WadeTradeNews

Welcome to the Wade Trade News import-export bulletin for February 2009. The world economy might be struggling, but we’ll try to look at some of the positives for international traders. This month, we’ve got opportunities to trade with Brazil, Bangladesh, Nicaragua and Uganda .... and three great sites that can help you with research and leads.

Brazil’s Economy To Do Well Despite Crisis
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More exporters are likely to be looking at Brazil with the news that the country’s economic prospects in 2009 remain relatively good despite the ongoing world credit crisis– so says a study by the Organisation for the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released recently. According to the OECD study, Brazil is among the few nations in the world that will not register a strong economic slump in the next six months. Brazil is the only nation among 34 others analysed by the study where measurement of economic activity levels remained higher than 100 points. From January to November 2008, Brazil’s industrial production was also up 4.7% compared with the same period in 2007.

Bangladesh Growing Source For Frozen Foods
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Bangladesh’s frozen food exports enjoyed a 7.97% growth in the first five months of the 2008-09 financial year, it was announced recently. According to the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters’ Association (BFFEA), the country earned over US$230 million in the July-November period from export of frozen food items to over 40 countries of the world. In the 2007-08 financial year, Bangladesh earned US$534 million from the export of frozen food items, accounting for about 3.8% of the country’s total export earnings.

President of the BFFEA Kazi Belayet Hossain said that the USA, most European countries and Japan are growing export markets for Bangladesh. However, he added that markets in these countries have been affected by the global financial crisis, with prices for many seafood products falling this year. He predicted prices may start to recover from March onwards.

Nicaragua Seeks More Trading Links With ALBA, China, Russia
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Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said his country is seeking stronger trading ties with the countries of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), China and Russia – particularly since falls in prices of key Nicaraguan exports like seafood, meat, peanuts and coffee are encouraging exporters to explore new markets in developing countries. Ortega announced: “The liquidity is not in Wall Street anymore, neither in London. The liquidity is in Beijing (China), the Persian Gulf and Russia. Our government is moving away from US-dominated commercial partners, but seeking larger economic links with ALBA, China and Russia.”

Nicaragua is a member country of the ALBA trade alliance, set up by Cuba and Venezuela in 2004 as an alternative to US-backed free trade policies like NAFTA. The regional integration initiative also includes Bolivia, Dominica, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and Honduras. Ortega added that the economy of the country will suffer a contraction, more unemployment, and a fall in income in 2009 due to the global economic recession.

Uganda Exports Up
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Uganda could have more potential as an export source with news that the country exported more goods and services last year than ever before. The value of exports increased from US$2 billion in 2006/07 to US$2.4 billion in 2007/08. In the New Year State of the Nation Address delivered recently, President Yoweri Museveni said coffee exports alone increased from US$229m in 2006/07 to US$348m in 2007/08. He said: “Partly as a result of this good export performance, the level of Uganda’s international reserves increased to US$2.7 billion in June 2008. However, the regional and adverse global developments in 2008 have tested the strength of our economy”. He announced that investments by foreigners had increased to US$946 million in 2007/08, up from US$695 million in 2006/07.

Useful Site: Kompass Offers 2.3 Million Leads In 66 Countries
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Kompass really is a highly recommended source if you want to hunt down new buyers or suppliers all around the world. Kompass at www.kompass.com has a directory of 2.3 million companies in 66 countries trading in 57,000 products. The directory has 860,000 trade names and 4.6 million executive names. You can search by industrial category or type in a keyword. You can also specify which country or region you want to search in, as well as searching by products/services and company names. Every company entry offers a profile of the company, its products or services, plus lots of contact information – often including names of executives to contact. This basic information is available free, with more advanced information available on a subscription basis.

Free Newsletter On Trading With The UK
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If you want to trade with the UK (or are a UK trader) then here is a FREE e-mail alert service offering useful information from a variety of UK Government departments and EU Commission sources. It’s not just a newsletter – you can actually personalise the information supplied depending on the sectors you want to know more about. Choose from information on trade statistics, surveys, trade news, news on taxes, EU news, Customs announcements, tariff information and more. For more information and to subscribe go to the Uktradeinfo site at www.uktradeinfo.com and click on ‘E-mail Alert Service’.

Trade With California : California Trade Network
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If the state of California was a country, it would be one of the largest trading nations in the world! Caltrade, the California Trade Network, is part of an initiative designed to help companies and professionals in California find partners, collaborate and secure opportunities in international markets. This initiative includes an online business network and includes sophisticated business profiling, collaboration technology and an international opportunity matching service. Caltrade welcomes co-operation proposals or ideas for joint ventures from outside California. Take a look: www.caltrade.com.

More Useful Links
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We’re happy to send you these trade tips and news free every month. But there’s lots more Wade World Trade can offer you. If you’re not already signed up to receive this bulletin automatically you can do so here: www.wadetrade.com/tradenewsreg.html. There’s no charge or obligation. To find out more about our latest courses take a look here: www.wadetrade.com/courses.html. For some useful FREE stuff visit here: www.wadetrade.com/free.html.