Search Results for: Bangladesh

BY RACHEL JONES, in Caracas

AS one of South America’s largest economies and the world’s leading

exporter of soy and sunflower oil, Argentina experienced a GDP growth rate

of 8.4 percent in 2006 and 7.9 percent a year earlier, according to the US

Energy and Information Administration.…

SAEED AKHTAR BALOCH, in Lahore

THE PAKISTANI biscuit and confectionery sector has been faring well, with 12-15% growth last year, but there are storm clouds on the horizons because of skyrocketing prices of sugar and flour. In recent years, these ingredient problems have been overshadowed by massive domestic demand, fed by more than 255 biscuit and wafer manufacturing units (42 mechanised) with an installed capacity of 47,000 metric tonnes for biscuits and 5,200 metric tonnes for wafers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are researching the genes of black Bengal dwarf goats, a key leather livestock in Bangladesh, to improve breeding techniques and the species’ health.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SPECIAL training programmes are being launched by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to spread Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedures in Bangladesh’s food manufacturing sector. These formal food health check systems are not widespread in many developing countries, lessening the appeal of their food exports to high value rich county markets.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
WITH Sainsbury removing all plastic carrier bags from its checkouts for last Friday (April 27), handing out reusable paper bags made from 100% recyclable material, another nail is being hammered into the global reputation of this ubiquitous packaging.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank, has signed a deal with the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies to help raise the social and environmental standards of the country’s clothing manufacture sector towards globally-recognised models. With Bangladesh fighting to maintain the competitiveness of its key 2.2 million employee clothing sector against Chinese competition, the IFC has concluded in a statement: “Compliance with global environmental and social standards is a critical issue.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH global trade ever increasing, and the power of brands to generate massive profits made starkly clear with every company report, the counterfeiting of goods is one of international organised crime’s major boom areas.

It is a serious problem for legitimate business, especially those based in developed countries with tough piracy controls, who are seeking to export to poorer countries where intellectual property crimes are a low priority.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

INDIA has been branded a serious hotspot for counterfeit books, in a global European Commission survey of countries where product fakes are manufactured. The Commission’s directorate general (DG) for trade gathered information from companies, diplomatic missions and trade federations.…

BY STEVEN SWINDELLS, in Johannesburg

CHINESE exporters have emerged as winners in an ugly spat between South Africa’s retail industry, the Pretoria government and local unions over quota limits on China-made clothes and textile imports.

Chinese exporters will now be able to sell a full range of clothes and textiles to South Africa until January 1, 2007, avoiding a quota system which was due to go into effect on September 28.…

BY STEVEN SWINDELLS, in Johannesburg

SOUTH African retailers have been warned by their government that they could be guilty of "treason" if they try to get around quotas placed on Chinese clothing and textile imports.

The bizarre and disconcerting warning from Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka came after leading retailers warned that an imminent cap on Chinese textile imports would force them to import alternative supplies from other foreign producers – including those in Vietnam, Bangladesh and eastern Europe – whose goods are cheaper than local manufacturers.…