WadeTradeNews

Happy New Year and welcome to the January edition of Wade Trade News - Wade World Trade's own monthly bulletin bringing you news on developments and opportunities in international trade that are worthy of your attention. Read on now for opportunities in Brazil, Indonesia, Tunisia, Pakistan and South Korea, details of how to get started trading cosmetics and another invaluable website to add to your favourites list.

Brazil's meat exports reached US£5.8 billion last year, 42% above 2003 and equivalent to 4.2 million tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. This makes Brazil the world's largest source of beef (849,000 tons production) and broilers (2.1 million tons production) for the second consecutive year. Besides competitive pricing and aggressive marketing Brazil benefited from consumer concerns over 'mad cow disease' in several countries, especially the USA and Canada, where Brazilian exporters have gained a vastly increased market share.

If you're looking for a new opportunity for the New Year why not consider importing or exporting cosmetics? Cosmetics are a substantial import-export product, and one of the most lucrative. They form an integral part of our everyday life and have been around for thousands of years - even before Cleopatra's day - and most people use them on a daily basis. The cosmetics market (which is divided into perfumes and fragrances, decorative cosmetics, skin care, hair care and toiletries) has been performing strongly in recent years. Western Europe is the world's largest market, worth €35.5 billion last year. It grew by 3.5% overall, making the average annual spend per person €148, although some markets showed much higher growth - the market in Spain grew by 7.7% and in Sweden 6.6%. In the USA the market is worth €27.5 billion and in Japan €12.9 billion.

If you're interested in trading cosmetics the UK's Cosmetics, Toiletry & Perfumery Association (CTPA) have a useful website at www.ctpa.org.uk. A similar organisation in the USA has a site at www.cfta.org. The Fragrance Foundation's website at www.fragrance.org is also a handy resource.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that Pakistan is potentially a major world centre for manufacturing and export. Talking to reporters after a meeting in Beijing with the heads of Chinese state owned corporations he said that the Pakistan economy is totally open today, providing a level field for foreign investors, with great potential in the oil, gas, mineral and housing sectors. He added that Pakistan is committed to improving its infrastructure, and is also offering incentives in tariffs and taxes for export oriented projects, with contracts of over US$4billion already underway.

Tunisia isn't a country you'd think of as an obvious import-export partner, but is home to a surprising number of keen exporters and trading opportunities. For example, more than 50 Tunisian businesses, led by the Tunisian Exports Promotion Center (CEPEX), took part in the recent Dakar International Fair. The Tunisia stand allowed visitors to discover a variety of products made in Tunisia, ranging from home appliances to computer equipment. CEPEX also recently organised Tunisia's first international exhibition of export services (SISE) in Tunis. The four day event provided opportunities for Tunisian companies to set up business ventures with international and regional partners, especially in Africa.

For details of opportunities to trade with Tunisia, including services offered and events planned by CEPEX, visit their site at www.cepex.nat.tn. The main site is in French but there are also English and Arabic versions.

Sales of imported cars in South Korea are expected to increase by 15% to 26,500 units in 2005, as foreign car manufacturers introduce more ranges and implement aggressive marketing campaigns. Yoon Dae-Sung, Executive Managing Director at the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association or KAIDA - who have a useful website at www.kaida.co.kr - said that 'Foreign automakers are expected to reach out to consumers with a variety of models and aggressive marketing campaigns next year. It will be a year of growth for the imported vehicle market, not just in terms of size, but also quality.'. KAIDA said that 50 new models are due to be launched in South Korea this year, with the Mini and Nissan arriving for the first time. KAIDA predicts that the imported car market will grow to over 49,000 units in the next four years.

The Indonesian Government has made boosting direct investment and exports a priority, in order to speed up economic recovery - now made all the more important by the tragic events of December 26. Deputy for Increased Investment Coordination, Firman Tamboen, said recently 'We need to step up business activities in the regions under priority targets in speeding up the process of economic recovery.'. Areas to be given priority include better coordination between Government institutions, the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry or KADIN (go to www.kadin.or.id for information and useful links) and international institutions. Meetings will also be held with associations of foreign companies including the Jakarta Japan Club (JJA) and American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Amcham). Additional measures to help importers and exporters are planned in the areas of Customs, taxation, manpower, sub-contracts, and power.

Goods for sale and wanted bulletin boards are nothing new in import-export, but here's one we think is worth a look : Alibaba.com is a service that enables buyers and suppliers in international trade to source information about each other. It allows businesspeople to post trade leads of buy/sell offers in various industry categories. Members can post, view and respond to buy/sell offers as well as browse offers to cooperate with potential partners around the world. Alibaba's website claims to offer the world's largest database of active suppliers in 27 industry categories, including suppliers who are pre-qualified by Alibaba, via a third-party credit agency. It boasts over 8,000 offers every day, each of which receives an average of six responses. Members can also obtain trade lead updates via the Trade Alert service.

2005 marks Wade World Trade's 60th year in the import-export business, so there's no one more experienced to help you make a success of world trade. Don't forget that the leads you receive in this bulletin are just a small selection of the information and help Wade World Trade can offer. Our products and services include newly updated courses, manuals, advice, information, online resources and worldwide trade and business contacts - more or less everything you need to start and succeed in import-export.