Welcome to the Wade Trade News import-export bulletin for April 2009. Maybe times are tougher for international traders right now, but there are still opportunities out there .... and we'll bring you a selection of the latest leads every month. This issue we'll bring you news of the expanding economies in Indonesia, Pakistan, Slovenia and Romania .... plus details of a great import-export trading site, three invaluable trade directories to try and news of the latest help available for trading in the UK.

Indonesia's economy is forecast to grow up to 3.5% this year - slower than originally expected but still expanding. So said Secretary General of the Industry Ministry Agus Tjahajana at the Jakarta Citi Indonesia Economic and Political Outlook Seminar recently. Tjahajana said that before the world economic crisis Indonesia's economy grew in the region of 5% to 7% annually. He added that the textile and footwear industries (which are highly dependant on overseas sales) would be most badly hit by the recession.

Indonesia is the world's biggest palm oil producer and the world's second biggest rubber producer. The country is aiming to rely more on its huge domestic market of over 230 million people following slowing demand for its exports. The National Agency for Export Development (NAFED) has a useful site at www.nafed.go.id

Pakistan is expected to achieve an economic growth rate of 2.5% in this financial year, the News Network International (NNI) news agency reported recently. The Financial Advisor to the Prime Minister, Shaukat Tareen, added that Pakistan's balance of payments has improved recently due to the fall in imports, and that foreign exchange reserves are on the rise once again. The country, which is facing severe economic difficulties and high inflation, has been seeking financial help from other countries and world financial institutions recently. The IMF recently agreed to provide US$7.6 billion to Pakistan under a 23 month loan programme to ease the country's balance of payments.

Jamal's Yellow Pages of Pakistan is a good guide for finding buyers and sellers here: www.jamals.com  You can get addresses and telephone/fax numbers free. Website addresses are charged for - although you could Google them yourself for free!

 

Slovenia's economic growth stood at 3.5% overall in 2008 despite the negative growth in the final quarter, the government announced recently. Growth in the first half of the year stood at a sizable 5.6%, before falling to 3.6%  in the third quarter and moving into reverse in the last quarter.

Announcing GDP figures for the fourth quarter of 2008 Karmen Hren of the Statistics Office told the press that the main cause of the decline was a 9.4% fall in Slovakian exports. Significant drops in production were also seen in manufacturing industries.

The US Commercial Service publishes a good free handbook to doing business in Slovenia. You can get a copy of it here: www.buyusa.gov/slovenia/en/ccg.html

TradeKey.com describes itself as the world's leading marketplace which connects buyers and sellers with wholesalers, importers and exporters, manufacturers and distributors worldwide quickly and at low cost. It has 2.5 million users in over 220 countries. You can post buy offers, sell offers and search for products and companies. Some services are charged for, but you can get basic access free. Worth taking a look at: www.tradekey.com

Romania will also see economic growth in 2009 despite the ongoing global financial crisis, the country's President Traian Basescu said recently. The president made the prediction while meeting with representatives of 12 major banks, along with Central Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu and Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea. He said: "I continue to be optimistic, despite some estimates that Romania will have negative growth this year. The view which I support is that the Romanian banks can finance the economy." He added: "I maintain my estimate of economic growth of 1.5-2% this year. Let's hope we'll manage to set up the favourable moment, so that the entire economy should resume growth after the months of January and February in which economic activity is traditionally low."

The Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Romania have a useful site with information and company contacts. An English version is available: www.ccir.ro

 

Although there are lots of import-export trading sites around now conventional business directories can still be a very good way of finding leads. Even better, most of them are available online so you don't need to go down to the local library anymore. Here are three that are well worth putting on your favourite's list: Kellysearch at www.kellysearch.com is the newest online version of the original and respected paper company directory. Kompass at www.kompass.com is also a very comprehensive business directory. Thomas Register at www.thomasregister.com is an online searchable database of US companies - even in a recession the USA is the biggest buyer of exports in the world.

If your business is UK based the UK Government now has an integrated package of measures known as 'Real Help' which is designed to help your business survive and export through the recession - or even help you get started in a new import-export business. You can get information on the packages of support available to businesses by visiting the Business Link website at www.businesslink.gov.uk/realhelp  If your business is based in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also get access to similar assistance as follows: Wales - Flexible Support for Business at www.business-support-wales.gov.uk/realhelp  Scotland - www.bgateway.co.uk/realhelp or www.hiebusiness.co.uk  Northern Ireland - www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/realhelp or www.investni.com

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 - and view our new video - take a look here: www.wadetrade.com/courses.html  For some useful FREE stuff visit here: www.wadetrade.com/free.html

Until next time,

 

Mark Hempshell
Editor