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Universities in Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Madagascar, Nigeria and Yemen have been highlighted as institutions where academics or students were killed because of their beliefs or activism in the past academic year, though a report from campaign group Scholars at Risk (SAR).…

Higher education institutions are being warned they could be a target for money laundering, with fees being financed by the proceeds of crime, including corruption, which might also buy property, cars and other items for students.

The problem has been highlighted in a series of reports.…

A former DEA agent who laundered money undercover to attack the Medellín and Cali cartels has called for a root-and-branch reform of AML, so that its vast resources target the most suspicious transactions and the professional launderers who facilitate them. Speaking to MLB, Robert Mazur, who offered ML services to drug kingpins such as Pablo Escobar in the 1980s and 1990s to undermine their criminal networks, said that many laundering techniques used then are still in use today.…

Anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) has called on the British government to stiffen AML controls for the UK’s booming electronic money institutions (EMI) sector. It has concluded that ML risk red flags are present at one third of such licenced businesses.…

Since its foundation, the United States has regularly seen opposition party presidents defeat the candidate of the incumbent ruling party. Indeed, since the 1920s (when Republican presidents held sway), only one ruling presidential candidate won an election to replace a predecessor from the same party – President George Bush Snr in 1988.…

The Polish can manufacturing and filling industry continues to attract attention from major buyers and investors from around the world, aware that this strong and innovating national sector is able to rely on a strong, reliable workforce.

Global beverage giant PepsiCo, for example, has been drawn to the Polish can manufacturing industry.…

In 2019, before Covid-19 knocked the industry off a seemingly unstoppable growth trajectory, 95 billion gallons of fuel was burned by commercial airlines worldwide said statistical service Statista.

Speaking to Petroleum Review, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) deputy director for environmental protection Jane Hupe said analysis undertaken by the UN agency found “that, by 2050, it would be physically possible to meet 100 percent of international aviation jet fuel demand with sustainable aviation fuels, corresponding to a 63 percent reduction in emissions.”…

The question of how to deliver human rights and self-determination to the Palestinians has been debated in many ways and forums, from the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, through the Oslo Accords of 1993, until the present day.…

Nearly two-thirds of 86 countries assessed worldwide face a high to critical risk of corruption in their defence and security sectors, according to the 2020 Government Defence Integrity Index (GDI) (1) that the Transparency International defence and security programme published November 16.…

Istanbul is gearing up for its second fashion week of 2021, with the expectation of repeating the success of previous virtual events that reached some 25 million viewers worldwide.

With a physical Mercedes-Benz Istanbul Fashion Week (IFW) not feasible in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisers pivoted to a virtual event.…

The huge offshore finance leak unveiled last month (October 3) by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has highlighted the risks major companies face when doing business in offshore jurisdictions. Keith Nuthall and Andreia Nogueira report.

Major companies undertaking international business must comply with increasingly tough beneficial ownership transparency laws, and risk reputational damage if they are associated with particularly elaborate devices to avoid tax, even if it is legal.…

Istanbul is gearing up for its second fashion week of 2021, with the expectation of repeating the success of previous virtual events that reached some 25 million viewers worldwide.

With a physical Mercedes-Benz Istanbul Fashion Week (IFW) not feasible in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisers pivoted to a virtual event.…

A key political question emerging from the Coronavirus pandemic has been how the disease might readjust relations between this world’s two largest powers – the United States and China. The two countries have had two very different experiences of Covid-19, which reflect their contrasting social and political systems.…

Curbs introduced by the Chinese government on the use of electricity within the country have been significantly disrupting the textile supply chain, creating anxiety among garment manufacturers even beyond China’s borders. 

These challenges have unfolded after the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on September 16 unveiled a plan stipulating that China will firmly control energy-hungry and high-emission industrial projects.…

One of the most important changes in geopolitics in the past 10 years has been the rise of China’s economic and military power, which has grown so much, its influence is now a serious rival to the hegemony of the United States.…

After the Second World War, Europe emerged economically and socially drained. The war had destroyed so much housing, industry and infrastructure and killed millions of people. Unsurprisingly, the societies of countries who had fought – or been fought over – and that was most of the continent – were brought their knees by the conflict.…

Hubris comes in many forms, but surely the rushed exit of American forces from Afghanistan to meet an artificial political deadline of the 20^th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the USA is a breathtaking example.

Rather than strengthening the agents of reform in Afghanistan, upon which the US and its allies have inefficiently spent trillions of dollars, this helter-skelter exit has undermined them, leaving at the mercy of a resurgent Taliban.…

The Covid-19 pandemic, as a global crisis, will have worldwide long and short-term effects, although – of course – some counties have been, and will be, hit much harder than others.

Indeed, some countries, with fragile economies and weaker social systems, have been brought close to collapse by the coronavirus.…

The coronavirus pandemic offers the governments of the Arab world a chance to rebuild trust with their citizens that has long been fragile, which was almost shattered by the protests of 2010-2021, collectively dubbed the Arab Spring. Of course, the results of this upheaval have been profoundly mixed – ranging from reform to war and more stagnation.…

African students have been benefiting from an informal innovative online initiative helping them find jobs after they graduate. The iDEASlab (1) has in particular enabled higher education students to launch business ideas after graduation.

The network’s academics are Angolans based in the USA, Russia and Angola, who, inspired by their time at university, decided to work together informally to create development in their places of birth.…

WHILE the imposition of age limits on the consumption of tobacco and other nicotine products remains very much a national, and in some cases sub-national jurisdiction decision, there is no doubt that the general trend worldwide is for tighter restrictions on younger consumers, even if they are often tough to enforce.…

INTRODUCTION

Financial crime is a minefield for the international textile and clothing industry. With extended international supply chains extending into jurisdictions where the rule of law and a reliable independent judiciary may have a weak hold, if they exist at all, textile and clothing brands and manufacturers must take care.…

Aviation has always been regarded as a tougher sector to convert to low carbon fuels than road transport, because of the high intensity burn required to power planes – which traditionally been supplied by fossil-based kerosene. And a lot is burned.…

Eastern Europe is often a region of diversity when it comes to paint and coatings sector trends, but in the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted most sectors in a similar way. They experienced booms in DIY decorative sales, weaker industrial coating sales and are mow struggling with increased input costs.…

Companies breach sanctions laws at their peril. Fines of many thousands of dollars, and even jail terms, await the unwary or careless. Fortunately, an Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (ACSS) has been created to advise businesses on negotiating the complex world of international sanctions compliance.…

The cyber-attack on the Colonial Pipeline Co in the USA, which sparked the temporary closure of the eastern United States’ most important fuel pipeline, has focused attention on the risks posed by ransomware on major companies. These risks are increasing. Keith Nuthall reports.…

Turkey is struggling to recover its position as an important supplier of high-end and luxury fabrics, recouping sales lost on cost to Chinese rivals. The industry retains great potential strength, being the world’s fifth largest supplier of textiles selling USD12 billion exported annually, according to Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (İTHİB – İstanbul Tekstil ve Hammaddeleri İhracatcilari Birlig).…

AMERICA has long been the global policeman of international sanctions, including breaches of AML rules, but evidence suggests that the US dollar’s use in international transactions could be weakening and is having to compete with the rising power of crypto currencies.…

President Joe Biden may think he has three main foreign policy priorities this year – China, Russia and Iran – but the truth is, as far as the Middle East is concerned, all these challenges roll into one.

That is because both China and Russia are seeking increased influence in the Middle East, and hoping for potential missteps from the USA over the Iran file to leverage their diplomatic positions.…

COVID-19 has been a challenge for many industries and the tobacco sector has been no exception, with the disease disrupting consumption and purchasing patterns that underpin profitability and turnover.

Countries where smoking is associated with socialising have been particularly vulnerable and a good example is Bangladesh, where the disease has depressed consumption, temporarily.…

With the United Nations security council backing the reappointment of António Guterres as UN secretary general for another five years, it is time to ask whether the global body’s political leadership needs a major overhaul.

The answer surely has to be ‘yes’.…

EUROPE’S FATF-style body Moneyval has raised serious concerns about AML/CFT standards among 19 of its members, with its 2020 annual report concluding their average compliance is “below satisfactory”. The jurisdictions assessed were Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Israel, the Isle of Man, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.…

The under-developed system of higher education of African archipelago country São Tomé & Príncipe is growing slowly amidst expanding demand, being assisted by international projects and funds.
One major potential initiative that may cause significant progress, however, involves this Lusophone country being chosen by the Pan African Institute for Development (PAID) to host a future International University of Development Sciences.…

Lie detection is an emerging science, with technology being developed to help companies and law enforcement seek to detect fraudsters and other criminals. Artificial intelligence is a potential key development in enabling machines to screen subjects physical and audible response to questions to detect lies.…

MALTA’S only multiple casino operator has been fined over serious AML/CFT failings, with the country’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) ordering Tumas Gaming Ltd to undertake AML control reforms.

The company must pay EUR233,156 for breaching the country’s Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations.…

CONCERN about continued Russian meddling in American elections, the ‘SolarWinds’ backdoor hack into major US institutions, and targeted assassinations of dissidents abroad, have sparked the imposition of major new sanctions powers by President Joe Biden,

Declaring a national emergency to fight the cyber-crime threat posed by Russia, Biden released an executive order giving his administration wide-ranging powers to freeze and block asserts of Russian individuals and companies deemed associated with these Russian intrusions.…

THE WIDE diversity of AML laws worldwide can complicate the enforcement of AML/CFT extradition proceedings.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations 37 and 39 say that governments should be prepared to extradite money launderers (and terrorist financiers) to another country if they both criminalise the underlying predicate offence.…

With global markets and daily consumer habits being disrupted for almost a year due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic, some oils and fats sales have grown – and a key example is soybean oil. This is true worldwide, from North and South America, to Africa, Asia, and Europe.…

SINGLE use plastics bans being brought in across the world may not cover all nonwovens products, but they certainly are having an impact on the industry as it parses often complex rules coming into force.

A key piece of legislation is the European Union’s (EU) so-called ‘single use plastics directive’ (1) which has deadlines passing in 2021.…

The Saudi Arabian paint market is rebounding after a sluggish 2020, when sales declined due to an economic downturn caused by lower oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic, as well the trebling of value added tax (VAT) across the kingdom. The World Bank has projected that this will cause a 5.4% contraction in national GDP, a highly unusual recession in a fossil-fuel rich country used to robust growth.…

Russian food retailers are expanding their offerings of ready-to-heat food in response to growing demand from consumers. The Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged sales, as an alternative to eating out, but it is building in longer-term trends among Russian consumers, particularly in large cities, to seek out convenient food product options.…

WITH market researchers such as Polaris predicting that the global vegetable-based meat product market will generate USD35.4 billion in sales by 2027, major and small food tech companies are working hard to tap this growing niche. Polaris predicts that the segment will expand with a compound annual growth rate of 15.8% between 2020 to 2027, so there is space now for innovative products to attract market share.…

Traditionally a society of meat lovers, Russians are now developing a taste for vegetable and cereal-based products that reflect the taste and texture of meat – food manufacturers are eager to cater to this trend.

International companies have been entering this segment in Russia, while ambitious local startups are rapidly expanding their production capacities.…

Dairy industry leaders have criticised European Parliament proposals to publish the names of those using the European Union’s (EU) storage aid scheme for powdered milk and butter as the EU reforms its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The European Commission protects producers when dairy prices crash through CAP fixed price purchases of limited quantities of butter and skimmed milk powder (SMP), which can be stored longer than milk.…

THE NEW campus of the University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV), which has cost almost USD60 million to build and should open next March (2021), is expected to attract more national and international students and researchers to this island country. The launch of this modern facility has been delayed from July (2020) because of Covid-19, but it is hoped the March opening will stick.…

Mavi, the Turkish denim giant, sold 9.7 million pairs of jeans worldwide in 2019, and, its chief executive has told just-style, has rebounded from the shuttering of the garment sector earlier this year with e-commerce sales doubling in its major markets.…

THE USA’S Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has settled two cases involving Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, accused of breaching US sanctions designed to impede companies and individuals aiding Russia’s contested annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

DB has agreed to pay USD425,600 and USD157,000 to the US Treasury to settle these cases, where OFAC found the German bank had not deliberately sought to flout these financial controls, but failed to apply correct legally-mandated due diligence.…

A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel will assess whether import restrictions created by the European Union (EU) to reduce the use of carbon-intensive biofuels comply with global trading rules.

The Indonesian government is challenging portions of the EU’s renewable energy directive (RED) linked to EU guidance limiting the indirect land use change (ILUC) of biofuel feedstock cultivation.…

The cutting edge IT field of quantum computing is developing across Africa, with South Africa considered the hub, in part through an IBM centre in Johannesburg that enables academics throughout the continent to freely access its quantum computer network, based in the USA, through the cloud.…

The executive director of International Sugar Organisation (ISO) wants his body “to work more with the confectionery sector”, as it strives to debunk junk science that derides the nutritional value of sugar. José Orive told Confectionery Production that ISO wanted to succeed in presenting “scientific evidence-based information” about sugar’s health impact so the reputation of confectionery products is not “blackened with funky fake data”. …

UNPRECEDENTED demand for aluminium cans caused by consumers drinking at home during lockdowns and associated restaurant and café closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will not cause long term disruption to this key canning market, say industry experts. Instead, manufacturers will work closely with customers to maintain supplies, European and United States (US) industry organisations have told CanTech International.…

The Syrian tobacco sector has been hard hit by the civil war and associated social conflicts, now stretching into their tenth year. Tobacco leaf volumes and planted areas have dropped by around a third since the start of these troubles, factories have been destroyed, and sanctions have forced international brands from formal trading channels in Syria.…

ITALY’s paint industry is hopeful that the end of the country’s Covid-19 lockdown will herald a surge in business, interrupted by the pandemic. Gianni Martinetti, president of the Paints and Varnishes Group of AVISA, the adhesives and sealants, paints and varnishes and inks division of national chemicals industry association, Federchimica said: “The hope is that, after two very hard months of lockdown, we can start again with the same liveliness that was found in the first quarter of 2020.”…

As Syria enters its 10th year of civil conflict, the economy is in tatters, foreign currency is in short supply, and sanctions have not only been renewed, the USA has introduced new secondary sanctions. Illicit crime and sanctions busting abounds.

In May (2020), the USA issued further guidance on Syria, while the European Union (EU) extended its sanctions on Syria for a further year, to 1 June 2021.…

MAJOR European food and drink industry associations have asked the European Union (EU) and Britain to consider agreeing a temporary holding Brexit deal, preserving EU/UK free trade, once the current transitional period involving the UK follows EU rules, expires on December 31.…

AS a key part of the food production supply chain, the international can manufacturing and filling industry has largely stayed open, with some exceptions, during the Covid-19 crisis, not just in developed economies, but also in key emerging markets such as the BRICS countries.…

ACCESSING the dark web once demanded some computing expertise. But dark web search engines and browsers continue being developed, guiding potential users to this encrypted corner of the web where commercial criminals ply their wares and illicit businesses avoid taxes. How should legitimate companies react?…

Moscow’s action on 90% demineralized whey powder followed up an announcement made in March 19 by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin that from March 20 “for one month, all restrictions on the supply of essential goods, including customs, are cancelled”. This was followed up by a government plan allowing for the easing of sanctions-related restrictions – see http://static.government.ru/media/files/vBHd4YRxpULCaUNNTFLVpPSZbMCIA2Zq.pdf…

COURT documents unsealed yesterday (May 28) containing indictments by a grand jury for the US District of Columbia district court detail an international web of financial deception laundering more than USD2.5 billion towards North Korea, including payments specifically earmarked for the country’s nuclear weapons programme.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has unveiled measures to help food and drink manufacturers and their suppliers cope with the Covid-19 crisis. It has, for instance announced that dairy (skimmed milk powder, butter and cheese), and meat (beef, sheep and goat meat) producers will be paid ‘private storage aid’ to warehouse such products for between two and six months to reduce current excessive supplies.…

WANT to check the dark web for illicit services? Search engines accessible from the public web offer links to the dark web. One example is Finland-based Ahmia (https://ahmia.fi/), which yields interesting results from searches such as https://ahmia.fi/search/?q=hacking. A more recent variant that has attracted attention from the IT security press is Kilos – http://dnmugu4755642434.onion…

The president of Italian food industry association Federalimentare has told of his concern about the medium- to long-term effects of the drop in demand for Made in Italy foods caused by Covid-19 epidemic affecting the country.

Ivano Vacondio said that the current spike in domestic food demand is “atypical and fleeting”, noting that hoarding by Italian consumers has, until now, camouflaged problems that will soon emerge, he said in statements sent to just-food.…

The coronavirus pandemic, which is yet to hit its peak in Russia, has put increasing pressure on the country’s food manufacturers by increasing health and safety operational costs and a related decline in the value of the rouble. Major food manufacturers continue to operate at full capacity despite President Vladimir Putin announcing a nationwide lockdown, telling Russians to remain at home on April 2, an order that currently expires on May 11.…

GIVEN the hundreds of billions of dollars spent by banks on fighting money laundering, fears that trade-based money laundering (TBML) remains widespread, as stressed by FATF, the APG (http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/methodsandtrends/documents/trade-basedmoneylaunderingtypologies.html), and most recently, the European Commission (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/supranational_risk_assessment_of_the_money_laundering_and_terrorist_financing_risks_affecting_the_union_-_annex.pdf), are of serous concern. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) said that in 2018, global merchandise exports were worth USD19.48 trillion, so there is plenty of place for laundered money to hide.…

DURING the Yugoslav wars and their aftermath, the government of Serbia President Slobodan Milošević, and his family, were accused of laundering millions of dollars from Serbia, notably to Cyprus – see https://www.tax-news.com/news/Cyprus_Traces_Two_Accounts_Linked_To_Milosevics_Alleged_Money_Laundering_Activities____3063.html. Today, 20 years after the fall from power of the man held responsible for whipping up the nationalism that broke up Yugoslavia, Serbia’s AML/CFT affairs are more prosaic.…

• 1MDB SCANDAL IN MALAYSIA SEES USD BILLIONS STOLEN AND HIDDEN

Malaysia 1MDB scandal is one of the largest money laundering cases ever, worldwide, with Malaysian courts considering charges over how at least USD4.5 billion was stolen and then spent or laundered from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad by former Prime Minister Najib Razak and his associates.…

Nicotine consumption is declining worldwide, with smokers are consuming less, as well as e-cigarette and heated tobacco users, according to market research provider Euromonitor International’s ‘Nicotine Survey, Exploring the Modern Nicotine Landscape’.

“Overall [the study] shows nicotine prevalence is declining not growing, and it is clear to see there isn’t much evidence that greater availability of nicotine formats is increasing smoking prevalence among adults,” said Shane MacGuill, head of tobacco research at Euromonitor International, in a webinar attended by TJI.…

THE TREND towards consumers buying confectionery made with natural ingredients is gathering pace, with research from Germany-based international food ingredients-maker Döhler saying that worldwide more than 50% of confectionery consumers now want a “healthier” product and more than 60% “value natural ingredients”.…

With the Korea Cosmetic Industry Institute (KCII) estimating there were USD11.7 billion’s worth of South Korean-made personal care products (‘K-beauty’) sales in 2019, including nearly USD6.49 billion in exports, and more than 16,000 individuals and businesses officially licensed to provide cosmetic products and services, South Korea’s cosmetic industry has the innate strength it will need to cope with the Covid-19 crisis.…

After 34 months of intensive work and investment of more than Israeli Shekels ILS12 billion (USD3.4 billion), the partners in the Mediterranean Sea Leviathan gas field project – the USA’s Noble Energy Inc, along with Israeli partners Delek Drilling, and Ratio – have announced the start of natural gas production from the reservoir, the largest energy project in Israel’s history.…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are being touted as game-changing solutions to improve the detection of financial crimes, including AML/CFT, but despite some promising results there are obstacles to roll-out, not least regulators’ ability to green-light new technologies as well as effectively utilise the data they produce.…

WHISTLEBLOWER laws may not be new, but they are becoming stronger and being implemented in an increasing number of jurisdictions worldwide – with progress being notable in Europe. The European Union (EU) has ensured in a new directive, approved last October (2019), that all 28 member states within the union last year – ahead of Britain’s January 31 exit from the EU – acquire whistleblowing laws with teeth through a new directive approved by EU ministers last October (2019).…

Airbus is to pay out EUR3.6 billion (USD4 billion) under a trio of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) with British, French and United States authorities that were simultaneously agreed by national courts January 31 as part of a global resolution over bribes to clinch civil and military aircraft sales.…

ITALY’S cosmetic and personal care product market remained strong through 2019, with major players in the industry focused on strengthening digital retail and production strategies to further connect with consumers, while deepening their presence in foreign markets, particularly in Asia. 

The year 2019 was also dynamic in terms of acquisitions, with a handful of Italian BPC (beauty and personal care) companies buying businesses that specialise in new and different products to extend their reach in new product categories, both domestically and abroad.…

THE RUSSIAN government, while being praised for improving its AML/CFT efforts, has been asked by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to better probe complex ML cases and root corruption from banks and even AML institutions.

In its latest mutual evaluation report on Russia released today (December 17), FATF noted that “some parts of Russian law enforcement agencies have a corruption problem, including agencies charged with investigating ML” (although it did not name the tainted bodies).…

THE UZBEKISTAN clothing and textile industry is eyeing a major increase in clothing and textile imports as its government liberalises what was until three-years-ago a largely unreformed post-Soviet state. A key goal is swapping raw cotton exports for overseas sales of added value textiles and clothing.…

The Netherlands-based investment trust, Impala Invest BV, has reached an agreement with creditors banks and will take over troubled Greek pigmeat, turkey, cheese and other deli product manufacturer Creta Farms, according to sources close to a planned deal. While company representatives have yet to release a formal statement on the plans, because Crete-based Creta Farms operates under temporary administration appointed from a court of first instance, the final approval of the deal is expected to be announced in the next few days.…

Businesses across the personal care product sector have expressed concern about a comprehensive national digital marking and traceability system that the Russian government plans to comprehensively put in place by 2024. A limited selection of products are being used to trial the system from the New Year and this includes perfumes.…

Diplomats at the World Trade Organisation’s goods council have attacked the European Union (EU) over its plans to integrate titanium dioxide and cobalt into its health and safety laws, claiming this could impose unnecessary red tape restrictions on exporting certain stainless steels to the EU.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission will early next year (2020) consider whether to add cadmium to the European Union (EU) critical raw material list, with the aim of encouraging production and recycling of this mineral that widely used in batteries, potentially helping the EU economy away from fossil fuels.…

With an improving law and order situation, business-friendly policies from its elected government, and incoming Chinese investment under the Beijing-backed CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) programme, Pakistan is becoming an increasingly attractive location for foreign direct investment, especially in the textile and clothing sector, an international conference has been told.…

RETALIATORY duties imposed by the USA in a trade dispute with the European Union (EU) over aeroplane subsidies will, argues Italian farmers union, Coldiretti, shrink Italian food exports to the US by 20%, with the Italian speciality cheese sector being the hardest hit.…

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL – Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft) has summoned its state-level (länder) counterparts for crisis talks following revelations that listeria-infested meat products have killed three people and made another 37 sick. These were made by from Twistetal, Hesse-based Wilke Waldecker Fleisch- und Wurstwaren.…

DISTRICT heating is an efficient way to provide heat, that can reduce carbon emissions compared to individual property-based heating. So, it is maybe heartening to learn that the Chinese central government and its municipalities are both growing district heating and encouraging the use of cleaner energies to power them.…

THE INCOMING European Commission may seek to further harmonise European Union (EU) food labelling rules on sugar content. This pledge comes from the nominee for new EU health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, a Cypriot parliamentarian, whose EU role includes being responsible for food safety and standards.…

RUSSIA’S dairy industry has been trying to develop its size and sales while its government’s restrictions on European Union (EU) dairy imports remain, but there are questions about how well producers would cope with imports once these sanctions are, eventually, lifted.…

FAR from being the zone of volatility of the 1990s, eastern and central Europe’s economies and hence their paint and coatings markets, are enjoying stability and steady growth. In Croatia, for instance, according to market researcher Euromonitor International data, the paint and coating industry posted revenues of USD147 million, USD 2 million more than in 2017.…

Months after taking the reins as president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Dr Rubana Huq is determined to fulfill her key goal of ensuring the industry effectively monitors its own environmental and health standards.

It is an important job given how the country’s clothing and textile sector has worked to improve a safety reputation battered by the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster.…

THE INTENSIFYING trade war between the USA and China has proved to be an opportunity for some larger Chinese clothing manufacturing firms, some of which had already built capacity overseas, notably in southeast Asia, and Vietnam especially. These companies have been able to adjust to the worsening tariff barriers to the US market for China-sourced exports, whereas smaller companies unable to afford new SE Asia operations have suffered.…

As an industry much maligned for its heavy carbon footprint, the oil and gas sector is increasing its use of sustainable materials and manufacturing methods making textiles used for its protective clothing. This segment has also been focusing on improving the comfort and aesthetics of this apparel.…

THE NONWOVENS industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is still struggling with over-capacity, while declining purchasing power has hit the mid- and higher-tier segments, prompting global players to reconsider product offerings.

MENA economies have been impacted by low oil prices and regional instability, with growth forecast at 1.5% this year, down from 1.7% in 2018, according to investment bank JP Morgan.…

WITH anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) controls becoming ever more comprehensive, strategic and widespread, the demand for trained AML/CFT professionals is growing. Salaries are increasing, as a result. This good compensation reflects the fact that AML work is becoming increasingly demanding because of regulatory requirements, said Michael Harris, director, financial crime compliance, at LexisNexis Risk Solutions.…

GLOBAL food and beverage company Nestlé’s restructure in the EMENA (Europe, Middle East and North Africa) region, which began in 2017, has delivered improved efficiencies and performance, according to Marco Settembri, Nestlé’s executive vice-president and EMENA zone CEO.

“It’s always a question of evolution,” Mr Settembri told just-food before the opening session of the July 4-5 2^nd European Entrepreneurship Education summit in Lille, northern France,* in which he was to speak.…

BULGARIA’S plastics industry has been making the most of the growing demand for supplies from major western markets. The sector has been particularly buoyant over the past five years, with Bulgaria’s comparatively low costs and occasional regulatory light touch making its plastics companies competitive with competitors in western Europe.…

SURVEILLANCE and detection are becoming increasingly high-tech, especially when fighting financial crime. But experts still think combining human expertise with new artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analysis is the smartest way to unmask commercial crime. Sarah Gibbons and Sara Lewis report.…

Industry forecasts for Italy’s paints and coatings market are expected to remain relatively stable through 2019, mainly sustained by stability in the domestic construction and automotive sectors and continuing sales growth in foreign markets. Data from market research provider Euromonitor International released last December (2018) projected production turnover in Italy to grow by 0.5% in the 2018-2019 period, with an estimated value of just over EUR6.1 billion in 2019.…

Kazakh food and drinks holding company RG Brands is to move out of solid foods to focus on its drinks lines, selling its main snacks producer Almaty Snack Food, to a major Ukrainian company, RG Brands has announced. Almaty Snack Food produces a potato chips brand called Grizzly, which has been a popular line on the Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan markets for 12 years.…

AFRICAN swine fever (ASF) has been squeezing pork supplies in China to a point where the country’s political leadership fears upheaval, as reflected by the country’s government influenced social media restricting ASF-related discussion. Even academic articles, if ASF-themed, now require explicit regulatory approval before publishing, informed sources in China, who requested anonymity, told just-food.  …

MARCH’S approval by the European Parliament of new European Union (EU) electricity market rules, designed to increase consumer choice, boost renewables access and cap power subsidies, were hailed by the European Commission as a new dawn for the creation of the EU’s much vaunted Energy Union.…

WITH the Carbon Trust defining energy management as the use of technology to improve energy performance of an organisation within their holistic management processes, the need to tap data banks of expertise can only help in framing and operating such policies.…

BANKS worldwide are having to take increasing care lest they be fined for violating sanctions and not having adequate regulatory compliance regimes in place. With the USA expanding sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, financial institutions need to not only have adequate screening software but anticipate potential new regulations and that regulators will be pouring over past activities.…

While today 12 out of every 100 Europeans are tattooed or have some sort of permanent cosmetic treatment, experts are increasingly concerned that these skin colouring agents may contain hazardous substances, known or suspected to have adverse health effects causing cancer, allergies or mutations.…

RUSSIA’S paint industry is slowly growing but upcoming chemical regulations could limit the output of some potentially hazardous products. There are two such laws in the pipeline. One is a technical regulation ‘On the safety of chemical products’. This was adopted and ratified by the Russian government in 2016, and will come into force in 2021 (on July 1), and bans the use of a range of hazardous chemicals, some used by Russian coatings manufacturers. …

THE BALTIC States, being European Union (EU) member states adjacent to Russia and Belarus have been exploited by Russian criminals as a gateway for their illicit funds into the EU and beyond.

This is despite that as EU member states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania must implement EU anti-money laundering and anti-terror finance legislation.…

EXPORTS of nonwovens products from the European Union (EU) to the rest of the world are on the rise, with in 2018 such overseas sales of nonwovens (whether or not impregnated, coated, covered or laminated) within the 28 members of the European Union (EU) accounted for EUR4.33 billion, up from EUR4.19 billion in 2017.…

THE INDUSTRIAL minerals mining and processing sector and its customers has an increasingly complex and global supply chain and as a result, international technical standards are growing in utility and importance. Where suppliers and retailers follow and require the use of international standards to guide their operations and products, there will be fewer nasty surprises, in orders and purchases.…

Russia has criticised Mexico at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for maintaining anti-dumping duties on Russian steel exports, which it claims are outdated, being based on pricing assessments using data from a different country.

The Mexican government used this method for past dumping calculations on Russian steel because it is permitted under WTO rules where a government dominates an economy that does not operate as a free market.…

AFRICA is without doubt the continent to watch for airport and air traffic control investment in the future. It is the world’s second most populous continent (home to more than 1.2 billion people), and according to Airports Council International (World) – ACI World – Africa was the fastest growing region for air passenger traffic in 2017 and 2018, which rose 6.3% in 2017 year-on-year and 10.8% in 2018 to June year-to-date, year-on-year.…

FRAUD detection is undergoing “significant disruption” with credibility assessment approaching “a significant inflection point” with traditional polygraph solutions being supplanted machine learning and biometric techniques, said leading US fraud examiner Pamela Meyer.

She said the industry is in “a deception arms race”, with fraudsters – as usual – trying to outwit the latest developments.…

THE RUSSIAN government has in the past decade has a policy priority of re-establishing it country’s industrial base, and reducing its reliance on imports, paid for by Russia’s energy exports.

These goals cover its paints and coatings sector, and by 2021 Sibur, a Russian petrochemical company, plans to launch production of key ingredient maleic anhydride, with a plant in Tobolsk, Siberia, producing up to 45,000 tonnes a year.…

ON the face of it, Japan and Russia are perfect partners for growing trade in liquified natural gas (LNG). Japan has always had few fossil fuel resources for powering its sophisticated industrial economy, and Russia has plenty of gas to export.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has approved a new European Union (EU) directive drafted to extend EU gas market competition rules to pipelines that enter the EU from non-member states. The legislation may impose conditions on the operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany, and should the UK quit the EU as it currently plans, the law would apply to pipelines linking Britain with the remainder of the EU.…

THE INTERNATIONAL clothing industry needs to take a holistic and assertive approach to fighting intellectual property theft and counterfeiting, which while can be easier to detect today, because of advances in data analysis, still poses a significant threat, an expert USA seminar was told.…

Russian law enforcement authorities opened 487 investigations for bribery in 2018, leading to 439 convictions and fines totalling RUB691 million (USD10.7 million), according to recently published statistics. Russian general prosecutor’s office figures show over 300 new entities were added to the public bribery register last year, bringing the number of offenders listed to 1,700.…

THE PLASTICS industry in Poland is expected to continue to its recent strong growth in upcoming years according to market forecasts.

In 2018, the turnover for production of plastic products by Polish manufacturers reached Polish Zloty PLN83.5 billion (USD21.9 billion), up from PLN 76.7 billion (USD20.2 billion) in 2017 according to Euromonitor International.…

Turku-based Hesburger is now building sales in Belarus, having announced it would move into this country in 2017. This follows launches in Ukraine in 2015, and Bulgaria in 2016. Having branched abroad into Estonia first in 1996, now has 207 overseas outlets in eight countries (also including Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, as well as Germany, close to 271 it has in Finland.…

BODY artists in Europe may have to reconsider the pigments that they use in future, with the European Union (EU) drafting new rules that could regulate what chemicals can be used in tattoo inks. While today 12 out of every 100 Europeans are tattooed or have some sort of permanent cosmetic treatment, experts are increasingly concerned that these skin colouring agents may contain hazardous substances, known or suspected to have adverse health effects causing cancer, allergies or mutations.…

THE UNITED States and Canada maybe two developed countries that have long-established anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) systems, but these have been found wanting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). While both countries continue to introduce AML/CFT reforms, they are unlikely to meet some key FATF demands.…

A FINNISH burger chain that has taken the plunge into some of Europe’s most challenging eastern markets now has almost as many outlets abroad as in its home market.

Turku-based Hesburger is now building sales in Belarus, having announced it would move into this country in 2017.…

MAJOR western banks have been linked to the ‘Troika Laundromat’ scandal, which saw USD4.8 billion funnelled out of Russia via Russian investment bank Troika Dialog. The latest revelations published March 4 by newspapers linked to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) said that Troika was one of at least 75 companies that formed a complex financial web from 2006 to early 2013 and not only shifted billions out of Russia but also USD4.6 billion into the country.…

DEUTSCHE Bank’s AMLO has told a European Parliament hearing – to the dismay of MEPs – that the German major had no evidence that it was involved in misconduct surrounding the Danske Bank Estonia money laundering scandal.

Stephan Wilken, head of anti-financial crime and Deutsche Bank’s group anti-money laundering officer, told the EP’s special committee on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance (TAX3) on Tuesday (Feb 4): “We have not identified any misconduct” in Danske case.…

BIG data and its manipulation are not just a boon for the IT sector, the growing sophistication of seismic data collection can give oil and gas companies a real competitive edge.

2019 will be the first full year of operation for Magseis Fairfield (Norway), created through combining two complementary players in marine seismic survey, with big ambitions in ocean-bottom systems for acquiring seismic data.…

DEUTSCHE Bank’s AMLO has told a European Parliament hearing – to the dismay of MEPs – that the German major had no evidence that it was involved in misconduct surrounding the Danske Bank Estonia money laundering scandal.

Stephan Wilken, head of anti-financial crime and Deutsche Bank’s group anti-money laundering officer, told the EP’s special committee on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance (TAX3) on Tuesday (Feb 4): “We have not identified any misconduct” in Danske case.…

BRITAIN’S Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has closed two long-running major investigations into allegations of corruption and bribery at two of the UK’s largest companies: aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce and medicine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. Rolls-Royce has been subject to a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), approved in January 2017, where it paid a GBP497.25 million (USD616 million) plus interest penalty and GBP13 million costs (USD16.1 million) over 12 counts of conspiracy to corrupt, false accounting and failure to prevent bribery in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Russia, Nigeria, China and Malaysia.…

It may not have been widely noticed internationally, but Dublin has become a key cog in the Russian economy’s financial system. That exposure – while profitable for the city’s accountants and lawyers – also risks becoming a liability due a lack of transparency over the source and use of funds.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) must create a central agency to supervise banks and non-banking institutions to combat rising risks posed by money laundering, a European Parliament hearing that focuses especially on the threat posed by Russian dirty money, has been told.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), on US knitwear exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

Considerable investments continue to be made in Italy’s beauty and personal care market continue despite this being a stagnant market, according to sector-specific and general economic data and forecasts,

Despite this, global retailers in the beauty and personal care (BPC) industry continue to eye up what remains one of continental Europe’s largest domestic BPC markets, knowing that consumer demand remains solid, even if not growing.…

EASTERN Europe remains a highly diverse market, where major beauty brands must think strategically to achieve economies of scale and a regional presence that really deliver profits. This is also a region where some markets are significantly bigger than others – with Russia and Poland being key targets.…

THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) will stop funding upstream oil exploration. And it will not finance upstream oil development projects, except in exceptional circumstances where projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The commitments come in a new energy strategy for 2019-2023, where the bank added that it would continue to support the natural gas sector, where new plans and infrastructure helps countries switch from more carbon-intensive fuels, such as coal and oil.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling sought by the USA on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), Canada, China, and Mexico on US confectionery and sweet bakery and associated ingredient exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

There are two displays in the Moscow office of the CFO of Volvo Car Russia, Vladimir Lagutin, that catches the attention, immediately: a large elegantly-framed poster of UK electronic music band Depeche Mode and a case of tennis balls.

“Those things – music and tennis – keep me from being stressed,” says Lagutin.…

With the USA re-imposing sanctions on Iran, and international financial institutions wary of dealing with the country, Tehran is dusting off its pre-2015 sanctions-busting playbook. Old networks are being renewed, including with neighbouring countries and China, but there are more obstacles for the Iranian government to contend with this time around.…

THE ENFORCEMENT of Russian anti-money laundering laws is in the rise, although there are concerns that some AML cases have political motivations behind them, even if – ultimately – the evidence demonstrating ML offences took place stands up in court. Between 2012 and 2016, according to research of Russian press reports and official law enforcement agency statements, more than 30 Russian governors and state officials, former and serving, were accused of fraud or [and] corruption.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), Canada, China, and Mexico on US drinks exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), Canada, China, and Mexico on US drinks exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has agreed to establish disputes settlement panels to rule on whether retaliatory duties imposed by Canada, China, and Mexico on US meat exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

Companies in Russia that help the law enforcement authorities uncover and investigate misconduct could be exempt from corporate bribery charges under a new Russian law. The law amends provisions on bribery by legal entities in the Russian Code on Administrative Offences (Administrative Code) to lay down conditions for exempting companies from liability.…

Leading Russian cosmetics and perfume producers have called on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to block the introduction of mandatory security labelling rules in the country’s personal care product industry to help the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.

This follows the May 3 approval by the Russian government of a list of goods, that will become subject to mandatory labelling, with each product unit assigned a unique code, creating a labelling system where all identification information will be stored digitally.…

THE RUSSIAN government has said that its promotion of manufacturing capacity to deliver raw materials for both the domestic standard textile and technical textile industry will fill structural shortages by 2020-2021.

Statements released by the ministry of trade and industry have stressed the potential impact of a project promoted by the federal government, the Ivanovo oblast and private investors, to build an Ivanovo Polyester Complex, north-east of Moscow.…

THE Russian textile industry is facing a new crisis due to a decline in demand this year, brought about by ever-increasing prices for local textiles and the low purchasing-power of Russian consumers, business analysts and producers have warned.

According to Anna Lebsack-Kleimans, chief executive of the Fashion Consulting Group, one of Russia’s leading analysis agencies in the textiles and clothing sector, prices for the majority of textile products available in Russia have increased by 20% year-on-year since the beginning of the year and those elevated prices are expected to remain in place into next year.…

UNTIL the past two years, scalp care products have been regarded as an elite product in China, with sales generally restricted to expensive lines sold at high-end hair salons. But recently, this specialist hair care products have been increasingly available on the mass market and are proving especially popular with young women commanding higher incomes, according to the London-based research firm Mintel.…

THE RUSSIAN textile industry will grow by almost 5% annually until 2030, but this will not be because of exports, but mainly due to growing domestic demand, according to recent report from the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) released on July 30.…

AN AGREEMENT between the five countries bordering the Caspian Sea could help unlock oil and natural gas reserves under its waters. Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have struck a convention on controlling this landlocked body of water. And while, geologically, this is the world’s largest lake (by surface area), the five governments have effectively decided to regulate it as a sea, giving them exclusive economic rights over the waters up to 15 miles from their coasts.…

THE UNITED States Trade Representative (USTR) today branded the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity a failure, claiming its efforts have not delivered the production cuts that markets need to stabilise prices.

In a strongly worded statement released after a forum ministerial meeting was staged today (Sept 20) at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), in Paris, the USTR argued that the group’s results to date “leaves us questioning whether the Forum is capable of delivering on these objectives”. …

A new report from Transparency International has found that only 11 major exporting countries in the world significantly punish companies that pay bribes abroad. The report, called ‘Exporting Corruption’, also found that more than half of world exports come from at least 33 jurisdictions, including several European Union (EU) member states, where companies that export corruption along with their goods and services face weak consequences. …

A TRADE and investment expert based in Istanbul has told WTiN.com that the prospects for Turkey’s textile industry are bright despite the current economic and political challenges facing the country.

The value of Turkey’s currency, the lira, has dropped by 45% this year due to a range of financial difficulties being experienced by the country.…

SUPPORTERS of the European Union (EU) as a political concept stress how it has the vision, and the money, to promote energy projects of common interest (PCIs) between its (for now) 28 member states. Their goal is to promote an effective continent-wide energy market that offers European citizens more security in their supply of gas, electricity and to a lesser extent oil.…

EASTERN Europe is always a tough market for major paint and coating manufacturers to crack, containing multiple national markets, some in the European Union (EU), some outside, and all with differing cultural and language requirements for marketers to master.

Poland, with its 38 million population and robust economy (projected by the World Bank to grow at 4.2% this year – 2018), remains the region’s most important market, with researcher Euromonitor International saying that Polish paint and coatings sales were worth Polish Zloty PLN1.29 billion (USD352.7 billion) in 2017, up slightly compared to the PLN1.25 billion (USD342.5 billion) sold in 2016.…

CONSUMERS in Nordic countries commonly prefer quality environment-friendly products and the paint and coatings sector is no exception.

Denmark is a case in point, being home to major Hempel A/S, which launched its advanced water-based technology range of decorative paints under the Crown Trades brand in January 2017, group president and CEO Henrik Andersen told PPCJ.…

China seems to have given the world nuclear industry back its mojo this summer with two big moves: the signing in June of an order for four Gen 3+ VVER-1200 reactors from Russia’s Rosatom. This certainly got the bubbly flowing at the World Nuclear Exhibition, in Paris, in late June, following two years of sluggish investment in this globalised industry.…

THE RUSSIAN government has confirmed plans to double its country’s exports of textile products by 2025, according to the state press-service. In comments sent to WTiN.com, Russia’s deputy minister of industry and trade Viktor Yevtukhov, currently responsible for the development of Russia’s textile sector, said his administration was optimistic, with exports of Russian textile products currently show good results.…

RUSSIA, the Ukraine and the European Union (EU) have agreed to negotiate to forge a long term trilateral deal on exporting Russian gas via Ukraine to the EU, with the goal of striking an agreement by the December 31, 2019, expiry of the current agreement.…

THE SCALE of Italy’s paints and varnishes sector remained relatively unchanged through 2017, according to AVISA, a division of Federchimica, the national chemicals industry association. Werther Colonna, president of AVISA, told Polymers Paint Colour Journal (PPCJ) that the sector suffered a difficult year in 2017, marked by a succession of ups and downs, which translated into fluctuating monthly sales.…

THE RUSSIAN and European Union (EU) meat industries are beginning to accept Russia’s ban on meat and livestock as a fact, with President Vladimir Putin extending the existing embargo on imports of meat and other food products to Russia from western countries and allies until December 31, 2019.…

THE RUSSIAN financial conglomerate AFK Sistema, owned by billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov, plans to expand into the country’s textile manufacturing business through the acquisition of a controlling stake in Vologda Textile, one of Russia’s largest and oldest textile producers. According to sources close to AFK Sistema, the company is interested in a 51% stake in the mothballed north-west Russia-based Vologda Textile – its first investment in the textile sector.…

JOINING expertise from the public and private sector to combat money laundering or terrorism financing (TF) aided by virtual currencies (VCs) is the way forward, financial crime experts told MEPs at the June 18 meeting of the European Parliament’s special committee on terrorism.…

THE NONWOVENS sector has always been at the cutting edge of materials production, and so established developed economy manufacturers have often had the edge. But with global markets integrating, and emerging economies becoming increasingly sophisticated, new nonwovens manufacturing bases are growing all the time.…

SOUTH Korean conglomerate Lotte Group has announced a major expansion of production at its plant in Kaluga, western Russia, which will involve building a new manufacturing line and double the capacity of an existing line.

A statement sent to just-food said that the construction and installation work should be completed by this November.…

WITH its huge agricultural hinterland and distinctive products – tvoroh (curd cheese), sour cream, kefir (a fermented milk drink) and syrniki (fritters made with curd cheese) – Ukraine has a unique local dairy market with an appeal beyond its national borders.…

SPAIN’S personal care product market is continuing to grow after years of post-financial crisis weakness. Spain’s skincare, cosmetic and perfume industry continues to mature, and has turned in solid sales figures for 2017, reflecting the optimistic mood of the economy after the ‘lost’ years of the recession.…

THE VOLUME of counterfeit and contraband textile products, reaching Russia via nearby countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia), last year (2017) amounted to Russian roubles RUB30 billion (USD500 million), according to Russian government officials and textile producers.…

AS China’s retreat from mass market clothing production continues, Bangladesh knitters are eyeing another added value knitwear niche – sportswear. Following the industry’s success in boosting sales within the profitable lingerie segment, Bangladesh manufacturers are ramping up production in sports apparels, although some experts say that work is needed on boosting its supply chain, particularly of manmade fibres.…

Food products with colour-coded packaging, informing the consumer about the sugar, salt and fat content will soon appear on the shelves of Russian retail stores, according to draft voluntary regulations written by the national consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor.

Its proposal would instruct food manufacturers to marking meat, fish, bread, dairy and other food products with ‘traffic lights’ symbols indicating their intrinsic healthiness.…

RUSSIAN airport holding and cooperating company Basel-Aero, which is owned by the Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska may sell some of its airport assets, government officials have told Jane’s Airport Review.

The spark for the sales is likely to be financial problems caused by the recent inclusion of Deripaska in a new USA sanctions list of Russian companies and plutocrats the US, said senior officials at the Russian ministry of transport and air industry analysts. …

Brazil is by far the country most-named in American investigations for crimes against the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), with China trailing behind in second place, according to the latest listing from a blog, FCPA Tracker. It says industries cited in the different FCPA probes tied to Brazil include power generation, waste management, oil and gas services, food production, steel manufacturing and telecommunications.…

BRAZIL’s agriculture minister Blairo Maggi has announced his country, “the world’s second-largest producer and largest poultry exporter” wants to contest the European Union (EU)’s restrictions on poultry meat exports at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The case could set an important world trade law precedent for poultry imports, regarding the extent to which importing countries can block trades over salmonella contamination.…

Unlike the limited range of minerals used in fossil fuel production, many minerals, metallic and nonmetallic, are used in renewable energy technologies. However, production is often low and concentrated in a limited number of countries – creating potential strategic supply problems.…

SURGING rates of cybercrime are driving businesses of all kinds to devote more attention and resources to preventing cyber-attacks, and drilling employees on how to respond to attacks is a key and increasingly important precaution.

According to John Skipper, a UK-based cyber security expert at specialist technology and innovation consultants, PA Consulting,

“Every organisation should be training staff to recognise a potential threat and react correctly.…

THE UKRAINE government is to allocate up to USD300 million towards the development of the domestic textile industry in its country over the next two years, according to officials.

A government spokesman for the ministry of economic development and trade told WTiN.com…

THE SOUTH Korean cosmetics market, currently evaluated by Frost & Sullivan at USD12.4 billion and growing at 7% year-on-year, is leaving behind the negative effects of a de facto boycott by Chinese tourists. The travel freeze, sparked by Seoul’s decision to install a US-made anti-missile system to protect itself from North Korea, has been in place since early 2017.…

For the first time since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980, the African country’s tobacco selling season opened on March 21 this year with long time ruler Robert Mugabe no longer in power.

Former President Mugabe resigned last November (2017), faced with impeachment proceedings from Zimbabwe’s lawmakers, with the country’s generals and his own ZANU-PF party having turned against him.…

RUSSIA’S oil and gas sector has been targeted in new USA sanctions rolled out on oligarchs and companies linked to a Russian government.

Seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control; 17 senior Russian government officials; a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank, will have their US-based assets frozen.…

WITH President Donald Trump angered by the Syrian government chemical weapon attack near Damascus, the US government has rolled out additional financial sanctions on oligarchs and companies linked to a Russian government that Washington blames for abetting such outrages in Syria.…

THE NONWOVEN adult incontinence market in Europe is offering hygiene product manufacturers and brands a chance to profit in a wider sanitary segment that has been and remains highly competitive.

Western Europe has a high per capita consumption in sanitary protection and a fiercely competitive retailing environment, according to Miles Agbanrin, an analyst for market researcher Euromonitor International.…

RUSSIAN airports are intensifying preparations for a flood of passengers in the run up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup from June 14 to July 15, having expanded their carrying capacities and modernised operations, according to Russian transport ministry officials and airport bosses.…

RUSSIAN airports are intensifying preparations for a flood of passengers in the run up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup from June 14 to July 15, having expanded their carrying capacities and modernised operations, according to Russian transport ministry officials and airport bosses.…

THE RUSSIAN government plans to allocate up to USD250 million on the design and production of technical textiles and nonwovens for the country’s military forces.

It is planning to fund production at facilities run by some of the leading Russian manufacturers in the next financial year (2018-19).…

IS the Caspian Sea a sea or a lake? A definitive answer may bring a resolution to the thorny issue of just who gets to access to which parts of its lucrative oil and gas reserves. And last December (2017), the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov unexpectedly announced that an agreement had been reached.…

SINCE the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the USA, the UK, Russia, France, China, Germany and the European Union (EU), foreign financial institutions have – in theory – been allowed to do business with Iran.  But the reality – as ever with relations with Iran – is proving to be a good deal more complex.…

AN OFFICIAL from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) has told just-drinks that the growth in free trade zones (FTZ) is boosting the sale of counterfeit drinks.

OECD’s policy analyst Florence Mouradian said the drinks sector that was a target for illicit traders in FTZs.…

Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg has confirmed plans to invest about Russian Roubles RUB8 billion (USD140 million) in developing an international airport at Novy Urengoy, in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a major oil and gas production centre in northern Siberia.

A concession agreement, signed between Vekselberg’s investment company Renova Holding and the Yamalo authorities, involves the billionaire promising to redevelop the existing Novy Urengoy airport by 2021.…

A RESUMPTION of flights from Russia to Egypt has been postponed to April, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, with procedural issues holding up the launch. Direct airlinks have been suspended since a 2015 terror attack on an airliner taking off from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh.…

SENOR Russian government officials have conformed to GlobalMeatNews plans to build Russia’s largest duck meat production unit, in the Iskitimsky district of Novosibirsk region (oblast), south-western Siberia.

Russian ministry of agriculture and Novosibirsk oblast bureaucrats said the unit would be constructed by the Ulybino Poultry Factory Company, a major Russian poultry producer.  …

THE UK may have a formal relationship with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) after its planned March 29, (2019) departure from the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May has signalled in a detailed policy speech. Speaking in the City of London, she said: “We will also want to explore with the EU, the terms on which the UK could remain part of EU agencies…” And while not naming EFSA, she said – in theory – she was prepared to allow the UK to be bound by the rules of EU agencies, post-Brexit. …

A NEW multi-million dollar textile and clothing manufacturing hub is set to be established within the Crimea as a pressing Russian government priority to halt the annexed region’s trade in illegal textile products, according to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Boosting domestic textile production – initially in garment fabrics and subsequently technical textiles – is aimed in part to depress demand for illicit goods in the peninsular, predominantly from China and Turkey.…

Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to build 16 nuclear reactors, both small and large, to generate 17GWe by 2040. While no tenders have yet been awarded, the kingdom is working with numerous international partners to develop its nuclear infrastructure and safety systems.…

INDIA’S 12 newly sanctioned nuclear reactors with 9,000-megawatt (MW) capacity may use imported fuel, but most of the equipment will be made in India, government officials have told Fuel Cycle Week.

“We will see what is the maximum [amount of fuel] we can get from within the country and then what will be the external input of fuel,” Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan, member of India’s Atomic Energy Commission, told Fuel Cycle Week.…

WHILE Mongolia is a low-income country, with an annual per capita income of approximately USD3,590 in 2016 (said the World Bank), its economy is heavily reliant on mining, so increasing foreign investment in the sector is boosting the risk of dirty money entering the country.…

THE USA’S Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed banning correspondent bank relationships within the United States for the Latvia-based ABLV Bank which it says has aided money laundering. With US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin immediately backing the move, the clampdown is sure to happen, maybe within three months.…

DANISH Idavang A/S, a European meat producer, has announced plans to build a new pigmeat processing complex in Russia’s St Petersburg region this year (2018), according to the company.

To generate funds for the project, the company has issued EUR85 million’s worth of Eurobonds.…

Vietnamese textile and garment industry officials have capped a bumper 2017 with forecasts for further robust export growth this year if it can overcome challenges from neighbouring country textile sectors by investing in skills, equipment and automation. 

Le Tien Truong, general director of the Vietnam National Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex), predicting a year-on-year increase of 10% in export value, to USD34 billion, from 10.23% annual growth in 2017 when exports totalled USD31 billion.…

A NEW polyester plant is to be built in a Russian textile production hub to overcome a shortage of domestic technical textile and nonwovens raw materials and, ideally, launch the export of those materials to the European Union (EU) market. 

The Russian federal government, together with the Ivanovo regional government (oblast), north east of Moscow, are now building an Ivanovo Polyester Complex, which they hope will become a major supplier of raw materials once it starts operations in early 2019.…

The economic crisis, anti-smoking legislation, increased product taxation and new tax regimes for producers are taking their toll on the Greek manufactured tobacco market.

A surge in cigarette prices has depressed cigarette sales and increased fine cut tobacco sales, according to market researchers Euromonitor International.…

LURED by a shifting global market and better margins, Bangladesh’s apparel producers are rushing into the lingerie space, predicting Chinese manufacturers will secure fewer export orders for these lines as their costs rise.

This new niche opportunity for the Bangladesh industry is fortuitous, as it dovetails with the country’s textiles and clothing makers’ core strategy of moving from their traditional low-cost growth pillars, such as t-shirts, shirts, trousers, jackets and sweaters.…

A new terminal will be built at the Crimea’s Simferopol International Airport by summer 2018, according to the autonomous Crimean regional government, whose peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014.

With the planned capacity for the facility being 6.5 million passengers-a-year, the project reflects confidence that visitor numbers to this tourist region will continue to grow.…

Cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) are still very common in Russia, despite its continued ban on European Union (EU) pigmeat exports, imposed since January 2014 following a handful of cases in Poland and Lithuania. While outbreaks have continued in the EU, Russia – whose ban was imposed on live pigs, pork and pig products over fears importing ASF-infected meat and livestock, has from last July (2017) to today (January 30) notified to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) around 2,800 ASF cases of domestic pigs, and 90 cases in wild boars.…

THE RUSSIAN government has said it will fight an application by the European Union (EU) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for permission to impose retaliatory trade sanctions worth EUR1.39 billion over Moscow’s longstanding ban on EU exports of pigmeat products and pigs.…

A new manufacturing hub for producing pork and poultry meat, oriented towards exports to Asia Pacific markets, will soon be established in the Russian Far East by the Rusagro Group of Companies, one of Russia’s largest meat and agricultural producers.

A Rusagro statement released last Tuesday (January 16) said the investments required would exceed Russian Roubles RUB40 billion (USD705 million), the majority internally sourced.…

THE RUSSIAN government has said it plans to significantly increase its beef exports from Latin American states (except from Brazil) to compensate for potential domestic supply shortages created by the existing ban on imports of meat from western countries and a recent ban on beef imports from Brazil.…

The Thailand-based agricultural holding Charoen Pokphand Foods has announced plans to invest up to Russian Roubles RUB2.5 billion (USD44.5 million) to build two poultry breeding units in Russia this year (2018). The first will be established at Charoen’s existing Severnaya poultry farm, a major production centre in the St Petersburg region (oblast).…

DEFERRED Prosecution Agreements (DPAs), that allow companies and individuals that admit to wrongdoing and cooperate with investigators to pay a fine and avoid prosecution, are becoming increasingly common worldwide. Enabling wrongdoers to avoid being debarred from bidding for many contracts and providing law enforcers with a commitment that companies and individual fraudsters will avoid fraud in future, DPAs offer benefits for police and suspects.…

RUSSIA’S ministry of agriculture is planning to invest up to USD200 million this year and next (2018-2019) in developing breeding stock and systems for the country’s dairy cattle industry. According to a ministry spokesperson, these plans will be implemented by experts at the ministry department of livestock, as well as some leading Russian research institutions in cattle genetics, although specific participants will be announced later this year.…

MERGERS and acquisitions are always motors of change in the beauty and personal care product sector, and 2017 saw some significant shifts in the key Italian industry. Important acquisitions designed to extend product portfolios and boost market share included the move by Lombardy-based global leader in colour make-up and skincare Intercos to acquire leading contract manufacturer of skin-, hair- and body-care, Cosmint.  …

AFTER years of slow growth since 2008, eastern Europe’s now mature cosmetics and personal care market has continued to show marginal gains in products sales in the past year, according to experts.

The region’s cosmetics and personal care products sales edged to USD23.67 billion in 2017 from USD21.74 billion in 2016, counting sales in Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia and Georgia.…

Eurodon, one of Russia’s largest turkey producers, is planning to diversify its business through investing up to Russian Roubles RUB20 billion (USD338 million) in the building lamb production units within the country, the company has announced.

The risk benefits of expanding its risk portfolio have been made all too apparent in the past year, with Eurodon facing a series of outbreaks of avian influenza, which have helped saddle it with financial losses of RUB2.6 billion (USD44 million).…

THE EUROPEAN industrial minerals industry has reacted positively to the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers’ formal approval, December 4, of new anti-dumping rules. Scheduled to come into force on December 20, they may help the EU impose anti-dumping duties against Chinese dumped industrial mineral exports.…

AS much as USD200 million is to be invested by the Russian government in the local manufacture of raw materials used by the domestic textile industry over the next two years (2018-19).

Funds will be allocated to boost production of cotton, flax and wool in specific areas across the country, thus allowing for the reduction of imports of such products by between 25% and 30% as early as next year, said Russia’s minister of industry and trade, Denis Manturov.…

THE PRICES of cosmetics and perfume products in Russia may double next year, as a result of the planned introduction of an excise tax on perfume and cosmetics products that should come into force on January 1, 2018, experts warn.

A spokesman for the Russian federal government told Soap Perfumery & Cosmetics that the introduction of the tax reflects how alcohol is present within perfume and cosmetics products manufactured in Russia and will bring Russia into line with internationally-accepted practices.…

UKRAINE meat exports have increased by 1.5 times this year to USD397 million in value terms, looking at sales for January-September compared to the same period during 2016, with the country shedding its previous reliance on Russian markets. A report from the Ukraine Institute of Agrarian Economics said that the biggest growth in overseas sales was in the poultry segment, where exports for the first nine months of the current year grew by 38.2% in value terms year-on-year to USD294.86 million.…

THE RUSSIAN Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) may impose a ban on all imports of beef and pork from Brazil, the largest meat importer to Russia, in coming days over concerns about the detection of a forbidden hormone, government officials have warned.…

The lure of banking bonuses, lack of dedicated resources, ineffective implementation of compliance mechanisms and whistleblower protection schemes have all been blamed for incidents of financial organisations turning a blind eye to money laundering.

But it seems that regulators are increasingly unimpressed – a fact that money laundering reporters need to heed.…

WHILE the Vatican City State and Holy See’s acceptance that their financial institutions could be exploited by money launderers is far more realistic than the denials of 10 years ago, a much-anticipated Italian court ruling has shown much work is needed to clear dirty money from these hallowed accounts.…

RUSSIAN textile manufacturers aim to double the country’s production of synthetic fabrics from next year with the aim of reducing dependence on imports, according to the government and industry insiders.

Over the past three years, the production of synthetic fabrics has become one of the most promising segments of Russia’s textile sector, due to ever growing domestic consumption.…

CHINA’S imposition of temporary safeguard duties to protect its sugar industry have been challenged at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), with sugar giant Brazil arguing Beijing’s tariffs break global commerce rules. In a signal that Brazil might be considering launching a disputes case against China, diplomats for the South American country told a WTO safeguards committee meeting that the duties broke the WTO agreement on safeguards and the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT). …

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) meat sector has said it is disappointed by the decision of the Russian government to widen its meat and livestock ban from western exporters. Speaking to GlobalMeatNews, the secretary general of the European Livestock and Meat Trades Union (UECBV), Jean-Luc Mériaux, said: “It is a big disappointment for sure, there is nothing to negotiate.…

THE RUSSIAN government has expanded the range of meat and livestock imports that it is blocking from the USA and the European Union (EU) and other associated countries who have been imposing sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of the Crimea and support for Ukraine separatists.…

A SENIOR official at the US Meat Export Federation has told GlobalMeatNews how he regrets small signs of recovery in the US-Russian meat trade have been snuffed out by the latest expansion of Moscow’s meat import ban. US exporters, said Thad Lively, senior vice president – trade access, had been “shipping a little fat to Russia”.…

MOSCOW region’s Zhukovsky International Airport aims to become the first Russian airport to list an Initial Public Offering, with plans to float shares on a stock market within the next two to three years. According to Tomas Vaisvila, CEO of Ramport Aero, which operates Zhukovsky, the airport could list an IPO as early as spring 2019.…

A NEW terminal being built at Gelendzhik Airport is expected to service its first passengers visiting the Russian Black Sea resort of Gelendzhik by the end of 2018, the airport’s operating company Basel Aero has stated.

This project is designed to more than double the capacity of Gelendzhik Airport to service 314 passengers per hour.…

The Russian government is to postpone implementing plans to consolidate Moscow airports into a single aviation hub under a single owner, hoping that the hands-off approach will encourage private investments in the country’s domestic airport industry. 

The Kremlin had earlier been vocal in calling for a united ownership of Moscow’s four airports, but the move has been resisted.…

MOSCOW region’s Zhukovsky International Airport aims to become the first Russian airport to list an Initial Public Offering, with plans to float shares on a stock market within the next two to three years. According to Tomas Vaisvila, CEO of Ramport Aero, which operates Zhukovsky, the airport could list an IPO as early as spring 2019.…

AS one of the world’s leading financial centres and a traditional bridge to mainland China for international business, Hong Kong has long been in the crosshairs of global money laundering investigations.

Hong Kong featured in the infamous ‘Russian laundromat’ scandal, uncovered by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), that saw USD20 billion moved out of Russia between 2010 and 2014 through a web of shell companies.…

IT would be hard to design a jurisdiction with a greater exposure to money laundering than Macao. A small autonomous Chinese jurisdiction, next to the populous province of Guangzhou, which relies on a huge gambling sector for its income, it is no wonder that Macao has come under pressure from international assessors to run a tight ship regarding anti-money laundering (AML).…

French prosecutors have accused Denmark’s leading bank Danske Bank of playing an organised role in a Russian fraud and money laundering scam. Prosecutors, from the Paris High Court, allege that an Estonian branch of the bank helped to move EUR15 million “from organised fraud and tax evasion” in Russia into France and other European Union (EU) jurisdictions between 2008 and 2011.…

AFTER introducing digital printing and leading Bangladesh’s knitwear sector by example, the country’s knitting major, the Knit Concern Group, has said it will ramp up its capacity to digitally print 1 million metres of fabric monthly by 2022. Presently, the knitter, based in Narayanganj, near Dhaka, can digitally print 260,000 metres of fabric a month.…

THE RUSSIAN government plans to significantly increase Russian exports of textile and technical textile products to foreign markets over the next few years, officials have told WTiN.com.

Planned export volumes have not yet been disclosed, however, according to some sources close to the ministry of industry and trade, the government is targeting an increase of 100,000-150,000 tonnes in 2017-2018, with the possibility of a three to four-fold increase over the next few years.…

VIETNAM’S textile and clothing and textile sector is looking to sell more product into Asian markets such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan, while solidifying its traditional export bases like the US and EU, the latest trade data indicates. 

Last year, Vietnam exported USD2.28 billion’s worth of clothing and textiles to South Korea – a 7.45% gain compared with 2015, according to Vietnam customs data analysed by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). …

RESTRICTIVE quotas limiting European Union (EU) sugar production to 13.5 million tonnes have finally been scrapped, freeing producers to hit market demand. The abolition of the quotas from October 1 sees European Commission officials predicting that EU sugar production will increase 20% and reach 20.1 million tonnes for the next harvest.…

THE ARAB Spring, for all its faults, inconsistencies and disappointments, has delivered the world one thriving open and pluralistic Arab society – Tunisia – where women especially have seized new freedoms and spending power. This is reflected in spending on spa and salon services in the country, where, according to market researcher Euromonitor International, in the year of the 2011 Jasmine Revolution the turnover of the Tunisian spa sector was just USD32.4 million.…

THE UNITED Arab Emirates (UAE) may hold an enviable portion of the world’s oil and gas reserves, at 4% and 3.5% respectively. But this has not stopped the country diversifying its long-term energy sources through developing nuclear power. With generation imminent, nuclear energy regulators and companies are watching closely how this rare event – a country embarking on a new civilian nuclear programme – rolls out.…

RUSSIAN law-enforcement agencies have said they will conduct a detailed investigation into criminal allegations against Cherkizovo, Russia’s leading pork and poultry producer.

The management of the company is suspected of using illegal offshore financial schemes for paying dividends and lowering taxes, according to a spokesman of the Russian interior ministry has recently said.…

Airports within the 11 Russian host cities of the 2018 World Cup are in the final stages of major reconstruction programmes helping them serve this major international sporting event.

Moscow’s three airports – Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo – will be the main ports of entry into Russia for the tournament.…

A MAJOR international anti-counterfeiting action ‘Operation Renegade’ did not just seize more than 70,000 counterfeit auto spare parts, oil and air filters, grills, and fuel pumps, and nearly 600 cylinders of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants, it yielded valuable anti-smuggling and counterfeiting information.…

CONFECTIONARY manufacturers in India are having to grapple with their products and ingredients attracting a wide range of tax rates under the country’s new goods and services tax (GST), which started to be levied from July 1.

India’s GST Council, a body representing the central and state governments, has been deciding which goods will be covered by the zero, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% tax rates allowed under India’s GST legislation. …

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) and China have struck a geographical indications deal preventing the names of 100 traditional food and drink items from either jurisdiction being used by manufacturers based outside their historic production regions or following standardised production techniques. Without complaints from manufacturers, the agreement will be formalised later this year.…

Russian scientists have developed a diagnostic drug that may prevent anthrax outbreaks in livestock by identifying which animals need to be re-vaccinated against the disease. The medicine has been developed because of concerns over statistics gathered by the Russian ministry of agriculture indicating that despite the mandatory vaccination of livestock in the country against anthrax, about 30% of these animals remain susceptible.…

THE RUSSIAN meat industry has reported that its profitability rose by 2.2 times between 2013 and 2016, actually benefitting from the tit-for-tat sanctions imposed by Russia and its western trading partners, according to the Russian ministry of agriculture.

In a report released on August 11, the ministry said state support for Russia’s meat industry increased following the imposition of sanctions.…

THE GLOBAL increase in commodity prices for beef and veal has dampened demand in Russia for imports of these meat products. The country’s agriculture ministry has said imports fell 18.6% this January-May compared to the same period in 2016, That was mainly due to a rise in import prices, which since the beginning of the current year have grown by almost 25%, said ministry officials.…

Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia’s largest in terms of traffic, will invest up to Russian Roubles RUB147.1 billion (USD2.5 billion) expanding its capacity from its current 35 million to 80 million passengers per year by 2026, according to a new development plan.…

RUSSIA plans to become one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of tin in the coming years, expected to take place through the investment of up to USD250 million developing some of the country’s largest tin fields.

According to officials at Russia’s energy ministry, some of these funds will be provided directly by the state, with the remainder allocated by private investors, who will be responsible for the implementation of the project.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission should do more to ensure stricter safety rules for coatings and varnishes coming into contact with food, industry experts have told Polymers Paint Colour Journal (PPCJ), following MEPs’ calls for European Union (EU)-wide measures last October.

Indeed, the European Union (EU) industry group CEPE (the European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists’ Colour Industry) has said: “An agreed harmonised protocol for risk assessment is urgently required,” agreed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Commission, EU member states and Europe’s paint and coatings industry.…

THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) is planning to lend up to USD100 million to LUKOIL Overseas Shah Deniz Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Russia’s PJSC LUKOIL, helping it take part in developing Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field. This investment is a rare EBRD financing of a Russian company.…

Amid concerns about a growing shortage of workers in Russia’s textile industry, leading companies are looking to recruit staff from India, China and other emerging market nations.

According to latest data from the Russian ministry of industry and trade, the current vacancy rate across the country’s textile industry is 36%.…

RUSSIAN clothing and textile consumers are increasingly choosing to buy products with natural materials and brighter colours, grassroots retail managers in Moscow have told WTiN.com.

Speaking from the major wholesale and retail complex ‘Textile Profy Moscow’, which commands 120,000 square metres in selling areas, its managers said Russian consumers are increasingly eschewing subtle and muted colours.…

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has decided to extend for 18 months the existing bans on imports of food and agricultural products to Russia from the European Union (EU), according to a Kremlin spokesperson. Putin has ordered that the ban will now last until December 31, 2018.…

The European Commission will press trading partners at this week’s July 7-8 G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, to remove unfair obstacles to European Union imports, after a EU report detailed such restrictions, many affecting clothing and textile trades.

Referring to the Commission’s latest annual Report on Trade and Investment Barriers (TIBR), EU trade Commissioner Cecilia Malström warned G20 leaders it was prepared to launch World Trade Organisation cases if necessary: “We are taking action.…

A MAJOR Japanese corporation with significant meat trading interests – Mitsui & Co Ltd – is undergoing talks on potential business opportunities with the Rusagro Group, one of Russia’s largest vertically integrated livestock and agricultural holding companies.

Hiroo Yoshida, of Mitsui’s corporate communications division has confirmed that Mitsui has acquires a token amount – 0.005% – of Rusagro’s capital and the companies are “exploring the possibility of co-operation”.…

THE RUSSIAN government is planning to promote exports of Russia-produced poultry meat and pork to China and has already started talks with the Chinese government to secure the necessary health approvals to increase exports beyond current low volumes.

Impetus for the move has come from the top, with Russian President Vladimir Putin stressing in a speech that the government has high hopes for selling poultry to the Chinese, as, according to predictions of the Russian agriculture ministry, China may face with its shortage this year.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) meat industry has expressed disappointment over the decision by Russia to extend by 18 months its ban on EU exports of meat and meat products, but is optimistic that producers will continue finding alternative markets.

Leaders of EU farm industry association Copa-Cogeca and the European Livestock & Meat Trading Union (UECBV) stressed to GlobalMeatNews that the European Commission, food industry companies and EU member states had successfully adapted to Russia’s actions.…

THE CHAIRMAN of the Cherkizovo Group, one of Russia’s largest meat producers and processors, is to consolidate his stake in the company through the acquisition of 21.3% of its shares, which are currently owned by Prosperity Capital Management, one of Russia’s largest investment funds.…

Japan and Russia are to start trading meat products in earnest during the second half of this year, following an agreement between Tokyo and Moscow.

According to Japan’s ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, imports to Japan will be limited to beef that has undergone heat treatment in Japanese government-approved Russian factories.…

WITHOUT European Union (EU) supervision, the fight against fraud, in the UK at least, will become more difficult after ‘Brexit’, European fraud experts claim.

“London is already known to be a major money laundering centre, so that can only get worse once the EU ‘strings’ have been severed,” predicted Hugh Penri-Williams, fraud consultant and vice president of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) France.…

The Belarus government plans to reform its current profligate state support scheme backing its domestic meat industry, with the aim of making it more efficient and profitable, according to a spokesperson for the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko. He said the government planes to better focus public investment and operational support on the meat production and processing sector, which has shown poor returns on the major cash injections made in recent years.…

DEMAND for men’s personal care products is growing in Russia – a stark change for a country where men’s grooming was traditionally limited to the bare hygiene essentials, with any additional attention to physical appearance spurring fears of appearing too effeminate.…

THE RUSSIAN Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) may impose a ban on all imports of beef and pork from Brazil, the largest meat importer to Russia, in coming days over concerns about the detection of a forbidden hormone, government officials have warned.…

HUNGARY has signed an agreement with Russia’s Gazprom involving the central European country linking its gas distribution networks to the planned TurkStream pipeline, routing Russian gas via Turkey into Europe. Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto struck the deal with Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller, which involved Hungary building infrastructure to link with TurkStream, which will also cross Bulgaria and Serbia.…

MONGOLIA remains one of the world’s key global production centres for cashmere, and its importance seems to be growing, with its cashmere garment exports increasing – total 2016 overseas receipts were USD9.6 million, up 196% since 2009.

Demand is driven by Mongolian goat fibres’ unique characteristics, most importantly of which its length of 38-45cm and thin microns facilitating the manufacturing of garments with higher quality than those made from Chinese and Afghan goat fibres. …

The European Commission will press trading partners at this week’s July 7-8 G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, to remove unfair obstacles to European Union imports, after a EU report detailed such restrictions, many affecting clothing and textile trades.

Referring to the Commission’s latest annual Report on Trade and Investment Barriers (TIBR), EU trade Commissioner Cecilia Malström warned G20 leaders it was prepared to launch World Trade Organisation cases if necessary: “We are taking action.…

ORGANISERS of a major three-day India Textile 2017 exhibition in Gujarat have hoped to use the event to encourage product diversification and better supply chain links within the country’s growing textile sector.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oft quoted maxim – ‘from farm to fibre, fibre to fabric, fabric to fashion and fashion to foreign markets’ – was the guiding principle for the event that concluded in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar on July 2.…

Russia and three Gulf countries are planning to establish an aluminium industry association whose goal is reducing overproduction in the global market, raising prices for the metal.

Despite the ongoing diplomatic standoff between Qatar and its neighbours, the Russian government says it has already started talks with the governments of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, regarding establishing the new association.…

Russia and three Gulf countries are planning to establish an aluminium industry association whose goal is reducing overproduction in the global market, raising prices for the metal.

Despite the ongoing diplomatic standoff between Qatar and its neighbours, the Russian government says it has already started talks with the governments of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, regarding establishing the new association.…

The Russian government, together with private investors, plans to invest up to USD300 million in developing the Usinskoe manganese field, the largest manganese reserve in Russia, located in Kemerovo Oblast, in southwestern Siberia.

The project is expected to be implemented by a local mining company, CJSC CHEK-SU.VK,…

THE UKRAINE government has proposed a package of policies aimed at supporting domestic textile manufacturers who continue to struggle with the country’s ongoing economic and political turmoil.

Ukraine Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman announced the initiative on June 20, which involves spending USD150 million between 2017 and 2020.…

THE RUSSIAN government has announced that is planning to invest an additional Russian Rubles RUB145 billion (USD2,5 billion) into rejuvenating the country’s textile manufacturing sector. In the latest initiative designed to kickstart this ailing industry, the ministry of industry and trade has release a new approved strategy (on May 25) – it is designed to run until 2020.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has warned that the Chinese government is planning to introduce what it calls “unjustifiable food certification requirements” for imports into China. This alert comes in a new annual report from the EU executive on international trade and investment barriers, looking at developments last year (2016) and upcoming changes.…

Greek savoury snacks specialist company Chipita has refused to confirm or deny reports that it plans to build a new plant for its products in Slovakia. The company told just-food.com that “it is interested in many markets (including Slovakia) and is constantly looking for opportunities.…

Vnesheconombank (VEB), one of Russia’s largest state-owned banks, may gain control over much of the Eurodon Group, the major Russia-based turkey producer, from its current owner, high profile business leader Vadim Vaneev, according to regulatory sources. The move, should it happen, would be because of money owed by Eurodon to VEB.…

Global meat majors including Germany’s Tönnies Denmark’s Danish Idavang are planning to invest in major Russian projects – government officials say the scale of Russia’s 144 million market could be overcoming reluctance by overseas players to develop Russian operations because of its economic recession and sanctions.…

THE RUSSIAN government has declared publicly that it is strengthening its fight against corruption, promising the adoption of new laws fighting graft and expanding the powers of law enforcement agencies.

These measures should cascade from an existing national anti-corruption plan, which was approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 20 this year, and which was updated on April 7.…

GLOBAL knitwear outsourcing centre Bangladesh is expected to soon ratify the emerging market D-8 PTA preferential trade agreement, newspaper reports in Dhaka say, indicating the government may have loosened demands over rules of origin. Bangladesh has been pushing for its manufacturers to gain privileged access to D-8 markets (Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Turkey, as well as Egypt if it also ultimately ratifies), if 30% of value in a product is created within Bangladesh.…

EUROPE’S nonwovens producers again served up a solid performance in 2016 against the background of (uneven and) uncertain trading conditions for the industry.

As usual, the just-published returns from EDANA, the representative organisation for the USD30 billion nonwovens industry in Europe, show some important national variations.…

THE CIVIL Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has claimed that its government’s policy of forging transport links with countries in central Asia, south and south-east Asia, Africa and Europe (the so-called ‘belt and road’ plan) is promoting air travel between China and these states.…

THE NETHERLANDS-based Hendrix Genetics plans to build a complex producing hatching eggs for turkey chicks in Russia this year, according to the Russian ministry of agriculture.

Ina report, it has said the new complex will be able to produce 6.5 million hatching eggs per year, and the potential to increase volumes in future.…

EUROPEAN electricity industry federation Eurelectric hews closely to the views of its national associations, so when all but two of its members made a commitment in April (2017) not to fund investments in new-build coal-fired power plants after 2020, the energy sector can be sure this is a solid promise.…

THE PLANNED introduction of mandatory audit firm rotation (MAFR) by the South African Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) has sparked widespread dissention within the country’s business and accounting communities This is despite that the reform’s goal is to strengthen auditor independence and audit quality and that there are some calls for the move to be brought forward from the current introduction date of April 1, 2023.…

THE CONSTANT roll out of Russian government plans to diversify its industrial base has now turned its focus to textile raw materials, with Moscow unveiling plans to resume large-scale production of flax and wool.

These sectors, according to agriculture minister Alexander Tkachev, have been neglected over the past 30 years, since the fall of the USSR in 1991.…

The Russian government has told Industrial Minerals of its plans to help boost rare earth element (REE) production across Russia in upcoming years.

The government is initially setting aside USD350 million for direct and indirect support for the sector, said an official at the ministry of industry and trade.…

The volume of tungsten production in Russia will be significantly increased during the next several years, due the planned development of the Tyrnyauz field, Russia’s largest tungsten and molybdenum reserve, which is located in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic of the country, north of the border with Georgia.…

AMERICAN meat major Tyson Foods is expanding within the Russian poultry breeding sector through the planned signing a deal with Samuel Lipman, a former board member of Cherkizovo Group, one of Russia’s largest meat and poultry producers and processors. Tyson plans to buy his 48.25% stake at the Broiler Budushego (Broiler of the Future), which controls about 40% of the Russian poultry breeding market. …

GLOBAL knitwear outsourcing centre Bangladesh is expected to soon ratify the emerging market D-8 PTA preferential trade agreement, newspaper reports in Dhaka say, indicating the government may have loosened demands over rules of origin. Bangladesh has been pushing for its manufacturers to gain privileged access to D-8 markets (Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Turkey, as well as Egypt if it also ultimately ratifies), if 30% of value in a product is created within Bangladesh.…

THE CONSTANT roll out of Russian government plans to diversify its industrial base has now turned its focus to textile raw materials, with Moscow unveiling plans to resume large-scale production of flax and wool.

These sectors, according to agriculture minister Alexander Tkachev, have been neglected over the past 30 years, since the fall of the USSR in 1991.…

RUSSIAN air traffic controllers in Smolensk have been blamed by Poland’s Deputy Prosecutor, Marek Pasionek, for the 2010 air crash in Russia that killed Poland’s president Lech Kaczynski and 95 other senior Polish politicians. Speaking at a press conference on April 3, Pasionek said that a detailed investigation had revealed “evidence that has allowed prosecutors to formulate new charges against air traffic controllers, citizens of the Russian Federation”.…

Political uncertainty over US trade deals sparked by the ascension of President Donald Trump to power should be eased to avoid stifling innovation in the country’s technical textiles industry which could see it marginalised on the world stage, insiders have warned.…

A SIGNIFICANT number of law enforcement and private partners have joined European police cooperation body Europol’s global ‘No more ransom’ project, designed to halt the growing threat of ransomware. There are now 76 participants in the project, which was launched last July (2016) by the Dutch National Police, Europol, IT firm Intel Security and cybercrime specialists Kaspersky Lab.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) exports of textile products to Russia have stabilised, despite a sharp fall between 2014 and 2015, as diplomatic relations between Brussels and Moscow worsened amidst financial sanctions imposed on Russian companies and banks over the Ukraine crisis.

New figures passed to WTiN.com…

A EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) judgement has confirmed the legal right of the European Union (EU) and the UK to subject Russian oil companies to financial sanctions and implement them using criminal law. These rights had been challenged by Russian oil and gas major Rosneft, and the case had been subsequently referred to the ECJ by the High Court for England and Wales.…

A EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) judgement has confirmed the legal right of the European Union (EU) and the UK to subject Russian oil companies to financial sanctions and implement them using criminal law. These rights had been challenged by Russian oil and gas major Rosneft, and the case had been subsequently referred to the ECJ by the High Court for England and Wales.…

With the value of Bitcoin skyrocketing over the past year, up from USD525 per Bitcoin last August to USD1,200 in mid-April, with one unit now being able to buy an ounce of gold, finding ways to efficiently regulate decentralised and independent virtual currencies (VCs) has become a top priority among governments and regulators worldwide.…

Europe’s nonwovens producers again served up a solid performance in 2016 against the background of (uneven and) uncertain trading conditions for the industry. As usual, the just-published returns from EDANA, the representative organisation for the USD30 billion nonwovens industry in Europe, show some important national variations.…

WHILE Jordan usually has a reputation for reliability, security and stability, the truth is that the Hashemite Kingdom is behind the compliance curve as regards anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) compared to many of its Middle Eastern peers.…

THE DIAMOND trade is still one of money launderers’ best friends due the precious stone’s high value to mass ratio, akin to the highest value banknotes that can be obtained. Indeed, it is maybe harder to trace diamonds than numbered banknotes, there is no reliable means by which the point of origin of a particular diamond can be ascertained just by examining it.…

AS the international glass market continues to recover from the global recession, experts predict emerging markets might be tempted to invest in plant development to manufacture their own flat glass rather than paying expensive import fees buying from one of the handful of major suppliers.…

NEW powers have become available to the UK Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) from Monday (April 3), to impose major fines on individuals and organisations (including companies) who breach UK financial international sanctions.

Penalties can range up GBP1 million (USD1.25 million) or 50% of the value of the breach, whichever is higher.…

RUSSIAN non-wovens material producer the Thermopol company is planning to launch by May 27 (2017) a new thermal-insulating material which is flame-resistant, including to burning combustible liquids such as gasoline, alcohol or even a Molotov cocktail.

These properties maybe particularly useful given that the Moscow-based manufacturer’s key customer for the material is the National Guard of Russia, the country’s domestic military force, policing borders, fighting terrorism and dealing with civil disturbances.…

A CONSORTIUM of investigative journalists has claimed to have identified a model showing how a Russia-based money laundering scheme moved at least USD20.8 billion out of the country, via Moldova and Latvia. Significant portions of this money was transferred to accounts held by western banks including Britain’s HSBC and Coutts, the Bank of America and other major financial institutions, said the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s (EU) comprehensive and ambitious ‘Energy Union’ package of reforms, launched last November (2016) could do more to boost the oil and gas industries, experts have told the Petroleum Review.

These ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans’ legislative proposals cover energy efficiency, renewable energy, the design of the electricity market, security of electricity supply and regulatory rules.…

The Russian government is planning to significantly increase the volume of the country’s domestic vanadium production, according to a statement sent to Metal Bulletin by Russia’s minister of industry and trade Denis Manturov.

He said: “Russia has the world’s largest deposits of vanadium-titanium magnetite ore.…

Brazilian overseas beef meat sales are set to grow in 2017, according to projections from the Associação Brasileira das Indústrias Exportadoras de Carne (ABIEC). “Our export forecasts for 2017 are USD5.5 to USD6 billion, said Antônio Jorge Camardelli, the ABIEC president.…

DIGITAL printing is all about potential for production flexibility and creativity, and the technology can unleash new design, even in countries were higher tech manufacturing and finishing is rare – such as Russia.

Take Alexandra Kaloshina, the owner of the Moscow-based Solstudio Textile Design – she is pushing ahead with developing and printing innovative collections for a Russian market that is always hungry for new designs, and if they are locally-made – so much the better.…

EUROPEAN food and drink exporters will be preparing to boost exports through the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada (CETA), which has been provisionally approved by the European Parliament.

The deal, whose duty reduction and quota expansion elements could apply from April (2017) will phase out nearly 99% of tariffs on all food and drink traded between the EU and Canada over the next seven years.…

Deutsche Leasing Vostok, a member of German company Deutsche Leasing Group, has encouraged Russian textile manufacturers attending Russian Textile Week events, staged February 20-24 in Moscow, to lease rather than buy manufacturing equipment.

Deutsche Leasing Vostok representative Yulia Grukhanova told WTiN.com…

TALKS that could see Charoen Pokphand Foods (overseas) LLC the Russian arm of Thai food conglomerate CP Foods, acquire the Ostankino Meat Processing Plant (OMPP), one of Russia’s largest meat processing facilities, may be concluded next month.

Russian newspaper reports have suggested that the potential deal could cost CP USD150 to USD200 million, although the companies have not confirmed this.…

SHEREMETYEVO International Airport has strengthened its commanding position in the Moscow civil aviation market, posting a 7.6% growth in passenger traffic during 2016 to 34.03 million passengers. By contrast, its rivals Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports saw their passenger numbers fall last year by 6.6% to 28.5 million and 11.8% to 13.94 million respectively.…

THE CONTINUED success of Europe’ major technical textile fair, Techtextil, Frankfurt, (the next event runs from May 9 to 12) illustrates how the continent’s technical textile sector is thriving on its innovation.

“We don’t know what the future brings. We only know where it will be exhibited.…

KEY MESSAGES

*The nuclear industry has an ageing staff and needs to recruit new professionals as they retire

*Its strong health and retirement benefits packages could help it attract the new staff it needs

*The nuclear industry outside north America has a strong expat component, making it easier for recruit staff from abroad

INTRODUCTION

The nuclear industry sector is facing some significant human resources challenges, but new research carried out by Airswift and Energy Jobline indicates that the nuclear sector can still compete for talent.…

Natural gas, including its liquefied form LNG, can be the long-term growth story among fossil fuels but needs to withstand stiff challenges

The naming ceremony in February 2017 for offshore facilities for the Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in Australia was another milestone in the huge wave of investment in LNG production capacity globally in recent years.…

TURKEY’S textile and clothing sector witnesssed a drop in trade during 2016, according to new statistics, witht he industry struggling to deal with slowing growth in the global economy and political disruption in its home country last year. The weakness of the Turkish lira in exchage markets has also harmed the industry by raising the cost of inpts.…

THE ISRAELI natural gas sector is undergoing significant expansion, with the country pushing ahead to plan to develop and commercially exploit new fields. Indeed, “this past year in energy has been the most dynamic year we have ever had,” said Dr Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s minister of energy, at the annual Energy & Business Convention, held in Tel Aviv in November (2016).…

THE VALUE of crime-tainted money moved through Russian banks has been falling fast – to Russian roubles RUB200 billion (USD3.3 billion) in 2015, down from RUB350 billion in 2014, according to data provided by the Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring).…

The Syria conflict is into its sixth year, as are the multilateral sanctions imposed on the government in Damascus. How effective have the sanctions been, given the Syrian regime’s survival? And where may have funds from members of the regime, and those linked to it, gone?…

ICELAND’S lamb farmers are turning to marketing promoting the unique nature of their meat product to help them cope with falling local meat prices caused by overproduction and declining exports. A spokesman for the Farmers’ Association of Iceland (Bændasamtök Íslands) said a new campaign to promote the unique taste of the country’s “short-tailed special breed of sheep” abroad could make the industry viable.…

Oleg Deripaska, the Russian industrialist who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, plans to secure a 100% stake in Yemelyanovo airport, in Krasnoyarsk, the largest airport in central and eastern Siberia. Russian-language newspapers suggest the cost will be Russian Roubles RUB5 billion (USD83 million).…

THE RUSSIAN government has said it will ensure the construction of a third runway at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia’s busiest airport, prior to the FIFA World Cup 2018, despite the project having been approved since 2009. Dmitry Peskov, press-secretary of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, stressed that the new runway will be 3,200 metres long and 60 metres wide.…

AN INTERNATIONAL consortium of investors led by Singapore’s Changi Airport Group, the Russia-based Basic Element holding company and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) sovereign wealth fund have agreed to acquire Vladivostok International Airport from owner JSC Sheremetyevo International Airport.

The takeover is expected to cost Russian Rubles 6 billion (USD100 million).…

WINTER sportsmen and women are busy training for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, in South Korea, from next February 9 to 28 (2018), and part of their preparation will be securing the best clothing and footwear made from carefully drafted technical textiles.…

A JUDGE yesterday (January 17) approved Britain’s largest ever commercial crime enforcement action – a GBP497.25 million (USD616 million) plus interest and GBP13 million costs (USD16.1 million) deferred prosecution agreement with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Sir Brian Leveson, President of the Queen’s Bench division, agreed the penalty for Rolls-Royce, covering covers 12 counts of conspiracy to corrupt, false accounting and failure to prevent bribery.…

FRENCH luxury group conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) has consolidated its position in Russia by acquiring a 100% stake in Ile de Beauté, one of Russia’s leading cosmetics chains.

The deal was signed on January 16 with Igor Denisov, a Russian businessman and the founder of Ile de Beauté, which, to date, has operated the retail business together with LVMH, in the form of a joint venture.…

The Italian beauty and personal care industry has headed into 2017 with optimism, on the heels of a still slow yet solid recovery in the domestic market and the strengthening of its competitive edge in foreign markets. Although the most recent confirmed data goes back only to 2015, industry association Cosmetica Italia’s latest forecast for the sector, released in July 2016 and entitled, ‘Economic Forecasts, Trends and Investments in the Cosmetics Sector – July 2016’, gives a good idea on the 2016 year-end results we can expect from the Italian cosmetics industry.…

HONG Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange have put listed companies on notice that they will closely monitor rights issues and open offers that substantially dilute the interests of non-subscribing minority shareholders.

In a joint statement, the SFC and the exchange have said they fear in some cases deals have been conducted without complying with requirements to give fair and equal treatment to all shareholders. …

A new high tech clothing factory has been opened in the city of Pohar, in southwest Russia by the regional government of Bryansk, which will boost demand for technical textiles worldwide, potentially boosting Russia’s hard-pressed textile sector.

The Bryansk oblast operates the plant – which started operations in October – through an afflicted company in which it shares control with private investors.…

Russia’s economic woes are well-documented, yet, rather than mirroring the financial downturn, its personal care market and industry has remained comparatively healthy. Beneath these encouraging figures, however, strong currents appear to be instigating long-term changes to the sector, notably an increasing preference for cheaper products by hard-pressed consumers.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Confederation of European Beet Growers (CIBE) and the European Association of Sugar Producers (CEFS-Comité Européen des Fabricants de Sucre) have jointly called on the European Union (EU) to continue protecting producers with import tariffs, even as the EU negotiates 12 trade deals affecting the food industry.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) and its member states have been keen adopters of rules restricting how tobacco companies make, market and sell their wares, but to what extent have the EU’s neighbours to the east and southeast followed suit?

The answer is – largely – yes: controls have increased – but the extent to which this has happened and the details of restrictions vary widely from country to country.…

THE NEW York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has fined the Agricultural Bank of China USD215 million for violating the USA state’s anti-money laundering (AML) laws. The regulator will also install an independent monitor, reporting to the DFS, to address serious AML deficiencies within the bank’s compliance programme at its New York branch.…

Technical textiles will be a key driver of growth within the Russian textile and light industry in the coming years say experts at the Russian Union of Entrepreneurs of Textile and Light Industry (Soyzlegprom). A spokesman for Andrey Razbrodin, president of the industry body, said that its market research has confirmed that the share of technical textile sales within the output of Russian light industry has increased significantly continues to grow.…

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is investigating if European Union (EU)-wide controls are needed to protect consumers against substances used in tattoo inks and permanent make-up (PMU) – with one solution expanding the scope of the EU cosmetics directive.

While the printing ink industry has suffered a recession, the tattoo and PMU ink sectors are booming in the wake of a huge increase in purchases of tattoos EU-wide.…

IRAN’S rose water export sector is facing the potential for rapid expansion now that the country can trade freely globally after the bulk of international banking and economic sanctions imposed over the Iranian nuclear programme were lifted this January (2016).…

COMPANIES and the financial professionals that work with them have many risks to worry about, but few can seem as menacing and as alien as the so-called ‘dark web’.

The Internet can be described as an iceberg: the websites and services most people use regularly are the tip, but there is an entire other, much larger world submerged below.…

AB InBev and Turkey’s Anadolu Efes are considering merging their Russian businesses, which would create Russia’s second largest beer producer, according to a spokesperson for the country’s industry and trade minister Denis Manturov.

He said: “Currently two possible scenarios of the merging of Russian assets of the companies are discussed, one of which involves direct purchase of the Russian assets of Efes by AB InBev, or the sale of the Russian business of AB InBev to Efes, in exchange of the increase of a stake in the Turkish company, where AB InBev already holds 24 percent.”…

The Russian government is planning to facilitate up to USD300 million in private investment for the development of the national textile industry, according to an official spokesman of Denis Manturov, Russia’s minister of industry and trade.

He told WTiN.com that funds would be invested in the establishment of large-scale facilities specialising in textile production, with the aim of ensuring that such plants would be located across the country.…

Turkey’s rocky political situation following the failed military coup of July 15, the following massive purges and recurring terrorist bombings may have a negative effect on the country’s large textiles sector, experts are warning.

“It’s likely to lead to some uncertainties, obviously, in the general economy,” Turkey-born economist Ozan Şakar, of managing director of London-based Descartes Capital.…

THE MEAT and livestock industry is a global affair and so its trade generally has to follow the rules of World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements, which cover the vast majority of countries – 164 members (with the 28 European states counting as one member).…

LLC Kamyshinksky Textiles, one of Russia’s largest textile producers, plans to become a leading player in the market in the next few years following its extensive expansion programme, according to its general director Alexander Borisenko.

“Modernisation of our production capacities has been carried out since 2011 and is expected to be finally completed by 2018-2019,” Borisenko said.…

Heineken has announced that it will stop the production of beer at one of its oldest breweries in Russia, in the Baltic Sea city of Kaliningrad, starting from January 1, (2017). In an official statement, Heineken said this followed a decline in Russian demand for beer and growing government-imposed administration costs imposed on business within the country.…

The Internet can be described as an iceberg: the websites and services most people use on a regular basis are the tip sticking out of the water, and there’s an entire other, much larger world submerged below. This underwater portion generally goes by two names – the deep web and the dark net.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU)-safety rules are needed for more materials in contact with food, such as those used in packaging, kitchen utensils and tableware, a European Parliament motion has said. MEPs said that only some of these materials, such as plastics and ceramics, have been fully tested for safety for human health.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed a series of standards designed to promote sustainability in the chocolate and cocoa sector, and wants industry input.

It has released drafts on the ISO 34101 series, on ‘sustainable and traceable cocoa beans’, and wants expert opinions on them, for submission by December 4.…

Leading Russian clothing designers are developing plans to start significant volumes of domestically-produced exports to Western markets during the next several years, potentially boosting demand for upstream suppliers based in the country. Alexander Serafimov, one of Russia’s leading fashion designers, has said that particular attention will be paid on increasing exports to the European Union (EU) and the USA, because of the potential to generate larger profit margins than in Asia.…

MILLIONS of Euros have been released by the European Union (EU) to fund projects deepening the international gas pipeline network in eastern Europe, a key element of EU plans for forge an ‘energy union’.

One major project is a EUR179 million plan to create the Bulgaria–Romania–Hungary–Austria (BRUA) system of gas lines.…

THE PAINT mixing segment is a competitive world with companies constantly seeking a technological edge to generate additional sales. Of course, the segment is diverse – spanning the development of mixers helping paint and coating companies make their products, and aiding users to apply these lines.…

BRAZIL’S exports of pigmeat are booming, with over January to July, volume sales overseas increasing 42.2% year-on-year compared to the same time period in 2016. The Brazilian Protein Association (Associação Brasileira de Proteína Animal) says that from January to July this year (2016), 413,300 tonnes have been exported, be it frozen or processed meat, including sausages.…

The Russian government will by the end of this month (September) appeal the recent ruling of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) opposing Russia’s swine fever-related ban on European Union (EU) exports of pigs, pigmeat and related products by the end of September, according to the Russian government.…

Growing competition across the world for clothing outsourcing contracts, with China not only being challenged in Asia, but by sub-Saharan African and even Russian suppliers, is pushing Asian governments to sharpen their industrial policy to retain market share, a major international conference has heard.…

RUSSIA is banning imports of fruit and vegetables from Egypt as of September 22. The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (‘Rosselkhoznadzor’) confirmed the ban and noted it is the result of Egyptian exporters’ non-compliance to Russian phytosanitary rules.…

There is “irrefutable evidence” the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 that crashed over war-torn Ukraine on 17 July 2014 was hit by a Russia-made BUK missile from the 9M38 series, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT) told a Wednesday (September 28) press conference for relatives of the 298 victims.…

RUSSIAN police have arrested Dmitry Zakharchenko, a senior anti-corruption official, charging him with abuse of power, obstruction of justice and accepting bribes in Moscow’s Presnensky district court on September 10. This followed police raids seizing more than USD122 million in cash – USD120 million and EUR2 million – allegedly held by the deputy head of the energy industry department of the General Administration of Economic Security and Combating Corruption (GAESCC).…

THE DEVELOPMENT of electricity interconnectors crossing national borders is simultaneously a technical and geo-political act, requiring careful planning and skilled installation of technology, along with an eye towards promoting security of power supplies.

Such investments are a priority of the European Union (EU) and its member states under its Energy Union programme.…

EUROPEAN COMMISSION LAUNCHES GLOBAL TAX AVOIDANCE BLACKLIST ASSESSMENT

THE EUROPEAN Commission has completed the first phase of an assessment designed to help the European Union (EU) frame its own blacklist of jurisdictions deemed un-cooperative over tax avoidance and evasion. Brussels has released a ‘scoreboard’ of non-EU jurisdictions judging whether they exchange information with foreign tax authorities, have preferential or low tax regimes, have close and important economic and financial links with the EU and are politically stable (and hence more attractive as a tax haven).…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) has told Russia that its import duties on palm oil and its fractions break global trading rules and it will have to cut or remove them. They are 3% at present, although they cannot fall below 0.09 EUR/kg.…

Russia is ready to lift the existing embargo on the imports of food and agricultural products from Turkey imposed last year after diplomatic relations between the two countries soured following the shooting-down of a Russian fighter jet last November (2015). Arkady Dvorkovich, Russia’s first deputy prime minister.…

A key element of Russia’s bans on European Union (EU) food exports was challenged today, with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) saying the country’s bans on European Union (EU) exports of pigs, pigmeat and related products, imposed over African swine fever (ASF) cases, breach global trade laws.…

South America’s cosmetics and personal care sector is looking to bounce back from a slowdown caused by the region’s macroeconomic troubles, but political pressures and regional trade alliances are driving individual country markets down divergent paths.

Over the last year, countries across the region have been buffeted by economic turmoil that has had a knock-on impact on the cosmetics sector.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s latest EUR500 million support package for European farmers, finalised at an August 26 European Union (EU) committee in Brussels, will not ease the dairy crisis, European dairy groups have warned.

“Production cuts is the label used to describe the current package of measures,” said the EU farm lobby group European Milk Board (EMB)’s president Romuald Schaber following the initial announcement of the plans in July.…

Although the economy of Thailand has been lacklustre amid serious political uncertainty following a military coup in 2014, the Thai personal care market has continued to display resilience. According to UK-based market researcher Euromonitor International, Thai retail sales of colour cosmetics in 2015 grew by 7.5% year-on-year to the equivalent of USD583.6 million, compared to 2.8% in the economy overall (following 0.8% in 2014).…

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Najib Razak has come under renewed pressure over allegations that he personally profited from a sovereign wealth fund, after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced it would seek to recover more than USD1 billion in “misappropriated assets”.…

ORGANIC wool can pose various challenges to producers and apparel and textile manufacturers, including added costs and more complicated logistics. But for niche markets, these products can attract customers willing to pay more for softer, chemical-free woollen goods.  

Dalena White, secretary general of the Brussels-based International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO), told Twist International: “Wool farmers have lovely stories to tell, including the heritage of their sheep, the natural pastures they graze on and the love they have for their animals and their native land.…

IN an ever more interconnected world, where reliable energy flows are of critical importance to sophisticated developed economies, the role of diplomacy in helping keep oil and gas flowing is perhaps more important than ever before.

Of course, oil and gas has always been an international business.…

THE ASIA Pacific region remains the workshop of the world in terms of nonwovens production, and it is not only China’s producers who are growing, local suppliers are feeding growing domestic markets for nonwovens products elsewhere in east and southeast Asia.…

BANGLADESH has secured a strategic financial reserve to build its first nuclear power plant after Russia lent the south Asian country USD11.38 billion to push ahead with the project. But experts have warned Fuel Cycle Week that progress on the project could be “long and winding” and, unsurprisingly, “expensive”.…

The Russian ministry of industry and trade is claiming that the country’s steel manufacturing sector will receive a significant increase in orders through its new plans to invest up to USD300 million in developing Russia’s civil shipbuilding industry.

According to its minister Denis Manturov, the majority of funds will help pay for the construction of new ships such as container shops, trawlers and other commercial vessels, within Russian shipyards, notably boosting demand for high-strength steel, which is currently produced at small volumes in Russia, (roughly 10% of output according to ministry officials).…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has welcomed Friday’s (Aug 19) ruling from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) opposing Russia’s bans on European Union (EU) exports of pigs, pigmeat and related products, imposed during 2014 because of outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF).

Russia, meanwhile, has said it is studying the ruling and may yet appeal.…

India will start manufacturing fuel components and other equipment for its Russian-designed nuclear reactors within the next 10 years, Indian authorities have told Fuel Cycle Week. “There will be certain range of equipment that could be made much earlier, but others like pressure vessels for a large steam generator could take that period of time [10 years],” Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan, member of India’s Atomic Energy Commission told Fuel Cycle Week.…

A DROP Chinese domestic pork production, generating more demand for pigmeat imports, has become major boon for Danish pork farmers who are ready to double exports to China this year, industry experts have said.

This “has been a game changer for the farmers, as we have seen the prices on slaughter pigs rise nearly 20% this spring,” meat processor Danish Crown head of press Jens Hansen told GlobalMeatNews. …

Turkey may resume supplies of its textile products to Russia thanks to the recent improvement of relations between the two countries, according to the Russian ministry of industry and trade.

Despite the fact, that Turkish textile products were not formally included in the list of sanctions on goods imposed after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter plane last November, shipments to Russia have almost ceased with border controls impeding imports.…

VIETNAM’S textile sector faces significant challenges as it seeks to profit sustainably from new commercial opportunities offered by international trade deals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a major industry conference has been told. The Vietnam Textile Summit 2016 was held from June 29-30, at The Reverie Saigon, an upscale hotel in downtown Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).…

WITH 4.8 million Syrian refugees registered by the UN, and many more displaced without registration, their impact on consumer markets outside their home country has been significant. The tobacco sector has been no exception. Indeed, even before the civil war, Syrians were keen smokers – with 2004 Syrian Centre for Tobacco Studies research indicating that 56.9% of men smoked cigarettes and 17% of women; 20.2% of men smoked waterpipes (shisha) and 4.8% of women; 29% smoked daily – 51.4% of men and 11.5% of women).…

CASES of African swine fever (ASF) continue to be reported in Poland, Lithuania, Russia, the Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, making it tough for an agreement to be reached between Moscow and Brussels on lifting trade controls sparked by the disease.…

THE ENTRY of Froneri, the joint venture company formed on a 50-50 basis by Nestlé and UK-based manufacturer R&R, into the Russian ice cream market, is poised to boost competition in a segment that has been showing increasing dynamism.

Russian ice cream sales have not only been increasing, they have become more diverse, with consumers being offered more choice from Russia-based and international food corporations.…

Large Russian and foreign aviation businesses may start a new fight for the ownership of Moscow Domodedovo airport, Russia’s largest and one of its most profitable airports. The stakes are not purely commercial as Domodedovo is a key Russian airport asset which is not currently controlled by investors affiliated with the President Vladimir Putin’s government in the Kremlin.…

Banking security chiefs and their opponents in their opponents in the underworld of cybercrime are fighting a “cold war arms race” with no long-term solution in sight, fraud specialist academics have told Fraud Intelligence.

And if anyone should doubt that this threat is not just profound, but global in scope, witness that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB – Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti) announced last month that it had arrested 50 members of a gang believed to have been responsible for a Russian Roubles RUB1.7 billion (USD 26.6 million) bank cyberhack using the Trojan programme ‘Lurk’ to collect customer data.…

THE RUSSIAN government is considering ways of preventing a potential halt to deliveries of foreign alcohol into Russia, caused by delays in providing sufficient quantities of new-style excise stamps to importers.

The new stamps took effect on July 1 and all alcoholic drinks imports should now carry them.  …

Finland is always different from its neighbours across the Baltic. Not Scandinavian, but still Nordic, Finland’s personal care product market has been experiencing hard times, as the country of 5.5 million people sees its economy seesaw between contraction and mild grow (-0.7% – +0.5%) in the last three years.…

Delivering products that are present in everyday life to unknown markets across the globe, online sales are essential to boost the already booming EUR77 billion European cosmetics market, Cosmetics Europe director general John Chave told last week’s ‘Personal care in a changing world’ conference in Brussels (June 13-17).…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) dairy producers are suffering a prolonged crisis because of the April 2015 elimination of milk quotas; Russia’s food import ban – now extended until December 31, 2017 – and worldwide overproduction, the European Parliament has heard. Moreover, MEPs at a ‘New exceptional market measures limiting milk production’ hearing hosted by the European Parliament’s agriculture and rural development committee in Brussels on May 25 were not convinced the EU’s EUR500 million aid package agreed in September 2015 would give producers the help they need.…

Specialist health and nutritional foods are set to become more important in the European market in future, according to Nestlé executive vice president and head of EMENA zone (Europe, Middle East and North Africa), Luis Cantarell, who singled out foods for the ageing population as a key priority.…

The Russian government has decided to ease its extended embargo on imports of food and agricultural products to Russia from Western countries, according to the Russian ministry of agriculture. 

An official statement said exports from the European Union, USA, Norway, Australia and Canada of poultry meat, frozen beef, plus dried and frozen vegetables used to make baby food in Russia would be allowed into the country.…

Russia’s decision to extend its import ban on a wide range of European Union (EU), US, Canadian, Australian and Norwegian food exports until December 31, 2017 has met with widespread disapproval from the EU meat industry. “Overall I can say we are very disappointed,” EU farm body Copa & Cogeca spokesperson Amanda Cheesley told GlobalMeatNews.…

THE EUROPEAN nonwovens industry has been pushing ahead, maintaining consistent growth above increases in GDP for the whole economy, increasing its international collaboration, and the successfully exploring new markets. And while it is rarely prudent to make anything more than short-term predictions about cost and tariff problems, such difficulties faced by the European nonwovens sector seem have been pushed into the background. …

THE SINGAPORE Stock Exchange (SGX) has started negotiations with London’s Baltic Exchange, which could see Singapore Exchange Ltd obtain full ownership of The Baltic Exchange Ltd, which operates this UK-based international freight derivatives market.

The Baltic Exchange and SGX will now meet with Baltic shareholders and business partners to explain and discuss the offer.…

THE UNITED States Trade Representative (USTR) has highlighted its continuing concern about intellectual property rights violations in the pharma sector, citing claims that 20% of medicines sold in India are fakes.

In its annual ‘Special 301 Report’, the USTR said it notes “its particular concern with the proliferation of counterfeit pharmaceuticals that are manufactured, sold, and distributed in trading partners such as Brazil, China, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Peru, and Russia.”…

THE INTERNATIONAL Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that Belgium’s planned phase-out of its nuclear power capacity threatens the security of its energy supplies. In a paper on the country’s energy outlook, the IEA concluded: “Phase-out by 2025 is close. Security of supply needs to be ensured, but new investment in generation capacity is lacking.”…

Brazil’s economic and political crisis is delaying plans to develop its nuclear power industry, experts say. This could be a lost opportunity to help the country reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030, and 37% below 2005 levels by 2025 as committed by the government at the United Nations’ 21st Session of the Conference of Parties (COP21), in Paris last December (2015).…

Russian automotive consumers suffering in their country’s current economic recession are delaying vehicle purchases and investing in single, more expensive family cars rather than buy several small cars for individual use, experts have told wardsauto.

They are commenting on data that has confounded predictions that the country’s volatile financial situation would mean a return to purchasing cheaper and smaller car models, such as the Ladas driven during the Communist years.…

Russia and Turkmenistan have discussed selling an increased level of textile and cotton products from this central Asian country on the Russian market, according to a report from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.

At a high-level meeting in March between the chamber’s vice-president Alexander Rybakov, and the Turkmen ambassador to Russia, Berdymurad Redzhepov, the two countries raised the prospect of greater cotton exports.…

Chinese investors are considering expanding their presence in the Russian textile industry, according to Russia’s ministry of industry and trade. The move is expected to take place through the Chinese financing of new production facilities within Russia and the relocation of existing China-based textile plants to Russia, ministry officials told WTiN.com,…

As the European Union (EU) dairy industry continues to face challenges, it is calling for EU institutions and member governments to have a greater focus on resolving Russia’s ban on EU agricultural goods, while continuing to open up new markets. In the meantime, the Russian ban has not helped an oversupply problem that is depressing prices.…

Leading Russian publishing houses have filed a petition to the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), asking it to prevent the ever growing domination of Prosveshenye publishing house in the domestic market, especially educational textbooks.

The move follows a recently issued recommendation from the Moscow city government’s education department to its secondary schools to give preference to Prosveshenye books when procuring literature for their school curricula.…

RUSSIA’S agriculture ministry has announced that it is drafting a decree that will extend the country’s ban on imports of a wide range of European Union (EU), US, Canada, Australia and Norway food exports until December 31, 2017. Russian agriculture minister Alexander Tkachev said in Moscow today that his ministry did not plan to expand the number of products covered by the ban.…

GLOBAL personal care product giant L’Oréal will invest more than Russian Roubles RUB2.5 billion (USD37 million) to increase production in Russia, with the company saying its current plant is operating at full capacity. L’Oréal’s Russia spokesperson Valeriya Murygina told Soap Perfumery & Cosmetics that the company would expand production facilities at its existing Russia factory, located at the Vorsino industrial park, in the Kaluga region, 85 km from Moscow.…

NORTH America’s textile sector – of which technical textiles comprise nearly 70% production by value in the USA and just below 50% in Canada – has grown slowly when compared with global production. And growth within the industry in North America will further slow by 2020 due to competition from the Asia-Pacific region and Western Europe, according to industry analysts at Euromonitor. …

How to remain competitive in the face of falling meat consumption is the main challenge facing the meat and livestock industry today, Pekka Pesonen, secretary general of European Union (EU) farmers’ organisation Copa-Cogeca, has told GlobalMeatNews.

In an exclusive interview held as the EU body launched its #livestockcounts #enjoyagrifood campaign, promoting quality European meat consumption, Pesonen said: “We must ensure the added value of eating high quality meat as part of a balanced diet is communicated effectively to the consumer.”…

A COST of maintaining nuclear generation capacity of between 95 GWe and 105GWe in the European Union (EU) until 2050 and beyond will cost between EUR350 and EUR450 billion over the next 35 years, the European Commission has concluded. (That is between USD398 billion and USD511 billion at current exchange rates).…

New Zealand’s butter producers may be a global force in this key dairy segment, but they have regarded the groundbreaking Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement with scepticism. Negotiations for the TPP produced a deal last October (2015), and although New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra and the DairyNZ producers association declared they had secured increased access to some key markets – Japan, Canada and the United States all increased butter quotas to varying degrees – there was general agreement that the gains had been modest.…

MULTI-COUNTRY regions such as eastern Europe do not always follow the same script when it comes to market performance. Sometimes, when major events happen, such as the global financial crisis, it is difficult for national coatings markets to buck the trend, but with the recovery now established, weakening economic headwinds, the latent differences between national markets can become clear.…

The world of mergers and acquisitions in the Russian oil and gas sector can sometimes be as opaque as a matryoshka doll: political interference and considerations are often almost as important as business ones; and takeovers can fall through at the last moment, even as parts of the Russian state’s energy holdings discuss mergers with private national players.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers have told the European Commission to devise detailed assistance measures to help European pigmeat producers, following a debate at the EU Council of Ministers for agriculture yesterday (March 14).

A communiqué said that the Council and Commission had agreed to “take decisive actions without delay” building on the EUR500 million aid package for farmers approved last September (2015).…

The Russian government has approved a proposed state programme targeting a significant increase in the domestic production of rare-earth elements (REE) by 2020. The news was announced by a spokesman for Denis Manturov, Russia’s minister of industry and trade, whose ministry oversees the development of REE.…

Poland has requested measures to help boost its struggling pigmeat sector at an European Council of Minsters’ agriculture and fisheries meeting, expressing “deep concern at the development of the situation in the pigmeat market.

A document circulated to EU ministers by the Polish delegation to the council said additional financial resources, or “exceptional support”, from the EU for the pigmeat sector to compensate for producers’ continuing losses resulting from Russia’s embargo and a drought in 2015.…

Uranium suppliers are increasing their focus on India’s rapid nuclear power development programme and plans to build a nuclear fuel stockpile. The Indian government has set an expansion target of generating 14,600 megawatts (MW) a year from nuclear power plants in India by 2024.…

Leading Russian oil and gas producers, along with the national government, are considering investing up to Russian Roubles RUB100 billion (USD1.4 billion) into developing drilling and related upstream technologies during the next several years, amidst an shortage in technology supplies.

Prior to the sanctions war between Russia and Western countries sparked by the Ukraine crisis, the majority of drilling technologies were imported into Russia.…

The Islamic Republic of Iran has had to deal with financial sanctions imposed by the United States following the revolution in 1979, and then ramped up during the Bill Clinton and George W Bush administrations. But it was the multilateral financial sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) and the European Union (EU) from 2007 onwards, and particularly in 2011, that hit Iran even harder, further narrowing an already limited window to operate financially in international terms.…

The Russian government has drafted detailed plans to tax palm oil, to reduce consumption of an ingredient it deems unhealthy and to boost revenue. The idea, finance ministry officials have told just-food, is supported by President Vladimir Putin.

The plans involve introducing an excise tax on palm oil from July 1 are already in place, with a USD200/tonne rate being approved by the finance ministry.…

Germany’s leading meat processor Tönnies Lebensmittel GmbH has agreed to take over up to 10 state-owned pig breeding businesses in Serbia, giving an additional supply capacity of up to 700,000 animals. The goal is to breed and process up to 4 million pigs by 2026.…

UKRAINE authorities have admitted detecting a malware attack on IT systems at the country’s Kiev Boryspil International Airport, with its government claiming Russian hackers could have been to blame. A communiqué from Boryspil said a virus linked to Trojan programme Black Energy was discovered on an operational computer.…

ON January 29 this year, the IT systems of Lincolnshire County Council – one of the UK’s larger local authorities – were shut down by a ‘ransomware’ attack, as a precaution while the attack was investigated. Staff went back to using pens and paper after around 300 computers were seized up, spewing messages that money needed to be handed over to hackers or these computers would remain unusable.…

WITH advances in technology making it increasingly possible for malware kits to be bought and used by people with relatively little IT knowledge,

‘cybercrime-as-a-service’ systems are causing anti-fraud professionals sharper and sharper headaches. This is regardless of whether they work for banks, police forces or in company IT departments.…

Organisers of the 13th annual Istanbul Yarn Fair remain optimistic about the future of Turkey’s yarn segment, despite the country’s recent diplomatic crisis with Russia depressing this year’s turnout.

“Although the recent political issues have affected the number of Russian buyers who come to the fair, the relationship between Turkey and Russia is very strong and [built on a long history],” said Gülbin Bozkurt, project group director of Tüyap Fairs and Exhibitions Organization Inc, which organised the fair.…

Considering the ongoing doldrums within the global economy, 2015 was not a bad year for South Korea’s coatings manufacturers. The sector’s cautiously positive sentiment mainly survived because Korean coatings consumption has been boosted by a domestic construction boom that made up for lacklustre demand from the east Asian export powerhouse’s carmakers and shipbuilders.…

A report released yesterday (Mar 10) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) has advised textile manufacturers to support government efforts to tighten environmental rules, saying they are unlikely to cause a loss of business.

The report is an attempt to dispel the widely-held view that tighter environmental rules increase costs and damages business – especially in emerging market manufacturing hubs.…

A shortage of raw materials and domestic equipment is making import substitution difficult for the Russian textile sector. Indeed, instead of seeing rising production amidst increased rhetoric about localising production, fabric output has slumped across all categories. According to industry insiders, manufacturers are still years away from replacing imports with locally-made products.…

GERMANY has been trying to soothe opposition to plans to double the capacity of the current Nord Stream 1 and 2 lines. The country’s Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel travelled to Warsaw to mollify Poland’s new conservative government, which has been upset by the proposal.…

Following the international agreement limiting its nuclear power ambitions, Iran is essentially open for business. However, certain US sanctions remain in place, adding to Western banks’ caution in dealing with Iran, long a pariah to global investors and bankers. Indeed, the biggest challenge will be reintegrating Iran’s financial institutions back into the international system after their years’ long experience of dealing with, and circumventing, sanctions.…

The ongoing diplomatic row between Turkey and Russia over the Syria civil war continues to take a bite out of Turkish textiles exports, a bilateral trade which had already been declining.

After Turkey downed a Russian jet near its border with Syria in November, Moscow introduced an array of economic sanctions, including tightened custom checks on textile imports.…

The Russian government is considering setting up new credit mechanisms for the country’s textile industry and increasing incentives for manufacturers to use domestically produced fabrics, according to the new support programme approved on January 29. But Russian textile industry representatives are sceptical about its short-term effectiveness.…

St Petersburg State University of Industrial Technology and Design is effectively leveraging its tight collaboration with textile industry representatives and a recently westernised curriculum to boost its reputation for upstream expertise within the sector.

Introducing differentiated bachelor’s and master’s standard courses has allowed the university’s Institute of Textile and Fashion to stay relevant, despite the changing textile industry landscape within Russia.…

Organisers of the 13th annual Istanbul Yarn Fair remain optimistic about the future of Turkey’s yarn segment, despite the country’s recent diplomatic crisis with Russia depressing this year’s turnout.

“Although the recent political issues have affected the number of Russian buyers who come to the fair, the relationship between Turkey and Russia is very strong and [built on a long history],” said Gülbin Bozkurt, project group director of Tüyap Fairs and Exhibitions Organization Inc, which organised the fair.…

The Russian government is reviewing the role of independent trade unions in the country, highlighting their current weak position within Russian textile industry.

Officials within the Russian ministry of industry and trade told WTiN.com that reforms under consideration may include the expanding their functions beyond workplace liaison to giving them the right to be consulted and have influence over proposed laws that affect the domestic textile and light industry.…

FOR India’s pharmaceuticals sales are expected to reach USD55 billion in 2020 from the current level of USD18 billion, although growth in exports of Indian-made medicines will be slower, predicts a research report released by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and New York-based consultancy firm TechSci Research.…

FOOD and drink export subsidies are to be scrapped after a World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, agreed to phase out these trade sweeteners. Developed country members have promised to remove export subsidies immediately for basic food products, with a slower phase-out for many processed foods and drinks, pigmeat and dairy products.…

Five years since the start of the Arab uprisings in 2011, instability is still impacting cosmetics sales in the Levant and north Africa. Last year saw a slight improvement on overall sales in 2014, the year the Islamic State spread through northern Iraq and Syria, but figures are down on 2013, and the growth projected in 2010, according to figures from market researcher Euromonitor International and estimates from cosmetics companies.…

The beauty and personal care (BPC) market in Italy ended 2015 on a positive note, recording marginal growth in market sales, production and exports, according to a December 2015 report ‘Trends and Investments in the Cosmetics Sector’, released by the national cosmetics trade association, Associazione Italiana delle Imprese Cosmetiche (Cosmetica Italia).…

It has taken more than half a decade for the cosmetics markets of eastern Europe to finally shrug off a long-running period stagnation that has characterised the regional market. Two underlying features – the financial crisis of 2008 and the completion of multinational takeovers in the noughties that saturated these post-communist markets – lay behind the extended period of slow, low or non-existent growth.…

THE HONG Kong government has signed an avoidance of double taxation agreement with Russia. It will prevent Hong Kong companies with a permanent establishment in Russia being taxed in both jurisdictions. Russian tax paid by Hong Kong companies will be credited against the tax payable in Hong Kong.…

RUSSIAN textile producers abandoning the use of fur trim on their fabrics, especially more expensive fur, according to Andrey Razbrodin, president of the Association is known as the Russian Union of Entrepreneurs of Textile and Light Industry, which includes Russia’s leading textile producers.…

An unofficial ban on the import of raw textile materials from Turkey has left Russian textile enterprises struggling to find alternative supplies among local manufacturers and maintain their production cycles. The situation has escalated so far that Russia’s ministry of industry and trade has recently asked industry representatives to compile a ‘white list’ of Turkish exporters who would be able to continue shipments to Russia, while the government in Moscow weighs the possibility of an official embargo on Turkish textiles.…

Thanks to the introduction of a tax incentive scheme launched by the government of Trinidad & Tobago, auto converters and dealers in the country are increasingly talking up Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a clean auto fuel for vehicles on the twin island Caribbean state.…

AN AGREEMENT has been signed between Bulgaria and Greece to build a 182-kilometre interconnector gas pipeline between Greece’s Komotini and Bulgaria’s Stara Zagora, which will help funnel Azeri gas sent via Turkey to eastern and central Europe. The pipeline will also ease Bulgaria’s energy exposure to Russia – it relies heavily on Russian gas exported via Ukraine.…

WHILE Russia has signed an agreement deal to build a nuclear power plant (NPP) in Egypt, a move that would give the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region its only NPP with third generation plus technology, significant obstacles remain before operations could be launched.…

The European Commission is making preliminary inquiries to determine whether a full-blown investigation into alleged price-fixing in the French pork and beef markets is justified. A spokeswoman for the Commission’s competition directorate general said it had received complaints and was investigating.…

Argentina is poised this year to increase beef exports to the European Union (EU) after its government predicted the EU would soon lift foot and mouth disease-related import restrictions for meat from its northern provinces.

New agriculture minister Ricardo Buryaile said January 20 that the European Commission would lift restrictions “in the first half of the year.”…

COMPETING fastfood chains are snapping at McDonald’s heels in Finland as the global player closes branches. McDonald’s now has just 72 outlets after chopping 10 in 2015. The remainder largely consists of franchises (59) with the rest owned by the Finnish subsidiary (13).…

OPPOSITION is growing within eastern and central Europe to the plan to expand the Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany. Gazprom, E.ON, BASF/Wintershall, OMV, ENGIE and Royal Dutch Shell have formed a consortium that would double the capacity of the current Nord Stream 1 and 2 line to 55 billion additional cubic metres of gas a year (bcm/y).…

Innovative protective coatings have always been marked on their ability to deliver a function with excellence. However, there is real marketing gold where companies can demonstrate that coatings deliver a range of protective functions at the same time, such as waterproofing, insulating, and protecting aesthetics.…

The Money Laundering Bulletin has assessed the impact of western financial sanctions on Russia – looking at the impact on anti-money laundering regulation – but what of the compliance demands on financial institutions?

These sanctions are complex, showing how governments can increase the risk of making honest citizens and organisations break the law by imposing complex financial regulations.…

A year after the Russian rouble suffered its worst single-day drop in exchange rate value in 16 years, Russians are more cautious about buying cosmetics and are showing a tendency to downgrade to cheaper products or seek out sales items. Experts are expecting increased competition in these lower cost segments in the coming years, as well as growing consumer interest in local brands and natural cosmetics. …

RUSSIA has launched a double-pronged diplomatic assault on European Union (EU) and Ukraine anti-dumping duties that restrict its exports of key mine explosives and fertilizer chemical ammonium nitrate. As for Ukraine, Moscow has formally launched disputes settlement proceedings at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), requesting formal consultations with Kiev over the issue.…

The conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea has had significant ramifications for both countries’ oils and fats industries. These are sizeable sectors in Russia and Ukraine, and the industries – and consumers – have certainly felt the impacts of these often traumatic geopolitical events.…

After more than four years of protracted negotiations that included bursts of occasional intense lobbying, the biofuels standards and subsidies saga in Europe has been settled with a compromise that allows both the industry and environmental groups to draw some satisfaction.…

A Brussels-based Russian energy diplomat dismissed the notion that his country uses energy policy as a political tool. Speaking at a European Policy Centre (EPC) seminar on the 28-member bloc’s proposed energy union, which is still in its early stages, Dmitry Semenov, first secretary of energy for Russia’s EU permanent mission said of Russia’s supposed strong-arm tactics: “If it does, I would like to see the results.”…

The European Commission has launched a review of whether subsidies promoting electricity generating and distributing capacity breaks European Union (EU) state aid rules. These are designed to make sure member states do not give their industries an unfair advantage in the EU’s single market.…

The Russian Union of Entrepreneurs of Textile and Light Industry, together with some of the country’s leading textile producers have called on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to suspend the fulfilment of some Russia’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) obligations affecting the textile industry.…

The increasing strength of the home textiles sector in Turkey has been signalled by the growth in a major international trade fair held annually in Istanbul. Exhibitors and delegates from worldwide attended the 21st Evteks International Home Textile Exhibition from May 19 to 23, which attracted approximately 125,000 textile professionals, according to statistics from organisers the Istanbul Fair Organization.…

Uruguay’s meat exports are rising, with growing production, aggressive promotions and wide access to global markets boosting sales despite a slump in Russian sales. Exports of offal, meat and byproducts increased 8.2% to USD659 million in the year through May 9, compared with USD609 million year-on-year and rose 16% in volume terms to 171,401 tonnes from 147,868 tonnes over the same period, according to the country’s National Institute of Meat (INAC – Instituto Nacional de Carnes).…

European Union (EU) beef farmers have called for help finding new markets to make up for the loss of exports to Russia in the wake of the crisis over Ukraine.
Jean Pierre Fleury, chairman of EU farm and livestock producer association Copa-Cogeca’s beef working party, has issued a plea to the European Commission, calling on it “to take urgent action to improve the EU beef market situation.”…

American pharmaceutical industry officials and trade groups remain cautiously optimistic that intellectual property (IP) negotiations with India can be resolved to the benefit of both nations’ medicine sectors. For now, however, India remains on a so-called ‘priority watch list’ of nations the US is urging to address key IP protection concerns.…

World football’s governing body FIFA – Fédération Internationale de Football Association – has claimed it is the victim following the arrests of 14 officials in Zurich on May 27, before its latest annual congress. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), which made the arrests for its US counterpart, also announced it had opened its own separate case.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states have suffered unevenly from Russia’s ban on EU food exports from last August, according to European Commission data.

While Finnish and Estonian extra-EU food and drink exports fell sharply in August-November 2014 compared to the same period in 2013 (32% and 22% down respectively), other EU food exporters saw only moderate falls in such sales, or even gains.…

The fall of the Russian ruble is pushing leading Russian textile and clothing brands into considering abandoning outsourcing abroad, shifting production back to Russia and away from China and other Asian countries, government officials claim.
According to analysts at the Russian ministry of industry and trade, the decline of the ruble (RUB) (1 ruble now buys 1.9 US cents, compared to 2.9 cents last June) through weak oil prices and western sanctions, has made Russian textile production 15%-20% cheaper than Asian imports.…

GOVERNMENT help in encouraging struggling auto markets can be very effective, but assistance needs to be phased out carefully so that sales booms do not turn into slump, the leader global automotive manufacturer federation OICA has told wardsauto.
In an exclusive interview, OICA (Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles) secretary general Yves van der Straaten pointed to the phenomenal growth in the Spanish car market as an example.…

GAZPROM has declared that it will fight the European Commission inquiry into possible dominant position abuses, even though the Russian position could be weak. The European Commission sent Gazprom a ‘Statement of Objections’ on April 22, accusing the Russian energy giant of abusing its dominant position in central and eastern European gas markets, a charge the company denies.…

Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014, which followed swiftly on the heels of the Ukrainian Maidan revolution, triggered a rapid chain of events, and the country’s energy sector is likely to be transformed as a result. Recent weeks have seen tentatively positive political developments, with a ceasefire more or less observed in eastern Ukraine.…

THE ONWARD march of nonwovens production in Europe appears to be relentless, but the drivers behind it have changed in recent years. Early markets for disposable products have matured and levelled off in many countries and newer applications have taken up the slack.…

The Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring), Moscow’s financial intelligence unit (FIU), has singled out individual and commercial customers using Russian banks from 41 countries for special transactions reports. Among these countries on the “blacklist” are the U.S., Canada, the European Union (28 states), Australia, Norway, Iran, Syria, Sudan, New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico Switzerland, North Korea and Zimbabwe.…

TO discover the best intelligence on money laundering, sometimes it is best just to ask the money launderers. Take China. There are numerous ways of getting dirty money out of China. The most common include smuggling a satchel of banknotes to Hong Kong (where Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY) is convertible), where it is washed through an over-priced (for quick transaction) purchase of real estate in the city, several Hong Kong real estate agents told the Money Laundering Bulletin.…

MONEY launderers are always looking for a new opportunity to clean dirty money, and have been exploiting sales of French vineyards for the purpose. Criminal networks have to this end leveraged a combination of a flagging domestic property market, increasing foreign interest in French property and wine, and a general ignorance among the real estate professional community about money laundering risks.…

THE POLISH, Scottish, Austrian and Belgian meat sectors are significant winners in the latest announcement of European Union (EU) marketing financing designed to help food companies seize more sales within and outside the EU.
They will benefit from multi-million Euro sales and marketing programmes, 50% funded by the EU, announced yesterday (Tues April 21).…

THE CHINESE knitting sector facing transformation, being challenged by lacklustre economic performance in its key export markets, fast-rising domestic labour costs, as well as a determined government crusade for energy savings and emission reduction. The industry is, in general, cautiously optimistic about tackling these challenges and experts agree that if knitwear producers stick to their strategy of adding value through more sophisticated automation, they will manage to retain manufacturing supremacy over their south Asian and southeast Asian peers.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states are now developing national policies that the EU has required to ensure that they have an adequate number of alternative transport re-charging and re-fuelling stations by 2020. This is deemed necessary to boost demand for vehicles running on alternative fuels in Europe.…

EXPORTERS of liquid milk and associated products to the European Union (EU) will have to work harder to secure sales in future from April 1, with the EU finally scrapping its production quotas from that date. They may also have to fend off new tough competition from EU exporters in their domestic markets.…

Of all the countries that made up the old Soviet Union, the central Asian republics have proved the slowest to open up to the outside world. For the personal care product industry, this represents opportunities, but also significant hurdles and barriers.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) health and food safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis called yesterday (March 23) for solidarity between EU countries in dealing with the Russian ban on exports of EU pig and food products.
“We cannot accept any situation under which different conditions might apply to different member states,” the Commissioner told the European Parliament’s agriculture committee yesterday evening in Brussels.…

The European Commission unveiled its long-anticipated new energy strategy on February 25, heralding the creation of an ‘Energy Union’, with a proposed influential European Union (EU) electricity regulator. The announcement also outlined how the European Commission wants to achieve the European Council goal set last of October (2014) for all member states to have interconnection capacity, enabling the export of at least 10% of their domestically-produced electricity.…

There were high hopes that Egypt was embarking on a new clean financial era following mass protests in January 2011 that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Popular calls for an end to the corruption and cronyism that had characterised Mubarak’s 30 year rule appeared to be heeded.…

EGYPT’S USD1.23 billion oils and fats market has still to recover from the country’s post-revolutionary environment following the January 2011 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Since then, Egypt’s economy has been on a downward trajectory, affecting consumer demand across the board.…

THE TRADE agreement currently being negotiated between the European Union (EU) and the USA could bring significant opportunities for paint machinery manufacturers if the two parties agree to align their technical standards.
The European Commission, which is negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on behalf of the EU, has said it would like to close the gap between the two sides regarding technical regulations affecting the marketing, use and conformity assessment of machinery, as well as electrical and electronic products.…

A senior Russia textile industry analyst has claimed that the country’s textile market will face a significant decline this year, due to Russia’s ongoing economic crisis and the devaluation of national currency. With western sanctions and oil and gas prices still low, the industry’s prospects are gloomy, according to Anna Lebsak-Kleimans, CEO of the Fashion Consulting Group, one of Russia’s leading advisory agencies for the textile and fashion sector.…

THE RUSSIAN government and the country’s textile industry will establish a Council for the Development of the Textile Industry, a private-public industry group charged with growing the sector. This initiative, announced on February 21, will involve leading Russian textile producers, including the BTK Group Co and the Tchaikovsky Textile Company.…

WHILST India is far from being a centre of sun-worshipping hedonism, the country’s fast growing young consumer market is increasingly aware and willing to use sun-care products. Younger middle class consumers are combining a long-standing cultural preference for lighter skins with growing health awareness and a desire to spend more leisure time in the sun, even if (usually) fully-clothed.…

SOUTH Korea’s personal care product industry is credited with developing the sheet mask, a facial covering made from microfiber, paper or hydrogel, impregnated with skincare products – and this delivery method is still popular with Korean consumers.
Indeed, in South Korea, spending on sheet masks grew 11.6% in 2014 to South Korean Won KRW80 billion (USD72.34 million), following a 9.3% decrease in spending in 2013.…

In the latest in a string of bans on cheese products entering Russia, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights and Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) has banned cheese products made by Poland’s Ostrowia.
But this latest dairy ban is not all it seems, and Milkiland, the Netherlands-based dairy products producer owning Ostrowia, has called for “dialogue” with Russian authorities because its banned ‘Wesola Krowka’ (‘Jolly Cow’) is made from vegetable fats.…

Milkiland, a Netherlands-based dairy products producer with operations in Poland, has called for “dialogue” with Russian authorities after Moscow’s consumer rights agency put an embargo on all non-dairy cheese imports from Poland, after examining one of its products.

The Russian agency, Rospotrebnadzor, released a statement in late February declaring that it had found that the ‘Wesola Krowka’ (‘Jolly Cow’) imitation cheese product did not meet Russian requirements for dairy products.…

Denmark slaughtered around 250,000 less pigs in 2014 compared to 2013, according to new data from the Danish Agriculture and Food Council (DAFC/ Landbrug & Fødevarer) based on figures supplied by the Danish Pig Producers association (DPP/ Danske Svineproducenter).
In total, Danish meat processing companies slaughtered 18.93 million pigs in 2014.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers today (Tuesday 24th Feb) approved a new pigmeat storage aid system, helping EU producers deal with low prices caused by the Russian trade embargo and rising production.
The system was proposed by the European Commission and allows producers to apply for temporary storage aid for six categories of pigmeat products, when market prices are too low.…

DAIMLER has told wardsauto that its move to streamline its commercial vehicle operations in Russia will put the company on a sounder footing in this market that has been severely hit by the fall in oil prices and Western economic sanctions.…

THE RUSSIAN government and the country’s textile industry will establish a Council for the Development of the Textile Industry, a private-public industry group charged with growing the sector. This initiative, announced on February 21, will involve leading Russian textile producers, including the BTK Group Co and the Tchaikovsky Textile Company.…

AN INTERNATIONAL regulatory cooperation pilot involving medicine regulators sharing real time assessments about generic medicines is now in full flow. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is leading the initiative, building on the European Union’s (EU) experience of cooperation between national regulators.…

THE RE-EXAMINATION of European Union (EU) market authorisations following concerns over clinical trials conducted by GVK Biosciences in Hyderabad, India, has sparked intense debate in Brussels.

A European Parliament hearing has heard comment and details about the recommendation from the European Medicine Agency’s committee for medicinal products for human use (CHMP) that some 800 forms and dosages of medicines approved in the EU be suspended.…

Security software makers Kaspersky Lab and crime fighters from Interpol, Europol and different countries have uncovered an unprecedented cyber-robbery.

Up to USD1 billion was stolen in about two years from financial institutions worldwide, Kaspersky said yesterday (FEBRUARY 16) while warning that attacks are continuing.…

In a country embroiled in an ugly armed conflict, the issue of confectionery may seem at first glance to be superfluous. In Ukraine, though, that is anything but the case.

Not only is confectionery a key industry for the country, but it is a highly politicised one.…

The Russian government is considering restoring the fire-damaged library of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INION), a major centre for research in social studies and humanities.

The Russian Federal Agency of Scientific Organisations (FASO), a federal executive body, said the January 31 fire damaged about 5.42 million books, of which about 2.32 million were destroyed.…

TEXTILE exports from Serbia to Russia have been increasing, as European Union (EU) exports fall amidst the continuing diplomatic standoff between Brussels and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. The Serbian government has also been working to prevent EU exporters using Serbia as a backdoor conduit for textile re-exports to Russian markets, taking advantage of the 2000 Serbo-Russian free trade agreement.…

As they looks at the rewards of shale gas production seen over recent years in the US, European producers are edging closer to commercial shale gas production. However, it faces a wide range of challenges, and the debate within Europe over shale gas is intensifying.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission vice-president for the Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, said that unity between all European Union (EU) member states was crucial in dealing with the energy challenges created by the current conflict with Russia.

“What is the most important in this respect is that the EU remains united and that all member states have the same common position, support the same approach and implement the sanctions in the same way,” he told members of the European Parliament during an event organised by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE), a European political party, in Brussels.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s vice-president for energy Maroš Šefčovič has backed the idea of creating a European regional energy distribution hub in Bulgaria, which has been floated by its government. However, speaking after a visit to Brussels by the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov last week (12 January), Šefčovič underlined the conditions necessary for this to happen in the country: proper infrastructure, transparency, liquidity and non-discriminatory access to suppliers and customers.…

Finland’s Atria is pushing ahead with plans to reduce its cost base in the face of lower revenues that are mainly being generated due to lost meat trade with Russia, following European Union (EU) and Russian tit-for-tat sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission stood by its position on Friday (January 30) that the European Union (EU) member states were united regarding talks with Russia about the possible lifting of the latter’s ban on EU food products such as pork meat.

A Russian official said last week that his country was ready to resume inspections with the goal of lifting the ban on pork meat from France, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.…

STAGNATION in international air freight traffic is not good news for the world economy, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development’s (OECD) International Transport Forum.

This ‘ITF Transport Outlook 2015’ noted that air freight tonnes transported to and from the EU and the United States declined strongly after the shock of 2008, then rebounded quickly reaching pre-crisis peak by early 2010.…

Bribing public officials is part of the regular cut-and-thrust of doing business in some parts of the world. Russia stands out, of course. Similarly some 28% of respondents in Singapore thought it was acceptable for companies to “misstate” their financial performance if it helped them, says EY in its 13th Global Fraud Survey.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has voted to allow individual European Union (EU) member states to reject the cultivation of genetically modified food on their territories, independent of what the situation is at EU level. This law, negotiated with the EU Council of Ministers, leaves room to national governments to ban the GMOs from being produced in their countries for other reasons than environmental or health risks.…

High demand for home grocery deliveries in large Russian cities and the success of such services in Western countries are helping create a buzz around online grocery retailing in Russia. But complexity and high cost of operating this model in Russia means few retailers have so far launched online sales channels.…

The days of Italian consumer spending extra Euro on a high performing hydrating face cream or premium fragrance may be on hold as the majority of Italian consumers are currently seeking better value for money in their beauty and personal care (BPC) purchases.…

SERIOUS concerns were raised today at the European Parliament over the impending abolition of European Union (EU) milk production quotas, as dairy prices continue to fall. A special hearing on the future of the industry heard (on Tuesday January 27) how the sector had been taken by surprise in the past year by production increases and export market losses through Russia’s embargo.…

Turkey’s rapidly growing nonwovens industry is a rising star that everyone should be paying attention to. This was the general consensus at the second Turkish Nonwovens Symposium in Istanbul on November 10-11, held by EDANA, the leading global association of nonwovens and related industries.…

BOOK sales in Russia during the Christmas and New Year holiday period may have been disappointing, but the country’s President Vladimir Putin is helping keep the industry afloat, with books about the strongman leader topping the best-seller list. Russian book sales reached Russian Roubles RUB1.65 billion (USD27 million) in the festive season.  …

THE ITALIAN government seems to have withdrawn support for the South Stream pipeline under the Black Sea as European Union (EU) relations with Russia continue to cool. Italy was expected to be a key customer of South Stream gas, but its government is now promoting a new strategy securing a diversified range of energy imports, including supplies from Africa and the Levant.…

AFTER two years of talks, Finland and Estonia have reached an agreement (on November 17) to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) Balticconnector pipeline under the Gulf of Finland between the two countries by 2019.

“There are no negatives in this investment.…

The president of the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TCMA) has told WTiN.com that it is anticipating a slowdown in the Turkish textile and clothing industry’s export growth in 2015 due to difficulties in some of Turkey’s most important markets. Cem Negrin said that the Turkish clothing industry has reached its exports target of USD19 billion for 2014, representing growth of 9.2% on 2013.…

THE RUSSIAN government is continuing its optimistic stance over the future of its textile industry, despite the fall in the Rouble, which will make imported inputs far more expensive for Russia-based manufacturers. Plans announced by the Russian ministry of industry and trade go as far as to claim the share of domestic producers in the Russian market for textile and light industry products will increase from 25% to 40% over the next three to five years.…

Rising electricity prices and growing fears around security of supply are driving Russian industrial power users to construct their own onsite power and CHP (combined heat and power) plants. “On-site generation is known as a highly profitable option to improve industrial energy efficiency and for the industry to cover its own power supply needs,” said the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) in a 2013 report Unlocking Investment Opportunities in Industrial On-site Generation in Russia: “Russian industries are particularly attractive for combined heat and power production, since there are significant industrial heat loads available for CHP production.”…

FIVE more Chinese companies have filed requests with China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) to export meat products to Russia as China’s meat sector sees growing export opportunities in Russia.
The five companies are Shunxin Agriculture Co Ltd, in Beijing; Linyi Xincheng Jinluo Meat Products Group Co Ltd, in Hunan; the Delisi Group, in Shandong; China Yurun Food Group Ltd, in Jiangsu; and Sichuan Gaojin Food Co Ltd, in Sichuan.…

UKRAINE has lost some USD4 million (EUR3.2 million) in revenues following Russian cattle and pork meat import restrictions imposed in 2013 and 2014, data provided by the European Commission shows. A regime of intensified laboratory control over bovine meat from Ukraine starting in 2013 and a ban on the previously permitted annual import of 40 tonnes of frozen beef from Ukraine to Russia imposed since July 14 (2014) has cost the Ukraine meat sector USD3 million (EUR2.4 million), according to Brussels.…

Ukraine has been losing export earnings as its ferro-alloy industry suffers from rebellion in its eastern region and Russian trade restrictions on ferroalloys, European Commission officials have claimed.

Ferroalloys “are by far one of the main exports for Ukraine to the EU and they remain a significant export position,” a Commission spokesperson told Metal Bulletin.…

RUSSIA’S combined heat and power sector is poised to undergo a radical transformation that will use the open market to rejuvenate and update the industry, according to the country’s energy minister.

Speaking to the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, energy minister Alexander Novak announced last November that creating a competitive market for combined heat and power (CHP) was a key priority.…

Rising electricity prices and growing fears around security of supply are driving Russian industrial power users to construct their own onsite power and CHP (combined heat and power) plants. “On-site generation is known as a highly profitable option to improve industrial energy efficiency and for the industry to cover its own power supply needs,” said the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) in a 2013 report Unlocking Investment Opportunities in Industrial On-site Generation in Russia: “Russian industries are particularly attractive for combined heat and power production, since there are significant industrial heat loads available for CHP production.”…

While eastern Europe’s cosmetics sector seems in general to be emerging from its post-recession doldrums, the conflict in Ukraine has begun to significantly impact that country’s cosmetics industry. Analysts warn that tit-for-tat sanctions with Russia and uncertainty over the annexed Crimea and the future of the contested east of the country is halting investment.…

Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the continuing conflict in the east of Ukraine overshadowed international events last year. But Russia’s cosmetics industry has proved resilient and even maintained ties with Ukraine.

Despite the concerns and challenges, the forecasts for the calendar year 2014 are buoyant.…

Tax evasion drained a record USD991.2 billion in illicit financial flows from developing economies in 2012 – facilitating crime and corruption, according to a new study by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based research and advisory organization. “To put this in perspective, the cumulative total of official development assistance to the developing countries in this report… was just USD809 billion,” said a GFI note.…

ALMOST two years since its establishment in January 2013, the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) created as part of Europol, has delivered on its objectives, but still faces numerous resource challenges. Set up by the European Commission to support the 28 European Union (EU) countries in cybercrime investigations targeting online intrusion, fraud and child sexual abuse and to disrupt the operations of organised crime networks that commit a large share of cybercrimes, the EC3 is now receiving more requests for support that it can handle, its head, Troels Oerting, told Fraud Intelligence.…

DOCUMENTS obtained by Confectionery Production from the European Union (EU) indicate that Ukraine has lost up to USD126 million’s worth of confectionery export sales to Russia this year, because of Russian trade restrictions.
EU briefing papers note that Ukraine has been complaining to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since October 2013 about alleged “unjustified barriers to trade caused by the measures of the Russian Federation, in particular, on Ukrainian confectionery products.”…

Oil and gas companies are facing increasing risks related to corruption. However, there are numerous ways in which a business in the sector can avoid being exposed to graft. And new laws are tackling such problems more effectively. Jonathan Dyson reports.…

As a matter of urgency, the European Union (EU) should get involved in the common purchase of gas, Maroš Šefčovič, newly installed European Commission vice-president for energy has told an international meeting of experts in Brussels.

The meeting was called to discuss energy policy and competitiveness, topics claimed as one of the top ten priorities of the new Commission of president Jean-Claude Juncker, and policies that Šefčovič is charged with coordinating, with new energy and climate action Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete.…

Denmark’s ministry of food, agriculture and fisheries has commenced talks with the country’s farming and meat industry organisations to forge a new state emergency support package for the sector. This follows rising financial losses arising from European Union (EU)-Russia trade sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.…

The Russian government is planning to nationalise the textile sector of Crimea, the former Ukraine region it annexed in March, helping spark a series of sanctions against Moscow by the European Union (EU), the USA and others. These restrictions include a ban on western companies trading with the Crimea, intensifying economic problems that have worsened since the Russian takeover.…

THE FIRST detailed reforms dedicated to creating a global set of tax rules to prevent multi-national companies shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions to avoid paying tax have been released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). It has been working with the G20 group of nations under the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project (BEPS) to achieve that goal.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s response to Europe’s African swine fever (ASF) crisis was criticised at the European Parliament yesterday (Tuesday Oct 7) for being too weak. The disease has brought about considerable economic damage to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, members of the parliament’s agriculture and rural development committee warned in Brussels.…

IRELAND has been especially hard hit by the latest expansion of Russia’s ban on European Union (EU) meat exports, figures released today by the European Commission reveal.
Moscow has expanded its existing import restrictions to cover beef offal and beef fats.…

RUSSIA’S federal veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance service Rosselkhoznadzor has accused European Union (EU) regulators of collaborating with smugglers sneaking meat into Russia, breaching its EU import ban. An official spokesperson for the agency was speaking after 575 tonnes of meat and fat back pork in 26 refrigerated containers from the EU were confiscated by the Russian Federal Customs Service at the Kingisepp customs point, east of Estonia, near St Petersburg.…

A NEW flexible method of shipping liquids is poised to offer the petroleum industry advantages for moving fuel by-products and lubricants used in drilling. This involves using flexitanks, which are expansive, flexible (although sometimes rigid and foldaway) polyethylene bags that fit inside shipping containers, and are capable of transporting up to 24,000 litres of liquids at a time, say companies in the sector.…

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed revised restrictions on the use of cadmium and its compounds in paints, allowing trace elements under certain circumstances.

The revised proposal also bans cadmium where it is more than 0.01% by weight of a paint, (0.1% for paints with a zinc content of more than 10% by weight), while the earlier proposal had no maximum, simply saying that cadmium “shall not be used in paints”.…

Multilateral talks over Iran’s nuclear power programme have partly and temporarily eased certain sanctions against the country. Yet while businesses worldwide are keen to get into the lucrative Iranian market to offer all kinds of good and services, the overarching sanctions regime put in place by the United States, the European Union  (EU) and the United Nations still remains, as do the risks of doing business with Iran, considered one of the world’s riskiest jurisdictions.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has ended the special measure giving private storage aid to manufacturers of cheese of bearing European Union (EU) geographical indications suffering from Russia’s import ban, but it continues it for butter and skimmed milk powder.

Brussels decided on September 23 to end the cheese storage aid scheme “following a disproportionate surge in interest from cheese producers in certain regions not traditionally exporting significant quantities to Russia”, a statement released on the day reads.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has ended the special measure giving private storage aid to manufacturers of cheese of bearing European Union (EU) geographical indications suffering from Russia’s import ban, but it continues it for butter and skimmed milk powder.

Brussels decided on September 23 to end the cheese storage aid scheme “following a disproportionate surge in interest from cheese producers in certain regions not traditionally exporting significant quantities to Russia”, a statement released on the day reads.…

Russia may ban imports of cars from the European Union (EU), the United States and maybe Japan if Brussels and Washington impose additional sanctions because of Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis.

An aide to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin told wardsauto that the Russian government would be especially monitoring a meeting of the EU Council of Ministers for foreign affairs on October 20.…

Italy’s food producer association Coldiretti has said Italian food exports to Russia fell 63% in August compared the same month the previous year, after the one-year import ban on European Union (EU) meat, fish, dairy products, fruit and vegetables imposed by Moscow on August 7.…

As the global apparel sector searches for more eco-friendly fibres and fabrics, innovative developments are increasingly focusing on more sustainable and often unusual alternative feedstocks.
Companies are being encouraged to innovate also by recent high cotton prices and a growing awareness that tighter control of supply chains can help keep costs down in general.…

Russia may ban imports of clothing from the European Union (EU) and the United States if western countries implement a new package of sanctions against Russia, Andrei Belousov, an aide to President Vladimir Putin told just-style.

“We have a number of non-agricultural products, where our European partners are more dependent on Russia than Russia on them.…

Spanish meat producers seeking new export sales to compensate for repeated bans on deliveries to Russia have stepped up efforts to woo importers and agents in Greece.
Business meetings last week in Athens were arranged after an introductory series of presentations delivered there in May.…

THE CATTLEMEN’S Beef Promotion and Research Board in the USA will spend USD10.5 million of its USD39 million investments planned for the fiscal year of October 1, 2014-2015 to promote beef sales in its domestic market.

The goal of this consumer information campaign is to “improve domestic preference for beef by educating consumers about things like beef safety, nutrition and health, convenience, taste and value,” the board’s communications manager Diane Henderson told globalmeatnews.com.…

Russian health regulators have now approved the import of pork from five Chinese suppliers, including two subsidiaries of the Shuanghui Group, globalmeatnews.com has been told. The move comes as Moscow seeks to replace supplies from Europe and America, which it is blocking because of its diplomatic standoff with the west over the Ukraine conflict.…

For international dairy exporters, India remains an attractive destination, but they face serious challenges related to supply chain and distribution networks. “For an international company to come in and start from scratch, [it] has to struggle with the portfolio, procurement and distribution,” said Siva Nagarajan, managing director of Mother Dairy Fruits & Vegetables Ltd, owned by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB): It would take at least 10 years to build such a network, he told just-food.…

INDIAN dairy cooperative Amul has told just-food it is hoping to soon secure Russian government approval to export products to this market, which is currently lacking European Union (EU) supplies. Returning to India following a meeting in Russia, Rupinder S. Sodhi, the managing director of Amul’s marketing arm the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) told just-food.com:…

GROWING fears over the widespread use of antibiotics in farm animals helped drive falling demand for imported meat in Sweden in the first half of 2014, but Russia’s EU food trade ban might reverse the trend, say experts. The latest figures from the Swedish board of agriculture (Jordbruksverket) show that imports decreased by 7% for beef and by 6% for pork meat, both year-on-year.…

Tiny Paraguay is now the world’s eighth top beef exporter says US government figures, ahead of meaty superpowers such as Argentina (11th), but their aim is to be number five by 2020 and have 20 million head of cattle available in that year alone.…

Danish meat industry organisations estimate that Russia’s meat embargo will cost the country’s pig farming industry around Danish Krone DKK 1.6 billion (USD282 million/EUR215 million) in 2014. The industry is becoming increasingly concerned that lost revenue could potentially deepen should the existing trade sanctions escalate in to a full-force trade war in the event of a further deterioration in political relations between the European Union (EU) and Russia over Ukraine.…

THE EUROPEAN meat market is not in crisis following the embargo imposed by Russia on meat from the European Union (EU), a European Commission expert has told globalmeatnews.com.

Looking at price levels and producers’ margins, Dr Kai-Uwe Sprenger, market officer for animal products at the European Commission’s directorate general (DG) for agriculture, said that there are no significant variations in these two areas so far.…

Zimbabwe will soon start exporting beef to Russia, which continues to seek new supplies after banning imports from the USA and European Union (EU), the southern African country’s agriculture minister Joseph Made has said.

In an interview, Made said Russia will soon dispatch a technical team to Harare to examine beef export systems and checks, while exploring the potential for buying additional foodstuffs.…

BRITAIN might not be reliant on Russian gas to keep warm, but British utilities are only too well aware that if Moscow turns off the taps this winter, there will be significantly increased demand for alternative gas supplies.

As a result, utility executives will have been keeping a close eye on talks in Berlin this weekend, where the European Union’s (EU) energy commissioner Günther Oettinger has been trying to broker a deal with Russia and Ukraine to head off a supply freeze.…

THE RUSSIAN government is considering imposing a ban on the imports of textile and non-wovens machinery after October 20, if the European Union (EU) and the USA further tighten their economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia as a result of the Ukraine conflict.…

RUSSIAN meat importers have started soliciting meat from Switzerland as its ban on European Union (EU) food imports looks set to stay in place for months. With allegations emerging today of direct Russian military involvement in Ukraine, the chance of any kind of deal to ease the sanctions stand-off between the EU and Russia looks slim.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is currently assessing the impact of Russia’s ban of beef, pork and poultry meat imports from the bloc, which was announced today by the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in response to sanctions over the situation in Ukraine.…

The Russian government had ordered that public procurement from overseas of textiles, knitwear, non-wovens and some clothing should cease from September 1, as it tightens the screws on imports following the imposition of western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

Government documents obtained by WTiN.com…

Moscow has already said that it will not allow the import of EU clothing and textile products for government purchasing contracts. It has also banned the import of a wide-range of clothing and textile inputs.

At the same time, according to some sources at the ministry speaking to WTIN.com,…

THE SALE to Russia of multi-directional, multi-dimensional knitting and interlacing machines, including adapters and modification kits, specially designed or modified for weaving, interlacing or braiding fibres, for composite structures has been banned by the European Union (EU).

This is because the EU considers such machines of potential use to the Russian military, which has been involved in the Ukraine crisis.…

Officials at Russia’s industry ministry have said should additional US and EU sanctions be imposed, Russia may impose a complete ban on imports of clothing and textiles from the European Union and the US.

According to an official spokesperson from the industry and trade ministry, the government is planning to ensure free access of domestic textile producers to cheap bank loans with interest rates no higher than 5%.…

A new round of sanctions against Russia has been announced by the European Union (EU), which reduces Russia’s ability to raise money in EU financial markets and prevents EU companies and businesses working and trading with Russian banks, arms manufacturers and oil companies.…

The Russian government had ordered that public procurement from overseas of textiles, knitwear, non-wovens and some clothing should cease from September 1, as it tightens the screws on imports following the imposition of western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

Government documents obtained by WTiN.com…

Moscow has already said that it will not allow the import of EU clothing and textile products for government purchasing contracts. It has also banned the import of a wide-range of clothing and textile inputs.

At the same time, according to some sources at the ministry speaking to WTIN.com,…

A POSSIBLE closure by Russia of Siberian airspace for European Union (EU) airlines could impact up to 100 flights a day, according to Eurocontrol’s preliminary estimates.
“The Eurocontrol Network Manager is examining possible scenarios including re-routing options in cooperation with our partners which include of course the airlines and the air navigation service providers,” a Eurocontrol spokeswoman told Jane’s Airport Review.…

Switzerland’s Bundesamt für Landwirtschaft (BLW – the federal office for agriculture) has turned down requests from European Union (EU) fruit, vegetable and dairy product associations to export products to Russia through Switzerland to bypass Russia’s trade embargo on EU goods. Under present rules, EU food products would have to be registered in Switzerland and this is “quite a long process,” said Jürg Jordi, a BLW spokesman.…

CONSUMERS could face more real-time transaction checks when buying goods by card, leading analytics software firm FICO, USA, has suggested in a study of card fraud levels in 19 European countries. Analysis showed United Kingdom (UK) card fraud hit record levels in 2013, up 15% year-on-year at GBP450 million (USD751.86 million) and beating the previous peak in 2008.…

A RANGE of plastics-related chemicals have been included in a draft list of new substances subject to special authorisation by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for their manufacture or use in the European Union (EU). ECHA is now consulting on these planned additions to its ‘authorisation list’, because of concerns about their potential impact on human health and the environment.…

A potential bonanza of new projects may be offered to Chinese construction companies following the set-up of a new development bank with lots of cash for infrastructure projects. This July marked the launch of the so-called ‘BRICS Bank’, a new multilateral development bank, operated by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.…

THE BAN imposed by Russia at the beginning of August on dairy products from the European Union (EU), US, Canada, Norway and Australia will cause disturbances on the European and world markets, the European Dairy Association (EDA) warned the European Commission on August 13.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) oil refining industry is looking at September as the time when the European Commission may propose a new way to implement the bloc’s fuel quality directive (FQD). This would break a deadlock of almost three years, with Brussels tabling its last proposed technical rules on how the 2009 law should work in October 2011.…

ECUADOR, an important confectionery exporter to the European Union (EU), has struck a new bilateral free trade agreement with the EU, which will eliminate tariffs on imports to Europe. The new trade deal is supposed to take effect in late 2016, and until then a system of preferential tariffs will be in place.…

The cogeneration market in Turkey is in flux. Overall combined heat and power (CHP) capacity has dropped over the past decade from 15% of total energy capacity in 2004, to 14% in 2013, primarily due to high oil and gas prices in the wake of market liberalisation that made CHP less cost effective.…

EXPORTS from the European Union (EU) to Russia of a wide variety of specialist coatings with military uses have been banned as a result of extensive sanctions imposed on Moscow. Imposed because of the Ukraine crisis, the EU Council of Ministers has released details of the banned goods, which include so-called ‘dual-use’ goods that have military as well as civilian uses.…

A STATE of emergency was declared on 28 July in the Ignalina district of Lithuania after African Swine Fever was discovered in a Danish-owned pig complex, bordering Latvia. This is the first outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in a commercial holding in the European Union.…

European Union (EU) meat production is projected to start growing in 2014, according to the European Commission, as Europe’s economic recovery solidifies. This could be up 0.7% year-on-year for beef, veal, pigmeat, poultry, sheep and goat meat. However, exports might fall for pigmeat and poultry, with Russian import bans especially causing problems for pigmeat.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission will renew its request for a World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel to investigate Russia’s ban on European pigmeat imports later this month, after Moscow blocked an inquiry on Thursday. The requests for a WTO panel come after talks between both sides aimed at ending the import ban broke down in April without resolution and signals an escalation of the dispute.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has today forced the creation of a disputes panel at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which will examine the legality under world trade law of Russia’s ban on imports of EU live pigs, pork and other pig products.…

INDIA’S beef exports continue to soar, while the new BJP-led government, whose Hindu nationalist leaders have in the past signalled opposition to India’s beef industry have yet to indicate plans to restrict the sub-sector.

Indeed, a senior official from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the ministry of commerce and industry told globalmeatnews.com…

Latvia became the third EU state to report instances of African swine fever after 13 wild boar and four farmed pigs tested positive for the disease. This is the first instance of the African swine fever in the country following outbreaks in nearby Poland and Lithuania in January. …

THE RUSSIAN ban on imports of processed beef, pork, lamb and horsemeat from the Moldova is rather “symbolic” and will not have a major impact on the country’s meat exports, a Moldovan foreign ministry official has told globalmeatnews.com.
The country’s export of processed meat to Russia has only amounted to a few tonnes per year on average, the official said, noting that the country mainly exports fresh meat to Russia, which is currently not affected by the ban.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched the second phase of its fuel cells and hydrogen joint undertaking, sinking EUR1.33 billion into hydrogen-based energy and transport fuel technology until 2020. The European Union (EU) is planning to contribute up to EUR665 million, leveraging at least EUR665 million from private sources.…

The governments of the Eurasian Customs Union – Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia – are considering designing a collaborative package of measures aimed at developing their national textile and light industries. One key element of this programme will be combatting illegally produced and imported textiles and textile products into customs union territory.…

Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has justified its new ban on imports of dairy products from Ukraine, as it yesterday (Monday) announced another ban on imports from its neighbour of canned vegetables, fruit and fish. Dismissing claims that this decision – which comes into force today (Tuesday) – was politically motivated, it said canned foods exported from Ukraine had been discovered being incorrectly labelled regarding weight and content of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamin C, salt and other ingredients.…

THE COUNCIL of Europe’s anti-money laundering body Moneyval has called on its member jurisdictions to widen beneficial ownership information available about companies in their territories. Moneyval’s 33 members include some smaller European Union (EU) member states such as Malta and Lithuania; non-EU European countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Monaco; UK crown dependencies Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man; and others.…

THE UNITED States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is to go into force on July 1. Aimed at curbing tax evasion by US citizens around the world, foreign financial institutions (FFIs) are required to report on US account holders, but over 200,000 FFIs and 123 countries have not yet signed up.…

The value of European Union (EU) exports of spirits and liqueurs dropped 1.6% in value last year after being the fastest-growing product group in 2012, according to the European Commission’s ‘Agricultural trade in 2013: EU Gains in Commodity Exports’ report. Whisky exports in particular dropped steeply – by EUR131 million.…

THE EUROPEAN Union has decided to ask a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel to rule on the legality of Russia’s ban on its exports of live pigs, pork and other pig products. The European Commission claims formal talks with Moscow over two days (April 30 and May 1) failed to resolve the issue.…

KAZAKHSTAN’S promising beef industry is trying to create its own breeder herds, with a plan to import as many as 10,000 Angus and Hereford cows from the US and Australia, KazBeef Ltd  LLC director general Beibit Yerubayev told globalmeatnews.com.

This is all part of efforts to make the central Asian country a beef exporting powerhouse, building from its current 5,000 tonnes of annual beef and beef products exports.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has delayed the creation of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel to rule on Russian complaints that the EU is illegally restricting its fertiliser exports. EU diplomats rejected a Russian move to set up panel at a meeting of the WTO disputes settlement body (DSB).…

IN 2012, after years of delays, Brazil instated a new money laundering law, finally bringing this economically vibrant and influential country more or less in line with international standards.  Two years later, what difference has it actually made?    

Brazil’s first official money laundering law (Law 9613) was enacted in 1998.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has released a new European Energy Security Strategy, aimed at further reducing Europe’s reliance on energy imports, notably on politically unreliable trading partners such as Russia.

Its new policy plan was to be debated at the next European Union (EU) summit (European Council) on June 26-27, in Brussels.…

The European Union (EU) has delayed the creation of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel to rule on Russian complaints that the EU is illegally restricting certain exports of Russia-made steel tubes and pipes.

EU diplomats rejected a Russian move to set up panel at a meeting of the WTO disputes settlement body (DSB).…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) launch of a disputes proceeding at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over Russian anti-dumping duties on German and Italian van exports might seem like diplomatic overkill. But experts say there are good geo-political reasons behind the case brought by the EU executive, the European Commission.…

Pressure is growing on Hungary’s government to change the country’s tobacco excise laws, which can block sales of distributed products, with the European Commission and the Hungarian tobacco industry calling for the policy to be changed.

Zoltán Pankucsi, deputy state secretary for accounting and taxation at Hungary’s ministry for national economy, confirmed to Tobacco Journal International that Hungary levies excise duties on tobacco by means of tax markings on packaging.…

Russia might be have signed a series of intergovernmental agreements with China, but the Russian textile sector will not be a direct beneficiary, the Russian ministry of industry and trade has confirmed to WTiN.com. Initialled during the May 19 – 20 visit of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to China, the agreements will focus on Russian energy sales, and instead, Russia’s government is to design a package of measures aimed at substituting of Chinese textile and clothing imports with domestically produced clothing and textile products.…

INDIAN apparel exporters have demanded a series of favourable policy decisions from the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government while welcoming foreign buyers at the 53rd India International Garment Fair, held in New Delhi from July 14 to 16.
A presentation from the country’s Apparel Export Promotion Council was released to the conference, calling on the Indian government to conclude the planned EU-India free trade agreement “immediately to counter [the] competitive price advantage available to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam…” The paper also argued that until such a deal is struck the Indian government should compensate garment exporters with export subsidies equaling the burden of import duties imposed by EU.…

THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) is increasing its assistance to Ukraine, because of its ongoing political and military crisis, the development institution’s annual meeting has been told. The country is a core part of the EBRD’s eastern, central Europe and central Asia region of operation, along with Russia, which recently annexed Crimea, sparking a diplomatic firestorm.…

One of the main drivers of the Ukrainian revolution of February this year was the monumental levels of corruption within both the private and state sectors. Transparency International last year placed the country in 144^th place on its ‘corruption perceptions index,’ at par with Papua New Guinea and the Central African Republic.…

WHEN it comes to subsidies in the European Union (EU), the representatives of the fossil fuels industries and those of the renewable energy sources have long pointed the finger at each other about who receives more support from the public purse.…

A NEW agreement at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to reduce many of the formalities facing exporters could give fresh impetus to cosmetics companies engaged in world trade, although some business leaders say it was only one of a number of problems they faced.…

The Danish government is considering breaking ranks with the European Union (EU) and striking a bilateral trade deal with Russia to protect its pork exports. These have been hit while Russia blocks EU pigmeat exports over a handful of African swine fever cases in Poland and Lithuania.…

NAMIBIA is ready to export its first batch of beef to Hong Kong after an audit carried out last month (May) by the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety.

“If all goes well, the country will be the first in Africa to export beef to Hong Kong,” Goliath Tujendapi, manager of trade & strategic marketing at the Meat Board of Namibia, told globalmeatnews.com.…

Compliance experts believe the sanctions imposed thus far by the USA and European Union (EU) on Russia over the Ukraine crisis will have a mixed effect. One of the biggest criticisms is that the sanctions were publicly discussed before being implemented giving targeted individuals time to get their finances to a safe haven.…

Compliance experts believe the sanctions imposed thus far by the USA and European Union (EU) on Russia over the Ukraine crisis will have a mixed effect. One of the biggest criticisms is that the sanctions were publicly discussed before being implemented giving targeted individuals time to get their finances to a safe haven.…

THE RUSSIAN Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring), the federal executive body responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, is considering developing a new package of anti-money laundering measures.

According to Yuri Chikhanchin, the head of Rosfinmonitoring, despite all the state’s efforts in recent years to fight money laundering, it remains a pressing problem.…

RUSSIA is challenging the European Union’s (EU) third energy package at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), claiming its requirements for market access and unbundling break EU WTO commitments for open trading with other countries. Moscow is concerned the law will, for instance, allow competitors access to infrastructure such as the South Stream pipeline it wants to build across the Black Sea.…

The continuing excess capacity in the world’s steel industry and its drag on the sector’s economic health will again be a key focus of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development’s (OECD) steel committee when it next meets in Paris from June 5 to 6.…

The Istanbul Chamber of Industry (İstanbul Sanayi Odası – ISO) has identified actions the Turkish textile industry should take to capitalise on its potential, including an increase in research and development (R&D) and recruiting more skilled workers.

In a ‘Textile Industry Sector Report’ released earlier this month, the ISO identified strengths in the country’s textile industry, including high levels of production capacity in all sub-sectors.…

Russia’s leading textile producers are pressing the Russian government to approve a package of measures aimed at supporting the industry, which were developed at last month’s International Forum of Light Industry: “Russia : Light industry : Present and Future,” staged in Moscow.…

WHEN Finland’s Tobacco Act came into force on October 1, 2010, it made news around the world. For the first time a country had stated explicitly it wanted to end smoking on its territory and gave a date: Finland would be non-smoking by 2040.…

Opinion is divided in Pakistan over whether the government’s appointment of the retired Major General Zaheer Ahmed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) will boost the viability of the ailing steel-maker.

Dr Salman Shah, former finance minister under a liberal-led government between 2004 and 2008, told Steel First investment worth billions is needed to revive the PSM, and the current conservative government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif does not have that kind of money.…

Events in Ukraine continue to unfold in dramatic fashion: a government overthrown, Crimea annexed by Russia, pro-Russian separatists stoking unrest and grabbing government buildings in eastern Ukraine, and worries of a full-scale invasion. Weaved into these crises – and in many respects at the heart of them – is Ukraine’s oil and gas sector.…

Bangladesh steel makers are anticipating a rush of orders with the country beefing up efforts to implement new generation infrastructure projects involving billions of dollars. Government data indicates that more than USD13 billion will be invested in projects whose construction is planned over the next 10 years, ranging from a metro railway in the capital Dhaka, to elevated expressways, a deep-sea port and an underwater road tunnel in the southeastern port city of Chittagong.…

The Nordic paints and coating market is competitive and growing, being dominated by a handful of strong players headed by Tikkurila and Teknos in Finland and Jotun in Norway. In Dyrup, the region could boast a fourth major local player, although American corporation PPG Industries paid the Danish firm’s parent, Monberg & Thorsen, EUR115 million for the company in 2011.…

TURKEY is the Middle East’s largest oilseed producer, but domestic demand outstrips supply despite efforts to boost production. In olive oil, Turkey is increasing production and exports, being the fifth largest producer globally, with the sector valued at USD500 million, according to Tariş Zeytin ve Zeytinyağı – the union of olive and olive oil co-operatives.…

Ukraine manufacturers of paints and coatings exporting to the European Union (EU) could benefit from the planned scrapping of import duties charged on products traded between them. With the Ukraine government on March 21 signing a political agreement cementing closer links with the EU, the European Commission has released details of proposals to remove tariffs on goods traded between the EU and Ukraine.…

THE RUSSIAN nonwovens industry has shrugged off the potential impact of tougher sanctions that maybe imposed against Russia by the European Union (EU) and the US because of the Ukraine crisis, although there is concern about the loss of valuable imported inputs.…

NORWAY may have suspended military cooperation with its neighbour Russia over the Ukraine crisis, but it seems less keen to mothball its coordination on energy policy, notably in the high Arctic.

Norwegian and Russian energy companies have long been eyeing the potential hydrocarbon resources in the Barents Sea to the north of the Russo-Norwegian border, and both sides want to exploit them without causing major environmental problems.…

Russia is well placed to export more nickel, aluminium, ferro-alloys, lead ores and zinc ores to China, should the US and European Union (EU) impose sanctions because of the Ukraine crisis.

With pro-Russian activists yesterday seizing another police station – in Horlivka, near Donetsk – and the Ukraine military now reacting – retaking the regional airport in Kramatorsk, tensions are rising. …

RUSSIA has today (Monday April 7) effectively extended its African Swine Fever (ASF)-justified ban to include processed pork meat products from Poland and Lithuania, two Polish members of the European Parliament (MEP) have revealed.

Speaking during a meeting of the European Parliament’s committee on agriculture held today in Brussels, the Polish centre-right MEP Czesław Adam Siekierski said that last week the Russian Veterinary Office released an order saying it would ban processed pork meat products coming from Lithuania and Poland as of April 7, extending the existing Russian ban on fresh pigmeat products from the whole European Union (EU).…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against Russia’s import ban on pigs and porkmeat sourced from across the EU, following four cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) detected in Lithuania and Poland.

“We are forced to take this matter to the WTO because we have exhausted all diplomatic avenues to try and find a solution,” the European Commission’s trade spokesman John Clancy told journalists in Brussels today.…

The Russian government has shrugged off the risk posed by possible economic sanctions from the US and European Union (EU) over the Ukraine crisis, but admits a poultry export expansion plan has been shelved.

In comments sent to globalmeatnews.com, Nikolai Fyodorov, Russia’s agriculture minister said: “At present the majority of Russian meat production is supplied to the domestic market, while the share of exports in overall structure of production remains small.…

CHINA has announced that it will re-admit pork and poultry imports from Chile, having suspended them last July (2013) over concerns about dioxin contamination.

China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has however posted a statement insisting that importers submit animal health documents and no–doxin-contamination test reports from Chile’s Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG).…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has approved an agreement struck with Russia last June on strengthening mutual cooperation to prevent the diversion of chemical precursors from legal uses – such as in the pharmaceutical sector – to illicit narcotics manufacturers.…

NEPAL pashmina fibre is “exotically delicate, weightless and the finest natural insulation fibre of the world,” according to the Nepal Pashmina Industries Association’s (NPIA) general secretary Vijoy Kumar Dugar. This reputation has helped Nepal producers carve out a niche markets for pashmina knitwear and traditional shawl exports.…

ONE of the warmest fibres used in knitwear across the world is also – unsurprisingly – one of the rarest and most expensive, making the manufacturing of ‘qiviuk’ garments from musk ox wool a true art. Harvested from the soft underfur of this High Arctic musk ox, qiviuk fibre is long, does not shrink when washed and lacks the scales that makes sheep wool itchy.…

The increasingly fluid global market for outsourcing enables brands to switch countries for their manufacturing needs, and it is in the interest of exporting countries to make it easy for them.

Cambodia’s garment industry has been the beneficiary of sourcing shifts from more expensive countries such as China in recent years, attracting manufacturers with some of the lowest labour costs in the world, a past reputation for reasonable working conditions and favoured access to US and European Union (EU) markets.…

THE RUSSIAN government has criticised the European Union (EU) for filing a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against Russia’s import ban on EU pigmeat and pigs. The Russians have imposed the ban following four cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) detected in Lithuania and Poland, but the EU claims Moscow’s actions are not based on science, as required by WTO rules.…

UKRAINE manufacturers of plastics and plastic products exporting to the European Union (EU) could benefit from the planned scrapping of import duties charged on products traded between them. With the Ukraine government on March 21 signing a political agreement cementing closer links with the EU, the European Commission has released details of proposals to remove tariffs on goods traded between the EU and Ukraine.…

WHEN the Percassi family, owners of the successful make-up brand KIKO Make Up Milan, purchased in October 2013 a UNESCO-listed historic industrial site called Crespi d’Adda in northern Italy, it was not only a sign of their success, but proof of the old adage that tough economic times can be good for the beauty industry. …

THE COSMETICS and beauty product sector in Sri Lanka has recorded a gradual growth in the past few years, with help from the government boosting local manufacturers, according to industry experts.

While being a small sector in comparison to the country’s heavy industries, there are almost 4,000 cosmetics and beauty care products sold on the local market, according to the Cosmetics, Devices and Drugs Regulatory Authority (CDDA), a government agency regulating the sector, operating under the health ministry.…

THE RUSSIAN publishing and bookselling sector is shrugging off the risks posed by potential wide-ranging economic sanctions that could be imposed on their country by the European Union (EU) and USA over the Ukraine crisis.

Thus far, asset freezes and visa bans have been introduced against a number of Russian and Ukrainian officials, and some Russian banks have seen their international payment systems shut down.…

These are testing times for everyone in Ukraine: a revolution followed by the annexation of Crimea by Russia; pro-Russian separatists stoking unrest and grabbing government buildings in eastern Ukraine; and worries of a full-scale invasion. Just as pertinently, these hugely destabilising political upheavals have merely added to the existing turmoil of a state plagued for decades by corruption and low living standards.…

THE INSTABILITY prompted by the crisis in Ukraine is increasing the risk of crime-tainted Russian assets being moved into new safe havens to avoid the effects of possible sanctions. With EU member state Cyprus long favoured by Russian investors, and likely to be covered by any sanctions, could the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) offer an attractive alternative?…

These are testing times for everyone in Ukraine: a revolution followed by the annexation of Crimea by Russia; pro-Russian separatists stoking unrest and grabbing government buildings in eastern Ukraine; and worries of a full-scale invasion. Just as pertinently, these hugely destabilising political upheavals have merely added to the existing turmoil of a state plagued for decades by corruption and low living standards.…

Serious negotiations in a much-vaunted and debated trade deal between India and Pakistan, which could significantly boost the textile trade between the two neighbours, have been shelved due to the impending Indian elections, WTiN.com has been told.

“The Pakistanis had second thoughts in going ahead while knowing that there will be a change in government [in India] and they could have to start from the scratch,” said Dr Nisha Taneja, a professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations in New Delhi, “My expectation is that it would be done four months after [the new government takes over in] May.”…

THE CRIMEA crisis and potential imposition of economic sanctions on Russia will not damage the Russian textile industry, partly because the government in Moscow is likely to respond by erecting textile import restrictions, experts and officials have told WTiN.com.

According to Sergey Nefedov, a spokesperson for Russia’s ministry of industry and trade, the Russian government may increase current 9.9% duties on many textiles, if restrictions are imposed on Russian textile exports by the US or the European Union (EU).…

THE RUSSIAN Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring), the federal executive body responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, is considering developing a new package of anti-money laundering measures.

According to Yuri Chikhanchin, the head of Rosfinmonitoring, despite all the state’s efforts in recent years to fight money laundering, it remains a pressing problem.…

BANGLADESH’S readymade industry expects a 10-15% growth in exports for the current fiscal year ending June, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) acting president Mohammad Hatem has told just-style.

The first eight months of the fiscal year fetched a “morale- boosting” 16.68% rise to USD16.13 billion compared to last year’s USD13.83 billion.…

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region ranks poorly in intellectual property rights protection and enforcement. While some countries, notably in the Gulf, are gradually improving, political and economic uncertainty in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings is hampering progress in much of the rest of the region.…

REPRESENTATIVES from Europe’s food and drinks industry have backed an “ambitious and comprehensive” Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union (EU) and the USA However, they have asked negotiators to find creative ways to deal with technical trade barriers restricting EU-US food and drink commerce, including sanitary and phytosanitary rules.…

CANADIAN industrial mineral producers look set to benefit from a new free trade deal signed by their government with South Korea. Canada’s key potash sector is welcoming the agreement.

With South Korea being a key developed target market, lacking many mineral resources and needing to fertilize a strong agricultural sector, Canada already has a healthy industrial mineral trade with South Korea.…

The impact of any American and European Union (EU) sanctions on the non-ferrous metal trade with Russia could be significant, although US and EU industry associations contacted by Metal Bulletin are thus far refusing to comment on the potential consequences.

The EU and the US last week (Wednesday March 26) agreed in Brussels to work on the imposition of sanctions against Russia and with Russian nationalist activists occupying civic buildings in eastern Ukraine, the diplomatic stakes are again rising.…

Ukraine’s revolution and subsequent Russian intervention might have disrupted much of its economy and politics, but the country’s meat and livestock sector has so far emerged unscathed. Indeed, the industry is optimistic about its prospects, should its new pro-west government survive and sign an association agreement with the European Union (EU).…

THE PLANNED trade agreement between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) could be “smaller” and “more modest” than hoped due to a number of intractable issues – one American lobbyist warned this week. Speaking at an EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) stakeholder briefing in Brussels, Michael Dolan from the labour union International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) referred to the “enormous gulf” between the EU and US positions.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states yesterday (Wednesday) approved detailed restrictions on the handling of pigs and pigmeat in border areas of Poland and Lithuania to try and prevent the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF). Veterinary officials have this year confirmed four cases in districts close to Belarus, sparking a Russian pigmeat import ban that has been roundly criticised as an overreaction by the EU.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission and the Lithuanian government are considering backing significant hunting and trapping campaigns to reduce wild boar numbers in regions where these animals have contracted African Swine Fever.

They have asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to investigate the idea, with Lithuania also asking for advice on using fencing and organised feeding to control boar movements.…

DETAILED work is under way to create a plan to further diversify the European Union’s (EU) energy supplies routes, after EU heads of government agreed to “address the issue of external energy dependency.” The urgency follows concern sparked by Russia’s annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has approved a new target for CO2 emissions from cars in the European Union (EU) of 95g CO2/km in 2021, but the European Commission is already plotting tighter controls. Welcoming MEP’s vote, European Union (EU) climate action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: “It is clear that long-term clarity is important for the car industry.…

NEGOTIATIONS for a renewed International Agreement on Olive Oil are intensifying in Madrid. The agreement runs out at the end of this year and its member jurisdictions, of which the European Union (EU) is the biggest, are working to forge a new agreement by December.…

AMERICAN pork exporters have welcomed the news that Russia is considering lifting its ban on US pork. “We’re glad Russia’s looking to open its market to US exporters, Dave Warner, director of communications for the National Pork Producers Council told globalmeatnews.com:…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has called a Russian ban on pork imports “disproportionate” and has appealed to Russian authorities end it as soon as possible. Russia stopped a number of exports from European Union (EU) member states when two wild boars were diagnosed with African Swine Fever (ASF) last month in Lithuania.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) health commissioner has blasted Russia for maintaining a ban on EU pigmeat exports because of two sick Lithuanian wild boars, when weak Russian health controls could have caused these illnesses anyway.

Signalling increased frustration in Brussels over what he regards as a “completely disproportionate” action, Tonio Borg has repeated his offer to meet “swiftly travel to Moscow to reach an amicable solution to resume trade flows”.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has intensified its diplomatic struggle with Russia over Moscow’s import ban on European Union (EU) pigmeat exports, tightening health controls on Russian and Belarus livestock lorries entering the EU.

It has passed a regulation, using its own powers, insisting on “appropriate cleansing and disinfection of all ‘livestock vehicles’ which have transported live animals and feed and which enter the Union from Russia and Belarus…” And the new law insists that “such cleansing and disinfection is to be properly documented.”…

A RUSSIAN ban on European pork imports is having serious consequences, the European Union (EU) health Commissioner Tonio Borg warned last night (Monday) in Brussels. “The price of meat in Europe is going down and the price of meat in Russia is going up”, he told journalists after an EU Council of Ministers agricultural meeting.…

TURKEY’S paints and coatings industry has set itself the target of becoming the third largest paints and coatings sector in Europe by 2023 as it seeks to become a key regional hub within the international industry as a whole.

According to data from Turkey’s Association of Paint Industry (Boya Sanayicileri Dernegi – BOSAD), the size of the Turkish paints and coatings market reached 840,000 tonnes in 2012, with a value of USD2 billion.…

A NEW World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement cracking down on trade-based red tape, inappropriate fees and bad practice could have a significant and beneficial impact on the plastics industry if implemented in full, say experts. WTO officials may warn that it could take between three and five years for member countries to ratify this agreement on trade facilitation, but they argue changes should be worth the wait.…

The Russian government is to draft fresh state measures to support domestic producers of wool and flax fibres.

Acting on direction from the office of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian ministry of industry and trade will boost Russian wool production through the creation of special trading centres that will buy wool from farmers at prices that are high enough to encourage production.…

THE SUPPLIER of clothing to the Russian Olympics team and associated retail spin-offs has told WTiN.com how their sourcing has been global, despite the patriotic nature of their contract.

Russia-based Bosco di Ciliegi has been an official exclusive supplier of clothing for the Russian national Olympics team since 2001, including the ongoing Sochi winter games.…

Sri Lanka’s apparel and textile sector exported a record USD4.3 billion in 2013 and its Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) has predicted overseas sales will continue rising this year.

Its president Noel Piyatilake told just-style said the industry is targeting an ambitious mark of USD6 billion exports by 2020, making Sri Lanka one of the world’s top 10 apparel exporting countries.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched talks with Russia and Norway to strike agreements on cooperation between their and European Union customs and tax officials to help fight cross-border VAT fraud. The goal, said a Brussels note, would be “helping each country recover the VAT it is due.”…

TURKEY’S clothing industry is anticipating stronger export growth in 2014, despite growing concerns within the sector about increasing pressure on price from European retailers.

Cem Negrin, president of the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TCMA) said that the Turkish garment industry is aiming for growth of between 9% and 10% in 2014.…

COSTA Rica’s pork sector has welcomed Japan’s declaration that the central American country is free of Classical Swine Fever (CSF), opening the doors to its pigmeat exporters to tap the lucrative Japanese market. “The pork industry is very important for the country and our goal is for national production to increase and strengthen,” said Doctor Silvia Niño Villamizar, a member of the regulation department of the Animal Products Safety Directorate (DIPOA) for Costa Rica’s National Animal Health Service (SENASA). …

PepsiCo has launched a patent claim in the Russian kvass market against the X5 Retail Group, one of Russia’s leading retail chains, alleging its recently registered Russkiy Kvass brand apes PepsiCo’s Russkiy Dar, in label design and marketing. 

PepsiCo last week filed an objection to the Russian Chamber of Patent Disputes, asking to annul X5’s kvass brand, Anton Drushchits, PepsiCo’s Russia intellectual property protection chief.…

THE USE of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags in the food and drink sector might have grown exponentially in the past 10 years, but the technology is likely to become even more ubiquitous worldwide. UK-based retailers and pioneers in the use of the technology Marks & Spencer and Tesco can now chalk up a decade of experience in the use of RFID, from distribution centre (DC) operations right through to retail floor item-level tagging.…

TURKEY’S cosmetics market is continuing to expand rapidly, despite slowing economic growth in the country as a whole over recent years. GDP rose by an average of 5.2% per year between 2002 and 2011, before slumping to 2.2% in 2012. Growth of 3.7% was forecast for 2013, with similar growth also expected in 2014.…

The Russian government is developing plans to boost the training of specialists for the country’s textile sector, helping to achieve a goal set by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to modernise what has been a struggling industry. Indeed, Putin’s goal – if achieved – would require significant numbers of trained staff, as he wants to see 15 million jobs generated in Russia’s textile and related industries by 2020.…

THE COUNTRIES of eastern and central Europe that came in from the cold in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall have felt the economic chill in recent years, with recession affecting the fortunes of the cosmetics industry.

Across a wide range of countries – for instance – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia – the retail value of the beauty and personal care products market has remained at around Euro EUR10.70 billion in both 2012 and (according to provisional data for these five countries by market analysts Euromonitor International) in 2013; and is forecast to grow to EUR10.85 billion in 2014.…

EASTERN and central Europen markets for biocosmetics are a key growth area for personal care product companies, with some markets growing and others relatively untapped.

The region’s largest country, Poland (38 million people) is witnessing sales of bio-cosmetics surging at rates of 10% to 30% annually, according to producers and distributors.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF

THE USE of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags in the food and drink sector might have grown exponentially in the past 10 years, but the technology is likely to become even more ubiquitous worldwide. UK-based retailers and pioneers in the use of the technology Marks & Spencer and Tesco can now chalk up a decade of experience in the use of RFID, from distribution centre (DC) operations right through to retail floor item-level tagging.…

BY JONATHAN DYSON, in Istanbul

TURKEY’S cosmetics market is continuing to expand rapidly, despite slowing economic growth in the country as a whole over recent years. GDP rose by an average of 5.2% per year between 2002 and 2011, before slumping to 2.2% in 2012.…

BY MARK ROWE; JONATHAN DYSON, in Zagreb; and ANDREW KURETH, in Warsaw

THE COUNTRIES of eastern and central Europe that came in from the cold in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall have felt the economic chill in recent years, with recession affecting the fortunes of the cosmetics industry.…

IT is a curious irony that for an industry as technical as cogeneration that maybe the biggest handicap to its sustained growth in Europe is actually emotional. Both commercial markets and governments are swayed by sentiment as well as hard cash – and currently both influences are failing to pull in co-gen’s favour.…

IT is a curious irony that for an industry as technical as cogeneration that maybe the biggest handicap to its sustained growth in Europe is actually emotional. Both commercial markets and governments are swayed by sentiment as well as hard cash – and currently both influences are failing to pull in co-gen’s favour.…

The European Commission has offered support to Lithuania following the recent confirmation of cases of African Swine Fever in local wild boar, amidst concerns the disease could spread to commercial piggeries. The European Union (EU) executive has sent veterinary experts to the southern Šalčininkai and Alytus-Varėna regions to help local vets stop the virus infecting other animals.…

SPANISH meat producers secured increasingly healthy prices in 2013 as the country crept out of recession in the second half, figures from its ministry of agriculture, food and the environment (MAGRAMA) show.

Category E pork (55% – 59% leanness) rose by 11.4% on 2012 to average EUR1.936 per kilo, 10.3% greater than the European Union (EU) average, peaking at EUR2.171/Kg.…

PLANS to open more branches of foreign universities in South Korea Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) are back on track, say managers of the development. The US-based George Mason University, and the University of Utah, and Belgium-based Ghent University, are planning to open branches at Incheon this year (2014).…

Excess capacity in the steel industry remains a key challenge that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) steel committee will discuss at its two-day meeting in Paris this Thursday and Friday (December 5 to 6).

“Excess capacity and the economic health of the steel industry: the current situation, possible future scenarios and policy responses” tops the list of the committee agenda obtained by Steel First.…

BRAZIL, Russia, India, and China are eager to boost biofuels production, with their governments laying out energy targets and detailed plans to achieve them. And while each country has made progress, manufacturers in all the BRICs countries can still struggle with irregular feedstock supplies and spotty regulation.…

IT has not happened yet but the outlook for effective world-wide action to expose the beneficial ownership of shell companies and other kinds of suspect corporate vehicles is probably better today than it has been for many years, perhaps ever. That’s the word from Robert Palmer of Global Witness, the campaign group which has played a leading part in pressing for action on the matter.…

THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) has announced that it will sell its stake in Russian vaccine producer NPO Petrovax. The bank had made a EUR15 million equity investment in the country in 2008, having lent it USD25 million in 2004 to finance developing a modern plant in Pokrov, near Moscow.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has cut its budget for fighting animal diseases from Euro EUR199 million this year (2013) to just over EUR160 million for 2014. Whilst the European Commission has not explained the reduction, it comes as the EU embarks on a new medium-term budget cycle that includes a real-terms financial cut for the first time in the EU’s history.…

THE DIPLOMATIC stand-off between the European Union (EU) and Russia over their respective links to Ukraine throws into stark light the EU’s desire to secure energy security of supply and to decrease its reliance on an unpredictable Russian government. These needs were reflected in the announcement in October of a list of 248 energy infrastructure projects that the EU wants built in in the next decade, all in some way connecting EU member countries through electricity, gas and oil links.…

THE EXPLOITATION of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Peercoin and Namecoin, to name but a few, by money launderers is an emerging concern amongst anti-money laundering (AML) regulators. They may not be legal tender, but they are convertible if owners can find institutions or people willing to turn them into fiat currency.…

WHILE American textile producers fear the potential impact of the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) regional free trade agreement, it is smaller and medium-sized Vietnamese producers who really need to be worried. That is the view of

Chris Walker, marketing manager for Thai Son S.P.…

The Arsan Textile Group, one of Turkey’s leading textile businesses, is to invest in its finishing department next year to help the company produce a more diverse range of fabrics. The company says it wants to meet growing demand for products with a variety of looks and textures from its clients, which include several major European brands.…

A SENIOR official within an organisation charged with increasing European textile exports to Russia has told WTiN.com that Russia’s 2012 accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has created real opportunities for European manufacturers to score Russian sales.

Igor Salomakhin, head of the Moscow liaison office of the Russia-Europe Textile Alliance (RETA), has told WTiN that it is helping a growing number of European textile businesses expand their sales in Russia by helping establish direct contact with new customers in Russia.…

MAJOR Belarus textile manufacturer OAO Baranovichi Cotton Production Amalgamation plans to boost its exports through the production improvements it will secure through a projected investment of between USD8 and USD9 million.

Ivan Turchak, director general of the state-owned company, told WTiN.com…

The European Commission is assessing a law passed by Russia’s parliament, the Duma, which might head off a global trade dispute over scrapping second hand vehicles. Brussels wants to see if the Duma has truly abolished a contested recycling fee on imports of second-hand vehicles that is supposed to push promote good environmental practice when they are scrapped.…

ANTICIPATED market liberalisation in democratising Burma is enticing global tobacco companies such as British American Tobacco (BAT) to sell and manufacture cigarettes in Myanmar. However, rampant smuggling of duty-free cigarettes into the country and the dominance of low-end local brands pose a challenge to legitimate business ventures.…

OIL, gas and petrochemical companies can bid for an increased pot of European Union (EU) funding for research projects under the new Horizon 2020 programme, which was approved in November. It has an overall budget exceeding Euro EUR78.6 billion and will run from January to 2020.…

THE EUROPEAN Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare (EDQM) have joined forces to promote quality standards for manufacturing cell-based and gene therapy pharmaceuticals. The two bodies have staged a joint symposium on the difficulty of securing suitable information about the quality of raw materials, increasing the difficulty of assessing their impact on medicine quality and safety.…

AUSTRALIAN beef exporters are nervous about a decision by the Russian government – confirmed directly to globalmeatnews.com – that it is planning to lift the existing ban on imports of US beef. It has been banned since this February (2013), with the official reason being the use of beta agonists in US beef production – and since then, Australian exports of high-end (chilled, not frozen) high value beef exports to Russia over the last 10 months have soared.…

ACCORDING to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the largest single health threat to the population of the world today is antimicrobial resistance (AMR). How can it be countered and what options are open to government regulators, the medical profession and, especially, the pharmaceutical companies for the development of new antibiotics?…

The executive director of Uruguay’s intensive cattle producers’ association, AUPCIN, has said that he expects the rapid growth in sales of Uruguayan beef to China to continue over the next few years, due to a number of significant competitive advantages and an aggressive promotional strategy.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Canadian confectioners can look forward to increasing their trans-Atlantic trade once a new free trade agreement between the EU and Canada comes into force, probably in 2015.

The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), announced on October 18, will remove most tariffs for confectionery and sweet bakery products imposed by both sides on each other’s exports.…

Turkish textile company Kivanc Tekstil, which recently secured a EUR3.7 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) to expand its weaving capacity and boost its energy efficiency, has told WTiN.com that it is targeting Russia and China as key growth markets.…

MORE than year after Russia’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession on August 22, 2012, the country’s textile industry is calculating its losses following the resulting decline of customs duties on imports of textile and clothing, and the associated influx of cheap textile products from abroad.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has voted to reduce the support the European Union (EU) gives to the traditional biofuel sector, backing European Commission proposals to amend the renewable energy directive (2009/28/EC). MEPs agreed that the law should insist that first-generation biofuels (from long-standing sources, notably food crops) should not exceed 6% of EU energy consumption in transport by 2020, compared to the 10% target for all biofuels in the existing legislation.…

Given its location, political actors and recent history, Lebanon has long been under the international regulatory spotlight. The US Treasury’s fingering of the Lebanese Canadian Bank in 2011 for money laundering concerns rocked its financial sector. Beirut has since been scrambling to address any short-comings, while at the same time dealing with sanctions on neighbouring Syria.…

THE BALTIC States’ proximity to Russia and their position as a border between eastern and western financial markets, renders Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania particularly at risk as regards money laundering.

Hard hit during the global financial crisis they have still made considerable strides towards improving anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) legislation while transitioning into the Eurozone: Estonia joined January 2011; Latvia will join this January; Lithuania wants to join by 2015. …

A Lithuanian MEP has accused the Russian government of political motivations behind its ban on Lithuanian dairy products. Leonidas Donskis noted diplomatic friction between Russia and Lithuania, particularly in its current role as president country of the European Union (EU): “There is no doubt that what is happening now is a revenge campaign,” he said.…

The Dutch Dairy Association (NZO) spokesman yesterday attacked Russian officials for publicly criticising Dutch dairy food standards, without making formal complaints. Spokesperson René van Buitenen told just-food the NZO “expected [the Russians] to inform Dutch authorities soon if they really have serious concerns”, instead of commenting to media.…

The Russian government has once again questioned the quality of Polish meat imported into its territory, raising concerns in Poland that Russia might impose import restrictions or a ban. On October 4 Russia’s meat inspectorate, Rosselkhoznadzor, said laboratory tests had turned up pathogenic bacteria in poultry and frozen pork from two plants in Poland.…

THE LITHUANIAN meat industry has said pressure applied by its government and the European Union (EU) on the Russian government could ease customs trading problems with Russia.

Egidijus Mackevičius, president of the Lithuanian Meat Processors Association told globalmeatnews.com of problems supplying ready-to-eat meat products to the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) regulators are tangling with the difficulty of tightening rules-of-origin for meat products, given the potentially significant number of manufacturing stages required. The European Commission and European Parliament have been considering their response to the horse meat labelling scandal.…

COAL might be regarded as the oldest energy source going, but it is still currently the world’s largest long-term source of electricity. It fuels around 40% of global electricity production, according to the UK-based World Energy Council, a United Nations (UN) accredited body representing some 3,000 private and public-sector member organisations across 90 nations.…

*Gazprom International is one of the world’s largest energy companies, handling oil and gas geological exploration, production, transportation and storage; processing and selling oil, gas and oil and gas-based liquid fuels; while providing heat and electric power services.
*The state-owned company holds the world’s largest natural gas reserves: 18% and 72% of global and Russian reserves respectively.…

Turkey’s textile and garment sector is aiming to significantly expand its sales to key global markets outside of Europe, such as the US, while continuing to grow exports to European Union (EU) countries over the next few years, WTiN.com has been told.…

While Syria is mired in its bloody civil war, it remains targeted by multilateral sanctions. But despite being essentially cut off from the international banking system, Damascus is evading these sanctions by using Russian banks, and is being financially propped up by Iran.…

A EUROPEAN Commission-ordered report has highlighted significant

shortcomings in gas interconnectors crossing national European Union (EU)

borders that are restricting the development of an EU gas market.

This ‘Study on Entry-Exit Regimes in Gas’ by the Netherlands’ DNV KEMA and

COWI Belgium said the absence of virtual trading points or short-term capacity

products are “highly critical barriers for the development of a well-functioning

entry-exit system”.…

INTERNATIONAL clothing and textile experts gathered near Shanghai last week (September 23-7) to discuss solutions to China’s twin challenges – dealing with less foreign demand, while managing rising production costs.

Speaking at the 29th World Fashion Convention, Shanghai, staged in nearby Kunshan, Texhong CEO Hong Tianzhu told delegates it was time for Chinese manufacturers to upgrade their plant and processes, while moving some production outside China.…

POLAND, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will collectively receive EUR2.5 million from the European Commission to prevent spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) from Russia and Belarus.

The Commission said the money is for “preventive measures which include cleansing and disinfection of vehicles, surveillance and laboratory testing, awareness campaigns and even the use of wild boar repellents and preventive early slaughter of pigs in risk backyard farms”.…

A SIGNIFICANT set of acquisitions by Brazilian meat major JBS has been given European Union (EU) regulatory approval by the European Commission. Acting as Europe’s international competition regulator, the Commission approved JBS’ purchase from Brazilian food processor Marfrig Alimentos of Netherlands-based Columbus Netherlands BV also known as Zenda) and six Brazilian-based companies that together form the Seara group.…

A EUROPEAN regional runway safety seminar has heard that “more efforts are still needed to promote existing guidance material” on reducing runway incidents, including advice from the meeting’s organiser ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Staged in Istanbul, Turkey, from November 6-8, a summary of discussions noted that while “consensus exists on the importance of collaborative approaches and safety information exchange” improving runway safety, “legal and cultural obstacles remain in some cases”.…

THE MOLDOVA government was quick to respond to the latest Moneyval assessment (December 2012) of its anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) policies, adopting a five-year strategy and action plan in June. This responded to Moneyval’s recommendations that Moldova improve its anti-money laundering legislation and law enforcement.…

THE WESTERN Balkans has long been considered as having weak money laundering controls. But, Croatia’s accession to the European Union (EU) on July 1 and tighter legislation in Serbia has focused criminals’ attention on a smaller number of looser jurisdictions – Montenegro is one of those.…

THE INSURANCE risks involved in oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) are rising in line with growing industry complexity and the move into deeper, remoter and more environmentally sensitive environments.

This is placing ever greater demands on the need to identify, quantify and insure against risk, particularly when the financial and reputational repercussions of getting it wrong are escalating too.…

THE RUSSIAN government is planning to boost the health of the country’s commercially weak textile industry through two major orders for the supply of uniforms for Russia’s secondary schools, army, police and security services.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has been the main instigator behind the school uniform project, and his office has said the plan would involve Russian textile companies being asked to produce uniforms for 13 million pupils for during the 2013-2014 financial year.…

CROATIA, which joined the European Union (EU) on July 1, aims to revive its knitting sector following a decline in recent years. While understandably cautious about the next few years, given the current economic troubles in Europe, Croatia plans to capitalise on the potential benefits and opportunities from being an EU member state, focusing on innovation and higher-value products in order to become more competitive.…

THE INDIAN apparel industry has made progress with backward integration over last five years but exporters rely too heavily on refunds of custom duties when re-exporting apparel based on fabrics and fibres bought outside the country, a Li & Fung India executive told a New Delhi conference on Friday (July 19).…

THE CAPACITY of Moscow airports will increase nearly threefold during the
next three to four years under a Russian Rubles RUB600 billion (USD18.7 billion) plan unveiled by the Russian ministry of transport at a June 15 meeting of the State Council, which advises President Vladimir Putin.…

THE RUSSIAN market for technical textiles is developing steadily, with the government seeing this as a growth area serving increasing local demand while it looks for a way to kick start a traditional textile industry that has been stagnating in recent years.…

PROSECUTORS in the USA last week revealed the largest case of alleged credit card fraud in American history. New Jersey US Attorney Paul J Fishman said the alleged fraud has cost companies more than USD 300 million.

The indictment against four Russians and a Ukrainian lists corporate victims including, among others, Citigroup, Dexia Bank Belgium, Euronet, Nasdaq, PNC Financial Services, Visa Jordan, 7-Eleven Inc, Carrefour, JC Penney and JetBlue Airways.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers have agreed reforms to the EU’s VAT directive 2006/112/EC enabling member states to swiftly impose reversed charge VAT mechanisms to fight tax fraud. They would act when faced with a sudden onset of large-scale VAT fraud, forcing suppliers to pay the tax, rather than final consumers.…

‘LA TORRE PUIG,’ the 22-storey Puig Tower now being fitted out in the Plaza de Europa, of the Catalan capital, Barcelona, for Puig SL, the family owned fragrances and fashion firm, will be yet another landmark building for one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.…

India’s new textiles minister Kavuru Sambasiva Rao told an international textile conference in New Delhi on Friday he wants the textile sector to be relieved from rigid labour laws that prevent manufacturers working 24 hours-a-day. Rao, who was appointed last month (June), said that he is pushing for the Indian cabinet to approve new legislation in the southern state of Karnataka that would give the industry more flexibility in laying-off workers and to allow women to work night shifts in factories.…

THE RUSSIAN lace-making industry is on the verge of recovery after the long crisis, caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union. The resulting economic instability ruined many of the country’s leading lace producers, damaging a historically important fabric sub-sector in Russia.…

THE CITY government in the Russian capital Moscow is planning to introduce a comprehensive traffic control system, with the aim of reducing stifling congestion. Government statistics say the number of private cars in the city is growing by 300,000 each year and is currently estimated at 4.5 million, out of an 11.9 million population.…

As befits a country as connected online as South Korea traffic controls in its capital Seoul are organised centrally and in an integrated way. As one of the world’s largest cities, with a population exceeding 10 million, Seoul has notoriously heavy traffic.…

EUROPEAN institution at the heart of the current controversy over Milk of Magnesia (magnesium hydroxide) sales in the UK has told Industrial Minerals it is considering raising the maximum level of sulfate within these medicines to 1%, up from 0.5% at present.…

Making money in the mobile communications sector is always about the art of the possible, but ambitious companies will always seek to tap the most revenue streams. The question, as ever, is how to achieve such goals, without being weighed down with additional layers of management that eat into those vital profit margins.…

the Russian nonwovens market expanding, producers and industry experts say supportive government measures and decreased bureaucracy could help domestic companies increase their competitiveness against western rivals.

While the country’s domestic textile market is growing at a slow 1% to 2% annually, nonwovens have posted phenomenal growth of 74% over the three years since 2009, according to estimates of the US-based Discovery Research Group released last July (2012).…

Croatia’s paint and coatings industry is aiming to capitalise on the benefits of the country’s recent July 1 accession to the European Union (EU), and is hoping that an economic recovery can also help the industry return to growth over the next year.…

RUSSIAN government is developing a range of policy measures to make Russia’s textile industry more efficient. They are expected to be implemented by presidential order during September. This initiative follows June 7 criticism of the sector by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during a government meeting in Vologda, north of Moscow, dedicated to problems in Russian textile and light industry.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has now formally approved a new European Union (EU) offshore oil and gas drilling directive, designed to prevent accidents such as the Deepwater Horizon spill happening in coastal EU sea waters.

These new rules will require oil and gas firms to prove they can cover potential liabilities from accidents and submit major hazard reports and emergency response plans to regulators before drilling operations start.…

A PUSH by the G8 group of the world’s seven most industrialised nations plus Russia to improve extractive industry transparency and openness can help industrial minerals companies manage the payments they make in developing counties, as they will only have to follow one set of rules, according to Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh.…

KYRGYZSTAN’S promising textile and garment industry increased “textile and garment exports 17-20% between 2010 and 2011,” a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) official in the Kyrgyz capital Bishtek has told just-style, quoting most recent available figures. Indeed he claimed the Kyrgyzstan government’s goal of increasing garment and textile exports by 60% from 2012 to 2015 is “achievable”.…

Diageo is accelerating its expansion into the Russian rum market with a launch in May of a Russia version of its low-cost Shark Tooth brand. The spirit is being manufactured for Diageo by Russia’s Ladoga Group with a 40% alcohol content.…

THE LEADERS of eight of the world’s leading economies have pledged to crack down on misuse of companies and legal arrangements to evade tax and launder money.

It raises the prospect of national registries of beneficial ownership for companies and trusts in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, USA, and in the UK, which had already announced plans to force registration of beneficial ownership at Britain’s Companies House registry.…

EASTERN European textile and clothing companies used to have a cost advantage in serving wealthy western European markets, but that has long been eclipsed by Asian competition – added value technical textiles may offer them a sustainable future.

In Poland’s hard-pressed textile industry, its fast-growing technical branch may constitute the future of the national industry, experts in the country’s industry say.…

Although proper accounting is important for developing and emerging economies – for instance, informational transparency decreases transactional costs – obstacles remain, said Evgeny Buben, Gazprom Nigeria’s CFO: “There’s a lack of political will to start the process of harmonisation and control implementation; a lack of  professionals capable of performing proper implementation; resistance from local accounting bodies and other local influential groups; resistance of local accountants and auditors to changes.”…

THE RUSSIA tax manager at energy giant Shell has called for comprehensive financial and business practice reforms in his country, so that companies can reduce costs and operate in a more predictable environment. Speaking to Accountancy Futures, Andrey Sukhov said: “We need to improve the whole investment climate.”…

Poland confirmed plans in 2012 to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant with a view to importing supplies from Qatar, it seemed like the latest example of eastern European energy ministries trying to avoid energy dependence on Russia. Plans to develop shale gas in Poland and the Baltic States fall into the same category, along with policies to build energy infrastructure linking Poland and its Nordic and Baltic neighbours.…

Drinks packaging design has always been about communicating with consumers – whether it is broadcasting a brand image or delivering information. And with new technologies aiding communication in many ways, interaction is a key theme with international beverage packaging designers today.…

The Russian government is considering investing up to Russian Rubles RUB3 billion (USD90 million) to support its domestic book publishing this year, taking the money from a federal ‘Culture of Russia’ programme.

According to the Federal Press and Mass Communications State Agency, whichis coordinating this scheme until 2018, these funds will enable the publication of at least 550 new book titles, mostly by Russian authors.…

the once-in-a-decade handover of power within China’s Communist Party government now complete, the country’s new administration is beginning to find its feet. It is a process that has profound implications for the cogeneration sector in the world’s most populous nation.

At the heart of the opportunities related to cogeneration is a government plan entitled Guiding Opinions of the Deployment of Gas-Fired Distributed Energy. …

A World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel has been authorised to settle a row between China and Japan over Chinese anti-dumping duties on high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes imported from Japan.

Tokyo argues that these duties break global commerce rules, notably the WTO’s anti-dumping agreement and its general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT).…

the wall for multinationals using current international tax laws to reduce their fiscal exposure. Speaking at the eighth meeting of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development) Forum on Tax Administration, hosted by Russia’s federal tax service from May 16-17, experts noted that public anger was building over cases such as the low level of taxes paid by Google, Amazon and UK energy company NPower.…

THE ARAB Spring may have increased short-term doubts about the political stability of Europe’s southern and eastern Mediterranean neighbours, but the long-term case for energy cooperation between these regions is surely unarguable.

Europe needs more energy than it can generate, and it has (for the time being at least) money to buy energy from north Africa and the Levant.…

A EUROPEAN Commission green paper on the EU’s medium-term energy strategy looking ahead to 2030, suggests that renewable energy might not need to be protected by growth targets in future. These have been a key plank of EU energy policy to 2020, but Brussels’ paper on ‘A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies’ noted renewables would be more mature in the next decade and “competing increasingly with other low-carbon technologies,” such as carbon capture and storage.…

SUMMER 2013 marks an important milestone in the evolution of the European Union (EU) regulatory framework and financial support for Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E) that will contribute towards the European Commission’s goal of a single-energy market for gas and electricity. Oil and carbon dioxide (CO2) transport from carbon capture and storage systems also figure in the picture.…

WHEN a titanium Russian flag was audaciously planted on the seabed 4,200m below the North Pole in 2007, it took the world by surprise, suggesting Russia was serious in its claims to the Arctic.

Russia is not alone. In all five Arctic coastal nations – the USA, Canada, Norway, Russia and Denmark (through Greenland) have laid claims to a slice of the Arctic.…

THE RUSSIAN government says it has stamped out two outbreaks of sheep and goat pox using a mass vaccination, movement control and disinfection campaign. Dr Evgeny Nepoklonov, deputy head of the federal service for veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance at Russia’s ministry of agriculture said there were “no more cases”.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced a series of three-year spending programmes helping meat producers from around the European Union (EU) sell their products at home and abroad. The money funds “public relations, promotional or publicity campaigns” said Brussels, with spending being augmented by matching funding sourced from industry groups and national governments.…

ONE of Russia’s few pharmaceutical companies developing original innovative and biotechnological medicines is receiving a Euro EUR5 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD). The Russian-owned and managed GEROPHARM-Bio, a subsidiary of OOO Geropharm, will use the five-year financing to expand and modernise its Obolensk plant, near Moscow, to help it comply with international standards.…

IT seems for all the world like the setting for a Graham Greene novel: a British-trained chartered accountant in charge of an almost unfathomably wealthy state-owned holding corporation in a distant outpost.

Yet Greene would barely recognise the 21st century context in which Our Man in Kazakhstan operates.…

The latest financial crisis to hit the Eurozone – hitting the diplomatically-recognised portion of Cyprus – is perhaps a case study in how to mismanage a banking-reliant economy and of how the international community can err when applying a fix.

As Accounting & Business went to press, the divided Mediterranean island was faced with the prospect of having to stop all government payments unless fresh money pours in by April 24.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states have suffered unevenly from Russia’s ban on EU food exports from last August, according to European Commission data.
While Finnish and Estonian extra-EU food and drink exports fell sharply in August-November 2014 compared to the same period in 2013 (32% and 22% down respectively), other EU food exporters saw only moderate falls in such sales, or even gains.…

IS the suitcase or manila envelope full of cash still a favoured means of exchange between briber and bribed, or has bribery become so sophisticated that such basic methods are now foresworn? It would appear so – at least, third parties are now readily employed to obscure a bribe trail.…

CHINA’S demonstrable skills in clothing and textile manufacture has yet to yield dividends in the technical textiles field, with the country still relying heavily on imports, especially for high-end products such as carbon fibre, high temperature fibre and medical textiles.

In 2011, China spent USD3.4 billion importing  technical textiles, including woven and unwoven lines, mainly from the US and Japan – up 22.7% from USD2.77 billion during 2010, according to Beijing-based China Nonwovens and Industrial Textiles Associations (CNITA).…

As Nicolás Maduro takes the helm as interim President of Venezuela, following the death of his strongman predecessor Hugo Chávez on Tuesday, auto dealers and manufacturers are asking whether the government will continue with policies that produced vehicles shortages and raised prices to exorbitant levels.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission looks set to propose binding legislative standards for the 27 European Union (EU) member states to follow in exploring unconventional fossil fuel resources amid public concern over the environmental and social impact consequences of the main production method – hydraulic fracturing or fracking.…

IRAN is under sanctions from the United States, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations, and last year the US tightened the screws even more. As President Barack Obama said following his re-election in November, 2012: “We’ve imposed the toughest sanctions in history.”…

CENTRAL Asia has long been a focus of the European Union’s (EU) geopolitical efforts to wean itself off Russian oil and gas dependency and the European Commission has steadily wooed the nations in the region: first Kazakhstan, then Turkmenistan have been given audiences, trade agreements and social programme funding in return for opening channels for talks on energy.…

ALMOST three years after the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull which closed the European air space and left millions of passengers stranded in airports across the continent, a network of  European institutions charged with handling such and other similar crises is still finding its feet.…

A DEAL has been struck on the shape of a European Union (EU) directive aimed at preventing major oil and gas offshore drilling accidents happening in EU waters. Under the text agreed by European Parliament and EU Council of Ministers representatives, oil and gas firms seeking a drilling licence must submit major hazard reports and emergency response plans proving they can deal with potential accidents.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed using European Union (EU) legislative power to force member states to make alternative fuels available to transport consumers. It has proposed legislation that would set a minimum number of public electrical charging points per EU country by 2020: for instance, 122,000 in Britain, and 150,000 in Germany.…

LITHUANIA’S plans to build the Visaginas nuclear power plant, hailed the first modern nuclear alternative to Russian energy in the Baltic States, have been stalled since Lithuanian voters opposed the idea in an October 2012 referendum.

However, a general election held the same day as the referendum and the resulting newly elected Social Democrat-led government has formed a commission within the energy ministry to recalculate the project’s cost estimates, reporting in March.…

TRANSLITERATION and translation have become inescapable challenges for financial institutions and other companies striving to comply with international sanctions.

Precise identification of a sanctions target named in a foreign language is often difficult, but is essential for efficient screening of transactions that should be controlled or blocked in line with blacklists issued by national authorities (and the European Union (EU)), and those based on the comprehensive list issued by the United Nations (UN) Security Council.…

Strengths:

China has a booming e-commerce sector, and growing online drinks retailers are building more warehouses nationwide. They need to balance ‘just-in-case’ and ‘just-in-time’ demands and also the need for flexibility versus low inventory. Negotiating these logistical pressures is vital in this huge yet highly fragmented market.…