The president of the Washington Apple Commission (WAC) Todd Fryhover said Iraq and Iran could be future expansion points for the otherwise stable but highly competitive Middle East market for Washington apples. Likewise, he informed apple exports to China and India from Washington were likely to double as these countries had large populations with increasing purchasing power.

The WAC identifies that direct access to these markets are key to increase sales. Washington shipped 1.9mn boxes of apples into Hong Kong and China in the 2008-09 sales season and that could double if “we had full varietal access,” Fryhover said. Under the prevailing agreements, Washington can export Red and Golden Delicious apples directly into China, but Gala, Granny Smith and any other varieties are not allowed. And these varieties reach China through the grey market route of Hong Kong.

According to the WAC figures, India’s appetite in the last five years increased significantly to 1.75mn boxes of Washington apples in the 2008-09 sales season. Higher buying power and lower quality of domestically sourced apples were the major factors cited as the reasons for tremendous acceptance of Washington apples in India despite very high customs duty.

Fryhover said Iraq already receives some Washington apples through Dubai, re-exporting centre of the UAE and Kuwait, but Iran did not have any such source. Iran being the second largest populated country of the Middle East after Egypt, which has two to three times more buying power than the Egyptians hold potential provided the Washington apples get direct access. Similarly, the changing trends in Iraq also will be explored through its efforts in the Middle East.

Last July, the WAC has tied up with the Arab Marketing Financing International (AMFI) to boost its presence in the Middle East. The AMFI, a Beirut-based company, with promotional representatives in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, takes up the responsibility of marketing of the apples through retail displays and consumer awareness about the Washington variety.

Currently, Dubai is the re-exporting portal for Washington apples into Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sudan, Qatar, Oman, Yemen and Jordan. And about 1.8mn boxes of Washington apples were sold to Dubai in the 2008-09 sales season.

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Women’s Bill recommends 33.3 percent or one-third of seats in the decision making bodies starting from the Lok Sabha, down to state and local legislatures. The sympathizers of the bill claim that such legislation will increase women’s participation in political affairs of the country by diluting gender inequality in the social system.

Though the draft has passed the first hurdle by getting a nod from the Rajyasabha, upper parliamentary house, underscores women emancipation and empowerment, it is believed to have constructed to serve a larger need of the country, i.e. population control. India’s policy makers envisages such a need as all inclusive growth in the past two decades have facilitated increased life expectancy and reduced infant mortality spiking population growth. They also perceive even 10 percent plus GDP growth would not suffice if the population growth is left untamed.

Nonetheless, there are many misgivings about as to how the bill would address the issues of women such as access to education, healthcare and even food, and above all the decision making rights including child-bearing. It should be noted that the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh stated before the bill was put to vote in the upper house “What we are going to enact today is a small token of homage to the sacrifices our women have made in nation building, in the freedom struggle, in all other nation building activities.”

Incidentally, the government seemed to be hoping the benefits of the bill to trickle in over a period of time than in immediate future. The exercise of effecting a policy change is an effort to expedite women empowerment through a governmental process rather than awaiting a social change as many countries with higher women parliamentary participation have experienced. Rwanda ranks first among the list of countries with female representation in the decision making body followed by Nordic states including Sweden and Finland.

The bill has to undergo two more phases for its approval, one at the lower house of the parliament and other at the state assemblies. Reservation within the new bill for minorities and lower castes as demanded by the opposing parties will be discussed once again in the coming sessions.

Prior to the approval, it is hoped, rather than reserving fixed constituencies for women, a rotating system covering all constituencies should be included in the bill for the outreach of all sections of the country. The new legislation to bear the desired results needs to include well chalked out responsibilities to the female representatives for the upliftment of the women of each constituency they represent. Unless these key elements are not looked upon, the fourteen-year old proposal may not be able to fulfil its very goal.

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National Health Services (NHS) which are often blamed to show apathy towards patient-care by making patients wait even during emergencies was in the spotlight last month while the Royal Surrey County hospital admitted that it bought the NHS drugs cheap to sell at a profit in Europe. The foundation hospital last year continued with its trade in millions of pounds worth of drugs intended for the NHS to Europe, ignoring government warnings.

The weak pound value and sourcing of medicines at low prices are cited as contributing factors for the parallel drug trade. By diverting the medicines away from the UK markets has allowed pharma companies including some of the NHSs to gain a minimum profit of 30 percent extra.

According to the Department of Health’s pharmaceutical services negotiating committee, the new illegal trade has created shortage of 41 medicines including Zyprexa, which is used to treat people with schizophrenia and Actonel, for osteoporosis sufferers. Similarly, other figures show the short supply of these drugs is driven by an exodus of more than £30 million-worth of medicines from the UK every month.

Measures such as random inspections and raising the standards required for wholesaler dealers’ licences are some of the firewalls included to prevent parallel trade. Furthermore, if manufacturers or wholesalers are found to be in breach of legal duties to maintain an adequate supply of medicines they risk prosecution and losing their licences.

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Along with changes in trade policies which would help exports from developing countries the Chinese manufacturers also will get incentives to maintain price competitiveness in the global markets. China’s exports, which experienced robust growth of more than 25 percent before 2008, dropped by 16 percent last year.

Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming at the sidelines of the meet stated all China’s financial policies, including its devalued status of yuan/renminbi, were part of China’s stimulus package comprehensively designed to counter global economic meltdown. He also defended the subsidies, claiming the stimulus incentives “abide by the rule of the World Trade Organisation and bear no protectionism.”

While announcing the policy statement, China admitted that it would “eliminate unreasonable restrictions” on the import front. A re-look at this policy comes after repeated complaints from India to its Chinese counterparts at every platform they met. The policy statement said “imports from developing countries will be expanded so as to satisfy domestic demand on the one hand, and promote mutual benefits and common development on the other.”

Zhang Zhigang, a member of the CPPCC said that if the country wanted to encourage consumption, exports were “vital”. Likewise, Chen said that export-related sectors provide at least 90mn jobs – about 7 percent of the national population – and therefore affect consumption.

Barring surprises, most members during the meet felt export was key to China’s economy indicating the most censured yuan’s low currency value that is tied to the Chinese export advantage would be moreover the same for the coming months until it gets even with its early 2008 export growth. Chen statement corroborates that fact as he said “although yuan faces appreciation pressure, China still plans to keep the exchange rate of yuan stable”.

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The US government is understood to have responded to the call by Google to include Internet Access Freedom (IAF) as an international trade policy of the country. Nicole Wong, Google Vice President and Deputy General Counsel had urged earlier an open internet should be part of the US trade agenda as economic impact of censorship was huge on e-commerce as well as other companies which used Web services.

In January, Google.cn, the China version of the Google search engine announced it was considering pulling out of China after its portal along with some other 20 tech companies including Adobe, Yahoo and Intel was attacked by allegedly state-sponsored hackers. Though China has denied any such interception, but some companies who were victims of these attacks claim they have ample evidence to prove the government’s hand in this deplorable crime.

Google felt betrayed by the attacks, which resulted in the firm losing some intellectual property, despite compromising on internet freedom during the time of launch by signing an agreement with China in 2006. Under the controversial bargain, Google agreed to censor search results by prompting the users at the bottom of censored pages that results were withheld at the request of the Chinese government.

However, approaching the WTO to settle the issues related to the Chinese internet policies does not ensure any speedy outcome as trade disputes before the global trade body normally takes two or more years to litigate and appeal. Incidentally, according to the China Internet Network Information Center, a government agency that registers online domain names, China is the world’s biggest Internet market, with 384mn Web users at the end of 2009.

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Head of the Crown Prince’s Court Shaikh Khalifa bin Duaij Al Khalifa and Dr Hassan Fakhro Industry and Commerce Minister attended the meeting at Riffa Palace. The Thai team exchanged views with Bahraini counterparts on the proposed investment projects in Bahrain in joint ventures.

The Prince told that his country was focussed on freedom of competition and commitment to transparency as key aspects to achieve success. He inquired about the Thai expertise in promoting pisciculture and ways to boost Bahrain’s fish reserves. He felt if Thailand could employ its fish farming techniques in Bahrain, the country would be able to become the best in the region.

During the meet, both parties are understood to have discussed the possibilities of promoting Bahrain as one of the food trade platforms of the Middle East. The Thai delegation which had representatives from aluminium and mining industries is believed to have worked out on the modalities of respective trade potentials.

While addressing the delegation, Salman also underscored the need for housing and development projects as they could meet the immediate demands of the citizens of Bahrain in the related segment. Both sides have expressed satisfaction over the meet which became a platform to further strengthen bilateral ties.

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In 1996, Australia was forced to impose ban on beef imports from the UK and later in 2001 for countries including the US and Canada after these beef exporting nations reported cases of mad cow disease or the BSE. People could contract this disease if they consumed portions of brains or spinal cords of infected animals.

Under the new importation laws, only imports of muscle meat, or products of muscle meat, that is not infected with the BSE will be allowed into Australia. The country of origin must apply to the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) for permission to export beef to the region. The minimum period for the application assessment is fixed at 20 weeks, and if situation warrants, the applicant has to undergo an in-country inspection that could even delay the process beyond the normal time frame.

However, the major exporting nations such as the US and Canada do not meet the Australian stringent safety standards. But the Agriculture Minister of Australia Tony Burke said the country’s strict quarantine standards for beef and other products must not be an excuse for protectionism.

On the contrary, Queensland Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce and NSW Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan stated they would move a private bill proposing that exporting countries installed the Australian-equivalent testing regimes and traceability standards to protect citizens from eating contaminated beef. Likewise, Nationals Leader Warren Truss as well as Page Nationals candidate, Kevin Hogan voiced similar concerns over the non-labelling of the origin of beef as they felt consumers should have the option to choose what was safe for them.

According to sources, supermarkets including Coles and Woolworths have shown solidarity with the domestic beef industry by declaring that they would only sell the Australian beef. Nevertheless, a spokesman of Woolworths admitted that it would be beyond its control to identify what beef went into processed foods, such as meat pies and canned products.

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Germany’s non-committal on bailing out Greece after initially declaring support also signals that the EU would not hesitate to jettison its family member as there are already differences in using tax-payers money. On account of several polls and going by the words of Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the Eurogroup of ministers that oversee the Eurozone, Germany, Belgium or Luxembourg are not prepared to correct Greek fiscal policy mistakes.

The economic woes of Greece began after it hit upon a budget deficit of 12.7 percent of its GDP in 2009, four times more than the allowed EU limit. Though the government claims that it would slash 4 percent by the end of this year to eventually reach the EU limit of 3 percent by 2012, with current measures it seems insurmountable.

This year Greece needs about €54bn, and until now, it has raised around €13bn. The country has about €23bn in debt payments to be made in April and May. As counter measures, Greece has announced austerity initiatives and sale of another €3bn to €5bn debt.

However, in January, Greece sold five-year bonds amounting to €8bn, and within days the value of the bonds fell dimming hopes of future such offerings. Unless the government rolls out some tangible financial support mechanism, even this door will be perpetually shut.

Greece to avoid being outlawed and to tide over the crisis, it is learned that it has to shrug off its false pride and formally seek assistance from the EU or even the IMF without engaging in blame game. The Papandreou administration has accused the past regime’s mismanagement of finances and failed policies as major factors for the snowballing of the current crisis.

Starting from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens to the previous government’s decision to dismantle its anti-fraud department were pointed out to be some of the areas send the country crashing with debt. Furthermore, the country’s defence outlay beyond threat perception and unnecessary expenditure on expensive eaves-dropping street cameras were also blamed.

Incidentally, though the Greek economy is not large enough to cause any damage to the EU economy, but it is feared any SOS response from the Union may set precedence to other countries including Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy which are in similar situations. It has been understood through recent turn of events, unless an effective, efficient and transparent roadmap to rescue Greece is not made available soon under the tutelage of the EU, not just the collapse of a nation but also the unity of the region and its currency would be at stake.

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Citing customs statistics, the DPP Legislator Pan Men-an said that 73,830 kg of dried day lily, purportedly from Vietnam, were imported into Taiwan in 2009, a 27 percent rise from the 58,108 kg that entered Taiwan’s market in 2008. Taiwan’s ban on the import of 830 Chinese agricultural products, including dried day lily is still in force though the FTA talks between both countries are at full swing.

Ho Quoc Phi, deputy head of the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (VECO), told the CNA that the allegations had formed a major barrier to the import of Vietnamese goods into Taiwan. He further added he had already clarified the situation to Taiwan’s top agricultural authority.

The envoy informed that cases of smuggled Chinese farm produce being brought into Taiwan through Vietnam, including tea, cigarettes and garlic, in 1991, never got the Vietnamese certificates of origin. He claimed issuance of counterfeit certificates attracted severe punishments, and as a result of stringent actions against bootlegging by the end of 1994, no such cases were reported since then.

Pan had earlier alleged “A certificate of origin can be bought at the price of less than US$350.” However, according to Vietnamese authorities, the certificate of origin is not the only document required for the passage of goods but also importers’ transaction and transportation documents.

Ho urged the lawmakers to provide a copy of the counterfeit document to his office, so that its authenticity could be verified. He also agreed to run an investigation at his government’s cost provided the charge leveller involved was ready to meet the expenses of investigation if the allegations were found false.

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Sicily Kariuki, the MD of Tea Board of Kenya said at a recent Kenya-UAE Trade Symposium held in Nairobi that her country had dislodged Sri Lanka as the leading tea exporter last year and hoped it would continue maintaining the same position in the coming years. She also informed Kenya weathered in the global tea market despite severe drought and oversupply price pressure owing to country’s efforts in research and development which produced 50 varieties of tea suitable to be grown in the seven growing regions.

On the contrary, last season’s tea production in Sri Lanka was badly affected by parched weather that damaged crop and wage dispute. However, Sri Lankan Tea Board is reported to be positive about this year’s yield and exports as the climate is forecasted to be conducive for tea plantations across the country.

Though India produces more tea than Kenya, the former is most unlikely to beat the latter in exports as its domestic needs are quite higher than what is available for external supplies, just about 25 percent of the total. The Kenyan tea has been exported to the UK, Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan apart from other 43 countries.

Tea which has attained the new image in Kenya as the highest revenue earner is believed to be attracting many into this field. About 150,000 hectares of land are currently under the crop yielding, and produces an average of 11,000 kg of green leaf per hectare. At the meet, Kariuki apprised that out of the 40 percent of all global tea bags used in making the popular beverage, at least 10 percent of its content came from Kenya.

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