Sinochem and Monsanto talk about joint venturing Sinochem, China’s state-owned chemicals conglomerate and top exporter, and Monsanto, the US-based provider of agrochemicals and biotechnology aimed at increasing farm productivity, are reported (by the Wall Street...
Whisky to Flow Freely
And that’s not all as FTAs come into force July 1 Here’s a new take on the classic UK-centric newspaper headline, “Fog in Channel. Continent Cut off.” The BBC reports that “South Korea lifts Scotch whisky import barriers”. True, as far as it goes: Effective today, a...
Troubled Waters
Hurricanes, oil spills, and now flooding feed the dead zone The Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone” is forecast to cover 8,500 to 9,421 square miles – an area the size of New Hampshire – this summer, surpassing the record set in 2002, reports the National Oceanic and...
China’s Alarming Record
More FDA inspections and access to results are called for A new report from Food and Water Watch reprises a lengthy list of Chinese import disasters, from melamine-contaminated pet food in 2007 to antibiotic-laced honey in 2010. The point of Decade of Dangerous...
Trade Beef
US cattleman urges action on FTAs as competitors vie for overseas markets The US agricultural sector pressed its case for ratification of pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea before the US House of Representatives Committee on...
Top Pick: Chilean Fresh Grapes
New report from Datamyne covers players, trends in a leading US-Chile trade sector The Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) is projecting growth in exports for the 2010-11 season: from a 2% increase in apples to a 40% boost for kiwifruit, to a whopping...
Selling Med Equipment in Brazil
How to break into South America’s biggest market The US Commercial Service is offering a webinar on the Brazilian market for medical equipment that will survey the overall opportunity and best prospects for US exporters as well as the details of registering...
Scoping out Colombia
Trade data provides details of this market for US exports Now that the long-pending US-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) is gaining some traction, US companies are sizing up the potential for doing business after the barriers to US exports come down. Always a...
Who’s Open for Business?
World Bank’s annual report is a treasure trove of free information by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor Want to know how many documents it takes to ship a container to China? Or the cost of export compliance in Brazil? Then check out the World Bank’s annual Doing Business...
Japan Food Alert
Governments issue orders to test or suspend imports As Japan reports radioactive contamination of plant and animal foodstocks in the prefectures nearest the still-to-be-contained nuclear reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, countries around the world are moving to block...