Economy and commerce
Trade
White spot in prawns the latest in biosecurity failures highlighting impact of cuts to staff, research
After a huge increase in exotic pests and diseases, Australian agriculture and environmentalists are demanding more focus on biosecurity. The past five years of failures ranges from the attacking red fire ants, banana diseases, myrtle rust and a melon disease to an exotic disease in ...
East Asia’s agreement to keep the world economy open
What the Trump administration will ultimately do to the shape of the global trade regime is difficult to foretell but there’s no question that it will change it forever, even if there is strong global push-back against Trump’s threat to unravel trade agreements and carry ...
Fukushima peach exports recover in Southeast Asia, sparking hope for other produce
Fukushima peaches are making inroads into Southeast Asian markets in what prefectural officials see as a model case of recovery in its farm produce. Fukushima grabbed the top share of Japanese peach exports to three Southeast Asian countries last year — 73.9 percent in Thailand, ...
Opportunities exist for rice exports in high-end market
Experts believe that Vietnam should focus on producing high-quality rice instead of striving to earn money from selling low-cost rice products. Soon after Vietnam began harvesting the 2016-2017 winter-spring crop, the Thai government announced it planned to sell all its stockpiled rice – estimated at 8 ...
SRT considers electric rail to Malaysia
The State Railway of Thailand has been asked to consider an electric train project linking Hat Yai to Padang Besar in Songkhla, said the Transport Ministry. The proposal which was made by the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, concerns the double-track railway ...
Paddy prices rise as winter-spring crop ready for harvest
Domestic paddy prices have increased by 12 per cent as the winter-spring crop in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta is ready to be harvested. In An Giang Province, fresh paddy IR50404 is being sold at VNĐ4,500-4,600 per kilo, high-quality paddy VNĐ4,700-4,800, and dried high-quality paddy ...
Rice-clearing auction draws big crowd
Sixty-six rice traders participated in the government’s auction of 2.86 million tonnes of rice on February 16, showing high market demand for the last lot of rice suitable for consumption from the government’s stocks. Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Foreign Trade Department, said ...
Gov't, ministries, bankers and businesses cooperate to breed shrimp
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has decided that Vietnam should become the shrimp production base of the world. The target of exporting $10 billion worth of shrimp products by 2025 is within reach, he said. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said it hoped the shrimp ...
Government plugs rubber switch
The government is seeking intrepid smallholder farmers to pilot a project that would transform 6,000 hectares of cropland in two provinces into a patchwork of small rubber plantations. The Ministry of Agriculture is eyeing 5,000 hectares of land in Ratanakkiri and 1,000 hectares in Battambang ...
ASEAN nations review stance on intellectual property
Experts from ASEAN member countries and their development partners in the region are meeting in Vientiane to discuss issues relating to the 52nd ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation and intellectual property protection. Topics centered on ASEAN economic integration with participants convinced that the ...