WadeTradeNews

Welcome to the April 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 news about trading with Thailand, Guangdong (China), Egypt and the various countries of South East Europe - especially Bulgaria. There's also details of a handy site to help you keep track of your money when trading internationally.

Despite the continued effects of the devastating tsunami Thailand still benefited from trade surpluses with its three main trading partners up to the year ending last month. Thanks to the Free Trade Agreements (FTA's) the country signed last year with its three major trading partners - Australia, China and India - Thailand earned a record surplus of 7.63 billion bath in its trade with the three countries combined.

In its trade with China, Thailand shipped 3.68 million tonnes of goods which had a total value of 17.1 billion baht between October 2004 and the year end. The Kingdom exported 3.42 billion baht worth of goods to India between September 2004 and the year end. Trade with Australia would have shown a large surplus, but was affected by a one-off speculative trade in gold bars. On releasing the figures Rachane Potjanasuntorn, Director-General of the Ministry of Commerce's foreign trade department, said he is optimistic that Thai exporters will be able to maintain their shipments, or even increase them, to help the trade surplus grow.

Following on from last month's report on Hunan the latest statistics from the China Customs Service show that Guangdong's foreign trade reached US$49.5 billion in the first two months of 2005 - a 13.2% growth compared to last year and amounting to 27.6% of China's total foreign trade. Over the same period Guangdong's private enterprises saw an exciting 43.6% increase in exports which reached US$6.33 billion. Guangdong's main export markets are Hong Kong, the US, EU countries, Japan, ASEAN countries, the Middle East countries and Korea, all of which experienced growth. The province's imports also increased to US$22 billion. Compared to other main provinces and municipalities in China, Guangdong continues to have one of the highest volumes of imports and exports, with most of 21 cities having experienced substantial growth in trade.

The EU has welcomed Bulgaria and Romania into the 'European Family' - but warned both that much work needs to be done before they finally join the EU in 2007. Romania and Bulgaria have now finalised a 'Treaty of Accession' with the EU, which will be signed this month. However, the EU's European Commission (www.europa.eu.int/comm for more information), based in Brussels, has said that it will be monitoring both countries closely and so-called safeguard clauses could postpone the process if either fails to introduce reforms stipulated by the EU.

Both countries are required to implement reforms in a number of specific areas including justice and home affairs as well as trade competition, and the reforms needed are more extensive for Romania than for Bulgaria. If the countries fall behind on these reforms entry to the EU could be delayed until 2008, or even later.

Bulgaria's economy is developing at an increasingly fast pace, with sharp rises in foreign investment and property values over the last few years. Trade is also rising. Bulgaria's exports increased by 27% or US$855 million last month, while imports increased by 28.3% or US$1.2 billion. The Ministry of Economy has a useful site in English at www.mi.government.bg/eng.

The countries of South East Europe offer some interesting trade possibilities - being low-cost sources but close to EU markets - but it isn't always easy to find reliable information about them. But, here's a website - www.seeurope.net - that connects you with the latest developments and investment and trade opportunities in the following countries : Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey and Yugoslavia

www.seeurope.net is run by the Bulgaria Economic Forum (BEF) and is supported by several international organisations including the OECD. Its aim is to integrate business information sources, provide up to date information about development and assist regional and international companies with business interests in the region. The site includes detailed statistical information, country profiles, information on tax, law and the foreign trade regime plus news of infrastructure projects and business openings.

Egypt isn't one of the world's major trading countries - being better known for its history and magnificent antiquities - but it does have a buoyant manufacturing sector, producing a range of low cost products, that are not well exploited by international traders. Important Egyptian exports include foodstuffs, furniture, leather products, garments and textiles. Its key imports include chemicals, mechanical equipment, medical supplies, metal products, plastic products and refrigeration equipment.

The Egyptian Trading Directory at www.egtrade.com is one of the best trading sites we've seen. It offers news, information and contacts, including many little-known sources of supply. Also, Egypt Search at www.egyptsearch.com is good for tracking down sources of other information you might need.

Currency conversion can be a headache for international traders. Not only do you need to keep converting between different currencies, but sudden currency fluctuations can affect the profitability of your deal. That's why it's worth adding www.xe.com to your favourites list. xe.com can convert instantly from any one of 180 world currencies (including US dollars and Euros as well as more obscure ones like Hungarian Forints) to any other world currency at the latest exchange rate (information refreshed as regularly as once per minute). Even better, if you need to monitor how a particular currency is moving and how it will affect an import-export deal you can get daily updates on the latest exchange rate e-mailed to you for free! xe.com also offers a foreign currency exchange service, for when you need to buy or sell foreign currency.

2005 is 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.