China and Australia have started talks on a free-trade pact. Few countries have granted China market economy status because of international concerns that there was still too much Chinese government interference in business. China is Australia's third-largest trading partner and second-largest export market. In 2004, bilateral merchandise trade reached $21.3-billion.

GRADUATES

Guyana loses a greater proportion of its high-skilled workforce to OECD countries than any other non-member nation. 83 per cent of that country's graduates now live in an OECD country. Smaller countries, especially African and island nations send a higher proportion of their graduates to the OECD. Big ones, such as Bangladesh, keep most of theirs.

VATICAN

One of the challenges for the new Pontiff will be to find new revenue to balance the Vatican's budget. The papacy relies on earnings from roughly US$1-billion in stocks. bonds and real estate to top up donations from Catholics around the world. While the Holy See benefited in the 1990s from booming stock markets and a strong dollar, losses on currencies plunged it to a $12.35-million loss in 2003 on revenue of $204-million. Experts predict that the papacy will be increasingly strapped for cash unless it finds new sources of revenue.

HATS

Last year, more than one-billion women's hats were sold in the United States, up 15 per cent from the preceding year and well over a threefold increase since 1986 when the Headwear Information Bureau began keeping records. The increase has been attributed to several factors including: black church women who wear hats, the Red Hat Society, a million-member social organization for women older than 50; celebrities and young people who use hats as a fashion accessory.

WINE

Australia's booming wine industry has become a victim of its own success with so many new vineyards that the country has a chronic oversupply of grapes. Vineyards in some of the most famous wine regions, including Hunter Valley, Margaret Valley and the Barossa Valley, are facing the prospect of watching their grapes wither on the vine because of a lack of buyers. Australia now has 149,700 hectares of vineyards, a three-fold increase from a decade ago. In 2004, 2.87 billion litres of wine were produced globally and 2.3 billion litres were consumed.

CUISINE

A growing Asian-American population and increasingly sophisticated American palates have driven the growth of Asian food, and--as an increasing variety of these items become available in local supermarkets--are influencing what consumers eat at home. Total U.S. retail sales of Asian foods increased by 27.3 per cent from 2000 through 2004. There are now over 41,000 independent Chinese restaurants in the U.S.

CROPS

More of this planet has been converted to crop land since 1945 than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined. According to the U.N., cultivated land now covers one-quarter of the Earth's land surface.

INVESTMENT

The beer industry illustrates how risky foreign investment in Turkey can be. Over the past two years, taxes on beer have risen by 450 per cent, to three-and-a-half times the European Union average. After the latest increase, Denmark's Carlsberg, which entered the market with a $220-million investment, accused the government of reneging on promises not to put taxes up. A can of Turkish beer now cost 15 per cent more than its equivalent at a British supermarket.

READING

Nine of the top ten magazines in Canada showed readership declines in the past year, although industry watchers say an overall stability in the business is a victory in the face of intense competition for readership. Reader's Digest, the most-read magazine in Canada for many years, saw its readership drop 4 per cent to 7.4 million. In second place was Canadian Living where readership dropped 2 per cent to 4.4 million The average number of readers among the 83 publications surveyed was about 1.3 million.

RECOGNITION

When a gang of carjackers stole a car recently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, they also chopped off the driver's fingertip and took that too. The car had a fingerprint recognition system to start the engine and the thieves realized that they need a fingerprint every time they wanted to use the car.

1904

There was no Mother's Day or Father's day. Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores.

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

May 2005 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

May 2005 Edition

PAY-AS-YOU-GO

 
Businesses are now able to access the formidable computing power of Blue Gene, the world's most powerful supercomputer. IBM is making Blue Gene time available for as little as US$10,000, with a $5,000 annual membership in IBMs capacity-on-demand centre. Blue Gene offers the computing equivalent of 2,000 desktop or laptop computers.

FINGERS

Customers of a German supermarket chain will soon be able to pay for their shopping by placing their finger on a scanner at the checkout. The scanners compare the person's fingerprint with those stored on its database and debits the bank account it has on record. The company estimates this process will save up to 40 seconds normally spent accepting money or credit cards.

PRESCRIPTIONS

Canadians spend about C$16-billion on prescription drugs, an amount that accounts for nearly 15 per cent of all health services, and is more than they spend on physician services. The outlay on drugs has increased at a double-digit rate every year for almost a generation.

COUNTERFEIT

Russia recently destroyed 50-million cigarettes in its uphill battle against counterfeit production. According to Russian tax authorities, one in three cigarettes sold in Russia are counterfeit. Russia's crackdown is part of Moscow's attempt to join the World Trade Organization. Russia remains the largest economy outside the WTO that sets rules for global trade.

WORK

A Families and Work Institute report states that one in three American workers is chronically overworked. More than half of the workers surveyed said they are often handling too many tasks at the same time, or are frequently interrupted during the workday or both. Employees at companies that have gone through layoffs were more likely to be overworked--42 per cent versus 27 percent of those at companies where payrolls remained steady.

STORAGE

Self-storage facilities in the U.S. numbered about 8,000 in the mid-1980s, and experts now put that figure at between 40,000 and 50,000. This is now a US$17-billion-a-year business, bigger even than the motion-picture production business.

FISH

Canada's fish and seafood exports to 120 countries totalled C$4.5 billion in 2004. Seafood is the largest single food commodity exported by Canada which is now the fifth largest seafood exporter in the world. The U.S. remains Canada's largest export destination with nearly two-thirds of its seafood products, valued at $2.8 billion, sold to the U.S. market. Japan ranked second with Canadian seafood imports valued at nearly $500-million.

WIRELESS

The growth of wireless Internet usage in 2004 was 29 per cent. 171 million people, or 44 per cent, in the 12 key global markets accessed the Internet by wireless. Japan with 54 per cent of users was the largest followed by South Korea at 28 per cent. Canada was fourth at 14 per cent just behind the U.S. at 20 per cent. The primary wireless activities were: text messaging, 50 per cent and e-mail, 35 per cent.

VALUE

Rising real estate prices and a resurgent stock market pushed the net wealth of American households to a record US$48.5-trillion in the last quarter of 2004, up nearly $2-trillion over the previous quarter. In Canada, the figure was C$44.3 trillion, also an increase, giving each person a net worth of $132,500. The national net worth is defined as the sum of the net worth of persons, corporations and government.

WEATHER

Using new software and one of the world's 100 fastest supercomputers is expected to help Canada make more accurate weather forecasts. The Meteorological Service of Canada is now utilizing a new technology called 4DVAR. It stands for four-dimensional variation data assimilation, and literally adds an extra dimension--time--to the mathematical models of the atmosphere that meteorologists use to prepare forecasts. The accuracy of forecasting has been increasing steadily over the past 25 or 30 years.

NAMES

Both sides have claimed victory in a trade fight pitting the U.S. and Australia against the European Union centering on the right of foreign exporters to use geographic food names to describe their products in European markets. The EU says that only foods produced in their original regions can carry certain well-known labels, Parma ham produced near the Italian city of Parma for instance. The WTO found fault with some parts of the EU's current rules. The EU is trying to protect 600 regional food names and 4,000 wines with names like bologna and champagne.

WATER

Londoners may face water shortages within a decade unless action is taken to stem leaks. The capital loses almost one billion litres of water each day before it reaches the customer, 40 per cent of the national total.

CARS

A famous Dutch rally driver and car dealer expects to sell about 2,000 of the first Chinese cars in Europe this year at almost half the price of their nearest competitor. China's Jiangling Landwind Motor is to sell its sports utility vehicle in 27 European countries at a time when Europe's car makers are suffering from weak demand amid consumer belt-tightening. It is expected that the final retail price will be below US$24,000.

LOGISTICS

New technologies, elevated food safety concerns and the growth of mass merchandisers are all factoring into a rapidly changing logistics environment for U.S. food distributors and retailers. Total distribution expenses comprise 3.03 per cent of sales, but there is a significant difference in costs as a percentage of sales between the traditional food distributor and the self-distributing chains, 3.64 versus 2.67 per cent. Labour costs are the biggest expense in operating a modern food distribution centre.

HAPPINESS

Young British women rank happiness and the desire to spend more time with their children as top priorities--even at the cost of reduced career ambitions and a lower income. 70 per cent of 1,500 women polled said they did not want to work as hard as their mother's generation.

TEXTILES

There are calls around the world for fresh restraints on China's textile exports now that the first figures are in which show the effect of a broad lifting of textile quotas earlier in the year. According to China's Chamber of Commerce, January 2005 apparel exports to the U.S. totalled $989-million, up 80 per cent from the same period the year before and exports to the EU climbed 47 per cent in the same period. Export of some products rose significantly higher than the overall trend. Exports to the EU of women's shirts and blouses more than tripled while prices tumbled 41 per cent.

IT

According to a recent survey, Canadian companies, under pressure to cut costs, plan to shrink their spending on information technology to about $44.6-billion in 2005 down by about five per cent from 2003. However, expenditures on outsourcing, which is growing increasingly popular, will be five per cent higher than in 2003 and will account for 49 per cent of all IT spending.

JAPAN

Canadian and Japanese officials have quietly begun negotiating the terms of a study that could lead to a free-trade agreement within the next few years. The road to a potential deal is reported as being risky and obstacle-strewn but it could allow Canada to leapfrog ahead of the U.S. and become one of the first Western countries to secure a free-trade agreement with Japan. Agriculture, as always, looms as the biggest threat to a possible deal. Some analysts say that Japan is unlikely to drop its traditional policy of shielding its farmers from foreign competition.

PATENTS

Last year, IBM was awarded 3,248 patents by America's patent office, a hefty 68 per cent more than second-place Matsushita. IBM has been at the top of the list for 12 years in a row. In the past decade, Japan has regularly fielded the most firms in the annual top ten. The only other country represented in the top ten is South Korea. In recent years, there has been a change to the American roster with industrial stalwarts like General Electric, Kodak and Motorola giving way to Micron Technology, Intel and HP.

DOGS

This year is seeing new treats for dogs. American pet product manufacturers are promoting bacon-flavoured popcorn snacks for dogs. Also on the market is a Talking Bone Dog Toy which records the owners voice and replays it when the hound chews it.

SLEEP

People in Asia burn the midnight oil, going to sleep later than most Americans and Europeans, then waking up earlier. A poll of 14,100 people in 28 countries and regions from Asia to the U.S. and Europe showed that 40 per cent of people in Asia only go to sleep after midnight, compared with 34 per cent in the U.S,. and 34 per cent in Europe. Asia is also the earliest to rise with the Japanese the most sleep deprived.

PROBOTICS

These live micro-organisms that confer health benefits when administered in adequate amounts are popping up in everyday products. It's believed that they play a role in digestive health and may strengthen the immune system. In England, where many probotic items are available, sales of probotic drinks rose over 50 per cent last year and are worth over US$300-million. One supermarket chain reported that probotic drinks were their fastest growing dairy food product.

BUREAUCRATS

There are now 46 million government bureaucrats in China at a cost to the nation, before salaries of US$100-billion. The excessive and corrupt bureaucracy was regarded as one of the principle causes of the decline of imperial rule. Yet there are now 35 times as many people on the government payroll as a proportion of the population. Corruption aside, today's civil servants are also expensive, requiring official cars, holidays masquerading as training sessions and receptions.

POKER

Two paintings from the well-known series depicting dogs playing poker have fetched US$590,400 at auction in New York. It had been estimated that the two pictures would bring between $30,000 to $50,000. The works depict moments in a game played by five dogs, among them a St. Bernard who ends up collecting the pot on a bluff.

EDIBLE

Sushi at the Moto restaurant in New York often contains no fish. It is prepared on a Canon i560 inkjet printer rather than a cutting board. The chef prints images of maki on pieces of edible paper made of soybeans and cornstarch, using organic food based inks of his own concoction. He then flavours the back of the paper with powdered soy and seaweed seasonings. Even the restaurants menu is edible.

1904

Only 14 per cent of US homes had a bathtub and eight per cent had a telephone and the population of Las Vegas was 30.

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April 2005 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

April 2005 Edition

CANADA

 
Over the past two years, Canada's total exports of manufactured goods have fallen by four per cent while those of the U.S. and Mexico, its two NAFTA partners, have increased by more than 10 per cent, according to a recent Scotiabank report. Sales of natural resources, of which Canada has in abundance, have boosted Canada's exports, but Canada is at a competitive disadvantage to lower-cost nations in labour-intensive manufacturing. This has been exacerbated by a 30-per cent appreciation of the dollar over the past two years.

DOGS

A mobile phone has been invented for dogs. The bone-shaped device, called Petscell, will fit on the animal's collar and will go on sale next year. The top-of-the-line versions will incorporate a camera to show what pets are up to. If they are seen misbehaving, the owner can dial a number and shout commands to the dog which can be heard if it replies. The device could also be used to find lost dogs.

BANKING

The meteoric growth of Internet banking in Canada appears to have stalled, with the number of consumers who did business with their banks on-line last year declining for the first time since 1997. The slowdown is being attributed to the variety of other options available to consumers, including telephone banking and automated banking machines, and some lingering security concerns.

MARKETS

In 2004, the best performing stockmarket was Colombia with a gain of 120 per cent in dollar terms. The worst, for the second year running was China where share prices fell by 15 per cent. Thailand was the only other market to suffer a decline.

BANKS

Russia has the highest concentration of central bankers in any large economy with almost 60 central bankers per 100,000 people. Including its regional branches, Russia's central bank has a staff of over 80,000. This is twice as many employees as in America's Federal Reserve.

CHICAGO

Six of America's seven long-distance railroads meet at Chicago. With local and regional services, about 1,200 trains a day pass through the city. At present, a freight train trying to get across Chicago has to deal with up to four railroads and it can take days to get it across town. In addition to O'Hare, it also has a mid-sized airport at Midway. Seven interstate highways come through the region and trucks move US$752-billion in goods to, from and through it each year.

MONEY

Capital is again flowing briskly to developing countries. Emerging economies received US$279-billion in private capital in 2004, a 32 per cent increase from 2003 and the highest level since 1997. Latin America will see the fastest growth this year, while money flowing to Asia will slow.

CROPS

Ethiopia produced 14.27 million tonnes of crops in 2004, 24 per cent higher than in 2003 and 21 per cent more than the average for the past five years. Good rains, increased use of fertilizers and improved seeds contributed to the rise in production. However, 2.2 million Ethiopians will still need emergency assistance. Emergency food requirements for 2005 are calculated to be 387,500 tonnes. Also, 89,000 tonnes of fortified blended food and vegetable oil will be required for children under five and expectant mothers.

KIT KAT

The makers of this popular candy bar are struggling to cope with a surge in demand for the product in Japan. Kit Kat, an expression invented in Britain in the 1930s, sounds eerily close to "kitto katsu" a Japanese exam-season mantra that literally means "I'll do my best to make sure I succeed." Tens of thousands of students' lunch boxes contain the bar during exam time, put there either by ambitious parents or nervous students.

COUPONS

The use of coupons rose in 2004 as 251-billion coupons were distributed in the U.S. within Free-Standing Inserts (FSIs). This was a 7.7 increase over the previous year. It is estimated that about 850 coupons were issued for every U.S. citizen, with potential per-person savings of nearly US$1,000. The consumer packaged goods sector remains the largest user of FSI coupons.

THE SKIES

Global airline passenger traffic grew by over 15 per cent last year, led by routes in the Middle East and Asia, while cargo shipments rose over 13 per cent. The International Air Transport Association is forecasting that its members will make an overall profit in 2005 of US$1.2-billion if North Sea oil prices average $34.00 a barrel.

AGING

About C$1.2-trillion in small-business assets will change hands between now and 2010 as a massive wave of aging entrepreneurs retires, but few of them are ready for the shift, in terms of either succession planning or retirement savings. A CIBC study says that about 500,000 or 20 percent of Canada's small-business owners are planning to retire within the next five years, with 30 per cent more planning to do so by 2020.

DOWN

The price of goose down is getting more expensive because of a change in eating patterns. Prices of feathers have risen because the Chinese have increased their living standards and are eating more duck and less goose. Fewer geese are being raised.

WASHING

Australian scientists have found that if you take the air bubbles out of water, you can clean clothes without detergent. The explanation is that the bubbles act like a glue that prevents oily substances from breaking apart.

SCANNERS

A Canada Competition Bureau report states that Canadian consumers need a bigger say in how the retail industry polices the thousands of stores that use bar-code scanners at the check-out counter. The industry has no effective way to discipline retailers who decline to make amends when their scanners overcharge customers.

PLASTIC

VISA USA, the largest U.S. credit card issuer, cited soaring transactions at fast-food restaurants and other emerging market segments for a record US$1,045-trillion in plastic sales in 2004, up 19 per cent from 2003. The staggering total, which includes both debit and credit card sales, was roughly the size of Canada's entire economy last year. Volume at fast-food restaurants was the single fastest-growing part of its business, rising 67 per cent to US$10.8 billion.

INVESTMENT

Direct investment overseas by Chinese companies rose 27 per cent over a year earlier to US$3.6-billion in 2004 from a year ago. Meanwhile, contracted investment overseas, an indicator of future spending plans soared 78 per cent to $3.7 billion in 2004. More than two-thirds of actual overseas investments was spent on equity in foreign companies. Foreign investment in China by foreign companies, which surpassed US$60-billion in 2004, still far exceeds the amount of money Chinese firms spend abroad.

ART

Collectors will buy and sell more than US$20-billion of art this year. Prices of the top 25 per cent of the most expensive contemporary pictures sold at auction have more than tripled since 1996.

MOUNTAINS

Only 11 people have reached the top of all the world's tallest mountains, all of which are more than 8,000 metres high. More people, 12, have landed on the surface of the moon.

WORK

A new employee survey suggests that money may be starting to lose the battle between time and money in the workplace. Nearly 40 per cent of 4,600 full-time workers in the U.S. say they would choose more time off work than a US$5,000 annual pay hike. That was an almost 20 per cent jump from when the question was asked three years ago.

M&A

Mergers and acquisitions in the Canadian software and computert services industry bounced back in 2004, rising by 40 per cent from a year ago. Last year there were 61 mergers and acquisitions, up from 45 in 2003. At the same time, the value of these deals soared 115 per cent to C$2.8 billion. Canadians again bought more foreign firms than foreigners bought Canadian firms.

TOURISM

The Asia Pacific Foundation warns that the Canadian tourism sector appears unprepared for a dramatic increase in the number of Chinese visitors expected in the next few years. The warning comes after Canada was given rights to negotiate for "approved destination status" for China's 1.3 billion residents. That process is expected to take up to one year to negotiate. Once approved, the move is expected to raise the number of Chinese tourists to Canada to more than a million annually by 2010, from less than 100,000 last year.

WATERWAYS

While some consider it an anachronism in the age of e-commerce, the aging freight-bearing U.S. waterway system remains vital to a broad swath of the economy, carrying everything from jet fuel and coal to salt and wax for coating milk cartons. However, the network which stretches 19,000 kilometres, is plagued by age and breakdowns and is saddling many companies that rely on the network with a growing number of supply disruptions and added costs.

VISAS

Mexico has asked Canada to support the expansion of a temporary workers program. Around 14,000 Mexicans received seasonal work permits last year to fill jobs in Canada, mostly as field hands during harvest. The program recently has been expanded to include other low-skill jobs that Canadians don't want in construction, the hotel industry and meat packing plants. The current U.S. system for temporary workers provides around 50,000 visas per year but is considered too cumbersome and expensive by employers who often find it easier to hire illegal immigrants.

RULES

As of January 2005, Canada and the United States implemented measures to liberalize the rules of origin applicable to tea, spices, carrageenin, seasonings, precious metals, speed drive controllers and their printed assemblies, household appliances, loudspeakers, thermostats, parts for various machinery and toys. The measures will come into force in Mexico following ratification by the Mexican Senate.

TRADE

China displaced the U.S. as Japan's biggest trading partner last year, underscoring the country's growing importance for the Japanese and world economies. Japan's trade with China, including Hong Kong, was US$213-billion in 2004. U.S trade in 2004 was hurt by special factors such as Japan's 13-month ban on American beef imports.

BODIES

After scandals involving the black-market sale of body parts, the University of California is considering fitting cadavers with barcodes or radio frequency devices. The high-tech fix is one of a number of reforms being proposed to reassure people that bodies donated to science will be used as intended.

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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March 2005 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

March 2005 Edition

 HOUSEWARES

Americans bought $62.2-billion worth of housewares at retail in 2003. U.S. households spent an average of $578 each on housewares, a higher amount than that spent on fruits and vegetables ($563) or dairy products ($335). Household electrics led consumer housewares purchases, representing 14.7 per cent of direct-to-retail sales, while cook and bakeware categories accounted for 11.5 per cent. Next were space organisers. Consumers spending on housewares has increased an average of 4.9 per cent annually over the past five years.

HUNGER

A new FAO report says that 852 million people are hungry. While some countries, such as China and Brazil, have reduced their undernourished populations since the early 1990s, Tanzania and North Korea are among those with rising numbers of hungry people More than five million children die each year from hunger-related causes and undernutrition is costing the world $30-billion a year in direct medical costs alone.

ADVERTISING

Worldwide advertising expenditure grew by almost seven per cent in 2004 to $370-billion. As this was well above global economic growth, it shows that the industry is recovering strongly after a previous slump. The ad market was boosted in 2004 by some special factors, such as the presidential campaign in the U.S. and the Olympics. Experts predict that by 2011, China will have overtaken Britain and Germany to become the third-largest advertising market in the world after America and Japan.

BUSES

Once the Cinderella of London's public transport system, buses are now the showpiece. Since 1990, London has poured US$970-million a year into the capital's bus network. Besides money, the buses have got more road space as well: London now has 280km of bus lanes, up by a half since 2000. Buses are now more frequent, more reliable and comfier. In their share of journeys, buses have gained four percentage points from cars.

CARS

More cars were sold on the planet in 2004 than ever before as would-be motorists in countries such as China and India began to drive global auto industry growth. It is estimated that worldwide sales hit 44.45- million in 2004, about three per cent above the 2003 level. China became the fourth-largest market, passing France and Italy, and will probably be No.2--ahead of Germany and Japan and behind only the United States, by the end of the decade. However, India overtook China as the fastest-growing market, with an estimated 29 per cent jump to about 900,000 vehicles. 2.3-million vehicles were sold in China.

LOYALTY

A Boston University study reports that supermarket loyalty cards are now more pervasive than the Internet or PCs. Eighty six per cent of adult consumers have at least one, and many have several. Researchers have found that even though privacy was a concern, the majority of cardholders believe that the benefits of loyalty cards outweigh any checks on personal privacy. Seventy-six per cent of cardholders say that they use their loyalty cards almost every time they shop.

CUBA

Tourism to Cuba increased 8-per cent in 2004 compared with 2003, despite new U.S. restrictions sharply cutting back on how many Americans visit the island. In 2004, 1.9-million tourists visited Cuba. Canadians top the list of visitors, followed by Europeans, primarily from Italy, France Germany and Spain. Tourism now represents 41 per cent of Cuba's foreign exchange income, a leap from just four per cent in 1990.

WEATHER

New figures reveal that 2004 was the world's fourth warmest year since records began in 1861. In 2004, the global mean surface temperature was 14C, which is 0.44C above the average reading for the years 1961 to 1990. For the first time, grass has become established in Antarctica, showing the continent is warming to temperatures unseen for 10,000 years. Plants are now blooming an average of 5.2 days earlier per decade.

SECURITY

The increasingly sensitive radiation detectors at many airports may now be set off by passengers who have had certain medical procedures. The thallium used in cardiac exams stays in the body for up to 30 days and iodine, which treats thyroid problems, has triggered alarms up to 95 days later.

LAWS

On the first day of 2005, China enacted 88 new laws that cover a wide range of areas including foreign trade, taxation, and advertising standards. As part of China's accession to the World Trade Organization, seven laws and regulations took effect that list some restrictions on auto imports and foreign participation in gasoline sales, auctions and insurance.

ROBOTICS

British roboticists are developing a robot that feeds on flies. Eco Bot II will use special cells to break down sugars in the flies and generate electricity.

TRADE

Canada and the European Union will begin negotiating a deal this year to boost two-way trade and investment. The agreement is not a traditional free-trade deal in that it doesn't seek to chop tariffs on industrial goods or tackle non-tariff barriers in farm products trade such as subsidies. Both Canada and the EU say that they believe that these matters are best left to multi-country negotiations at the WTO. Instead, the deal will try and cut red tape and regulatory barriers. The 25-member EU is Canada's second largest trading partner after the U.S., while Canada ranks ninth among EU trading partners.

MORE TRADE

The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently signed a pact with China to cut tariffs on a number of goods by 2010. ASEAN also aims to start trade talks with Japan next month. Six leading ASEAN countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, agreed to drop tariffs on electronics and ten other areas by 2007.

CRANBERRIES

This fruit is one of only three fruits native to North America. The fastest part of today's cranberry market is for cranberries that do not taste like cranberries Flavoured fruit pieces (FFPS to the trade) taste like orange, cherry, raspberry or any number of other fruits. Why make them taste like another fruit? Mainly because it is a durable little fruit. FFPS have a shelf-life of two years and keep a chewy texture when baked. Ocean Spray, a co-operative owned by 800 growers, sold about US$1.2-billion worth of cranberries and cranberry products worldwide in 2003.

WORTH

In the past three years, the total value of residential property in developed economies has increased by an estimated US$20-trillion to $over US$60-trillion. The increase is partially explained by the decline in the U.S. dollar, however, it is still double the US$10-trillion by which global share values climbed in the three years to 1999. Top of the league is South Africa where prices surged by 35-per cent, ahead of Hong Kong at 31-per cent.

SPACE

Experts predict that by 2030, the United States will require 44 per cent more total built space than existed in 2000 to accommodate population and job growth projections.

RUST

A cloud of deadly spores looms over the American south which can destroy millions of acres of crops. Asian soyabean rust, a lethal fungus that attacks soyabean plants, landed recently in the U.S. Scientists believe that one or more of the several recent hurricanes carried the spores from South America to the states on the Gulf of Mexico. Once there, the spores travelled more than 300 miles a day infecting nine states in just over a month. The disease could ruin next year's harvest.

SIZE

Women's pants labelled at size 8 can be anywhere from a size 4 to 14 depending on the manufacturer and price according to a North Texas School of Marketing study. A team of researchers measured 1,011 pairs of pants in different sizes and from different manufacturers. Some of the findings: size 4 ranged from 23 inches to 31.5 inches; size 10 ranged from 27 to 34 inches; size 14 ranged from just over 30 inches (smaller than some manufacturers' size 4) to 38 inches. They also discovered that pricey pants were consistently cut fuller, allowing them to fit a larger woman than less-expensive offerings.

MOOSE

The city of Anchorage, Alaska (population 271,000) has about 300 resident moose year-round. In the winter they are joined by hundreds more. Last winter, some 200 moose were killed in collisions around the city. They feed along median strips and shoulders and lick salt off the pavement.

HOLLYWOOD

The film industry is following the, lead of the music business by stepping up legal action against internet film pirates. An industry body launched legal action against over 100 middlemen in the U.S. and Europe who facilitate the downloading of pirated blockbuster movies.

SUPERMARKETS

2005 represents the 75th anniversary of the supermarket retail format which has been described as "a resilient and ever-changing enterprise whose contribution to communities worldwide is immeasurable." Historians agree that the first actual supermarket was a King Kullen store, opened August 1930 in Jamaica, N.Y. The store, comparable to today's no-frills warehouse outlets, sold more than 1,000 products. Key to the early success of the supermarket were the shopping cart, introduced in 1937; the car and free parking.

WATER

Paris is launching an advertising campaign to get people to switch back to tap water from bottled water. In 20 year, the consumption of bottled water has doubled to 130 litres a year per person. It is known that elderly people have a great need for calcium to fight osteoporosis. Tap water can provide this naturally. It is estimated that empty water bottles amount to 20,000 tonnes each year, the equivalent to two Eiffel towers.

JUICE

Brazil's frozen orange juice (FCOJ) exports totalled 408,040 in July to October 2004, the first 4 months of the crop year. This was down three per cent on the 495,380 tonnes in the same period in 2003. The EU was the main market for Brazilian FCOJ over the period at 360,400 tonnes, followed by NAFTA at 58,500 tonnes. The Far East received 37,200 tonnes.

NAFTA

A University of Toronto study reports that fewer U.S.-based multinational companies are investing in Canada since it formed the NAFTA with the U.S. and Mexico in 1994. The reason given is that U.S. multinationals no longer need to invest in Canada to access its markets. Researchers have found that Canada only receives 10 per cent of U.S. foreign investment while Europe receives more than half. 40 year ago, Canada and Europe received that same amount of U.S. investment.

ENVELOPES

The first envelopes with gummed flaps were produced in 1844 in Britain. They were not immediately popular because it was thought to be a serious insult to send a person's saliva to someone else.

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 2005 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

February 2005 Edition

FISH

The Nile perch has been named as the most destructive of 100 invasive species worldwide.Since it was introduced to Africa's Lake Victoria in 1954, the perch has contributed to the extinction of more than 200 endemic fish species. Other deadly animals in the Top 10 include the crazy ant, small Indian mongoose, feral pig, grey squirrel and giant African snail. The plant species include the water hyacinth, Dutch elm disease and Japanese knotweed.

COOKING

Every year, about 1,000 cookbooks are published in the United States, with the majority of those titles being released in the fall for holiday shopping. If you add the self-published cookbooks as well, the number can double or triple.

SAFETY

A major Canadian food producer is adopting a method for tracking its pork products with DNA, a safety system that it recommends should be adopted by the meat industry as a whole. The Canadian processing industry can differentiate itself from its largest competitors in the U.S. by putting its focus on producing safe meat, at a time when consumers are worried about food safety. The system will allow the company to trace a piece of pork from the grocery shelf back to the live animal production chain.

CALLING

The global average for talking on a cellphone is 27 minutes daily. Canadians speak on their cells an average of 49 minutes daily, second only to U.S. citizens who average 63 minutes a day. Users in Britain talked for 32 minutes each day, while those in Italy and China round out the top five at 30 and 27 minutes respectively. In 2004, 63 per cent of Canadians owned a cell phone and that figure is expected to grow to 69 per cent in 2005.

BRANDING

Royal Bank of Canada is the country's most valuable brand, worth an estimated $4.4 billion according to a recent study. Next on the list are Bell Canada ($3-billion), Loblaws ($3-billion), TD Bank ($2.7-billion) and CIBC ($2.6-billion). The complete report listing the top 25 brands is available at www.brandfinance.com.

CHEESE

Record cheese prices are eroding profits at Canadian pizza manufacturers as the cost of mozzarella has surged 58 per cent in the past two years. Global stockpiles are the lowest since 1971 as rising incomes have boosted demand in Russia and the Middle East and drought eroded milk output in Australia, a major exporter. Cheddar prices have risen 81 per cent since November 2002, boosting the estimated value of global cheese output (about 16 million tons last year) to about US$45-billion from $25-billion two years ago.

TRADE

Last November, the Bush administration announced that it intended to negotiate trade agreements with Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. is now working on bilateral trade accords with 12 countries and has already finished deals with another dozen. America is just the latest fan of a broader global trend. As a new World Bank report points out, bilateral trade deals are all the rage. Almost 230 such agreements exist today, up from just 50 in 1990, and a further 60 or so are being negotiated. The average African country belongs to four different trade agreements and the average Latin American country belongs to eight.

CHILE

After the U.S., Japan and China are Chile's largest export markets. In the first nine months of last year, sales to Asia were up by 64 per cent. Much was owed to the high price of copper, Chile's main export, but it is now selling products like farmed salmon and wine. However, Chile interest in Asia goes beyond exports, it also sees itself as a potential bridge for trade and investment between Asia and other South American countries. Chile's many trade pacts give businesses based there zero or low-tariff access to a market of almost 1.3 billion consumers.

SQUIRRELS

Some U.S. power companies blame squirrels for up to 30 per cent of their outages.. Other sources claim that as many as 25 per cent of unexplained house fires can be blamed on intrusive squirrels.

RAIN

Australia is not only the driest inhabited country on earth, but also the greatest consumer of water per capita. The country has been suffering a dry spell dating back to the 1970s. Experts believe that in 17 years The Murray River, one of the county's foremost river systems, will be too salty to drink. The Murray, along with the Darling River, are responsible for irrigating 40 per cent of the country's crops. The growing of European-style crops is one of the main reasons for the degradation of the fresh water.

BRAINS

Taking advantage of new genetic information, plant scientists have discovered a surprising level of what looks like brainy behaviour in the vegetable world. Some plants can solve math and logic problems of a sort. They can calculate the ratio of two different hues of red light to decide when there's too much shade and they need to grow taller. To make smart choices, plant genes must take in multiple cues from their environment; light temperature, moisture, gravity etc, and assemble them into a meaningful whole.

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czech Republic's economy grew at a healthy pace in 2003 year. In the latest OECD report, it forecasts GDP growth of 3.9 per cent and 4.2 per cent in 2005. Consumer price inflation is expected to remain below three per cent through the end of 2005. However, government spending is rising creating a big budget deficit and the need for higher taxes.

AGING

The American Association for over 50s (AARP) states that the Netherlands looks after its old people better than any other country. The survey takes note of policies that are of special interest to the elderly, such as age-discrimination laws, mandatory retirement ages and health care coverage. Australia was second and Sweden third in the survey. Canada came in at 10th and the U.S. 13th.

TEENS

Pollsters have found that Canadian teens, who once could not be prised off the family telephone, are turning instead to Internet communications. They found that the home phone and instant messaging are virtually tied as teens' favoured means of communications at 45 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. Only six per cent of teens reported that e-mail was their favourite way to communicate with friends and four per cent reported that they preferred their cellphone.

MARKETS

Canada is launching a massive trade push on China in 2005: an all-out effort to boost business relations and bilateral ties with the growing economic juggernaut. The country is currently the destination for only about one per cent of Canada's trade exports though it is Canada's second largest trading partner with two-way merchandise trade in 2003 of $23.3 billion Besides China, the government is also targeting India and Brazil fearing that Canada could be left out of these giant emerging markets.

INFORMATION

The Economist reports that Denmark leads the world as the country most open to information technology. Sweden is second, the U.S. third and Canada fifth. The top Asian country is South Korea in eighth place with China 44th and India 51st.The ratings are based on an index which compares the use of computers, the internet and telecoms and also takes into account social factors that make countries open to IT.

SWEATSHOPS

An advisory group on sweatshops created by Canadian retailers says that factories in poor countries rarely pass their first inspection when outsiders check on how they treat employees. However, retail companies generally continue to buy from such factories, except in extreme cases, while pressing them to improve conditions. Most companies surveyed expressed a zero tolerance for certain things including child labour, forced labour, physical abuse and serious health violations.

PHARMACEUTICALS

Ireland is the world's largest net exporter of medicines but spends far less than the rest of Europe on pharmaceuticals. Thirteen of the world's 15 largest drug firms have major manufacturing operations in Ireland attracted by low corporate tax rates and a pool of skilled workers. While expenditure on health care in Ireland has more than trebled from 1996 to 2004, total expenditure on drugs is still low. Ireland exports medicines worth about $21-billion each year. Its net exports were more than double those of France, the nearest biggest net exporter.

ETHNICITY

Asian women born in the U.S. outstrip all their sisters in terms of earning power. The average hourly wage for American-born Asian ladies in 2001 was $19.30 with American-born whites next at $18.80. At the bottom came American-born Latinas at $15.1 The reason for the ethnic disparity is education. In California, 55 per cent of American-born Asians have at least a batchelor's degree. By contrast, only 14 per cent of American-born Hispanic women have a batchelor's degree.

OWNERSHIP

Harper's Index reports that the percentage of the value of all foreign-owned U.S real estate that is owned by Japanese companies is 15. The percentage of the value of all foreign-owned U.S. real estate that is owned by Canadian companies is 26.

THE BLIND

Equipped with a tiny camera, a high tech device that recognizes the white stripes of a pedestrian crosswalk and reads traffic lights, could tell a blind person when it's safe to cross a street, researchers say. The electronic eye, being developed at the Kyoto Institute of Technology, could one day be adapted for broader use to help the blind or visually impaired to get around without a walking stick or seeing-eye dog.

VEGGIES

Many vegetable and some fruits have declined in quality in the past 50 years as crop breeders put size ahead of nutrition. The University of Texas at Austin analyzed 43 common garden crops and found widespread declines in their content of vitamins B and C, iron, calcium and other nutrients The scientists say this reinforces earlier findings from Britain and raises questions about the wisdom of modern farming practices that focus too much on size.

BIKES

Folding bikes are common in Europe, Japan and China but have been slow to catch on in North America despite design advances that have made them lighter, more compact and easier to ride. Among the young and fashion-conscious, they are being touted as accessories to the chic urban lifestyle.. However, their future may lie with commuters. Sales have surged in England since a "congestion charge" of $11.00 was imposed last year on drivers entering central London.

GOLF

A New York company has come up with a golf ball that can correct its own flight path so it flies straighter than conventional balls. Its ability derives from the unusual properties of designer molecules measuring less than 100 nanometres.

TOURISM

The Afghan government is to promote Osama bin Laden's Tora Bora mountain hideout as a "must-see" tourist destination.

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 2005 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

January 2005 Edition

POLLUTION

There are a billion or so cellphones in use around the world. On average, users trade up to a new handset every 18 months. The discarded devices are packed with dangerous chemicals and metals. For instance, the cadmium in a single battery from an old-fashioned phone could seriously contaminate 600,000 litres of water. Cadmium is being phased out of new batteries but many other poisonous metals remain.

REALITY

BBC viewers in Britain will shortly be asked to identify the country's worst building in a new four-part reality series that will culminate in a live broadcast of the eyesore's destruction. Called Demolition, the programme is being supported by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

BEAUTY

Lead, mud, paraffin and nightingale droppings--through the centuries women (and some men) have plastered extreme ingredients on their skin in the pursuit of youth. The latest anti-aging product from Australia is a "breakthrough product found at the bottom of an Antarctic iceberg" which doesn't sound too extreme when compared with rival products based on plankton, rice wine and animal cartilage. A 50-millilitre jar of Antarctilyne containing the "wonder" ingredient Antarcticine, retails for C$72.00.

MONITORING

The Forrester Consulting Group reports that more than 43 per cent of large U.S. corporations employ staff to monitor employees' outbound e-mail. The monitoring was spurred mainly by fears workers might be leaking sensitive corporate information.

SIZE

Fears that big-box stores would devastate independent retailers and suck the life out of Canada's downtown main streets seems overblown. A new poll indicates half of Canadian small businesses don't compete with big boxes, and half of the rest say Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other behemoth retailers have not hurt them. The Decima Research survey found 16 per cent of respondents saying big-box retailers have hurt their businesses. In this group, about half said they had been forced to cut prices to compete.

2005

Canadian and U.S. economic growth will converge at around three per cent in 2005 to lead G7 nations according to Scotiabank. In Canada, exports hold the key to achieving three per cent growth because domestic demand is unlikely to accelerate. Mexican output is forecast to grow in 2005 by four per cent, the same as in 2004.

FRAGRANCE

New research suggests that having every room in the house smelling of synthetic flowers or pine forests is making small children ill and their mothers depressed. Researchers are urging house-proud families to limit the use of aerosols until more is known. Pregnant women, babies and the elderly could be particularly vulnerable. The study involved analyzing details of the way of life and health of 14,000 families.

VOLCANOES

There are 108 active volcanoes in Japan that have erupted at least once in the past 10,000 years. The country's weather office keeps a 24-hour watch on 20 volcanoes including 13 that are ranked as the most active. Mount Fuji is also being monitored, though this best-known volcano last erupted in 1707.

ROBOTS

The use of robots around the home to mow lawns, vacuum floors and manage other chores is set to surge sevenfold by 2007 as more consumers snap up smart machines, according to the United Nations. The boom coincides with record orders for industrial robots. At the end of 2003, 607,000 automated domestic helpers were in use. By the end of 2007, some 4.1 million domestic robots will likely be in use. Lawnmowers will still make up the majority. Japan still remains the most robotized economy.

CLICK

A new keychain gadget allows people to turn off most TV sets anywhere, from airports to restaurants. It works like a universal remote control but one that only turns TV sets on or off. With a zap of a button, the gizmo goes through a string of about 200 infrared codes that control the power of about 1,000 television models.

PEPPER

When Captain Carnes sailed into Salem, Mass. in 1797 with the first shipment of directly-imported pepper from Sumatra the stock sold out immediately at a profit of 700 per cent. Salem was able to become the world's premier pepper shipper, controlling the Sumatra market and re-exporting 7.5 million pounds a year in the 1800s when duties from the Port of Salem contributed an astonishing five per cent of the total budget of the U.S. government. Today, world trade in black pepper exceeds 200 million pounds and accounts for one quarter of the total spice trade.

PRINTERS

Mysteries used to be solved by identifying the typewriter upon which the ransom note was prepared. Now, U.S. scientists have discovered that every desktop printer has a signature style that it leaves invisibly on every document it produces. They have now found a way to identify individual laser printers. This will help to track down printers used to make bogus bank notes, fake passports and other important documents.

FRAUD

A small Quebec town saw half its budget blown in one fraudulent swoop recently when someone managed to cash a cheque for a quarter-million dollars with the mayor's forged signature. The cheque was drawn on an account the town uses to pay for large projects such as road construction work so the bank was used to seeing big cheques going through.

TASTE

Researchers in Peru have bred a new culinary export they hope will gain favour with diners around the world: the super guinea pig. Peruvians consume an estimated 65 million guinea pigs each year., but those weigh on average 10 ounces to 1 1\2 pounds. Now, researchers at La Molina National University have developed guinea pigs that weigh nearly 2 1\2 pounds. The meat is low in fat and cholesterol and tastes like rabbit.

TAXES

The tax burden in Canada remains the highest among the nations that make up the North American Free Trade Agreement. In 2003, Canada's tax burden was 33.9 per cent. In the U.S., the burden was 25.4 per cent. Mexico's tax burden rose in 2003 but remained the lowest at 19.5 per cent. The tax burden is calculated by expressing tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product, the broadest measure of a nation's economic activity. Outside Europe, only Australia, Canada and New Zealand have tax ratios above 30 per cent of GDP.

LOW

The Dead Sea, the world's lowest point, is listed as minus 1,365 feet (minus 416 metres) in the latest National Geographic Atlas of the World. This updated figure is down nearly 26 feet because of water consumption in the region.

CORRUPTION

A global watchdog group reports that most oil-producing nations are rife with corruption and that oil companies should provide more information about their operations to help clean up the market. Angola, Azerbaijan, Chad, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen all scored very low in clean government practices. Transparency International suggest that in these countries, public contracting in the oil sector is plagued by revenues vanishing into the pockets of Western oil executives, middlemen and local officials.

WTO

European Union and Vietnamese trade officials have concluded talks that could pave the way for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Vietnam, which has become a major player in textile trade, will have to gain the support of countries, including the U.S., who have an interest in Vietnamese trade.

CONSUMPTION

The World Wildlife Fund claims that people are plundering the world's resources at a pace that outstrips the planet's capacity to sustain life. Humans currently consume 20 per cent more natural resources than Earth can produce.

PRINTING

Industry analysts estimate that companies spend between one and three per cent of their revenue on copiers, printers, faxes and scanners. Print equipment and associated supplies are among the most costly assets for many companies and millions of dollars are lost due to poorly managed print environments. Today, many multi-function units are available that can reduce equipment investment, as well as consumables and operating costs, improving asset management significantly by allowing businesses to support one device instead of as many as four.

SPACE

An ecological footprint is the total area in acres of a country that is required to absorb waste from energy consumption, including carbon dioxide. It also comprises the total area per person of cities, roads and other infrastructures and the space required to produce food and fibre used for clothing. Nations with the top ecological footprints are: United Arab Emirates, 24.46 acres; United States, tied with Kuwait, 23.47 acres and Australia, 19.03 acres. Canada is eighth with 15.81 acres.

SCREENING

The British government estimates that a new hi-tech biometric passport screening system which relies on facial recognition will fail in 10 per cent of cases. The new passports are due to be introduced this year, five years ahead of the international deadline, to allow Britain to remain in the U.S. visa waiver programme.

RAIL

Saudi Arabia's recent decision to proceed with plans to link its east and west coast with a railway is likely to have far-reaching economic benefits for the global shipping industry. The development is long overdue. Even though Saudi Arabia occupies an area the size of Western Europe, it has just one railway line running from the Gulf coast port of Dammam to Riyadh, the capital. The new links are seen as handling mainly container traffic from Europe and North America destined for Saudi Arabia's central and eastern regions and other Gulf states.

SECURITY

Vatican City is home to 1.6 million books, centuries-old manuscripts and the oldest known complete Bible. Now, libraries at the Vatican are using cutting-edge technology to keep track of the priceless ancient collection. About 30,000 books have been tagged with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips. RFID chips, also known as tags, store information and send it via radio waves to a reader. RFID tags cost between five and 10 U.S. cents each.

CRAMPED

Dutch police stopped the driver of a small hatchback for transporting a Shetland pony crammed in the back. A woman on the back seat held the animal by a rope. He was fined for the improper transport of an animal.

TRAINING

The Vietnamese government is considering abandoning firing squads as a method of execution because up to a third of policemen miss their target because of nerves.

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