WadeTradeNews

Welcome to the Wade Trade News import-export bulletin for December 2011. As ever, we'll try and bring you some news you can use, trade leads you can exploit, and links to free sites to help you develop your import-export skills. This month we're bringing you news on trading with China, Brazil, sub-Saharan Africa and Albania of all places .... and recommendations for a site you'll find helpful when getting quotes for shipping.

China's imports and exports exceeded a new record of US$3 trillion at the beginning of last month - according to initial figures from the China General Administration of Customs. This means that China trade has trebled since 2004, when the US$1 trillion mark was passed.

However, in a recent announcement, the Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said that the country's trade surplus is likely to decrease further this year - as a result of the global downturn.

The recession in Europe and the USA has caused many international traders to look for opportunities elsewhere. China, India and Brazil can offer good opportunities of course. But you might not know that some of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa have the world's fastest growing economies at the moment.

Analysis by The Economist finds that over the ten years to 2010 six of the world's ten fastest-growing economies were in sub-Saharan Africa. An IMF report also forecasts that seven sub-Saharan countries will be amongst the world's 'top ten' fastest-growing economies over the next five years, with growth exceeding that even in the better-performing Asian economies.

Trading with Sub-Saharan Africa isn't without its problems of course. But the opportunities could be worth exploring further. The countries named as being top performers up to 2015 include Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Congo, Ghana, Zambia and Nigeria.

Albania is another country not often thought of as a trading partner. But it's one of the very few European countries that has been isolated from the crunch to some extent, and which is becoming more active in import-export trade. In September 2011, Albanian exports amounted to US$170m, a 23% rise over the year - while imports amounted to US$457m, a 14.9% rise over the year, according to the Albanian Institute of Statistics.

Trade with EU countries accounts for two thirds of total trade - with Italy and Greece being the country's main trading partners. Other countries with significant trade with Albania include Macedonia, the USA, Spain, Germany, Russia and Switzerland.

Open account is a method of payment for an international trade transaction that offers the least security to an exporter. With open account the goods and necessary documents are sent directly to the overseas buyer who agrees to pay for them within a certain period after the invoice date - usually not more than 180 days. The buyer simply gives an undertaking to make payment on time, but there is no guarantee of payment by a bank or other party.

Everybody uses comparison sites to find the best quotes for car insurance and home insurance nowadays. So here's a site that will find you quotes for import-export shipments. Just give details of your type of shipment, size and/or weight, origin and destination and whether you want it to go by sea or air and Findshipping will find you their best quote from their selection of UK and international shipping and removal companies. Website: http://www.findshipping.co.uk

Everybody wants to do business with Brazil right now. It has a booming economy and is predicted to become one of the world's largest economies in the next decade. Trade information in English has been hard to find in the past, but on BrasilGlobalNet you can browse, free of charge, information on Brazilian companies, Brazilian export offers and fairs in Brazil and abroad. You can also check a variety of publications, seminars and economic indicators, among other products and services. Brazilian export offers and requests for the import of Brazilian products are previously validated by the site in order to guarantee their reliability and quality of information. Website: http://www.brasilglobalnet.gov.br

Dealing with factories in China can be difficult at times. A good solution is to use a sourcing agent. Here's one you might like to take a look at: Renco Services can make it easier for buyer and manufacturer. They deal direct with the factories on your behalf, through sampling, development, production and export, making the process smooth and easy. They can filter out the misleading advertisers that are not factories but middlemen that inflate prices and give a very poor service and impression of Chinese business. One of the advantages of using Renco Services is that they are based in the UK and China. They have local Chinese staff that have a knowledge of the languages and a complete understanding of Chinese business methods - which differ considerably from what we are used to elsewhere in the world. Website: http://www.rencoservices.com

That's all for 2011. I'll be in touch with you again at the beginning of 2012 with more news, leads and trading tips. But remember, if you need more help or information on the products Wade World Trade has for you, including our famous courses, our website is open 24/7 - call in and visit us anytime at http://www.wadetrade.com