Dear Subscriber

Welcome to Wade Trade News import-export news for May 2008. Read on to discover trade opportunities you might like to take advantage of in Singapore, New Zealand, China, Indonesia and Canada - plus ideas for import-exporting flowers or Italian designer fashions!

Singapore Economy Grows 7.2%
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While some countries are struggling, Singapore remains a great country to trade with - with recent news that economic growth remained strong in the first quarter of this year. An estimate by the Ministry of Trade and Industry shows that real gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 7.2% year on year - faster even than the 5.4% in the last quarter of 2007.

The manufacturing, construction, financial services and transport sectors all saw strong growth. Manufacturing expanded by 13.2% in the first quarter. The biomedical manufacturing sector did best, with other manufacturing sectors also enjoying better performance. The construction sector is estimated to have grown by 14.6% in the first quarter, after massive 24.3% growth at the end of 2007.

International Enterprise Singapore replaces the old Trade Development Board and has a great new official site with a lot of information on Singapore - and other major trading partners too. Go to: www.iesingapore.gov.sg  The Singapore Business Federation also has a site giving useful information: www.sbf.org.sg

New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement News
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The New Zealand-China free trade agreement is set to be a big success, and a brand new government website has just been launched to support it. The ChinaFTA.govt.nz website went live shortly after the agreement was signed in Beijing recently, and it registered over 31,000 visitors in the first 48 hours! The website gives you full details on the FTA - including the text of the document itself, the National Interest Analysis, fact sheets and key outcomes for New Zealand. It also contains links to all New Zealand Government agencies that are connected to doing business in China. A tariff finder tool allows you to view tariff rates on 7,000 different items - the current rates and the eventual rates that will result from the FTA.

PS. Lots of the info. on the ChinaFTA.govt.nz site will be of use to those in other countries wishing to trade with China and/or New Zealand.

Indonesia's Trade Opportunities Look Promising
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It could be worth taking a look at doing business with Indonesia right now. The Indonesian finance ministry recently forecast the country's economy will grow around 6.2%-6.3% this year - according to Fiscal Policy Agency Chief Anggito Abimayu. He added that the biggest contributor towards the growth was household consumption, which could rise 5.1% alone this year. Over the last year exports have grown 7.6%, imports 8.5% and investment by 12%-15%.

The National Agency For Export Development (NAFED) has a handy site at www.nafed.go.id. Look out for the 'Exporter Database' and 'Importer Database', giving over 8,000 possible trade contacts in Indonesia.

Canadian Consumers Keep Buying
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Despite fears of a recession in its neighbour the USA the Canadian economy is performing well at the moment. The country's economy will grow by 2.2% this year, thanks to strong consumer demand, the Conference Board of Canada estimated recently. The Ottawa-based Conference Board believes that steady consumer confidence, easing interest rates and a stable housing market should help keep Canadians spending, boosting the economy. It said that spending by consumers grew by a year on year rate of 7.4% in the fourth quarter of last year. Canadians are expected to spend 'liberally' this year as well, according to the report. In 2007, Canada's economy grew by 2.7%.

Canada has one of the best official trade sites you will find anywhere. It has masses of info. and links for trading with Canada. And lots of info. about trading with other countries too. Get started here: www.international.gc.ca/commerce

Trading Italian Designer Fashions
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Italy is the home of high quality designer fashions, being home to lots of names including Gucci, Prada and Armani which are famous and sought after the world over. So here's a very interesting site if you'd like to trade Italian fashion - Italian Moda at www.italianmoda.com. Italian Moda is a portal listing suppliers of wholesale Italian clothing, shoes, handbags, fashion accessories, jewellery, home textiles and more. Very easy to use and all in English (plus other major languages). Worth a look if you'd like to explore the designer fashion market.

Enjoy The Sweet Smell Of Success !
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A simple bunch of flowers or a pot plant might not seem like a big import-export opportunity. But flowers and plants are bought and sold on a global scale. The biggest growing nations are the Netherlands, Colombia, Kenya, Israel, India, South Africa, Ecuador and Malaysia. The biggest buying nations are the USA, UK and other EU countries. It can be a very lucrative market too: Figures show that the retail flower and plant industry in the UK alone is worth over £1.5 billion. In the EU, each and every person spends an average of €80-€140 on flowers and plants every year!

If you'd like to know more about the flowers and plants industry with useful facts and figures and market information - plus of course detailed information on plant and flower types - then take a look at the UK-based Flowers & Plants Association website at www.flowers.org.uk.

Find Thousands Of Importers In China
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This is a really great site if you want to find details of Chinese importers and buyers. The site, run by the Ministry of Commerce, offers masses of information about Chinese importers. You can search all the main industry sectors and find Chinese companies complete with contact information, read company profiles, news, trade leads, details of trade events and more. The databank contains a massive 600,000 Chinese companies and information on 2,200,000 different products with 700,000 product illustrations - so you're sure to find something that you could sell to China. To visit the site go here: win.mofcom.gov.cn/en

Wade World Trade : Your Expert In International Trade
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We hope you find these FREE monthly trade tips and leads useful. If you're not already signed up to receive this bulletin automatically, every month, you can do so here: www.wadetrade.com/tradenewsreg.html

You can also get much more help on our website any time you want it. Our products and services include professional self-study courses, personal mentoring, online resources and contacts and our unique World Traders' Club - more or less everything you need to start up or expand your import-export business. To find out more, visit us anytime at www.wadetrade.com.

Best Regards

Mark Hempshell
Editor