(Bloomberg) – India, the world’s biggest consumer of sugar, permitted duty free imports of the sweetener for sale domestically to prevent an increase in prices as output slumps.

Mills can purchase raw sugar abroad provided they export a similar quantity after processing within two years, Vinay Kumar, managing director of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd., said in a phone interview in Mumbai.

Purchases by the South Asian country may help support a rally that’s made sugar the second-best performing agricultural commodity this year. Prices in New York climbed to more than a three-month high on Jan. 26 on speculation that India will buy the sweetener for the first time since 2006.
Read the rest

press release:

With the decade of developmental endeavors, Pulian International Enterprise Co., LTD (Pulian) makes a good performance on manufacturing high-quality waste recycling machinery based on customer orientation and merged with the idea of environmental protection.

(PRWEB) May 22, 2009 — As a well-experienced plastic and rubber processing machinery manufacturer, Pulian International Enterprise Co., LTD. (Pulian), officially founded in 1994 and located in Taichung, Taiwan, has been well-known for high technology and high quality since its first product – Auto Mix AM Series – was released to market. Holding a factory area of 100m and 4-person workforce only in the beginning, Pulian now makes a successful enlargement on a total factory area of 5,000m and 35-person workforce to fulfill all the machinery and production requirements of plastic crusher equipment, plastic granulator equipment, plastic recycling machines, etc.
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(Bloomberg) — Asian currencies fell, led by the South Korean won and the Indonesian rupiah, on speculation a slumping U.S. labor market will erode demand for exports and spoil returns on the region’s assets.

The won, Asia’s worst performer of 2008, weakened as foreign investors sold more Korean shares than they bought for the first time in seven days. The rupiah fell, snapping a three- day gain, as global equities declined following a private report that showed U.S. job losses increased in December. The ringgit slid to a three-week low before a report that will probably show slumping Malaysian manufacturing.

“Risk aversion is picking up again,” said Nizam Idris, a currency strategist in Singapore at UBS AG, the world’s second- largest currency trader. “The market is concerned about the economy again. Under this sort of environment, Asian currencies will weaken.”

The won, which lost 26 percent last year, fell 3 percent to 1,333 per dollar as of the 3 p.m. local close, according to Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd. The rupiah dropped 1.5 percent to 10,960, Malaysia’s ringgit declined 1 percent to 3.5375 per dollar, and Taiwan’s dollar slid 0.4 percent to NT$33.115. Read the rest

DUBLIN, Ireland, — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Research and Markets ( http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d39312/consumer_electroni) has announced the addition of the “Consumer Electronics in China 2009: Market Analysis” report to their offering.

REPORT COVERAGE

This report reviews characteristics, trends and developments over the 2002 to 2008 period in the consumer electronics market (excluding computers and peripherals, and communications technology) and industry of the People’s Republic of China, and gives forecasts of market performance to 2013. The emphasis is on the retail market and the major industry players.

Executive Summary:

The period covered by this report is one where China’s consumer electronics market reached what will perhaps be its nadir in terms of annual growth, between the years 2004 and 2006, when annual volume growth rates were above double-digit rates. Growth since then has weakened, and there are several good reasons for this.

Firstly, certain sectors of the market have matured to a point where they have reached a natural peak. TV penetration into the average urban household is now over 100%, which means that new sales growth is based upon technology upgrade, which relies upon industry innovation in new technology. Very little of this innovation comes from Chinese companies. What does come from China is legislation to force product and service improvements. The shift, for instance, to digital TV will force many consumers to either invest in a set-top box (STB) to sit with their existing TV, or buy a new TV. For many consumers who have only recently bought a large-screen analogue TV, the cheapest and least painful option is the STB.

The way Chinese consumers use their electronics products is also having an effect on growth patterns. MP3 players, until recently one of the fastest growing volume sectors, is now seeing decline. The reason is that many Chinese consumers are now buying combined mobile phone-cameras with built-in MP3 players. The industry’s own convergence is therefore responsible for creating consumer demand that is undermining growth in the consumer electronics industry’s own sectors.

However, such “traditional” sectors do continue to see market growth. Home entertainment systems, what used to be called Hi-Fi units, are seeing continued growth in rural areas, where even tape cassette sales are hanging on, despite the dominance of audio CDs. But CDs are in decline now, thanks to MP3 Internet and mobile phone downloads, and the widespread availability of pirate copies of popular music. A similar story has become apparent with DVD players and DVDs. Both are suffering from increased Internet bandwidths and wider availability of more downloadable video media from the internet.

What is clear from our current review of the market is that it is a market undergoing fundamental structural change, just as the domestic consumer market in China is shifting in its emphasis. Gone are the days of an export manufacturing or assembling-based economy and coming is the development of an economy based on domestic consumption. Current government planning and funding is based upon allowing low-value industries to die, and to promote higher value ones to thrive, whilst building up the rural economy through investment in modernization of the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, investment in new social security soft infrastructure, it is hoped, will help consumers to feel confident enough to save less and spend more.

We are therefore entering a period of emphasis shift in the way Chinese consumers and consumption will develop, while the consumer electronics market is morphing into something with significantly different product structures from what went before. This certainly makes doing any forecast predictions a lot more difficult, as the variables and unknowns are almost completely replacing the familiar predictable. What will be almost certainly true is that the rate that rural China comes on-line as a significant part of the consumer population will be crucial to the rate of growth in the consumer electronics sector in years to come. This will mean that, in order to drive new business growth, companies will have to move out of their comfort zones in the main urban centers of China, and will increasingly have to reach out into China’s rural hinterland to win rural consumer interest. This will mean retooling both products and marketing attitudes to suit a very different demographic from that which they have been used to.

Key Topics Covered:

INTRODUCTION 1 CHINA’S CONSUMER ELECTRONICS MARKET 2 MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION 3 SWOT ANALYSIS 4 COMPANY PROFILES 5 CONTACTS 6 RELEVANT EXHIBITIONS & TRADE FAIRS APPENDIX: MARKET BACKGROUND

Companies Mentioned:
BBK Electronics Corp. Beijing Newsmy Co. Canon Inc. Haier Group Corp. Hisense Group Co., Ltd. Hitachi Ltd. Konka Group Co., Ltd. LG Electronics Inc. Panasonic Corp. Royal Philips Electronics N.V. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., Ltd. Skyworth Digital Holdings Ltd. Sony Corp. SVA Group Co., Ltd. TCL Corp. Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronic Co., Ltd. (Xoceco)
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d39312/consumer_electroni.
SOURCE: Research and Markets

Research and Markets
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax from USA: 646-607-1907
Fax from rest of the world: +353-1-481-1716

Copyright Business Wire 2009

MUMBAI, Apr 23, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) — The Export-Import Bank of India will extend 37.65 million dollars credit to Cameroon to enable it buy tractors and farm equipment for cultivation of rice and maize.

“Exim Bank, on behalf of the government, has extended a US$37.65 million line of credit (LOC) to the government of Cameroon,” the bank on Wednesday said in a statement.

The LOC agreement was signed on April 20, it said.

Under the Maize Farm Plantation project, valued at US$18.77 million, Cameroon will be able to buy 500 tractors, 500 water cooled irrigation pumps, maize shellers and post harvest equipment from India, officials of the bank said. Read the rest

Source: Reuters news

Cuba’s trade deficit soared by nearly 70 percent, or an estimated $5 billion, in 2008 due mainly to rising prices for imports such as food and oil and falling prices for nickel, its main export, official media said on Friday.

Foreign Trade Minister Raul de la Nuez said in a speech to parliament deputies on Thursday that imports surged 43.8 percent while exports grew just 2.1 percent, said the Communist party daily, Granma.

The news follows reports that Cuba, battered by three hurricanes and the global financial crisis, is facing a cash crunch that is forcing it to seek debt restructuring with various countries and companies and delay cash transfers for payments abroad.

“Dealing with the trade balance is a strategic issue for the country’s economic survival,” Ricardo Cabrisas, vice president of the Council of Ministers in charge of international economic relations, told the meeting.

Granma gave no figures for 2008, but estimates based on the numbers from de la Nuez and data for 2007 would place imports at $16.1 billion and exports at $4.4 billion, leaving a deficit of $11.7 billion.

That would be an increase of $4.8 billion, or 69.5 percent, over official figures for 2007, that showed a deficit of $6.9 billion, with exports totaling $4.3 billion and imports $11.2 billon.

The government reports foreign exchange data in the convertible peso which it pegs at $1.08.

President Raul Castro, who formally replaced older brother Fidel Castro as president in February, has been warning for several months Cuba would have to tighten its belt due to rising international prices for food and fuel that had pushed up the cost of imports.

The global financial crisis has made it difficult for Cuba to get credit to purchase imports, which include 60 percent of its food.

Over the last few years Cuba has helped pay for its trade deficit, which is a measure of goods bought and sold, through revenue from tourism and service exports, mainly for health and education to oil-rich ally Venezuela.

Three hurricanes struck the island starting in late August, causing an estimated $10 billion in damages.

Nickel prices have plummeted worldwide amid rising production and falling demand to between $10,000 and $15,000 per tonne from a high of around $50,000 in 2007.

Cuba reported a debt of $17.8 billion and current account balance of payments surplus of $527 million in 2007, based on $9 billion in service exports.

But tourism revenues were expected to increase by just a few hundred million dollars this year and there was no mention by the media on Friday of a significant increase in other service exports, all but ensuring a big deficit in this year’s current account balance of payments.

Mexico suspended purchases from 30 U.S. meat plants due to sanitary issues, which sent U.S. cattle and hog prices sharply lower on Friday and prompted speculation the ban was retaliation against a U.S. labeling law.

Early on Friday, U.S. analysts said the bans were likely because of Mexico’s opposition to a recently enacted meat labeling law. The law, commonly called Country-of-Origin Labeling or COOL, requires that meat packages in U.S. supermarkets carry labels stating the countries where the meat animals were raised.

Mexico and the U.S. Agriculture Department both denied the retaliation charge.

“Countries would go through dispute settlement under either (the North American Free Trade Agreement) or (World Trade Organization) — not use the action of plant-by-plant delistment,” said Amanda Eamich of USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

USDA listed the affected plants on its website on Friday, but the suspensions became effective on Tuesday. The listed plants produce beef, lamb, pork, and poultry and can be found here.

Mexico is a leading buyer of U.S. meat and said that purchases from the affected plants could resume as early as Monday.

“If everything goes well, the plants could be re-listed next Monday,” Mexico’s agriculture ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said the affected plants fell short on standards like packaging, labeling, and some transport conditions.

USDA said it is working with Mexico and the meat companies to resolve the issues.

CANADA, MEXICO OPPOSED LAW

U.S. consumer and farm groups say the labeling rules will distinguish U.S.-grown food from imports on the grocery shelf and fulfill the shopper’s right to know about products.

Canadian and Mexican officials have opposed the law arguing that it will have U.S. meat plants and consumers discriminating against non-U.S. animals and meat. Both countries ship livestock into the United States.

“It appears they (Mexican officials) are using this to send a signal to our government that they don’t like COOL,” Don Roose, analyst at U.S. Commodities, said earlier on Friday.

Earlier this year, Mexico had warned many U.S. meat plants of alleged “point of entry violations” and Friday’s suspensions may have been related to that, Jim Herlihy, spokesman for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said early on Friday.

Point of entry violations could be a number of things including incorrect paperwork or labeling issues, he said.

BANS MAY BE LIFTED SOON

Prior to Mexico saying shipments could resume on Monday, Roose had predicted the bans would be short, because Mexico needs the meat for its population.

“You have to feed the masses,” he said.

News of the bans prompted selling in U.S. cattle and hog markets at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Friday, with cattle prices dropping 2 to 2.5 percent and hog prices dropping about 3 percent.

“That is bad news,” Jim Clarkson, Chicago-based analyst at A&A Trading said of Mexico’s action. “They (Mexico) are fighting COOL.”

After Mexico denied it was retaliating for COOL, Clarkson still predicted the labeling law may have helped prompt the bans.

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Source: Reuters