BEACON

An apple industry head from the US said Washington apples had great future in the Asian markets including Iraq, Iran, India, and even China as they were tastier and of higher quality than the ones which were presently available in these markets. Although China produces 50 percent of the global apple basket and made available [...]

The recent emergency meeting summoned by the UK Health Minister Mike O’Brien with the trade bodies to condemn and act against the parallel drug trade may become a lip service if the government fails to implement its action plan. Though government has enunciated stern action against the perpetrators who were selling the allotted medicines for [...]

According to the recent National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) sessions, China is expected to consider serious changes in its exim policy while re-balancing its economy. Though exports will continue to remain the focal point of economic growth yet it is understood to remove some import restrictions aimed at increasing [...]

A Vietnamese trade representative to Taipei rebutted the allegations of dried day lily from China being routed through his country to bypass Taiwanese restrictions on Chinese agricultural products. His reaction came after the Taiwanese opposition, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused that dried day lilies arriving at Taiwan markets from Vietnam were from China as [...]

In the latest data provided by the Tea Board of Kenya indicate that the country has usurped the throne of Sri Lanka for the first time as the biggest tea exporter in the world. While Kenya exported 342mn kg last year Sri Lanka could only supply 280mn kg to the world tea market during the [...]

Based on the last month’s report on El Nino by the US Climate Prediction Center, the global rice production as well as other food products will be drastically impacted by the ongoing climatic phenomenon. El Nino, characterized by a warming of the equatorial Pacific, brings increased rain to the South American region and drought or [...]

The trade ministers of an alliance of Latin American Countries (ALBA) will meet today to discuss the operational launch of a regional electronic currency. In last April, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the leftist leaders of the region agreed to minimize the US dollar dependence by launching a Latin American currency styled in line with [...]

The International Trade Centre (ITC) has launched a comprehensive, interactive trilingual online version of its Cotton Exporter’s Guide as an outreach to improve the skills and abilities of developing countries in cotton trading and marketing. The ITC’s latest press release stated the new online initiative featured an open source content management platform that will enable [...]

In the wake of repeated requests from International Confederation of European Beet Growers (CIBE) and other sugar agencies of Europe to export surplus sugar, the EU as a ‘matter of urgency’ is planning to seek legal means to breach the WTO ceiling on sugar exports. A month ago, it was estimated by CIBE that the [...]

The Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao gave assurance to the visiting Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma that his country would do everything to iron out trade imbalances with India. New Delhi had been complaining about the trade deficit for the past few years as its largest trading partner’s exports recorded lopsided growth after years [...]