Dr Charlotte Williams, head of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) said the search for greener plastics, especially for single use items such as food packaging, was the subject of significant research worldwide. The EPSRC says about seven percent of fossil fuels are used to manufacture plastics; with global production pegged at more than 150mn tons annually, almost 99 percent of plastics are made out of them.

The latest invention will seize the place of hitherto indispensable polluting plastics with its disposability and application quotient. The sugar-based polymer known as lignocellulosic biomass could be composted at home along with organic waste.

It is expected to be used in a variety of medical applications such as tissue regeneration, stitches and drug delivery as the polymer is supposed to have non-toxic properties which decompose in the body creating harmless by-products. The EPSRC is jointly making efforts with its commercial partner BioCeramic Therapeutics to make this a reality.

Currently, the largely used bio-degradable plastic, polylactide production requires high energy and large quantity of water and degraded in a high-temperature industrial facility. While the new polymer is produced through non-food crops including fast-growing trees and grasses, or renewable biomass from agricultural or food waste and has natural molecules to get absorbed with other organic waste.

As the production of the new packaging plastic would not cause any harm to the food crop resources, it is regarded as a relief from polluting petro-chemical ones. “Our key breakthrough was in finding a way of using a non-food crop to form a polymer, as there are ethical issues around using food sources in this way,” said Williams.

Toboc Trade News

The report titled “Sending Money Home to Africa” stated although transfer costs had considerably declined in Latin America and the Asian countries, sending money to migrant workers’ loved ones in Africa is still expensive, with fees as high as 25 percent of the total. Furthermore, about 30 to 40 percent of the remittances to Africa have to find way to remote places without collection centres, and the recipients have to travel great distances to collect their cash as the number of collection points across the entire continent is the same as for Mexico, which has a tenth of the population.

The Assistant President of IFAD, Kevin Cleaver said that supporting this people-to-people money flow to rural areas of Africa was especially vital now because of the global recession. He added in the UN press release that the best way to utilize the power of remittances was by easing restrictions and making it less costly for the African families to collect them.

The findings of the report said the global remittances top $300bn per year, outstripping foreign direct investment (FDI) and development assistance combined, but high fees and logistical difficulties are hampering the power of remittances to lift people out of poverty. The G8 group of industrialized countries summit in July has acknowledged the development impact of remittance flows, and has set a target of reducing the cost of remittances by 50 percent over the next five years, to promote a competitive environment by removing existing barriers.

Toboc Trade News

The Energy and Mines Ministry in its statement said that the electric power auction was scheduled on August 25, and the lowest bidders would be deemed the winners, in accordance with the template set by the government for all energy auctions in the past.

Under the prevailing auction rules, generators put up for bid will supply electricity to the distributors. The energy firms will try to bid for electric power on Aug 25 to deliver until 2012 or beyond that time.

North-eastern parts of Brazil are identified as a region with strong winds, and a majority of country’s existing wind farms are located here. Government expressed confidence in venturing into the wind energy generation in a big way as there are many untapped areas in country that could be addressed through public-private partnership in this field.

Government stated the auctioning mechanism was aimed at increasing energy generation through wind resources as well as to guarantee a uniform price for the delivery of power laid down by the auction. It also felt that it further ensured a regular source of income for the government through the long-term contracts with the energy companies.

The government estimates that the country is capable of generating 140,000 MW of wind power, or 10 times the electricity produced by Itaipu, a hydroelectric project jointly operated with Paraguay and the world’s largest power plant of its kind. According to 2007 figures, Brazil consumed just 0.1 percent of total power expended. Details of the terms and conditions of the contract and auction formalities will be made available soon the communiqué added.

Toboc Trade News

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during his visit to five Middle East countries in 2003 had urged for a common platform of interaction between the two regions, and as a result, the first summit was held in Brazil in 2005. Although, various political issues are there to be addressed by both blocs, taking into account the present global economic crisis, the summit is likely to focus on the larger need of bilateral economic activity. However, experts did not rule out the possibility of covering several political issues during the summit including Israel’s 22 day-long destruction of Palestine, arrest warrant of Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and the Britain’s Falkland Island claim over Argentina.

Recommendations from an Arab and South American business forum that is conducted on the sidelines of the meet will be submitted to the parent summit. Minister of Business and Trade Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim al Thani of Qatar has stated at the forum that there should be FTAs in place to enhance the trade volumes. He further added the two-way trade between the blocs was just $10bn in 2005, and the same has touched $21bn in 2008, an increase of 50 percent. In his keynote speech he appealed the summit to review the requirement for joint chamber of commerce to frequently exchange both parties’ needs and views.

According to a final draft that would be tabled at the summit will seek assurances from all the member-states to mutually support each other in every international fora; and in increasing trade, energy and technological exchanges. The summit gains significance especially because there are three members of this summit including Brazil, Argentina and Saudi Arabia that would be participating in the G-20 Meet in London later this week to update on both blocs’ needs. The third version of the Arab-South American summit will be held in Peru in 2011.

Toboc Trade News

Obama argued that investors still regarded the US “the strongest economy in the world with the most stable political system”. Similarly, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have also completely disapproved the notion of having a global currency shift, and contended that the markets across the world have considerable confidence in the US dollar.

The visiting Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd has ruled out the possibility of usurping the US dollar with any other currency. However, Rudd said later that he would review any late Chinese edition on this issue with respectful interest. China is one of the largest trading partners of Australia in the world.

IMF First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky stated that the debate on a single global currency was not new, but it emphasized a general concern about the strength of the global economic and financial system. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that it should be given a serious thought since the call had originated from the emerging economic quarter, and he added that it is possible to be considered as a long-term option.

China’s stance is understood to have emerged in line with the standpoint of new economic entities including Russia, India and Brazil. According to sources, the list is growing ahead of the next week’s G-20 Summit with South Korea and South Africa already rooting for such a debate.

The issue in recent times gained momentum while the Canadian economist Robert Mundell backed a similar proposal by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Mundell is the chief intellectual architect behind the creation of the Europe’s single currency system.

Toboc Trade News

The Forum emphasised on the need for providing safe and clean water terming it as a basic need for every inhabitant of the planet. On the contrary, an Alternative Water Forum that concluded on the same day as that of the WWF in the same city of Istanbul on Sunday criticized the Forum for encouraging privatization and commoditization of water. The WWF is held once in three years, and the curtains were down for the forum coinciding with the World Water Day on March 22.

The WWF is organized by the World Water Council, allegedly funded by two French water business powerhouses. Many countries from Latin America, Africa and Asia are understood to have expressed strong disagreement for not elevating water as a basic human right. Majority was of the opinion that the Forum should be under the UN flag, and the business should be conducted in a transparent and democratic manner than demoting it to a water trade show.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 880mn are deprived of potable water and 2.5bn do not have access to proper sanitation. And it is estimated by 2030, the figures for number of people deprived of drinking water alone will rise to 3.9bn. It should be recalled, these projections are excluding the adverse effects of climate change.

Ahead of the WWF, the UN had released a report that included warning on the global water crisis becoming a triggering factor for social unrest and political instability in several countries. Analysts felt the Forum should be just regarded has a platform to start discussion on the global water crisis, and the non-binding recommendations is likely to remain in paper until the WWF comes under the umbrella of any global decision making body.

Toboc Trade News

Al Mansouri encouraged the Canadian businesses to bank on the investment opportunities provided by his country in various sectors. He presented the remedial steps his government had taken to overcome the global economic crisis including support to banks and other measures during the meet. He also tried to draw attention to the fact that most multi-national companies are headquartered in the UAE, thus signalling Canadian companies to emulate.

Al Mansouri at another function had stated the country had stockpiled huge reserves of oil and most infrastructural projects had been completed. The UAE is home to almost 10 percent of oil reserves of the world. He had also said that actions by the federal government and Central Bank to disperse $33bn have largely helped the banks to get stabilised.

According to a latest US data, the UAE has surpassed Israel and Saudi Arabia as the US’ biggest export market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The UAE aims to maintain the trade momentum by inviting Canada, another largest trading partner from the Americas.

The Canadian Minister commended the UAE for its urban development and the country’s initiatives to diversify into other sectors. The two-way non-oil trade in 2007 between Canada and the UAE recorded about $1bn. The UAE has unleashed various projects in recent years to diversify from the traditional oil business, and the contribution of non-oil sectors to the national GDP is reported to have increased by more than 64% in 2007.

Toboc Trade News

When Fidel Castro took control of Cuba through the revolution of 1959, the US enticed both Central American countries to snap ties with the Communist island nation. El Salvador has not had any formal relations with the island since then, likewise, Costa Rica also detached diplomatically from Cuba in 1961.

Analysts stated Costa Rica’s volte-face was purportedly in response to softening of the US’ relations with Cuba post Obama. Last December at an extraordinary South American summit, Costa Rica had supported Cuba’s inclusion in the Rio Group which now comprises 22 Latin American and Caribbean states.

According to sources, the forthcoming Americas Summit in Trinidad & Tobago which is scheduled to be held on April 17-19 is likely to be a venue for the US to restore ties with Cuba. The summit also happens to be the US President Obama’s first platform to review his country’s relations with each South American nation including Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia.

Costa Rica, El Salvador and the United States are the only three countries in the region that Cuba has no diplomatic ties. Since Costa Rica and El Salvador have already acknowledged resuming ties with Cuba, it leaves just the US in the region to openly declare its stance.

Obama is sending his Vice President, Joe Biden to Chile and Costa Rica, and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton will be heading for Mexico by the end of this month to engage in friendly dialogues with these nations as a run up to the forthcoming summit. Obama is expected to unravel his agenda for Latin America during the next month summit.

Toboc Trade News

Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi has urged the international community to allow the IMF to offload some of its gold reserves to help African countries that were in serious trouble owing to the delay in promised funds and global downturn. African gold producers have opposed the idea but Zenawi feels the action would not impact the gold prices taking into account the present highs.

Africa needs about $50bn to tide over the drop in investments and over-all business. Zenawi added the emergency funds they needed was negligible as compared to the bailouts that had been handed out by several rich countries to their banks and companies.

Global economic crisis has affected almost all areas of the African economy and have significantly lowered foreign investment and aid. The continent fears worst humanitarian crisis by which people will die due to lack of food, and thereby escalate social tensions.

At the IMF conference for Africa last week, Trevor Manuel, South Africa’s finance minister aggressively stated Africa knew present crisis was the fallout of what and wanted to be set right by the same hands. South Africa is the only country from the African continent which is a member of G-20 group of nations. Manuel’s words signal the country will go all out to meet maximum of their demands on behalf of Africa than succumbing to any pressure in the forthcoming summit.

More than 20 African leaders attended the Consultative Meeting hosted by the British prime minister. At the G8 Gleneagles Summit in 2005 which was coincidently hosted by the UK, the group had committed approximately $65bn in aid by 2010.

Toboc Trade News

However, the quick response from the Obama administration indicates that they are in no mood to strain the relationship with its neighbour. It was very evident in the words of Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary while he said they did not want to create any barrier to the trade relations with Mexico especially in a time of economic crisis.

A week ago, Obama annulled the pilot programme that allowed the movement of some Mexican long-haul rigs or trucks through the US roads. Under NAFTA, in force since 1994, the Mexican trucks should be permitted to ply up to the north of the border as early as January 2000. But the Mexican vehicles are widely blamed for not complying with the safety standards of the US and also eating into the US truckers’ jobs.

Subsequently, Mateos rebutted the argument by stating that the Mexican trucks never violated safety norms despite there were about 46000 crossings during the 18 month old pilot programme as no noticeable accidents were being reported. Nonetheless, he further added that Mexico was open to talks and expressed confidence in resolving the issue soon.

It has been learned that Obama has instructed his officials concerned to have talks with Mexican officials to arrive at a solution as early as possible. The new tariff is likely to affect $2.4bn worth of American agricultural and industrial products from 40 states.

Nevertheless, the re-permission to the Mexican trucks are likely invite the ire of labour unions who gave support to Obama in the 2008 presidential election on a promise that NAFTA will be re-negotiated and modified to preserve the US jobs. The US is estimated to have spent $500mn for the pilot programme since its inception.

Toboc Trade News

The agreement will come into force only after the parliaments of both countries ratified it. The draft stipulates citizens of one country having valid passports will be able to get into the other country, leave it, fly through and stay in it without visas for less than 90 days during each period of 180 days starting from the date of the first entry. However, those who want to stay longer than 90 days or work in the other country must get a visa.

Taiana expressed satisfaction in signing the new deal as it would help traders from both nations to strengthen their business relations without going through any visa hassles. He pointed out that the visit of Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to Russia in last December had laid foundation to the new deal. Likewise, Korchagin stated that the document would improve possibilities of the citizens of both nations to frequently interact with one another.

According to sources, many other countries in the region including Brazil and Columbia are expected to sign similar deal with Russia in the coming days. Russia is encouraging like-minded countries to join the visa-free regime as a means to overcome global economic crisis. Russian foreign ministry is understood to push for the visa-free deal with the EU to leverage the closer to home advantage.

Toboc Trade News

In the latest Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report (TTCR) 2009 released by World Economic Forum, Pakistan stands at 113, two places down from the previous year, moreover, the list got longer from 130 to 133 this year. On the contrary, India and Sri Lanka despite a string of terrorist attacks during the same period witnessed an upward movement in the TTCR, from 65 to 62 and 78 to 73 respectively.

The reasons blamed for the dismal performance by Pakistan are government’s inactivity in improving infrastructural facilities, political uncertainty in spite of having an elected government and heightened security concerns of the tourists. Pakistan grossed $200mn from 800,000 visitors in 2007 whereas in the last year, they were able to attract 400,000 visitors and earned just half of the previous year’s income.

Experts forewarn that Pakistan’s travel & tourism industry has not hit the lowest point yet, and the coming months are likely to witness further fall in business. Pakistan’s Minister of Tourism, Ataur Rehman’s stand on enforcing norms on morality ground to foreign tourists including abstention from alcoholic drinks is also likely to play spoilsport to the fast failing sector.

Rehman stated in his recent interview that people were not coming from rest of the world as their governments have advised not to visit Pakistan. However, he acknowledged that terrorism has adversely affected investment and transformed the Pakistan’s bustling scenic tourist spots devoid of visitors. He also admitted the recent terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket players has even tampered with the sports tourism of the country.

Pakistan was one of the most sought after tourist destinations of the western world owing to its congenial climate, serene valleys and pocket-friendly expenditures. It is famous for its ancient Gandhara and Indus Valley Civilization. It also has beautiful mountainous region sprawled across with more than 100 peaks of above 7,000 metres (22,950 feet) in height. K-2 the second highest peak in the world after Everest is situated in this region.

Toboc Trade News

China has taken a slew of measures to improve its exports including raising value added tax rebates on exports five times since the end of July, alleged non-appreciation of its currency and made available stimulus package to export-oriented entities. It should be recalled that Timothy Geithner, before he assumed office as the US Treasury Secretary accused China of manipulating its currency during confirmation hearings. Many US businesses have expressed their displeasure to the Chinese currency malpractices which created favorable conditions to the Chinese exports in the global market.

Chinese exporters feel that though the country is taking effective steps by exploring to new markets, the falling demand in the Western world would directly impact their exports as the new markets are basically export-dependent ones and their consumption is insignificant as compared to the West. According to sources, the recovery could be anticipated any time later than this year end.

Analysts claim the export-based industry employs more than 80mn people and every minute percentage slide in exports will increase unemployment to an unimaginable magnitude. They added that the country would not be able to repeat several years of 10 percent growth in the coming years. And achieving even a paltry 6 percent growth would be an uphill task since the country is largely confined to manufacturing.

Nevertheless, China’s trade surplus is likely to reduce as domestic demand for oil and iron ore are expected to remain strong in the coming quarters. Some economists even dared to predict that China may even register trade deficit by the end of this year if the crisis worsens as the bailouts in the West has not produced desired results so far.

However, China’s Minister of Commerce Chen Deming has firmly stated that the country would reduce its export taxes to zero so that exporters would not be facing any liquidity crisis. He further added China would take all measures to maintain stable export growth and prevent a large slump in export earnings.

Toboc Trade News

Dinkic remarked that Serbian exports to Iran had increased by two and half times in 2008 as compared to the previous year to reach $40mn. Whereas, Mottaki stated his country was looking forward to Serbia for participation in infrastructural development projects. Besides, Iran will be interested in the Serbian-made auto parts, railway carriages and buses.

Both parties felt liberalization of trade policies would further boost bilateral trade and are contemplating to sign the FTA in a reasonable time frame. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development of Serbia, the country has recorded a trade surplus with Iran.

During the forthcoming summit of Mixed Commission for Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation in April, Dinkic and Iran’s Minister of Commerce, Masud Mir–Kazemia are likely to meet in Belgrade as a prelude to signing of the FTA between both countries. It has been learned that an Iranian technical delegation will visit HIP-Petrohemija, the largest Serbian petrochemical complex which produces around 800,000 tons of petrochemicals per year prior to the summit. According to sources, Iran has shown interest in buying a fertilizer factory off-Belgrade.

After the successful trade talks, Mottaki met both Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic to extend his greetings and discuss various other issues beyond trade.

Toboc Trade News

India is the largest importer of yellow metal in the world and in 2007, the imports stood at 862 tons to subsequently yield to the global economic crisis by just importing about 720 tons in the last year. Before the crisis, several gold consultancies predicted that Indian gold imports would cross 1000 ton mark in 2009.

The prospective states for gold and diamond reserves are identified as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattishgarh, Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan. The country is estimated to be an unexplored home to 20000 tons of gold.

India is planning to bring about new mining policy similar to that of India’s New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) which allowed private partnership in oil & gas exploration and production in the country. It should be noted NELP in force since 1998 has changed the landscape of oil sector of India, and private participation in this area promises to fulfil 100 percent of country’s energy needs by 2020.

According to sources, several majors in this field including De Beers, Anglo-American Gold Mining, Indogold and ACC Rio Tinto Exploration Ltd have shown interest to jointly conduct exploration with India. The country has recently permitted its public sector company, Hindustan Copper Ltd to diversify into gold and diamond for mining collaboration with firms overseas.

India is believed to have ensconced on 10 percent of gold reserves yet produces under 0.5 percent of its gold consumption. According to a latest data, India imports close to $13bn worth of gold per annum and $15bn worth of diamonds. Through the latest directive to GSI and likely modification to mining policy, India hopes to minimize its huge trade deficit by the reduction of largely imported commodities including gold and diamonds by producing within in the country.

Toboc Trade News

When Lee meets Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tomorrow, he wants to seek co-operation in technology transfers and exchanges in regard to renewable energy resources. He held similar kind of talks with the New Zealand prime minister earlier as he aspired to position South Korea as a leader in pro-climate initiatives in Asia.

A new security agreement between Australia and South Korea along the lines which the former has with Japan will also be discussed besides improving trade ties by replacing mutually beneficial FTA. However, the security deal is likely to invite some opposition from China, the largest trading partner of Australia while they had signed a similar deal with Japan.

Lee had remarked earlier that he recalled the contribution made by Australia during the Korean War. Australia was one of the first countries to send troops on behalf of the South Koreans in the war with North Korea which lasted three years until an armistice was signed in July 1953.

Lee is also understood to back Rudd’s vision of creating an Asia-Pacific Union during his visit. Rudd before the global meltdown had stated that he wished to establish an Asia-Pacific community consisting of potential economic powerhouses including the US, China, Japan and India by 2020.

He kicked off the tour with a speech to an Australia-Korea Green Business Forum in Sydney through an interpreter. During the first day of his visit to Australia, he urged businesses to invest in Korea as such co-operation could eventually be able to address the adverse global economic issues rapidly.

South Korea is Australia’s sixth largest trading partner and two-way trade is estimated at $22.6bn in 2008. According to sources, the Korean investment in Australia has risen by 400 percent in the last one year, while Australian investment to South Korea showed an increase of 40 percent.

Lee the former CEO of Hyundai Engineering and a businessman said that he looked forward to forge an alliance with Australia particularly in green technology which would be beneficial not just to the parties involved but also to the entire planet. Recently, Lee had rolled out a new deal to the development of green energy in his country. When he meets Rudd tomorrow it is evident that the primary focus would be to co-operate in green energy development by not sidelining other diplomatic needs including security pact and FTA.

Toboc Trade News

According to the EU, the 10 member ASEAN’s likely completion of a deal with the EU by 2018 is a protracted one especially in current economic conditions. The EU is trying to engage for an individual FTA with like-minded countries in the region before the prolonged comprehensive FTA with the ASEAN materialized. In the forthcoming summit in Thailand, the countries interested to engage individually with the EU will likely attempt to earn a mandate for the same.

Meyer pointed out that despite six rounds of talks with the ASEAN since last May have not yielded any headway as the members were with diverse interests. Therefore, Thailand should seize the opportunity to go ahead with individual plans as both parties would immensely benefit from such a deal, he added.

Later he said that rapid action and co-operation are needed in halting the global downturn from all like-minded countries. Apart from Thailand, the EU is interested in signing deals outside the ASEAN with Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam.

Meyer unambiguously stated that they would move with those who were ready, and did not see any reason why Thai businesses had to wait for the readiness of other countries. Experts say that the EU’s strong stance would prompt many ASEAN members to yield to the pressure as the nations in the region mostly rely on their exports and are witnessing severe slump in recent months.

According to the Thailand Ministry of Commerce, the exports to 25 countries of the EU reached $23.39bn last year, up by 7.86 percent from 2007 and imports on the other hand recorded 19.35 percent growth to $14.2bn during the same period. Europe is one of the largest trading partners of Thailand outside the ASEAN group.

Toboc Trade News

The project lays emphasis on to facilitate the development and delivery of improved rice varieties that are tolerant to five major stresses – drought, submergence, salinity, iron toxicity and low temperature as the sub-Saharan Africa is largely dependent on rain water. Within a short period, the successful development and release of stress-resistant rice is showing great promise with huge increase in rice production in some countries.

The Africa Rice Center (WARDA) is a leading pan-African research organization working to alleviate poverty and improve food security in Africa through research, development and partnership. The organization is chiefly focusing on to achieve rice self-sufficiency through state of the art support of rice breeding and seed distribution programs to increase the output. Close to half of the rice consumption of the continent is met by means of Asian imports.

The current price per ton of rice is pegged at about $400 way below its all-time high of $1000/ton however the African countries are gearing up to address the future issues probably would arise from another price spiral. It must be recalled, rise in food prices last year had sparked off riots and social unrest in many countries not only in Africa but also across the world. In Africa, rice consumption is growing faster than any other food staple and demand for rice has quadrupled in last five years in the region.

During the meet in Ibadan, Nigeria, Wopereis stated that the rice farmers should exploit the opportunities provided by the favourable climatic conditions and high prices of rice. He further added that the association with the Asian majors in regard to technology sharing would significantly help the African farmers in the coming years.

Toboc Trade News

Previously only sport stars and movie stars from China could indulge in such excesses, but today a decade of prosperity allows many Chinese to afford those luxuries. China is believed to have produced the world’s fifth-largest number of millionaires in 2008 with 391,000, an increase of 20 percent from the previous year.

SouFun Holdings, one of the real estate firms is sponsoring a tour (February 24 – March 6) to the US for as many as 40 prospective buyers. The trip will touch down at places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Boston and New York for the investors to view the houses.

Since late last year, most real estate companies which have connections with Chinese investors are engaged in such tours. More than 1200 would-be investors are understood to have travelled to the US individually or in groups. Many have already bought properties, triggering huge outflow of Chinese investments to the US, both on houses and commercial properties since last 5 months.

According to the National Association of Realtors, there are close to 4mn houses alone in the US up for grabs. Currently, the investors are keener on buying property in the Chinese neighbourhood as they are unfamiliar with other places, and thereby to minimize risks.

An investor who has already bought a house said that he got it for 30 percent lower than the 2007 price. He added that his daughter, a university student would occupy the house in California as he was shelling out $1000/month as rental for her and therefore it made a good business sense.

During a press meet before SouFun’s trip, their chairman Vincent Mo expressed that both countries would benefit from the new area of investment. He further assured that just a fraction of the investments would go out of the country, thus doused fears of outflow affecting the Chinese markets.

Foreigners can by property in the US under simple guidelines, they have to either pay a large chunk as down payment or pay more taxes. Investment experts say that taking money for overseas investment from China is relatively easy and this is likely to play a part in boosting investments to the US.

Notwithstanding the new found interest by the Chinese in the US housing market, experts warn that the prices have not reached the bottom yet and those who have long term plans only should invest. The prices of houses skyrocketed by about 150 percent since 2000 till 2007 but the bank-owned and median range houses have collapsed just by 40 percent as compared to the boom period. Taking into account the current economic crisis, analysts predict further slump till this year end.

Toboc Trade News

Barroso assured Gyurcsany, in the wake of the positive assessment, that the second tranche of the EU’s €6.5bn would be disbursed not later than this March end. Last year EU had released €2bn as an initial emergency relief loan. He further expressed satisfaction over Gyurcsany’s guarantee to continue reforms and stay on the path of macroeconomic stability.

Nonetheless, the EU with assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank had pledged €20bn to Hungary in late last year, but global financial crisis had forced them to reduce the amount to €6.5bn. According to Ecostat, an institute for strategic research of economy and society of Hungary, the country is bound to lose 105,000 jobs in 2009, of which 60 percent would be the fallout of lower demand of its exports. Therefore, Hungary will have to spend the second tranche of the loan judiciously to avoid destabilizing unemployment issues.

The Hungarian prime minister brought forth in the meeting to speed up the process of acceding to the Euro zone which he saw as a complementary measure to overcome the crisis. He requested to relax the current period of 2 years where a country’s currency is allowed to trade 15 percent around a fixed party rate to the euro. But Barroso played down the suggestion by saying that to fulfill the convergence criteria of the Economic and Monetary Union is mainly the responsibility of the aspiring nation, however, he added that he wished to see Hungary to adopt the euro line soon.

Toboc Trade News

Earlier, after a meeting between Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet and José Miguel Morales, spokesman for Peruvian-Chilean Business Council, both jointly declared the FTA would be in force on the first day of March. According to sources, Bachelet had expressed great optimism in opening the markets to their neighbour, especially in a time when most countries were closing the markets to protect their goods from external competition.

Morales remarked that last year the two-way trade between Peru and Chile reached $3bn, which in turn helped 1,400 Chilean companies and 1,200 of Peru as well. Once the FTA comes into force both parties expect that their Small and Medium (S & M) businesses to further make gains like that they did under the previous deal. 90 percent of S & M businesses of both nations have immensely benefitted from the Complementation Pact.

The commencement of the new deal is expected to further boost both economies in these difficult times. Nevertheless, the slump in mineral exports has not dampened the spirit of both countries to go ahead with the open market policy. Peru and Chile largely depend on their mineral exports, and mineral prices have dropped sharply in recent times.

The full text of the Peru-Chile FTA is available on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Commerce and Tourism (Mincetur). The ministry is entitled to verify, implement and provide pertinent information about the FTA between both nations time to time.

Toboc Trade News

Few years ago more than 60 percent of Cambodian garments were supplied to the US. But today the European countries and Canada are showing greater interest in Cambodian garments as they are cheaper and maintain country specific standards. Canadian imports from Cambodia have witnessed 20 percent growth from in its previous year.

Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh stated that about $213mn increase in exports was an encouraging development during global slowdown. Taking into account, the US the largest trading partner of Cambodia which is experiencing deep depression, the current growth is regarded as better than anticipated. Prasidh added that the country’s garment industry was in good shape even now as they were able to attract large orders from the international market.

According to sources, the Cambodian garment industry is not without its own problems which are the direct fallout of global recession. They are facing similar issues those which are confronted by other garment exporting nations in the region including China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Lately, the international buyers are quoting very low prices for their products which are in reality below the production cost. And this in turn has forced many shops to shut down their businesses.

Some data show that more than 50 firms have closed down, out of about 400 garment factories in the country. As a result, more than 25000 workers are out of job, and the industry fears that since there is no clear sign of any recovery of global economy in near future, the unemployment is likely to rise significantly. However, an official from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Federation of Textiles and Apparel (AFTEX) said that they were pinning hopes on the stitch in time by the government in finding new markets for their products.

Toboc Trade News

The urine is put into various Indian medicinal uses to cure swelling, flatulence, worm infestation, haemorrhoids, albino, seizures, sterility, and so on. Cow urine is an age-old panacea for many illnesses in Ayurvedic treatments. On the other hand, cow dung is mostly applied as an eco-friendly pesticide and excellent manure, besides they are used to produce painkiller balms and tooth powder. Even the dung is dried and rolled as small globules to use in various treatments, and also for making disinfectants.

The organized production of urine and dung started a decade ago in Shri Ramachandrapura Ashram at a village in Shimoga district of the Southern Indian State of Karnataka with its capital as Bangalore. The ashram headed by Shri Shri Raghaveshwara Bharati imparted the knowledge to villagers to attain self-sufficiency through these means. He taught the inmates how to look after and make these animals reciprocate for their upkeep. The ashram came into prominence when they conducted World Cow Conference in 2007.

The ashram is home to 32 different Indian breeds with a total of 600 cows. Each breed is housed in separate enclaves and not allowed to mingle with other breeds as a precaution against diseases. However, one has to take meticulous care while collecting the urine to a container since the same gathered from the ground made it inferior. The urine collected early in the morning between 5 and 6 after long hours of sleep is considered to be the best for desired purposes. The procedure to get the end product involves 14 hours of filtration, and 10 litres of urine give 6 to 7 litres of usable product.

The medicines are sold across the country and even exported to many parts of the globe. The success has prompted the ashram authorities to start an awareness campaign and have already received assurance from 47,000 families across the region to engage in the same activities. The ashram’s administrative secretary K. Krishnaprasad said that their goal is to see each house in rural India to have at least one cow. He further remarked that they discouraged people to sell animals to butchers since the livestock is productive life long and one did not have to solely depend on milk which was limited to a period. This September, the ashram will conduct another awareness campaign which stretches 20000 kms across India and is expected to complete in 108 days.

In the ancient Hindu Vedas of India (circa 2500 BC), the slaughter of the cow/bull is prohibited, and the cow is regarded as a sacred animal totem of the Hindus. The multiple utilities of this domesticated animal to humanity are believed to be the reason behind the Vedas to insist on prohibition of slaughter and consumption of the same.

Toboc Trade News

MOC spokesman Yao Jian said that the team would tour across Europe including Switzerland, Germany, the UK and Spain to buy goods. The list of things for shopping would be decided by the contingent later. Jian further added that China wanted to open its market and boost ties with their trade partners to jointly address the problems of the crisis to revive the global economy.

During the final lap of the European tour by the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last month, which coincided with the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos, he had expressed that he would be sending “procurement teams” to buy goods and services from Europe. At that time, the officials of both sides had signed nine co-operation deals including combating illegal logging and intensifying the use of renewable energy sources. He had also urged advanced technological equipment manufacturers to increase their exports to China for meeting the market demands, and thereby to overcome the issues occurred in the absence of those.

China had earlier confirmed that they had no intention of imposing any policies that would prescribe ‘buy China’ as a remedy to the current dwindling country’s exports. For the past few months, especially after their exports declined, they have expedited the process of bilateral talks with various countries rather than embarking on protectionist ideas. The forthcoming trip is in concordance with China’s open market policy which is suggested as a cure to the current crisis.

The recent revocation of anti-dumping investigation against Chinese zinc coating plate firms by the EU is seen as a sign of strengthening of trade ties with China. The EU is the largest consumer of the Chinese products and on the other hand, China is an important market for the EU goods. Therefore, the upcoming shopping tour is likely to generate interest among the European traders to engage with China in these difficult times.

Toboc Trade News

The deals which includes $22m preferential loan grant is expected to increase investments from China by reducing bureaucratic interventions which would help Tanzanian farmers to avail loans to purchase agricultural equipment, and to the infrastructural development of Tanzania including Zanzibar. Several Chinese construction companies are already active in Tanzania and the renovation of the Zanzibar’s main stadium will be undertaken by China.

Tanzania is one of the largest beneficiaries of Chinese grants in the region, and this should be regarded as reciprocation to establishing diplomatic ties with China in 1972 against the wishes of the West. It should be recalled; in the early 1970s China built the $500mn Tazara railroad that runs 1,860Kms from the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to the north of Zambia.

Before reaching Tanzania, Hu had visited other African nations Mali and Senegal. The four-nation trip will conclude when he visits Mauritius after the Tanzanian sojourn. The Chinese president had earlier signed similar deals with Mali and Senegal, and re-established the fact that China would continue to support African nations despite global economic crisis.

According to Ministry of Industry and Trade of Tanzania, the Chinese are the sixth largest investor of the country and the list is topped by the UK and India currently. China’s Ministry of Commerce said that China’s trade with Africa had increased by ten-fold to $106.8bn last year from just over $10 billion in 2000 and they have invested $450 million from 1990 to 2006 in Tanzania alone.

Toboc Trade News