April 2011 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

April 2011 Edition

 LUMBER

While Japan remains a weak market for B.C. lumber and the U.S. housing market is stalled, the bright spot is the Chinese market which saw exports from B.C. double in 2010 to US$668-million. B.C., in a joint effort by industry and government has scored success in China in wooden roof trusses for concrete apartment buildings as well as early signs of momentum for small wood-framed apartment buildings The country builds primarily with concrete and steel and had previously only imported cheap low-grade wood for concrete construction and manufacturing, including furniture.

ORGANICS

The U.K government has been criticized in a new report for not doing enough to support and promote organic food and farming. The Soil Association has said that sales continue to grow in other European nations during the recession while U.K sales fell by 13.6 per cent. Many European countries see organic farming as crucial for rural development, biodiversity and also for combatting climate change. Austria has already reached 20 per cent of their land area in organic farming and Switzerland is not far behind.

ETHANOL

Switchgrass, the prairie plant that once fuelled the buffalo herds of the American Great Plains, may one day fill automobile tanks in a bioengineered form that's cheaper and yields more ethanol than the original variety. Researchers have showed that by manipulating lignin, a compound that stiffens plants, they were able to produce a variety that resulted in 38 per cent more biofuel with lower pretreatment costs. The U.S. will produce 14- billion gallons of ethanol in 2011. Modified switchgrass required 4 to 5 times less cellulase, an enzyme used to break down fibre. Nearly half of U.S. gasoline contains up to 10 per cent ethanol to boost octane or meet air quality requirements.

DIAMONDS

A 78-carat diamond, described as the finest ever found in Canada and dubbed the Etaki Spirit, sold recently in Antwerp for US$6.1-million to an anonymous bidder. The diamond is potentially the most valuable stone to come from the Etaki mine in the Northwest Territories over its 13-year history. Diamonds were first discovered in the region in 1991, sparking the largest staking rush in North American history. There have been larger stones dug from the mine but of lesser quality.

CANALS

Columbia has announced that it is negotiating with China to build an alternative to the Panama Canal. The proposed transport route is intended to promote the flow of goods between Asia and Latin America. The plan is to create a "dry canal" where the Pacific port of Buenaventura would be linked by rail, across Columbia to the Atlantic Coast. Trade between Columbia and China increased from US$10-million in 1980 to more than $5-billion last year. China has been increasing its involvement across Latin America to feed a growing need for raw materials and commodities.

FORESTS

The Food and Agriculture Organization, a UN body, estimates that although the world as a whole continues to lose forests, the annual rate of deforestation over the past decade was about half that between 1990 and 2000. Some large countries, including China and India, increased their forest cover between 2000 and 2010. Norway and Sweden have also added forests over the past decade. Nigeria has been chopping its forests down at a rate of 3.7 per cent a year and by last year only one-tenth of its land remained forested.

SOCCER

In 2009-10, for the sixth year, Real Madrid headed the Football Money League a ranking of football clubs' revenues. Real's revenues rose by 9.3 per cent to US$537-million with earnings just short of $400-million. Barcelona was again in second place followed by Manchester United, Munich, Arsenal and Chelsea. The top ten clubs earned a combined $3.7-billion.

COAL

The biggest floods in years in Queensland, Australia, are turning into a windfall for U.S. coal mining companies anticipating record profits and the highest exports in 15 years. Shipments from the U.S. are poised to rise 8.8 per cent this year to about 86.5-million tons, the most since 1986. Demand for American coal is increasing after floods devastated an area of Australia twice the size of Texas. Queensland's combined output of steelmaking and thermal coal may be reduced by 23-million metric tons. The biggest challenge for the U.S mining industry will be getting coal from the mines to the trains and moving it to the ports as railroads struggle to meet increased demand.

IMMIGRATION

The Canadian government intends to reduce the overall number of visas it grants to overseas immigrants by five per cent this year, mainly by cutting back on family reunification visas. The government will issue about 11,000 family reunification visas for parents and grandparents overseas, down from more than 16,000 last year. There are already 140,000 applications in the queue meaning a parent could wait 13 years for a visa if he or she were to apply today.

WELLS

China is launching a massive well drilling operation to save the crucial wheat crop stricken by the worst drought in decades. The plan is to drill 1,350 wells across eight northeastern provinces at a cost of about US$1-billion. China is the world's largest wheat growing nation and expected shortages of the crop in China have already pushed up prices for the commodity. 17 million acres of crops have been affected by the drought and nearly three million people are short of drinking water.

STORAGE

Mankind's capacity to store the colossal amount of information in the world has been measured by scientists. The study, in the journal Science, calculates the amount of data stored in the world as 295 exabytes; that is equivalent to 1.2-billion average hard drives. Computer storage has traditionally been measured in kilobytes, then megabytes, and now usually gigabytes. After that comes, terabytes, petabytes, then exabytes. One exabyte is a billion gigabytes.

BORDER

A new poll shows that Canadians overwhelmingly favour co-operating with the U.S. to increase border security while easing obstacles to cross-border trade. 86 per cent of those surveyed supported shared intelligence gathering. 84 per cent of respondents supported harmonizing food safety regulations while 70 per cent favoured creation of a bilateral agency to oversee the building of a new border infrastructure.

SIM CARDS

Some 400 high-tech South African traffic lights are out of action after thieves in Johannesburg stole the mobile phone Sim cards that some contained. The thieves ran up bills amounting to thousands of dollars by using the stolen cards to make calls. The cards were fitted to let the government know when the traffic lights were faulty.

CASSAVA

This plant is also known as tapioca or manioc and is the world's fourth-largest calorie provider and is Africa's second most important crop in terms of calories. It grows in hot, arid regions where other crops will not thrive. It resists drought and climate change better than cereal crops like rice. Cassava has one amazing advantage, it can keep in the ground for years making it a perfect security crop. Presently, two diseases are devastating cassava crops in Africa. In areas of Africa where the diseases are prevalent, farmers get about 8.5-tonnes a hectare. In Vietnam the yield is 17 tonnes and in India 26 tonnes.

CRICKET

Last February, 14 teams, including Canada competed in the International Cricket Council's World Cup in India. Broadcast rights earned by the Council for an eight year stretch, including the 2011 World Cup, exceeded US$1.2-billion. It is estimated that there are 100,000 cricket fans in Canada, one million in the U.S. and 100-million in India. The five best-paid players in the Indian Premier League, the world's richest league, all earn in excess of US$1-million annually. It is estimated that $300-million was wagered during the England-Australia test matches in 2010.

WEALTH

With a population of only 33,000 the GDP per capita of Monaco, the two-kilometre square sovereign principality surrounded on three sides by France, is US$210,000. With no income tax, a glitzy casino, and 300 days of sunshine each year, Monaco is the wealthiest place in the world. The average price of a 400-square foot apartment is $2.3-million. 18,857 companies use a single address in the Cayman Islands, a five story building called Ugland House. The Cayman Islands is the current king of offshore banking, with an estimated $1.8-trillion in assets booked through its 262 banks.

DEPORTATION

The cost to arrest, detain and deport a person from the United States is US$12,500. Immigration and Customs deported almost 393,000 people from the U.S. in 2010 at a cost of almost $5-billion. An estimated 11-million people are in the U.S. without proper documentation.

AQUAFARMING

The UN estimates that in 2009 the world produced over 145-million tonnes of fish. About 38 per cent of this came from aquaculture, or fish farming, the rest consisted of fish caught in the wild, mostly at sea. In 2008, over three-fifths of the farmed fish came from China. India was the second largest producer but its output was just a tenth of China's. Myanmar produced only 7,000 tonnes of farmed fish in 1990; by 2008, its output was 675,000 tonnes, making it the world's twelfth largest aquafarming producer and ahead of the U.S.

CARGO

Global air cargo traffic surged by over a fifth in 2010 from the previous year, driven by a rebound in international trade. The regional variation in growth rates remained particularly marked, with Latin America posting the biggest increase while Europe grew the slowest. Latin American carriers increased traffic by 29 per cent in 2010, followed by Middle East airlines at 27 per cent. Asia-Pacific carriers, which have a 45 per cent world market share, grew cargo traffic by 24 per cent while American carriers grew 22 per cent.

PRESCRIPTIONS

Changes to Canada's drug patent system being proposed by the European Union as part of a Canada-EU trade deal being negotiated, would add about C$2.8-billion a year in costs to the country's prescription drug bill. The EU has tabled proposals that would lengthen the period of market exclusivity for brand-name drugs in Canada. That deal would result in the most extensive structural protection for innovative drugs of any country in the world. It is projected that this would add $1.2-billion to Ontario's annual prescription drug bill and $249-million in B.C.

CHILE

In 2010, Chile achieved a record year for exports which were valued to be US$69.6-billion, up nearly 30 per cent from the 2009 figure. The jump in exports is attributed to the rising price of copper as well as the global economic recovery. The value of copper exports increased 43 per cent to $11.8-billion. Chile's forest industry maintains its place as the second-largest export industry earning $5.6-billion. Salmon and trout fisheries are the third most valuable export at $2.2-billion.

TASTE

A Tucson taco restaurant that has already served up python, alligator, elk, kangaroo, rattlesnake and turtle tacos is now accepting orders for African lion tacos.

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

February 2011 Imports above 2010 and 2009 levels but still lag 2008

CBSA just released the February 2011 Canadian Import volumes and while they are above 2010 and 2009 levels, they still lag behind 2008 levels.



We update this chart monthly on our cross border statistics page - http://aacb.com/resources/cross-border-statistics.asp

March 2011 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

March 2011 Edition

AUTOS

Canada lost ground to Mexico last year in auto production. Mexico has posted the strongest turnaround in North America from the industry's crisis, passing Canada in output and turning out a record number of vehicles in 2010. This was due to global auto makers' big investments to make small cars in Mexico. This trend helped Mexico to increase auto production by 44 per cent last year to 2.254-million vehicles, exceeding Canada's production of 2.065-million. Mexico now has 19 per cent of North American auto production.

WRAPPING

A new generation of smart packaging is being developed in Glasgow which flags food that is going off. Researchers from Strathclyde University are working on indicators made from "intelligent plastics" which change colour when food loses its freshness. A commercially viable product should be available soon which will improve food safety and cut waste. UK households are estimated to throw out about 8.3-million tonnes of food annually, most of which could be eaten. There is also thought to be about one million cases of food poisoning in the UK each year.

POWER

According to the World Bank, access to electricity is one of the biggest constraints to doing business in countries all around the world. A sampling of the time required to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly built warehouse: Liberia; 586 days, Russia: 302 days, Canada; 168 days and St. Kitts and Nevis; 18 days.

PATENTS

Canada is winning patents at a record pace as companies push to innovate. U.S. patent authorities issued a record 5,223 patents to Canadian firms and individual inventors last year, up 20 per cent over the previous year. The U.S. is the preferred global venue for those seeking to enforce their legal rights and secure commercial success. The four countries ahead of Canada in registering patents are: the U.S; up 24 per cent, Japan; up 26 per cent, Germany; up 25 per cent and South Korea up 26 per cent. In 2010, IBM registered 5,896 patents; Samsung, 4,551 and Microsoft 3,094 patents.

REACTORS

The uranium market is active again, set on fire by China's quest to secure nuclear fuel. There are now 442 operable nuclear reactors worldwide, 63 are under construction and a further 156 are planned. 14 per cent of the world's electricity is generated by nuclear power. In France that figure is over 75 per cent and in Canada it is 14.8 per cent. Australia has 31 per cent of the world's known recoverable reserves; Kazakhstan has 12 per cent and Canada three per cent.

INVESTMENT

According to the United Nations, developing countries and economies in transition attracted more foreign investment than developed countries in 2010 for the first time. This indicates that economic recovery is more robust in developing than rich countries. Overall, flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) stagnated at almost US$1.12-trillion in 2010 after $1.14-trillion in 2009, but are still 25 per cent below pre-crisis levels.

MOVIES

Chinese box office takings increased by 64 per cent last year helped by Hollywood blockbusters such as 3D movie Avatar which grossed US$204-million. Movie revenues surged to $1.39-billion: (the North America box office made $10.6-billion). More than 300 new cinemas opened in China last year, their 1,533 new screen bring the total number of screens up to 6,200.

DRIVING

Some of the world's most dangerous roads are South African. An average of 43 people are killed each day in a population of 50-million. The government hopes to cut the annual road-death total in half by 2015, using the grim tally of 16,000 in 2007 as a benchmark. Though it still has less than one registered vehicle for every five inhabitants, Africa's most advanced country recorded 33 road deaths for 100,000 inhabitants in 2007, That was double the fatality rate in the U.S. with almost one vehicle per inhabitant and six times the rate in the UK.

SHIPS

The world's fleet of cargo ships is set to grow at a rapid pace in coming years despite some cancellations of new tonnage in the wake of the financial crisis. World seaborne trade declined by 4.5 per cent in 2009 but the world's merchant fleet grew by 7 per cent. Though the world economy is improving, the problem of new vessels on order will present a challenge for shipping companies. Overcapacity, particularly in the dry-bulk sector that carries iron ore, coal and grain, is likely to worsen in 2011 as new ships are launched. This will put pressure on freight rates and shipping companies' profits.

RAIN

For centuries people living in the Middle East have dreamed of turning the sandy desert into land fit for growing crops with fresh water on tap. That is now a step closer after scientists from Switzerland employed by the ruler of Abu Dhabi claim to have generated a series of rainstorms. Fifty downpours were created last year in the state's eastern Al Ain region using technology designed to control the weather. Most of the storms were at the height of the summer in July and August when there is no rain at all.

GAMBLING

Having tripled in size since 2006, the Isle of Man's lucrative online gaming industry expects to nearly double this year. Now accounting for five per cent of the island's economy, the Isle of Man's e-gaming industry was last year responsible for pumping US$216-million into the local economy and employing about 700 people. With 24 licensed companies already operating, a further 22 are in various stages of set-up. Thanks to the quick 10-12 week licence application process, the low licensing fee and duty rate, and a sound technical infrastructure, the Isle of Man is now considered one of the top four e-gaming jurisdictions, along with Gibraltar, Alderney and Malta.

WORTH

Apple Inc., approaching bankruptcy before the return of CEO Steve Jobs in 2007, has become the world's second-most valuable company, lifted by investor optimism for sales of the iPhone, iPad and Macintosh. Apple's market value has now surpassed PetroChina Co. and trails only Exxon Mobil Corp. Exxon's market value is US$377-billion. Apple's is $306-billion, PetroChina's $300-billion. Fourth is Microsoft which is valued at $239-billion.

HOARDING

Britons have stashed more than US$10.9-billion of cash at home as low interest rates deter depositors. The average U.K. household has about $400 at home. In a recent poll, 37 per cent of those questioned said they had less than $28.00, 4 per cent said they had more than $1450. This included one per cent that said they had at least $14,500 at home. About a third of those polled saw no point in depositing money when interest rates were so low.

SHRIMP

Vietnam earned an estimated record high of US$2-billion last year from its shrimp exports as prawn-loving Americans paid more to satisfy their appetites, partly the result of demand generated by the Gulf Coast oil spill. Vietnam exported an estimated 240,000 tons of shrimp, up from 210,000 tons in 2009, which was valued at $1.7-billion. Japan remains Vietnam's largest shrimp market.

RECALLS

Auto makers recalled about 20-million vehicles in 2010, with high profile recalls led by Toyota that prompted new scrutiny of the auto industry's safety record. The number of recalls was the largest in the U.S. since 2004 when Toyota recalled about 7.1-million vehicles; GM recalled about four million and Japanese auto makers Honda and Nissan both recalled more than two million cars and trucks. The auto industry set a record in 2004 with 30.8 million vehicles recalled.

CARGO

Singapore has lost its crown as the world's busiest container port, losing its place to Chinese rival Shanghai. Shanghai handled more than 29-million containers last year compared with Singapore's 28.4-million. Shanghai also outperformed Singapore in terms of overall cargo handled, processing 650-million tonnes compared with the 502-million tonnes handled by Singapore.

VACATION

Nearly half of Canadians failed to take all their vacation time in 2010. An online survey of 627 employees by a management company found that 46 per cent said they had not used all their allotted vacation time. In 2009, two-thirds of Canadian workers surveyed said they weren't taking all the time that was due to them.

TAXIS

When taking a taxi in a foreign city it is hard to know what it will cost in the end. Now, thanks to a website priceoftravel.com, you can find the metered price of a three-km ride in heavy traffic conditions, in more than 70 big cities. A sampling: US$1.58 in Delhi; $3.27 in Dubai; $6.20 in Singapore and $16.13 in Tokyo.

WIND

Building wind farms offshore in the Great Lakes could generate thousands of jobs in Ontario according to the Conference Board of Canada. If 2,000 megawatts of generation was built over the next 15 years, it would add as much as C$45.5-billion to the province's economy and create as many as 4,400 construction jobs. The province has currently 1,300 megawatts of onshore wind generation capacity.

GOLD

Imports of gold into China in 2010 surged five-fold turning the country, already the largest bullion miner, into a major overseas buyer for the first time in recent memory. The surge comes as Chinese investors look for insurance against rising inflation and currency appreciation. China imported more than 205 tonnes in the first ten months, an increase from the 45 tonnes imported the previous year. In the past, China has kept these figures secret. India imported 612 tonnes of gold in 2009.

THEFT

U.S. cargo theft rose 4.1 per cent to a record high in 2010 with a reported 75 cargo thefts each month across the transport industry. The food and beverage industry was the most heavily hit by theft, accounting for 21 per cent of total theft activity with an average loss of US$125,000 per incident, closely followed by the electronics sector, accounting for 19 per cent of all thefts and an average loss of $512,000 per theft.

TRENDS

Wal-Mart is installing wine vending machines in some of its U.S. stores. Thirsty shoppers must insert their driver's licence into the kiosk and the image is compared with video-camera footage from the machine. Each transaction is monitored remotely, and the kiosks have a built-in breathalyzer that prevents buyers from purchasing wine if they are drunk.

TEA

Growers in the tropical Assam state, India's main tea growing region, say rising temperatures have led not only to a drop in production but to subtle unwelcome changes in the taste of their brews. Assam produced 564,000 tons of tea in 2007, 487,000 tons in 2009 and about 460,000 tons in 2010.

EARNINGS

The average stagehand at Lincoln Centre in New York earns US$290,000 annually while the top paid stagehand at Carnegie Hall makes $422,599 a year in salary and $107,445 in benefits and deferred compensation.

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

February 2011 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

February 2011 Edition

SPACE

In the 1970s, American corporations typically thought they needed 500 to 700 square feet per employee to build an effective office. Today's average is little more than 200 square feet per person and experts now believe that space allocation could hit a mere 50 square feet by 2015.

MEXICO

Mexico wants to sharply boost tourism by luring Canadians to explore the country beyond its seaside resorts. The country is currently the world's 10th-most visited tourism destination, yet it ranks only 19th in terms of tourist spending because many visitors, mindful of well-publicized dangers from drug violence, never leave their resort perimeters. Mexico is now promoting a bounty of attractions: adventure travel, golf, gourmet food and wine, monarch butterfly tourism and hunting. In 2000, 691,000 Canadians spent at least one night in Mexico, in 2009 the figure was 1,208,600.

TRADE

India and China have agreed to a new US$100-billion bilateral trade target by 2015, up from $60-billion in 2010. The two sides agreed to take measures to promote greater Indian exports to China to reduce India's trade deficit. The two countries intend to expand co-operation in infrastructure, environment, information technology, telecommunications, and investment and finance.

DOWNLOADING

In 2010, the illegal downloading of music cost the music industry in the UK nearly US$1.7-billion. Of 1.2-billion digital music tracks downloaded last year, just under three out of four were illegally acquired. That is more than the entire number of tracks ever to be downloaded in the UK which stands at about one billion. However, sales of digital singles topped 160-million last year, beating the previous record of 149.7-million.

R&D

China is on the verge of overtaking Japan as the second-biggest spender on research and development after the U.S., marking another key shift in the rivalry between the world's economic powerhouses. China is expected to spend US$153.7-billion on R&D in 2011 up from $141.4-billion in 2010. By comparison, Japan is expected to spend $144.1-billion up from $ 142-billion in 2010. Despite China's surge, the U.S. remains by far the biggest R&D spender, making up one-third of the global total of an estimated $1.2-trillion for 2011.

TIME

Americans now spend as many hours online as they do watching television according to a new survey. More than 30,000 media consumers were interviewed for the study which showed that, on average, Americans spend about 13 hours a week on the internet and pass the same amount of time watching television offline. Over the past five years, the amount of time Americans watch television has stayed flat while the amount of time they spend on the web has more than doubled.

DAMAGE

Invasive non-native species such as the grey squirrel and Japanese knotweed cost the British economy about US$3-billion a year. Researchers say that crops, ecosystems and livelihoods can be damaged when such species take hold. The study found that the rabbit was the most economically damaging species, followed by Japanese knotweed. Other damaging species include the rat, house mouse and mink, and plants such as the rhododendron and giant hogweed. The cost was significantly higher in England where invasive non-native species have become more established. The price was put at $400-million in Scotland and $250-million in Wales.

EMPLOYMENT

In 32 out of 39 countries and territories surveyed, more companies said they expect to add workers in the three months to March 2011 than said they expect to employ fewer people. The difference between hirers and firers was highest in India and China. Employment growth is also expected to be more robust in Germany, Sweden and the U.S. American employers are more upbeat about their hiring intentions than at any time since the final quarter of 2008.

POLLUTING

If the shipping industry were a country, it would be the sixth-biggest industrial carbon emitter in the world. Whereas big countries have plans for cutting emissions, shipping does not. But customers, who indirectly pay for shipping fuel, might be better placed to put pressure on the industry. A website has been set up to rate ships as though they are refrigerators or boilers and calculate the fuel efficiency of a ship. Eventually, data on 60,000 ships will be provided. If the idea catches on, consumers will be able to shun ships that emit a lot and reward the ones that don't.

INNOVATION

It can be easy to get heavy-footed behind the wheel when the music is pumping. A new smart-phone application called OVK Slowdown tracks a driver's speed and location using GPS, and slows down the music being played in the car if the speed limit is exceeded. The faster the car goes, the slower and more irritating the music becomes. If you drive more than 10 kilometres an hour over the legal limit, the app shuts off the tunes altogether.

ALARMS

An alarm clock that can be heard by the next door neighbour has gone on sale for hard of hearing customers or those that struggle to get out of bed in the morning. At 90 decibels the alarm is louder than most lawnmowers and matched the volume pumped out by a speeding truck on the highway. The clock also comes with a vibrating pad that can be slipped under a pillow. When the alarm goes off the clock sends a wireless signal to the pad which starts to vibrate. It costs about US$70.00.

CARE

High prices and waiting lists in over-stretched health systems of the rich world have driven many people to seek hip replacements, plastic surgery and other care in Thailand, India and Costa Rica. It is forecast that in 2012, 1.6-million Americans will travel abroad for medical care, up from 750,000 in 2007. Abu Dhabi in the Persian Gulf is now being touted as the next hot destination for medical tourism. Dubai is intending to host a big medical-tourism congress in 2011.

CROPS

Scientists are planning to collect and store the wild plant relatives of essential food crops, including wheat, rice and potatoes. The project will collect and catalogue seeds from across the globe. The aim is to safeguard valuable genetic traits that the wild plants contain that could be bred into crops to make them more hardy and versatile. This could help secure food supplies in the face of a changing climate.

OFFICES

There has been a rise in the number of Canadians who work from home with the numbers being evenly split between the self-employed and those paid by companies. About 3.6-million work from home and they comprise 19 per cent of the workforce, up two per cent in eight years. The greatest increase is in the number of self-employed people working from home. In 2008, when the study was conducted, there were 1-8-million, up from 1.4-million in 2000.

AGREEMENT

The recent sweeping free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea will benefit U.S. workers, farmers and ranchers as well as granting Korea greater access to U.S. markets. Tariff reductions are expected to boost annual export of U.S. goods by up to US$11-billion. The agreement lifts tariffs on 95 per cent of goods between the countries in five years. This is the largest U.S. trade pact since the NAFTA with Canada and Mexico in 1994. Also, each U.S. automaker will be able to export 25,000 cars per year that meet only U.S. safety requirements, four times the current level.

TRUFFLES

The record price for truffles was in 2007 when a Macao casino owner paid US$330,000 for a Tuscan example weighing in at 3.3-pounds. Now, Italian white truffle prices have fallen to the lowest level since data began to be collected in 2002 and the famed tuber prized by the rich is even being donated to Rome soup kitchens. The price which peaked at $660 per 100 grams in 2007 traded recently for $200. The reduction is blamed on demand falling by at least half in many countries, including the U.S. Hunters use pigs and dogs to sniff out the tubers which grow around the roots of trees.

TRAINS

A Chinese passenger train hit a record speed of 486 kilometres per hour recently in a test run of a yet-to-be opened link between Beijing and Shanghai. This is the fastest speed recorded by an unmodified conventional commercial train though other types of train have travelled faster. It reached top speed on a segment of the 1,318-kilometre-long line between the cities.

DEBT

In 2011, the debt owed by the governments of the world will reach a mountainous US$43-trillion, of which Japan alone accounts for a quarter, with the U.S. not far behind.

ROBOTS

It is estimated that there are now one million industrial robots in use in the world today, up from 66,000 in 1983 and 605,000 in 1995. 36 per cent are used in the automotive industry, 18 per cent in the electrical and electronics sector, 10 per cent in rubber and plastics, nine per cent in metal and machinery and five per cent in the food and beverage industry. As many as 50-million jobs may be lost to robots by 2030. In 1979 the U.S. auto industry invested US$15-million in robots, in 2007 the figure was $753-million.

SAVINGS

Prisoners in the state of Iowa could soon be making their own toilet paper in a bid to save taxpayers money. Under a plan, state prisons would buy one-tonne rolls of paper from a mill, then process it into single rolls. The plan could save up to US$100,000 a year. Iowa prisoners already make and sell everything from furniture and clothing to carved wooden toys. A prison official describes the toilet paper as "not nice and fluffy, but an acceptable roll of toilet paper."

TEMPERATURE

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), record temperatures were reached in several regions in 2010, making it among the warmest three on record. Parts of Russia, Greenland, Canada, China, North Africa and South Asia all saw the mercury soar to record levels. The WMO suggest that 2011 will be cooler as La Nina conditions dominate. This brings colder than average water to the top of the eastern Pacific Ocean, which lowers temperatures globally.

APPLES

A Canadian biotechnology company has asked the U.S. to approve a genetically modified apple that won't brown soon after it is sliced. This improvement could boost sales of apples for snacks, salads and other uses. U.S. apple growers say it's too soon to know whether they'd be interested in the apple as they need to resolve questions about the apple's quality, the cost of planting and most importantly, whether people will buy the apple. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has considered about 100 petitions for genetically engineered or modified crops.

CLOTHES

Swiss bank UBS has sent its retail-banking staff a 43-page manual on how to dress to impress clients. Included is the suggestion that: "Underwear should be undetectable but be of good quality and easily washable."

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

January 2011 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

January 2011 Edition

DISASTERS

A joint report by the World Bank and the United Nations, forecasts that global losses from natural disasters could triple to US$185-billion per year by 2100. The report does not include the total impact of climate change and refers mainly to damage from earthquakes, cyclones and floods. The report suggests a shift from relief work to preventive measures and said that storms and earthquakes in densely populated cities could put 1.5-billion people at risk by 2050. The damage will triple due to rising populations in certain areas that are prone to natural disasters.

REMITTANCES

The World Bank estimates that officially recorded remittances to developing countries will have reached US$325-billion in 2010, a 6 per cent increase over the previous year. Although giant countries like India and China get the biggest amounts of money from workers abroad, remittances play an even more significant role in smaller nations where they can amount to a larger share of GDP. Lebanon for instance, gathered $7.6-billion in remittances, just over 15 per cent of the amount that India received which represented only 3.9 per cent of India's GDP, but over 20 per cent for Lebanon.

ENERGY

According to the International Energy Agency's latest forecasts, global demand for energy will increase by 36 per cent between 2008 and 2035. Emerging economies will account for almost all of this increase (93 per cent). In China, which overtook the U.S. to become the world's largest energy user, demand is projected to increase by 75 per cent in this period. Fossil fuels will still be the dominant source of energy in 2035. The demand for coal and oil in the mostly rich members of the OECD countries will fall between 2008 and 2035.

MAIL

The U.S. Postal Service more than doubled its losses in fiscal year 2010, despite cutting billions of dollars in expenses and trimming its staff. Losses totalled US$8.5-billion in the year ending September 2010. That compares to a loss of $3.8-billion the previous year. The Postal Service blamed the deeper losses on the recession and on the continuing growth of e-mail. The losses occurred despite cost savings of $9-billion over the past two years.

DEVELOPMENT

Vietnam has chosen Japan as a partner to mine rare earth minerals and develop nuclear power in the country. Japan announced plans to begin mining for rare earths used in the manufacture of products like laptops, cellphones and hybrid cars in a bid to reduce its dependence on China. Also, Vietnam has plans to build eight nuclear plants by 2030 to meet rising energy demand. Currently, hydropower contributes more than a third of the country's energy. Russia is also negotiating with Hanoi to build nuclear power plants in Vietnam.

FREEBIES

Fewer doctors in the U.S. are accepting drug samples, gifts, meals and all-expense paid trips from drug companies. This comes amid mounting concerns over the potential for conflicts of interest in medical practice. Still, arrangements between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry continue to be common; 84 per cent of physicians reported some sort of tie with drug companies in 2009, compared with 94 per cent in 2004. Also, fewer doctors report speaking on behalf of drug companies, consulting for pharmaceutical companies and participating in drug company advisory boards.

TRADE

Should the free trade deal between Canada and India go ahead, it could boost the economies of both countries by C$6-billion a year. Bilateral merchandise trade with India totalled $4.2-billion in 2009, an increase of over 70 per cent from 2004. In 2009, Canada's main exports were vegetables, fertilizers, machinery and wood pulp. Imports for 2009 were valued at $2-billion and consisted principally of organic chemicals, knit and woven apparel, precious stones and metals and electronic equipment and machinery. For Canada, the prize is the huge potential market for services. Canadian banks, insurers and engineering firms have long sought better access to the Indian market.

SHOES

The Mexican shoe industry is urging the government to shut the market to Chinese shoes, following the lead of Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador. Mexican shoe imports rose by 70 per cent in 2010 triggering huge sales losses and jobs in the industry. China is estimated to be supplying 50 per cent of the world's shoes currently and it, plus India, have eclipsed Italy, Spain and France to seize three-quarters of the global market.

RESEARCH

China plans to spend US$4.5-billion over the next five years on mineral exploration to reduce its escalating reliance on imports. Explorations will be launched in 21 provinces. China has become a major importer of ores and metals from around the world to feed its robust economic growth. Domestic excavation should help reduce imports of copper ore, iron ore and sylvite to less than 75%, 50% and 60% respectively of the total amounts consumed in China. More than 500 locations have been found during the past 12 years that contain mineral deposits.

MORTGAGES

The Canadian residential mortgage market crossed the C$1-trillion threshold in 2010 for the first time as higher prices forced many to borrow heavily to finance their new homes and low interest rates encouraged many more to refinance. At the end of August 2010, there were $1,008,000,000 in mortgages outstanding, a gain of 7.6 per cent in one year. Over the past 15 years, the volume of outstanding mortgages has increased by 194 per cent. The average house price at year end was $331,000. 18 per cent of mortgage holders took equity out of their homes, almost half of them needing debt consolidation.

DEVELOPMENT

Since 1980 Nepal has made the greatest strides in improving human development according to the UN's annual Human Development Index (HDI). The index consists of three sub-indices covering wealth, health and education. The countries whose HDI has improved the most since 1980 are mainly in Asia and Africa. China and India have been helped by rapid GDP growth but even slower-growing countries like Nepal and Bangladesh have fostered development by making progress in health and education.

DURABILITY

Called the JCB Tradesman, the world's first waterproof floating cellphone was introduced recently in the UK. The manufacturer claims it remains fully functional after being submerged in water. It continues to operate after being dragged behind a vehicle at 120mph, buried in two tonnes of rubble and then left underwater for six hours.

FAVOURABLE

After surveying 183 countries, the World Bank has concluded that Singapore is the best country in which to run a business. The report examines nine criteria such as how easy it is to start a business or get credit, as well as paying taxes, registering property, dealing with construction permits, enforcing contracts and protecting investors. Hong Kong came in second followed by New Zealand third and the U.S. behind the UK in fifth. Canada came seventh. Chad was the worst country for the second year running.

CONFIDENCE

A recent American Express survey shows that 70 per cent of Americans trust non-profit outfits more than government or business to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. Meanwhile a Merrill Lynch survey of rich people found that over 94 per cent trusted non-profit organizations while business won a 68 per cent rating and government 32 per cent.

OIL

A newly-tapped oil field 183km off the coast of Brazil could contain up to 15-billion barrels of oil. That matches the size of the giant Tupi oilfield, whose discovery in 2007 drew attention to Brazil's potential as a major oil producer. If the 15-billion barrel figure is confirmed it would double Brazil's known oil reserves and make the country one of the world's top 10 oil producers.

SPEED

China has claimed the top spot on the list of the world's supercomputers. The title has gone to China's Tianhe-1A supercomputer that is capable of carrying out more than 2.5-thousand trillion calculations a second. To reach such high speeds, the machine draws on more than 7,000 graphics processors and 14,000 Intel chips.The machine houses its processors in more than 100 fridge-sized cabinets and together these weigh more than 155 tonnes.

HONEY

Production of honey in the UK is booming again due to an increased number of amateur beekeepers. England's bees have been vanishing faster than anywhere else in Europe, with more than half the hives dying out over the past 20 years due to diseases, loss of habitat and a mysterious condition known as colony collapse disorder. But in the past three years, membership in the British Beekeeper's Association has doubled to just under 20,000 and there are now more than 80,000 hives in Britain compared to 40,000 in 2007. On average, each hive produces 32 pounds of honey worth US$250 to the beekeeper.

RESERVES

The U.S. holds the world's largest gold reserves: 8,133.5 tonnes worth US$387-billion. Germany is second with 3,402.5 tonnes worth $162-billion. Third is the International Monetary Fund with 2,907 tonnes worth $138-billion. Canada has gold reserves of 3.4 tonnes worth $162-million.

COMPENSATION

Two-thirds of workers surveyed around the world say they would be willing to take a 10 per cent lower salary at their next job in return for being able to telecommute and use wireless gear to do their jobs. 60 per cent said they don't think it is necessary to be in an office to be productive. The sentiment was most prevalent in China, Brazil and India, countries where workers tend to be younger than in Canada, the U.S. and Japan.

NUTS

China has developed an appetite for nuts. Along with demand for minerals and energy, consumers are craving walnuts, almonds and pecans. Wholesale prices for North American growers soared as much as 40 per cent last year. China bought about 100-million pounds of pecans in 2009, a quarter of the total crop in the U.S. and Mexico. California is one of the world's largest exporter of walnuts and grew 510,000 tons last year, an increase of 17 per cent and last year the state exported 1.39-billion pounds of almonds.

INDONESIA

With a population of 237 million, the GDP of Indonesia is US$617-billion. Its 2009 exports were $116.5-billion including crude oil, natural gas, crude palm oil, coal, appliances textiles and rubber while imports were worth $97-billion including refined oil and fuel, food, chemicals, capital goods, consumer goods, iron and steel. Canadian exports were worth $972-million, up 40 per cent from 2005 levels.

TRENDS

Soon, many American grocery stores will be carrying fill-your-own-wine machines. The machines carry between 500 and 1,000 litres each, all you supply is the container. By reducing the amount of packaging needs to contain and transport wine, there are substantial savings to pass on to consumers.

WATER

A fountain in Paris now dispenses chilled sparkling water to reduce the usage of bottles that need recycling.

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December 2010 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

December 2010 Edition

 RESERVES

Iraq has raised the estimate of the country's proven oil reserves to over 143-billion barrels, an increase of almost 25 per cent. The new figure puts Iraq third in the world in terms of known reserves, after Saudi Arabia with 266-billion barrels and Canada with 178-billion barrels if the oil sands are included.

PATENTS

Between 2006 and 2009, the number of patent applications in America, Europe and South Korea largely held steady. But filings in Japan sank while those in China soared. If the pattern holds, more patents may be filed in China this year than in Japan for the first time, putting China in striking distance of the U.S. As recently as 2000, Japanese patent filings were four times greater than China. Patents are a crude but useful measure of innovation.

BEAUTY

The biggest trend in the health and beauty care category is the niche marketing of products designed to make us feel our personal best. Some retailers now devote entire sections to gender-specific health and beauty care consumers. In a recent survey, almost nine out of ten U.S. women (86 per cent) have used a makeup product that contains a skin care benefit in the past year. The market for natural beauty products, or "nutricosmetics" is projected to reach US$2.5-billion by 2010, up from the current $1.5-billion.

TOILETS

China's housing boom has unleashed a bull market in cutting edge plumbing. Nearly 19-million toilets are sold each year in the country, roughly twice the number sold in the U.S.

SHIPPING

Canada is waiving the 25-per cent tax on imported cargo vessels which will save ship owners C$25-million a year for 10 years. The measure applies to general cargo vessels, tankers and large ferries and responds to Canada's need to maintain a modern and efficient shipping industry that serves as a vital transportation link for Canada's internal and external trade in agriculture, mining and manufacturing.

CARPETS

Iran's carpet industry is likely to lose a major source of revenue when U.S. sanctions banning the import of Persian carpets are implemented. The export of hand-woven carpets generates about US$500-million annually for Iran's economy with 20 per cent of the total earned in the U.S. market.

COUPLES

Marriages in the U.S. fell to a record low in 2009, with just 52 per cent of adults 18 and over saying they were joined in wedlock, compared with 57 per cent in 2000. The never-married included 46.3 per cent of young adults 25-34, with sharp increases in single people in cities in the Midwest and Southeast. It was the first time the share of unmarried young adults exceeded those who were married. Sociologists say younger people are increasingly choosing to delay marriage as they struggle to find work and resist long-term commitments.

CROPS

Proposals to let European Union states decide for themselves whether to grow or ban genetically modified (GM) crops suffered a big setback as many of the bloc's largest governments confirmed they opposed the plans. To pass, the proposals put forward by the EU need the support of a majority of EU states and lawmakers under the bloc's weighted voting system which gives larger states a greater say in the final decision. Farm ministers from Germany, France, Italy and Spain have all expressed doubts about the viability of the plan.

SALES

Supermarket sales in the U.S. reached US$437-billion in 2009. Nielsen Homescan data shows that the average supermarket basket rings in at $41.44 per trip, up just one per cent from $41.03 in 2008. Grocery purchases fared better as losses for restaurants turned into gains for supermarkets. Fresh food categories, about 51 per cent of total supermarket sales, had sales of $255-billion. Egg sales dropped by 15 per cent and milk by 5 per cent. Packaged meat sales increased by 4 per cent to $55-billion.

INDIA

While digital technology is affecting traditional print newspapers in the rich countries, it is not so in India where, since 2005, the number of paid-for Indian daily newspaper titles has surged by 44 per cent to 2,700. One reason is that only 7 per cent of Indians surf the web regularly. The growth of Indian newspapers is driven by rising literacy and a booming economy. Granted, only 65 per cent of adult Indians can read, but this is twice as many as what it was three decades ago. Papers are cheap, only nine cents each, and many households buy more than one daily.

GRADUATES

Britain has lost its status as one of the world's leaders in producing graduates. The rate of students gaining degrees has dropped leaving the U.K trailing the likes of Poland, Denmark, Portugal and Norway. Figures released recently reveal that Britain has fallen from third in a table of developed countries in 2000 to 15th by 2008. In 2000, 37 per cent of 18 to 21 year-olds in the UK gained degrees. Only New Zealand with 50 per cent and Finland with 41 per cent were higher.

TVs

A historically large oversupply of LCD TV panels is causing television prices to fall in time for the holiday shopping season. It is estimated that prices will fall by 12 per cent from 2009 levels and perhaps by even more. The forecasted price plunge stems from an enormous surplus of LCD panels that accumulated over the first nine months of the year. Shipments of the panels rose to 52-million in the second quarter of 2010 but only 38.7-million TVs were shipped to retailers. The average cost of a 32-inch LCD TV in 2005 was US$1,566; today it is about $375.

FOOD

The amount of imported food landing on Canadian dinner plates is growing but the federal agency responsible for inspecting what Canadians eat relies to a large extent on inspectors in other countries to ensure it is safe. An internal audit of the way the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) manages the safety of imported food says the agency has failed to develop a strategy to ensure that health hazards are not entering Canada. The problem is largely related to a lack of resources which has dogged the agency for years. 77 per cent of Canadians are concerned about the safety of the food they eat.

WIND

A major UK report states that off shore wind farms cost twice as much to produce electricity as gas and coal powered stations and will need subsidies for at least 20 years. Britain is now the world's biggest off shore power generator, producing as much as the rest of the world put together. But costs of building the farms have doubled due to the spiralling prices for steel and the drop in the value of the pound. Wind farm power now cost 90 per cent more than fossil fuel generators and 50 per cent more than nuclear.

EMPLOYMENT

A study of 90 cities around the world has found Toronto is the most attractive place for employers. Montreal is fifth and Vancouver 13th in a "people risk" index that tracks challenges that employers face in recruiting, employing and relocating employees. The global report compares education, employment practices and government regulations. Canadian cities fare well because of their inflow of new people, equal opportunity, multilingual work force and high literacy. Toronto was followed by New York and Singapore/London tied.

HONG KONG

In 2004 a Hong Kong businessman leased a set of old munitions bunkers and converted them to wine cellars. This was at a time when few East Asians had a taste for wine. Despite a heavy sales tax that depressed demand, the venture flourished and four years later the bunkers contained 100,000 bottles. In early 2008, the tax was cut to zero and since then 400,000 more bottles have been added to the bunkers and a vast new warehouse is being built. The big wine auction houses say that Hong Kong is now more important than New York and London combined.

ENERGY

Electricity is taken for granted in rich countries. But the International Energy Agency estimates that 1.44-billion people lack access to electricity, all but 3-million living outside the rich world, the vast majority in villages. India, with 404-million citizens not connected to a grid has slightly more than half of all people in Asia's developing countries who live without electricity. Almost 587-million in sub-Saharan Africa do without electricity. Also, some 2.7-billion people across the world still cook on inefficient stoves that burn polluting fuels based on biomass like cowdung, firewood or crop residue.

GASOLINE

Most countries tax gasoline, but the amount varies enormously. According to the OECD U.S gas taxes are among the lowest in the world. Germans pay an average of $$3.25 in taxes on a gallon of gas, among the highest. Citizens of Britain, France and Finland pay more than $3.00 a gallon. Tax in the U.S. averages a mere $0.39. America's reluctance to tax gas more heavily helps to explain why Americans drive much more than Europeans, though the country's size is a factor too. Mexico is the only OECD country that subsidises gasoline.

COTTON

The steep rise in the price of raw cotton is rippling through the global supply chain in the textile and apparel sectors. Prices for cotton have almost doubled over the past year as supplies tightened amid robust demand. Recently, weather-related shortages in China and Pakistan and a curb on Indian exports have added to the supply restraints. However, some observers are calling for a drop in cotton prices over the next few months as global inventory is built up again thanks to bumper crops in the U.S. and the resumption of exports from India.

LUXURY

After luxury car market's most severe downturn in decades, smaller, less ostentatious models from premium automakers were expected to lead the rebound. Instead, the costliest and largest sedans made by BMW, Mercedez-Benz, Audi and Lexus have fuelled a sales boom this year, particularly in China and the U.S. China sales of all Mercedes models more than doubled through August, while BMW's have climbed 96 per cent and Audi's 68 per cent. Globally, total sales of all cars and light trucks are on track to climb 10 per cent to 70.4-million vehicles for all of 2010.

RESEARCH

A European project to develop an application environment for every internet-connected device has received 10-million Euros in funding. The project aims to sidestep operating systems and proprietary applications by providing a web-based approach. The idea would enable a given application to work, for example, on a web-ready television, in a car and cell phone, no matter the makers of the devices. However, industry insiders say the idea is not likely to get off the ground.

COLLAGES

Kodak, which suffered eroding profits over the last decade, has developed a patented technology that automatically enlarges, shrinks, crops, aligns and arranges as many as 13 images on one print to be put in precut cardboard mats. The company, which has installed 100,000 self-service kiosks at retail businesses worldwide since 1993 will roll-out the collage option in December in 5,000 U.S. pharmacies.

BENEFITS

In 2008, according to U.S. tax data, almost 3,000 millionaires received unemployment benefits.

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November 2010 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

November 2010 Edition

ENERGY

Europe must triple its efficiency measures if it wants to slash energy consumption 20 per cent over the next decade, according to a recent study. Europe could save US$104-billion a year by 2020 if it uses energy more efficiently, a savings of about $450 per household. The 27-nation European Union is lagging behind that efficiency goal. The EU has adopted a 20-20-20 program to cut 20 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions and to get 20 per cent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020.

FUEL

Scientists in Scotland have unveiled a new biofuel made from whisky byproducts that they say can power ordinary cars more efficiently than ethanol. The team spent two years creating the biofuel butanol that can be used in gas tanks either as a stand-alone fuel or blended with gasoline or diesel. It is derived from distillation byproducts pot ale (liquid from copper stills) and draff (the spent grains), all of which are excess materials from producing whisky. Global exports of Scotch rose to a record US$4.85-billion last year and accounted for about a quarter of all food and drink exports from the U.K.

JAPAN

The government in Japan says suicides and depression cost its economy almost US$32-billion last year. The figure refers to lost incomes and the cost of treatment. It is the first time Japan has released such figures. Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates, with more than 32,000 people killing themselves last year and the number of suicides exceeding 30,000 for 12 straight years.

BRANDS

The latest annual ranking of brands has Coca-Cola top with a value of US$70.5-billion. This was followed by IBM at $64.7-billion, Microsoft, $60.9-billion, Google, $43.6-billion and GE, $42.8-billion. Apple increased its brand value this year by 37 per cent, Google by 36 per cent and BlackBerry, 32 per cent. The biggest losers were Harley-Davidson whose brand dropped 24 per cent, BP which lost 17 per cent and Toyota which was down 16 per cent in brand value.

RIPOFFS

Some 90 tonnes of counterfeit goods illicitly bearing such designer names as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Chanel and Gucci were destroyed recently in Thailand to show Thailand's commitment to observing intellectual property rights. Destroyed were more than 600,000 fake and pirated items valued at US$75.6-million. Fake goods, many from China, are openly for sale throughout Thailand but the government wants to see the U.S. remove Thailand from its Priority Watch List of countries with serious violations of intellectual property rights.

LOCKUPS

Prison tourism is on the rise with people now paying to get into jail. Defunct prisons all over the world have found a second life by operating as tourist attractions, museums and even hostels offering everything from spooky evening tours by candlelight to the chance to stay overnight in a cell, and of course a gift shop.

CHARGING

Cell phone users will be able to charge their devices wirelessly for the first time in 2012. Fujitsu, the Japanese technology company, has created a system capable of simultaneously charging multiple portable electronic devices such as cell phones, digital cameras and laptop computers without the need for cable connections. According to Fujitsu, electric car users may also eventually be able to charge their vehicle wirelessly using the same technology. The technology works on the basis of the transmission of electricity using magnetic fields between the charge and the device and will work at distances up to several metres.

YOGA

More than 30-million Americans practise some sort of yoga in an ever-expanding industry which generates an estimated US$46-billion annually. In India, birthplace of yoga, a government agency is fighting what it calls "yoga theft" after several U.S. companies said they wanted to copyright or patent their versions of yoga.

FUNERALS

When the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) was recently introduced in Ontario and British Columbia, people rushed to prepay their funerals. On a C$10,000 funeral, the new HST adds about $800 in Ontario and $700 in B.C. Many funeral homes launched marketing campaigns earlier this year to let potential customers know about the savings. There was roughly a 40 per cent jump in prepaid funerals in the months before the new tax came into effect.

EDUCATION

Tertiary education pays off for both the individual and the wider community. In countries where most of the workforce has an upper secondary education (ie most industrialised countries), a college or university qualification gives recipients extra earning power and generates tax revenues for the country in which they work. On average across those rich countries that are members of the ACCEDE, the total return for male graduates is greater than US$230,000, more than half of which accrues to the individual.

FILTERING

A group of South African researchers has developed a filter that can purify water straight from the bottle. It sits inside a tube that can be fitted on top of a bottle and purifies water as it is poured into a cup. The filter is no bigger than an ordinary tea bag. The filter will not only stop harmful bacteria from getting into the water, it will also kill them. There are millions of people, many in Sub-Saharan Africa who still do not have access to safe drinking water. A commercial market also exists for those who go camping and hiking.

VALUE

What may be the oldest share certificate has been found north of Amsterdam. A university researcher found the receipt for a founder share in the Dutch East India Company dated September 9, 1606. Auctioneers estimate that the share, the fourth of its kind to emerge, may be worth as much as US$788,000. The Dutch East India Company sent ships from the Low Countries to the East Indies and was founded in 1602. It raised money from anyone prepared to participate and initially paid dividends in spices and pepper.

ACCIDENTS

The number of workers who died on the job in the U.S. fell by 17 per cent last year to the lowest level in nearly two decades as workers logged fewer hours during the recession. The 4,340 workplace fatalities recorded in 2009 was the smallest total since the Bureau of Labor began tracking the data in 1992. There was a 10 per cent drop in 2008 because of unemployment and layoffs in the more dangerous industries, like construction.

SHRIMP

An invasive species of predatory shrimp has been found for the first time in the U.K. The shrimp preys on a range of native species, such as fresh water invertebrates, particularly native shrimp, and even young fish. This alters the ecology of habitats and could cause extinctions. The shrimp often kills its prey and leaves it uneaten. The shrimp is native to the steppe region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and it is believed to have invaded Western Europe via the Danube.

THE PRESS

France's newspapers are kept in a state of "permanent artificial respiration" by the annual billion euros in state aid they get and badly need to shake themselves up to survive, according to a recent report. The government commissioned report, laments that the massive subsidies have failed to create the emergence or the presence of political and general press titles that were strong and not dependent on public aid. The aid even had the effect of discouraging newspapers from trying to find sustainable financial strategies.

WHEAT

French soft-wheat shipments outside the European Union will rise to a record this season as buyers including Egypt rely on the country to make up for Russia's export ban on grains. Shipments outside the EU are expected to jump 12 per cent to 11-million tonnes from 9.8-million tonnes a year earlier. France can offer lower-priced wheat than the U.S., making it the default supplier to Africa and the Middle East in Russia's absence.

WOMEN

Women in Canada earn less than two-thirds of what men do, a ratio that has scarcely moved in more than a decade. Canadian women do better than their male counterparts in high school, college and university, but fall starkly behind on the bottom line, their paycheques. And the disparity looks even worse when compared with other developed countries. College and university-educated women in the OECD countries earn about 71 per cent of what men do. However, Statistics Canada reports that more than twice as many women as men worked part-time jobs in Canada which would account for much of the lag in pay equity.

EXPORTS

China's draconian export curbs on rare earth minerals needed by the rest of the world for frontier technologies is escalating into a serious diplomatic and trade clash with the U.S. and other leading powers. There have been angry complaints by companies outside China that rely on this family of 17 minerals for hybrid cars, mobile phones, superconductors, navigation and a host of high-tech industries. Beijing set off shockwaves in early July when it announced a 72 per cent reduction in rare earth exports.

GROWTH

India will overtake China as the world's fastest-growing economy as early as 2013 as it adds six times more workers to its labour pool than its northern neighbour. This will occur as China's age dependency ratio, or the proportion of children and elderly to the size of the working-age population declines. China's age-dependency ratio may reach 45.8 per cent by 2025 from 39.1 per cent in 2010. India's will drop to 47 per cent from 55 per cent.

PAIN

An IBM study of traffic in 20 major cities found Beijing has the highest rate of "commuter pain" followed by Mexico City and Johannesburg. Toronto had the eighth lowest rate, and Montreal the fourth lowest. Stockholm has the least painful commute.

APPS

A regional independent grocer in the U.S. is piloting a new iPhone App developed to help shoppers locate products in the store, find sale items and even view the exact location of their car in the parking lot. The application will allow shoppers to key in the exact product they desire and within seconds the location of the item will be represented by a pin placed precisely on a map of the interior of the store. Shoppers can also view a list of services available in the store and find their location.

TRADE

A new report says Canada has dragged its heels in developing trade with Southeast Asian nations. The region, commonly known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Individually these nations have little economic clout but together they represent a market of 600-million people with a GDP of US$1.5-trillion and 2008 trade of nearly $1.9-trillion. If this were one country, it would be the world's 10th largest economy.

LOST

Men waste thousands of dollars of fuel because they refuse to ask for directions when lost. A British insurance company found male drivers travel 444 unnecessary kilometres each year because they reject help when lost.

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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October 2010 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

October 2010 Edition

WEALTH

A recent survey estimates that the net wealth of Asian millionaires has eclipsed that of rich Europeans for the first time, largely because of the relative health of stock markets in Hong Kong, India and China last year. At the end of last year there were 3-million millionaires in both the Asia-Pacific and Europe. The wealth was quantified as US$9,700-billion in Asia against $9,500-billion in Europe. Millionaires in this survey were defined as people with net financial wealth of more than one million, excluding their primary residence. North Americans are still the best-off with 3.1-million millionaires worth $10,700-billion.

CATTLE

Only 94 of Britain's roughly 13,500 dairy farms currently raise more than 500 cows. Next year, it is planned to open the first mega-dairy based on the American Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO). The farm will be home to about 8,100 cows producing about a quarter million litres of milk each day. A concern is that CAFOs dump more waste than the land can cope with. Also, a Johns Hopkins University study on Industrial Farm Animal Production found evidence that those living near such farms suffered from asthma and other respiratory complaints.

TRANSPORTATION

Because of the U.S. government's failure to restore a program allowing Mexican trucks to operate north of the border, Mexican authorities have threatened to impose import tariffs on selected U.S. products. The products are to include pork and oranges as well as grapefruit, pistachios, chewing gum, cheese and ketchup. Mexico is waiting for the U.S. to propose a resolution to the standoff, which started when the U.S. Congress ended a pilot program allowing Mexican trucks to deliver goods in the U.S.

SHEEP

New Zealand's sheep farmers are flocking to a government carbon trading program that pays more to plant trees than sell wool and mutton. The system, the only one of its kind outside Europe, awards farmers credits that are sold to offset greenhouse emissions. The project can earn them about US$172 per acre on land unprofitable for grazing animals. Sheep have been in decline for decades in New Zealand falling from a high of about 70-million in 1982 to about 40-million currently. Since 1990, 28 per cent of land used for grazing sheep and beef has switched use.

TECHNOLOGY

It looks like an iPad, but it is only 1/14th the cost. India has unveiled the prototype of a US$35 basic touch screen tablet aimed at students which it hopes to bring into production by 2011. If the government can find a manufacturer, this will be the latest in a string of "world's cheapest" innovations from India, including the $2,127 Nano car, the $16 water purifier and the $2,000 open-heart surgery. The tablet, which has a solar power option, can be used for word processing, web browsing and video-conferencing.

TRENDS

Doctors at three health centres in Massachusetts have begun advising patients to eat "prescription produce" from local farmers markets in an effort to fight obesity in children of low-income families. Now they will give coupons amounting to $1.00 a day for each member of a patient's family to promote healthy meals. The goal is to get them to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables by one serving a day.

ECONOMIES

China is getting closer to surpassing Japan as the world's second-largest economy, an unprecedented position for a still-developing country. In 2009, the world's largest economy was the U.S. with a GDP of $14.26-trillion. This was followed by Japan at $5.07-trillion and China at $4.91-trillion. Next were Germany, $3.35-trillion, France with $2.68-trillion and Britain with $2.18-trillion. Canada's GDP was $1.34-trillion.

VEHICLES

Today, a growing number of U.S. men are registered owners of cars (59 per cent up from 51 per cent four years earlier), while there are fewer female owners (41 per cent down from 49 per cent). Marketers often assume that women drive 80 per cent of auto purchasing decisions when, in fact, they are involved in only 65 per cent of them on average. Canadian Tire Corp is rushing to bolster business by returning to its roots as a man's store. It is more prominently displaying its auto-related departments after years of adding more picture frames, candles and other home decor products to lure women.

CAMERAS

The world's first 3D camera and printing service has been launched without the need for special glasses. Fujifilm's camera takes two photos simultaneously from its two lenses which are fixed a similar distance apart to human eyes. Using "lenticular" technology, the separate left and right eye images are interlaced on a furrowed surface to create the stereoscopic illusion. The new camera also incorporates a high definition 3D video camera, allowing users to watch their home movies back on any 3D TV.

SIZE

According to the latest World Investment Report, General Electric holds foreign assets worth US$401-billion, more than any non-financial firm. The American conglomerate has half of its assets abroad. For Vodaphone, a UK telecoms company and ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based steel maker, the share of foreign assets is more than 90 per cent. Six of the ten biggest transnational corporations by foreign assets are from the oil or power industries. Exxon Mobil has the largest foreign sales of $322-billion. Toyota, the world's biggest car maker was the only Asian firm among the top 12.

GLASS

An ultra-strong glass that has been looking for a purpose since its invention in 1962 is poised to become a multibillion-dollar bonanza for Corning Inc. The company is ramping up production of what it calls Gorilla glass, expected to be the hot new face of touch-screen tablets and high-end TVs. Gorilla is very hard to break, dent or scratch and is two to three times stronger than chemically strengthened versions of ordinary soda-lime glass. Gorilla can also be thinner than a dime, saving on weight and shipping costs.

PURCHASING

According to recent U.S. government data, Americans are spending more on electronics like iPads and flat-screen televisions and less on durable goods like furniture, washing machines and lawn mowers. The shift reflects a change in priorities for American consumers. After pouring money into all aspects of their homes during the previous decade, consumers are redirecting their purchases to eye-grabbing technology and putting more of what is left over into savings.

GIVING

Nearly 40 ultra-wealthy individuals and families have pledged to give away half or more of their fortunes to charity. This in answer to a challenge issued by famed investor Warren Buffet and Microsoft founder Bill Gates earlier in the year. The first group of people to commit to the initiative includes technology titans and media moguls, financiers and tycoons, new money and old. If all of the 400-odd billionaires in the U.S. made the same vow, more than US$600-billion would be directed to good works.

RICE

Global warming is cutting rice yields in many parts of Asia. Yields have fallen by 10 to 20 per cent over the last 25 years in some locations. A group of mainly U.S.-based scientists studied records from 227 farms in six important rice-producing countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, India and China. This is the latest in a line of studies to suggest that climate change will make it harder to feed the world's growing population by cutting yields.

ALLERGIES

Food allergies and sensitivities are a serious and growing problem in developed countries. Experts estimate that as many as 60-million people in the U.S. are affected, either with a personal condition or through a family member and that number is increasing every year. A recent survey showed that allergies and sensitivities often affect more than one person in a household, with 45 per cent of respondents having two or more allergy sufferers in a single household, while 20 per cent have three or more sufferers.

EXPORTS

Last year, iron ore and coal alone accounted for nearly C$1.6-billion in Canadian exports to China. This represented $1-billion more than in 2008. Industry Canada statistics suggest considerable growth in 15 of Canada's top 25 export industries to China, with the largest increases in oilseed, iron ore and coal. Those three exports alone rose to nearly $3-billion in 2009 over the previous year's total of $1.3-billion. When compared with stats for Canada's exports to the U.S. the numbers show that only one of the top 25 Canadian exports to the U.S. increased in that same period and that was pharmaceutical.

FOOD

Imports of organic food products into the European Union are likely to increase sharply as demand outstrips domestic supply. Retail spending on organic foods averaged a total of US$18.69-billion in 2006 and 2007. More than 80 per cent of total retail spending was concentrated in four EU countries: Germany, Britain, France and Italy. In terms of production, organic farming accounted for 4.3 per cent of the EU's total agricultural area in 2008 at 7.7-million hectares.

PIRACY

The number of pirate attacks dropped during the first half of the year, thanks to the actions of the world's navies and vessel operators. According to the International Maritime Bureau, there were 196 pirate incidents during the first six months of 2010, compared with 240 incidents in 2009. They included 31 vessel highjackings, 48 ships being fired on and 70 boarded, with one crew member killed and 597 taken hostage. The coast of Somalia is the worst-hit area, with 100 pirate attacks.

UNDERDOGS

Apple, certainly no longer an underdog with US$222-billion in market capitalization, routinely depicts itself as the embattled and cooler No. 2 to Microsoft, though it is in fact now No. 1.

ART

A year and a half after art prices plunged, the world's chief auction houses have recovered much of their momentum. In the U.S., Christie's art sales rebounded 110 per cent to $999.6 compared to last year. Christie's International sold US$2.57-billion of fine and decorative art in the first half of the year, up 43 per cent from a year earlier. Rival Sotheby's auctioned $2.2-billion in the first half, more than double a year ago. Long-time collectors in the U.S. and Europe are still seeking potential bargains but are facing tougher competition from new Asian bidders.

RIVERS

Massive underwater rivers that flow along the bottom of oceans have been discovered. Researchers working in the Black Sea have found currents of water 350 times greater than the River Thames flowing along the sea bed, carving out channels much like a river on land. The undersea river, which is up to 115 feet deep in places, even has rapids and waterfalls, much like its terrestrial equivalents. If found on land, scientists estimate it would be the world's sixth largest river in terms of the amount of water flowing through it.

PRODUCTION

Performing Shakespeare to cows helps them produce more milk. An English theatre group has discovered that renditions of the Bard's prose were found to "relax" dairy herds and boosted production by four per cent. The actors selected scenes from the Merry Wives of Windsor for their audience of Friesians.

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 2010 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

September 2010 Edition

MARKETS

According to a U.S. rating agency, America's stockmarkets, with a total market capitalization of US$15.1-trillion at the end of last year, were the world's largest. They were also the world's most active, with shares worth nearly $47-trillion, triple the market capitalization, changing hands during the year. Among emerging markets, only China's make the top ten either by market capitalization or value traded. The number of domestic companies listed on Indian exchanges is the largest in the world.

OUTSOURCING

After years of whittling staff and cutting back services, U.S. cities and towns are now outsourcing some of the most basic functions of local government, from policing to trash collection. Services that cities can no longer provide are being contracted to private vendors, counties, or even neighbouring towns. Maywood, a small California town of 40,000 is letting go of its entire staff and contracting with outsiders to perform all city services. The city is disbanding its police force and handing public safety over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff.

BROADBAND

Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen. As of last July, every Finn has the right to have access to a 1Mpbs (megabit per second) broadband connection, meaning all telecommunication companies are obliged to provide all residents with broadband lines that can run at this minimum speed. The country has vowed to connect everyone to a 100 Mbps connection by 2015.

LABOUR

As economies across the developed world fell into recession, legal permanent immigration to the mostly rich members of the OECD declined by 6 per cent after five years during which growth averaged 11 per cent. Despite the slowdown in the arrival of new immigrants, the number of foreign-born workers in most OECD countries rose in 2008 from a year earlier. In 2007, one in every four workers in Australia was born abroad; in 2008 that share rose to 26.5 per cent. Among OECD countries for which data is available, the share of the foreign-born fell only in Luxembourg, Austria Belgium and France. The number in America rose by 308,000 in 2008, to 25.1-million.

MILK

European grocery shelves may soon be stocked by milk from camels. Promoters from the United Arab Emirates say the milk is very healthy. People with lactose intolerance can drink it, unlike cow's milk: it doesn't contain protein allergies and it is high in insulin. Similar in taste and appearance to cow's milk, camel milk is closer in composition to human milk. The European Union is sending a panel to inspect the UAE's two dairy farms. By next year, the milk may be exported to the U.S. and Canada, as well as China and Hong Kong. It is likely to cost at least US$1.50 more per litre than regular milk.

FLOODING

Heavy rains have washed away two million seeded acres in Western Canada this summer, lowering the yearly total 10-million below the five year average. The maximum estimated total seed acreage in Western Canada is 52-million. Farmers typically spend C$70- $110.00 per acre depending on types of crops grown and the areas in which they are seeded. Industry sales are expected to decline by 17 per cent this year. The average annual value of Western Canadian agri-products is around $4.6-billion.

OPIUM

According to the U.N Office of Drugs, The global production of opium declined from 8,890 tonnes in 2007 to 7,750 tonnes last year. Most opium, which is derived from poppies, is converted into heroin. Two-thirds of the balance is used in just five countries: Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Russia, Nearly nine-tenths of the world's poppy cultivation takes place in Afghanistan, though significant amounts come from Mexico, Myanmar and Colombia. Afghan production has declined for each of the past two years.

CONSCRIPTION

If a young person refuses to undertake military conscription in Germany, they are obliged to spend nine months in community service instead. This may mean anything from delivering hot meals to pensioners or reading to elderly in old-age homes. Some 90,000 a year man hospitals, sports clubs and kindergartens across Germany. These people are not supposed to replace regular workers but they provide useful, and for some people, vital extra services. However, the government has decided to shorten basic military service and may eliminate it altogether. This could have a significant effect on the number of young people available to help many German charities.

WORTH

The Economist reports that in 2009, the world was home to 10-million people who had at least US$1-million to invest. Between them, such people had a total of $39-trillion in investible assets. America is home to 2.9-million very wealthy people, over a quarter of the world's total. Although it had only 127,000 high-net-worth individuals in 2009, India saw the number of such people grow by 50 per cent last year alone. Among the countries studied, the chances of running into a very wealthy person are highest in Switzerland, where 30 out of 1,000 people make the cut.

WASTE

A new study indicates that Americans are wasting billions by tossing food mistakenly believed to be spoiled. 76 per cent of U.S consumers studied, believe certain foods are unsafe to eat after the date printed on the packaging has passed. The dates on food packages are very conservative and food scientists agree that most foods, if stored properly, can be safely consumed for days, or even weeks, past the package date. If just 61 per cent of Americans needlessly discard just a quarter gallon of milk each month, they would be wasting US$700-million each year.

CYCLING

Mexico City has now installed 1,200 "pay-as-you-go" rental bikes at 85 docking stations. Since February, 7,000 people have signed up and taken more than 200,000 trips. This adds to a global trend of municipally endorsed cycling, a low-tech scheme started in the French town of La Rochelle in 1974. Copenhagen launched its first big automated project in 1995. German cities, including Berlin, have versions paid for by mobile phones. But Paris is the most successful with 20,000 bikes available for users with swipe cards. And London introduced a 6,000 bike programme at 400 docking stations last July.

INCOME

The State Senate of California has endorsed a feasibility study to have the Department of Motor Vehicles experiment with electronic, wirelessly connected digital licence plates that could display advertisements whenever a car comes to a halt at a stop sign or a red light. With a deficit of US$19-billion, the state could certainly use the income.

CHRISTMAS

Selfridges in Oxford Street, London started its Christmas sales on August 2nd of this year, 145 days before the holiday. The store says that previous sales had shown that some customers, especially overseas tourists, start thinking about Christmas during August.

CHAMPAGNE

Divers have found 30 bottles of champagne thought to pre-date the French Revolution on the Baltic seabed. When one was opened, they found the wine, believed to have been made by Clicquot (now Verve Clicquot) between 1782 and 1788, to be in good condition. If confirmed, this will be the oldest drinkable champagne in the world. Wine experts estimate that each bottle would fetch around US$69,000 at auction.

CLAIMS

About one Italian car in 12 is involved in a claim each year, compared with one in 23 in France which has a similar number of people and cars. The result is sky-high premiums with Italians paying well over twice as much for their annual car insurance as French drivers. Premiums increased by 18 per cent in Italy between 2002 and 2009, against an average of 7 per cent in the rest of Europe. Fraud plays a large part in this. It is estimated that in the Provinces of Naples and Caserta the fraud rate is at least 12 per cent of claims. One in six cars in Naples was apparently involved in an accident last year.

RULES

British shoppers are to be banned from buying eggs by the dozen under new regulations approved by the European Parliament. For the first time, eggs and other products such as oranges and bread rolls will be sold by weight instead of by the number in the packet. Until now, Britain has been exempt from EU regulations that forbid selling goods by number. The move could cost millions of pounds because of changes that will have to be made to packaging and labelling. Costs that will likely be passed on to the consumer. Eggs used to be sold from trays but between the two world wars it was discovered that eggs kept longer if they were left standing on their ends, so the cartons of 12 and six were developed.

ONLINE

Nearly two million Britains have come online during the last year, over half of which are over 50 years of age. The net audience now stands at 38.8-million. Over-50s account for 31 per cent of the UK net audience The older generation are attracted to a range of sites, including travel, genealogy, fashion, video and community sites.

TRADE

Canada and the European Union will meet their target to sign an ambitious free trade agreement in 2011. Canada has been trying for years to sign a free trade deal with Europe. The European Union is Canada's second-largest export market, behind the U.S. In 2009, Canadian exports to the EU totalled C$29.8-billion. Canada expects trade to rise by 20 per cent in the five years after the deal is enforced.

PROPERTY

Canadians bought more U.S. properties than the citizens of any other country in the past year. Canadians bought 23 per cent of all homes sold to foreigners to March of 2010. Mexicans came in second at 10 per cent, the U.K. 9 per cent, China 8 per cent and Germany 7 per cent rounded out the top five countries. There were US$907-billion of sales in the time period studied and foreigners are estimated to have spent $41-billion meaning that Canadians spent about $9.5-billion on U.S. real estate.

CHILDREN

More American women are choosing not to have children than three decades ago. Nearly 20 per cent of older women do not have children, compared to 10 per cent in the 1970s. One in five white women between 40-44 were childless in 2008, compared with 17 per cent of black and Hispanic women and 16 per cent of Asian women. The survey found that 41 per cent of adults said that children are very important for a good marriage, down from 65 per cent in 1990.

LIVESTOCK

The genetic diversity of Africa's indigenous livestock needs to be tapped before it is lost forever according to experts. Native breeds have adapted to tolerate parasites or produce robust milk yields in harsh conditions. Indigenous breeds are dying out as farmers switched to cattle from developed nations.

ENDORSEMENTS

Inmates at eight prisons in Alberta and Saskatchewan recently voted on which treats to stock in their prison snack bars. They voted for Old Dutch, giving the potato chip maker exclusive rights to supply all snack foods to the canteens where prisoners spend their hard earned cash. The one-year contract is worth about C$400,000 and can be renewed for another two years.

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