World Expo opens in Japan in rocky times

OSAKA - World Expo opened on Sunday with 160 countries and regions showcasing their technology, culture and food, with host Japan hoping to provide the world with some much-needed hope.

Highlights at the show in Osaka until mid-October include a Mars meteorite, a beating artificial heart grown from stem cells and Hello Kitty figures in algae form.

Surrounding most of the pavilions -- a chance for architects' fancies to run wild -- is the world's largest wooden structure, the "Grand Ring".

Its creator Sou Fujimoto told AFP that Expo is a "precious opportunity where so many different cultures... and countries come together in one place to create diversity and unity".

AFP | Richard A. Brooks

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also said the event would help bring a sense of unity in a "divided society."

"Through Expo, we would like to restore a sense of unity in the world once again," Ishiba told reporters.

But with conflicts raging and US President Donald Trump's tariffs causing economic turmoil, that may be optimistic.

"Not for sale" states a yellow and blue sign over Ukraine's booth -- echoing defiant comments from leader Volodymyr Zelensky about the war with Russia, which is absent at Expo 2025.

"We want the world to know more about our resilience. We are the ones who create, not the ones who destroys," Tatiana Berezhna, deputy minister of economy of Ukraine, told AFP.

Yahel Vilan, head of Israel's equally compact pavilion -- there is also a Palestinian one -- featuring a stone from Jerusalem's Western Wall, told AFP that "we came with a message of peace".

AFP | Richard A. Brooks

The US building has the theme "America the Beautiful", but with no mention of Trump's trade policies.

Instead it focuses on the country's landscapes, AI tech and space, including a simulated rocket launch where dry-ice blasters appear to ignite above visitors' heads.

The nearby Chinese pavilion, evoking a calligraphy scroll, focuses on green technology and lunar samples brought by the Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 probes.

Human washing machine

AFP | Richard A. Brooks

After enjoying the view and sea breeze atop the Grand Ring's "skywalk", hungry visitors can stop by the world's longest sushi conveyor belt or meet many-eyed Expo 2025 mascot Myaku-Myaku.

Among the more bizarre displays are 32 sculptures of Hello Kitty dressed as different types of algae -- to symbolise the plant's many uses -- and a "human washing machine" that shows imagery based on the bather's heart rate.

Elsewhere are demonstrations of drone-like flying vehicles, and the tiny artificial heart made from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) shown in public for the first time.

AFP | Nicholas SHEARMAN

"It has an actual pulse," Byron Russel of Pasona Group, which runs the exhibit, told AFP.

Themes of sustainability run through the Expo, including at the bauble-like Swiss pavilion, which aims to have the smallest ecological footprint.

But Expos have been criticised for their temporary nature, and after October Osaka's man-made island will be cleared to make way for a casino resort.

According to Japanese media, only 12.5 percent of the Grand Ring will be reused.

Slow ticket sales

Expo is also known as a World's Fair, and the phenomenon, which brought the Eiffel Tower to Paris, began with London's 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition and is held every five years.

AFP | Richard A. Brooks

The 2020 edition in Dubai was postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic, so Osaka Expo organisers say it will "restore much-needed connections" and "provide the opportunity to create a better tomorrow".

Osaka last hosted the Expo in 1970 when Japan was booming and its technology the envy of the world. It attracted 64 million people, a record until Shanghai in 2010.

But 55 years on, Japan is less of a trendsetter and opinion polls show low levels of enthusiasm among the public for the Expo, particularly after it went 27 percent over budget.

AFP | Richard A. Brooks

So far 8.7 million advance tickets have been shifted, below the pre-sales target of 14 million.

Japan is also experiencing a record tourism boom, meaning accommodation in Osaka -- near hotspot Kyoto -- is often fully booked with prices sky-high.

But early visitors at the venue voiced their excitement. Local resident Emiko Sakamoto, who also visited the region's last Expo more than five decades ago, was determined to return to the site repeatedly to see all the pavilions.

"I think the Expo is meaningful" in this chaotic time, she said. "People will think about peace after visiting the venue."By Natsuko Fukue And Caroline Gardin World Expo opens in Japan in rocky times

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Centre exploring new markets to boost fruit exports after robust growth

New Delhi, (IANS): After witnessing a tremendous growth in fruit exports in the last five years, the government is now exploring new markets for fruit exports.

According to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, the free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UAE and Australia have helped increase exports of fruits to the UAE and Australia by 27 per cent and six per cent, respectively.

“The free trade agreement has helped increase exports to the UAE, where there has been a 27 per cent increase in fruits export and with Australia where there has been a 6 per cent increase in export of fruits,” the minister informed the Rajya Sabha.

India’s fruit exports have surged by 47.5 per cent over the last five years.

The minister said the government is focused on quality assurance and exploring new markets while developing cold chain infrastructure to boost these exports.

"Because, any product that goes from India is brand India and the name of India and no stone has been left unturned to ensure the quality of our products and fruits sent abroad," he said.

The Department of Commerce, through APEDA, collaborates with respective state governments for supporting the fresh fruits trade include development of post-harvest handling facilities and developing cold chain network in the form of integrated pack houses, reefer vehicles and in-house testing facilities to maintain quality and longevity of fruits and treatment facilities.

India currently exports fresh fruits to more than 85 countries. APEDA works in close collaboration with the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare for entering new markets like Australia, Europe, USA and emerging markets.

The government is also focusing on development of the sea protocols for perishable products particularly fresh fruits which will enable export of higher volumes particularly to long distance markets at more competitive prices enabling higher realisations to all stakeholders in the export supply chain including farmers.

India’s agricultural exports have broken new ground under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government with shipments of the country’s fruits entering lucrative markets in the west for the first time and exports of rice posting a record growth, enabling farmers to earn higher incomes.

India pomegranates have proved successful among Western customers after the country took a big step toward expanding its presence in the American market by exporting its first-ever trial shipment of fresh pomegranates via air to the US in 2023.

Bhagwa pomegranate from Maharashtra has substantial export potential and almost 50 per cent of the fruit's export from the country is from the state's Solapur district.The government’s GI tagging of fruits has helped augment the market for India’s special fruits. Centre exploring new markets to boost fruit exports after robust growth | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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Beyond Barbie and Oppenheimer, how do cinemas make money? And do we pay too much for movie tickets?

Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

I’ve got two questions about blockbuster movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer.

1. Why aren’t the cinemas charging more for them, given they’re so popular?

2. Why are they the same price, given Oppenheimer is an hour longer?

The opening weekend for both films saw an avalanche of Australians returning to the cinema. Extra staff had to be put on (although probably not enough) to manage queues, turn away pink-clad fans who couldn’t get in, and clean up mountains of popcorn trampled underfoot.

An obvious solution to such a rush of demand is to push up prices. Airlines do it when they are getting low on seats. When more people want to get a ride share, Uber makes them pay with “surge pricing”.

Even books are sold at different prices, depending on the demand, their length, their quality and how long they’ve been on the shelves.

But not movie tickets, which are nearly always the same price, no matter the movie. Why? And how much has the cost of a trip to the movies risen over the past 20 years?

Why not charge more for blockbusters?

In suburban Melbourne, Hoyts is charging $24.50 for the two-hour Barbie – the same as it is charging for the three-hour Oppenheimer, even though it could fit in far fewer showings of Oppenheimer in a day. It’s also the same price as it is charging for much less popular movies, such as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

It’s also how things are in the United States, where James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds blames convention and says

it costs you as much to see a total dog that’s limping its way through its last week of release as it does to see a hugely popular film on opening night.

Australian economists Nicolas de Roos of The University of Sydney and Jordi McKenzie of Macquarie University quote Surowiecki in their 2014 study of whether cinema operators could make more by cutting the price of older and less popular films and raising the price of blockbusters.

By examining what happened to demand on cheap Tuesdays, and developing a model taking into account advertising, reviews and the weather, they discovered Australian cinemas could make a lot more by varying their prices by the movie shown. We turn out to be highly price sensitive. So why don’t cinemas do that?

‘There’s a queue, it must be good’

It’s the sort of thing that puzzled Gary Becker, an economic detective of sorts who won the Nobel Prize for Economics in the early 1990s. A few years earlier, he turned his attention to restaurants and why one particular seafood restaurant in Palo Alto, California, had long queues every night but didn’t raise its prices.

Across the road was a restaurant that charged slightly more, sold food that was about as good, and was mostly empty.

His conclusion, which he used a lot of maths to illustrate, was there are some goods for which a consumer’s demand depends on the demand of other consumers.

Queues for restaurants (or in 2023, long queues and sold out sessions, as crowds were turned away from Barbie) are all signals other consumers want to get in.

This would make queues especially valuable to the providers of such goods, even if the queues meant they didn’t get as much as they could from the customers who got in. The “buzz” such queues create produces a supply of future customers persuaded that what was on offer must be worth trying.

Importantly, Becker’s maths showed that getting things right was fragile. It was much easier for a restaurant to go from being “in” to “out” than the other way around. Once a queue had created a buzz, it was wise not to mess with it.

Cashing in from the snack bar

There are other reasons for cinemas to charge a standard ticket price, rather than vary it movie by movie.

One is that it is hard to tell ahead of time which movies are going to soar and which are going to bomb, even if you spend a fortune on advertising as the makers of Barbie did. In the words of an insider, “nobody knows anything.”

Another is the way cinemas make their money. They have to pay the distributor a share of what they get from ticket sales (typically 35-40%). But they don’t have to pay a share of what they make from high-margin snacks.

This means it can make sense for some cinemas to charge less than what the market will bear – because they’ll sell more snacks – even if it means less money for the distributor.

Rising prices, despite some falling costs

But cinemas still charge a lot. From 2002 to 2022, Australian cinemas jacked up their average (not their highest) prices from $9.13 to $16.26 – an increase of 78%.

In the same 20 year period, overall prices in Australia, as measured by the consumer price index, climbed 65% – less than the rise in movie ticket prices.

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A 2015 study found Australian cinemas charge more than cinemas in the US.

Yet some of the cinemas’ costs have gone down. They used to have to employ projectionists to lace up and change reels of film. Digital delivery means much less handling.

A now-dated 1990s report to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found the two majors, Hoyts and Greater Union/Village, charged near identical prices except where they were faced with competition from a nearby independent, in which case they discounted.

Whether “by design or circumstance”, the two cinema chains rarely competed with each other, clustering their multiplexes in different geographical locations.

Longer films no longer displace shorter films

I think it might be the multiplex that answers my second question: why cinemas don’t charge more for movies that are longer (and movies are getting longer).

In the days of single screens, a cinema that showed a long movie might only fit in (say) four showings a day instead of six. So it would lose out unless it charged more.

But these days, multiplexes show many, many films on many screens, some of them simultaneously, meaning long films needn’t displace short films.

Although we have fewer cinema seats than we had a decade ago (and at least until the advent of Barbie, we’ve been going less often) we now have far more screens.

Long movies no longer stop the multiplexes from playing standard ones. And because cinemas like to keep things simple, you pay the same price, no matter which movie you chose.

Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Leema clinches South Asian Business Excellence Award

Leema Creations Ltd. has won the South Asian Business Excellence Award for brand excellence in interior architecture for the 8th consecutive year. The presentation of the award took place recently at a glittering ceremony held in Pride Plaza Aero City, New Delhi, India in the presence of Business leaders and distinguished invitees.

Leema Creations Founder Chairman Channa Wijesekara and Managing Director ShamikaWijesekara received the award on behalf of Leema Creations.

South Asian Business Excellence award is a prestigious and celebrated award which was established to acknowledge and reward the exceptional work and its results by the industry leaders of the corporate domain in the countries of the South Asian region.

Excellence is not an easy attainment to come by. Perseverance, dedication and driving towards brilliance are unmistakable requirements in order to gain excellence ultimately. All this can be condensed in a single word, “Obsession”. When obsessed with excellence your dream to the best of the best becomes a reality.

The management of Leema clearly understood this concept and worked towards this goal through direct access to a professional team of in-house interior designers and expert technical team from the inception of a project resulting in Leema been the leading brand to provide the clients with beauty, innovation and cutting edge precision interior solutions.

Leema is one of the recipients of ISO 9001-2015 in the interior industry in Sri Lanka which ensures that its products and services are up to the required standards.

Further the existing manufacturing plant covering 80000 sq.ft. is one of the most advanced in Sri Lanka with a combination of state of the art modern computerised equipment and fine craftsmanship which ensures exact execution of any project undertaken. Leema clinches South Asian Business Excellence Award | Daily FT

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Torn Between Volunteering and Dream of Adopting a Cat, 6-year-old Starts Poop Scooping Business

credit – @poopa.scoopa.luca

This is Luca Arpin, better known to his neighbors as “Poopa Scoopa Luca.“

His moniker is well-earned, as the 6-year-old styled himself the neighborhood’s #1 number to call for cleaning up after dogs and cats.

“People hate picking up dog poop,” said the first-grader from Warwick, Mass. Speaking with WJAR, Arpin said he has an appreciation for all things tidy, and prefers cleaning up above other activities.

His rate is $15 for one dog, or $20 for multiple dogs. He even has his own business card.

His mother says that volunteering is one of their family’s core values. She and Luca have an enduring love for animals and together have fostered 98 four-legged friends through her work at a local animal shelter.

First to fold laundry or mop a floor, Luca’s mother said that his tendencies to offer his help pro bono at the shelter slowly landed him in a predicament where he wanted to afford to permanently adopt a cat, but couldn’t afford to do so.

Asking mom how he could earn money, the two settled on that poo patrol, which he says is work he doesn’t mind at all.

“I have the coolest kid in the entire world,” said his mother proudly.

It didn’t take long for Luca to save enough money to bring ‘Pebble’ a little female kitten he decided he couldn’t live without, into the busy embrace of their home. Luca continues to work, raising money which he hopes can go to help other animals. Torn Between Volunteering and Dream of Adopting a Cat, 6-year-old Starts Poop Scooping Business

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Amazon invests in X-energy, unveils SMR project plans

Amazon has announced it has taken a stake in advanced nuclear reactor developer X-energy, with the goal of deploying up to 5 GW of its small modular reactors in the USA by 2039.

Online shopping and web services giant Amazon's Climate Change Pledge Fund was described as the anchor investor in a USD500 million financing round for X-energy, alongside Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, Ares Management Corporation, private equity firm NGP and University of Michigan.

The funding is designed to pave the way to completion of the reactor design and licensing, and the first phase of its TRISO-X fuel fabrication facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The first project

The first project looks set to be in Washington State, with Amazon announcing it had signed an agreement with Energy Northwest, a consortium of state public utilities, for an initial four advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) generating about 320 MWe, with an option to treble that number to 960 MWe, which would be the amount needed to power about 770,000 homes.

Amazon will fund the initial feasibility phase for the SMR project which is planned for a site near the energy company's Columbia Generating Station nuclear energy facility in Richland. Under the agreement Amazon would have the right to purchase electricity from the first phase, while Energy Northwest will have the option to build the eight extra modules, with the additional power being available to Amazon and utilities in the area.

Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, said: "One of the fastest ways to address climate change is by transitioning our society to carbon-free energy sources, and nuclear energy is both carbon-free and able to scale - which is why it’s an important area of investment for Amazon. Our agreements will encourage the construction of new nuclear technologies that will generate energy for decades to come."

Greg Cullen, Vice President for Energy Services & Development at Energy Northwest, said: "We've been working for years to develop this project at the urging of our members, and have found that taking this first, bold step is difficult for utilities, especially those that provide electricity to ratepayers at the cost of production. We applaud Amazon for being willing to use their financial strength, need for power and know-how to lead the way to a reliable, carbon-free power future for the region."

The advanced reactors

The Xe-100 is a Generation IV advanced reactor design which X-energy says is based on decades of high temperature gas-cooled reactor operation, research, and development. Designed to operate as a standard 320 MWe four-pack power plant or scaled in units of 80 MWe. At 200 MWt of 565°C steam, the Xe-100 is also suitable for other power applications including mining and heavy industry. The Xe-100 uses tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel, which has additional safety benefits because it can withstand very high temperatures without melting,

X-energy says its design makes it road-shippable with accelerated construction timelines and more predictable and manageable construction costs, and is well suited to meet the requirements of energy-intensive data centres.

Clay Sell, X-energy CEO, said: "Amazon and X-energy are poised to define the future of advanced nuclear energy in the commercial marketplace. To fully realise the opportunities available through artificial intelligence, we must bring clean, safe, and reliable electrons onto the grid with proven technologies that can scale and grow with demand. We deeply appreciate our earliest funders and collaborators, notably the US Department of Energy and Dow Inc. With Amazon, Ken Griffin, and our other strategic investors, we are now uniquely suited to deliver on this transformative vision for the future of energy and tech."

The initial Xe-100 plant is being developed at Dow Inc's UCC Seadrift Operations site on the Texas Gulf Coast, which would be the first nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in the USA.

What else has been announced?

A memorandum of understanding has also been signed with utility company Dominion Energy to look into the development of an SMR project near the company's existing North Anna nuclear power station. It is not the first move into nuclear energy from Amazon, which is co-locating a data centre facility next to Talen Energy's nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.

Robert Blue, Chairman and CEO of Dominion Energy, said: "This agreement builds on our longstanding partnership with Amazon and other leading tech companies to accelerate the development of carbon-free power generation in Virginia. It's an important step forward in serving our customers' growing needs with reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy. This collaboration gives us a potential path to advance SMRs with minimal rate impacts for our residential customers and substantially reduced development risk."

In July, Dominion Energy announced a Request for Proposals from leading SMR nuclear technology companies to evaluate the feasibility of developing an SMR at the company's North Anna plant - while it is not a commitment to build an SMR, it is an important first step in evaluating the technology and the feasibility of developing it at North Anna the company says.

Data centres and nuclear

Amazon's series of announcements confirms a recent trend of data centre operators looking at nuclear energy as a way to get reliable energy that is carbon free. Amazon noted that it is not just their data centres and web services which are going to see increasing electricity demand, but also wider developments such as electrifying its vehicle fleet.

On Tuesday, a fellow online giant, Google, signed a Master Plant Development Agreement with Kairos Power for the development and construction of a series of advanced reactor plants.And last month Microsoft announced it had signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation which would see Three Mile Island unit 1 restarted, five years after it was shut down. Amazon invests in X-energy, unveils SMR project plans

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India’s Epsilon Advanced Materials to build $650-million EV battery materials plant in US

• (Reuters) – India’s Epsilon Advanced Materials (EAM) plans to open a $650-million battery materials and components plant in North Carolina in 2026 that could eventually supply up to 1.1 million electric vehicles in the U.S., the company said on Thursday. 
• Mumbai-based EAM, a unit of Epsilon Carbon, said it will make anodes, the negative electrodes in batteries, from both natural and synthetic graphite. EAM, which also plans to make synthetic graphite at the plant, said it is in discussions with suppliers about sourcing raw materials, including natural graphite.
• The manufacturing plant will be located in Brunswick County, southwest of Wilmington, and will be part of the EV battery hub developing in the state.
• EAM said it is in advanced talks with several battery manufacturers to buy its products, but did not name the companies. 
• The company’s move to create a new domestic source for anodes and synthetic graphite could ease reliance on imported Chinese materials and components. China recently curbed exports of graphite, the supply of which it controls.
• EAM’s U.S.-made battery components and materials likely qualify for incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act and related U.S. legislation aimed at building domestic supply chains for EVs and batteries.
• “We believe that limiting the amount of graphite exported from China – and likely the price increase for graphite that it will create – exacerbates the challenges (and) exemplifies the need to develop synthetic graphite for the U.S. locally,” said Chief Executive Sunit Kapur, in a statement to Reuters.
• EAM expects the North Carolina plant to reach full capacity by 2031, with a targeted annual production capacity of 50,000 standard tons of anode materials.China dominates synthetic graphite production, according to research firm Fastmarkets, which forecasts Chinese production of the material will grow from about 1.6 million metric tons this year to 2 million in 2030.India’s Epsilon Advanced Materials to build $650-million EV battery materials plant in US

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Indian nuclear joint venture gets go-ahead

Representatives from NTPC and NPCIL mark the formation of the Ashvini joint venture (Image: NTPC))

The Indian government has approved the creation of a joint venture between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and National Thermal Power Corporation to construct, own and operate nuclear power plants in India.

Under Indian legislation, only two companies - Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (Bhavini, set up to build and operate fast reactors) - are legally allowed to own and operate nuclear power plants in India, but a 2016 amendment to the 1962 Atomic Energy Act allows public sector joint ventures.

State-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) agreed with NPCIL to form a joint venture for nuclear power plant construction as long ago as 2011, and last year signed a supplementary joint venture agreement for the development of six 700 MWe Indian-designed pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), including the four earmarked for construction at Mahi Banswara in the state of Rajasthan. These units are amongst a list of ten PHWRs already accorded administrative approval and financial sanction to be built in "fleet mode".

On 11 September, the government approved the formation of Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam Ltd (Ashvini), a joint venture between NPCIL (51%) and NTPC Ltd (49%). The companies were informed of that decision on 17 September.

In addition, the government has approved the transfer of the project to build four 700 MWe PHWRs at Mahi Banswara from NPCIL to Ashvini.

NTPC said that, in addition to the Mahi Banswara project, "Ashvini shall also pursue other nuclear power projects in different parts of the country".

The government also approved exemption to NPCIL to invest more than INR5 billion (USD59.7 million) and exemption to NTPC to invest more than INR50 billion in a single joint venture or subsidiary company.

"This will enable adequate financing for accelerated nuclear power capacity addition in India," the two companies said.

Welcoming approval for the joint venture, NPCIL and NTPC said: "This will pave the way for pooling of resources from both NTPC and NPCIL, in terms of finances, technology and project expertise, for the rapid expansion of nuclear power productivity in the country to meet the target of net-zero by 2070."

Last month, NTPC - India's largest power company - confirmed it intends to set up a 100% nuclear power subsidiary, called NTPC Nuclear Power Company, with NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Gurdeep Singh saying the utility sees nuclear capacity - including small modular reactors - as central to its plans. Singh said the company is actively looking for locations for nuclear power plants, including in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Karnataka.

According to a Reuters report in February, government sources said India was planning to invite private firms to invest some USD26 billion in its nuclear energy sector, and is in talks with "at least" five private firms including Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani Power and Vedanta Ltd to invest around INR440 billion (USD5.30 billion) each.

Plans are not yet finalised, but the government hopes to use the investments to build 11,000 MWe of new nuclear capacity by 2040, the sources said. The plants would be built and operated by NPCIL, with the investing companies earning revenue from electricity sales from the plants. This hybrid plan would not require any amendment to India's Atomic Energy Act of 1962 - which prohibits private control of nuclear power generation - but would need to be approved by the Department of Atomic Energy, they said.As well as further 700 MWe PHWRs, Indian plans envisage the construction of large reactors from overseas vendors, including further Russian-designed VVER reactors in addition to those already in operation and under construction at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. In August 2023, Minister of State Jitendra Singh also told the country's parliament that the government was considering options for small modular reactors, and looking at ways to allow the participation of the private sector and start-ups in such projects. Indian nuclear joint venture gets go-ahead

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India’s pharma exports continue to grow at brisk pace

New Delhi, (IANS): India’s drugs and pharmaceuticals exports are continuing to maintain their steady growth with an 8.36 per cent increase to $2.31 billion during July this year as the country’s cost-effective generic medicines continue to gain popularity in advanced western nations.

The country's drugs and pharmaceuticals exports increased 9.67 per cent year-on-year to $27.9 billion in 2023-24 and the growth is continuing in the current financial year as well.

The US accounts for over 31 per cent of India's total pharma exports, followed by the UK and Netherlands (about 3 per cent each).

Apart from Brazil and South Africa, Ireland and Sweden are new additions to the Indian export market.

India’s pharmaceutical sector’s export share increased to 6.4 per cent in the fiscal year 2023-2024 (FY24) from 5.8 per cent in 2018-2019 (FY19), and an uptick in export value to $27.9 billion from $19.1 billion, according to the latest Economic Survey.

“India’s pharmaceutical sector has strengthened its position on the global stage. The market, currently valued at $50 billion, is the third-largest worldwide by volume. Known as the ‘pharmacy of the world’, India offers approximately 60,000 generic brands across 60 therapeutic categories, contributing 20 per cent to global generic drug exports. Eight of the top 20 global generic companies are based in India,” according to the Economic Survey.

The pharmaceutical industry in India is expected to reach $65 billion by 2024 and to $130 billion by 2030.

The survey pointed out that the sector maintains high compliance standards with 703 United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA)-approved facilities, 386 European Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant plants, and 241 World Health Organisation Good Manufacturing Practice (WHO-GMP)-approved plants.

In December 2023, revised manufacturing rules under Schedule-M were introduced to align with global standards and enhance quality control.

The survey also found that the PLI scheme for medical devices has a beneficial impact, narrowing the gap between imports and exports.

Domestic production now includes computed tomography (CT) scan machines, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines and other medical devices.

The PLI scheme for bulk drugs has approved 48 projects with a committed investment of Rs 3,938.6 crore to bolster local manufacturing.Financial assistance through Pharmexcil, an Export Promotion Council, is also provided under Market Development Assistance and Market Access Initiative Schemes to exporters of pharmaceutical products particularly small and medium size exporters to promote their exports in various countries. India’s pharma exports continue to grow at brisk pace | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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Brazil and Chile sign landmark agreement to boost personal care, fragrance and cosmetics trade

Brazil and Chile conclude negotiations on the Brazil-Chile Trade Facilitating Initiative for the Cosmetic Products Sector. The agreement aims to simplify regulations, reduce trade barriers and promote economic growth in the personal hygiene, perfumery and cosmetics industries for both countries.

Key objectives of the agreement include eliminating the requirement for a Free Sale Certificate, reducing prior health requirements, harmonizing labeling and good manufacturing practices and strengthening market surveillance.

By converging regulatory frameworks, the two nations seek to create a more seamless trading environment without compromising product safety and quality.

Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of market surveillance to ensure product safety and consumer protection.

This landmark agreement is expected to yield numerous benefits, including reduced costs for businesses, increased legal certainty, enhanced competitiveness and a smaller environmental footprint.

Both countries anticipate that this agreement will increase legal certainty, improve competitiveness, reduce environmental impact and promote cooperation between regulatory agencies.The agreement is pegged as a model for future trade negotiations in other sectors and between other countries, particularly within Latin America. Brazil and Chile sign landmark agreement to boost personal care, fragrance and cosmetics trade

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Why businesses must take a preventative approach to health and wellbeing

Ian Talbot, CEO of Healix: Protecting the health and well-being of employees has never been more important. With record numbers of people out of work due to sickness, the government has recently called on businesses to provide adequate healthcare to stop staff being signed off to ensure productivity and improved workplace wellbeing. 

With sickness costing the UK an average of £138bn annually, it’s vital that firms make a concerted effort to keep track of the health of their employees and prevent existing conditions from worsening.

As the CEO of a leading corporate healthcare trust provider, I have seen first-hand how healthcare has steadily moved from boardroom to building site, with all levels of employees increasingly being offered support.

At Healix, we’ve seen a 67% increase in individuals covered by schemes since 2020, as employers are becoming more in tune with the fact that promoting better health can both boost productivity and reduce healthcare costs in the long run.

The old adage “prevention is better than the cure” is increasingly relevant for firms in 2024. But how can firms ensure they implement preventative healthcare programmes that work for their business?

Embrace digital

The key to a preventative healthcare strategy is easy access. Digital wellness platforms are therefore a good solution and are important in ensuring people are supported across all aspects of health.

Allowing employees access to tools such as Virtual GP gives people access to primary care appointments, often in under 24 hours, meaning they’ll be on the road to recovery much quicker. This simultaneously has the benefit of alleviating pressure on an already squeezed NHS.

Digital tools are also invaluable in being able to analyse individual health data to provide customised plans. With workplaces consisting of a variety of people from all ages and walks of life, this is both essential in ensuring people feel valued, and that people’s diverse needs are catered for.

Providing digital healthcare can also provide employers with valuable data to better understand the healthcare issues their staff are living with, allowing them to offer targeted health interventions to support them to get back into good health or prevent issues from escalating in the first place.

Culture is key

Creating a culture where employees feel they can speak openly about their well-being is crucial in enabling people to seek the help they need, thereby preventing issues from worsening in the future.

One strategy employers can take is to facilitate knowledge and resource sharing. This could include hosting forums where employees and leaders talk openly about the positive impact of wellbeing initiatives to encourage people to seek support early.

The businesses I have worked with where I have seen the most positive impact of employee benefits schemes have been those where managers have received sufficient training in discussing available options. This should include coaching on how to confidently discuss benefits on offer with people from a range of backgrounds so that teams are effectively supported.

With the new flexible working bill having recently been introduced, employers should work with employees to introduce adjustments, including changing start or finish times to suit them, helping to promote and support a more balanced personal and work life that can, in turn, help prevent burnout

Mental health focus

Poor mental health and stress is the major cause of long-term sickness, and can result in physical health problems, so employers must ensure they develop a mental health strategy that ensures people get the support they need.

Research by University College London has shown that peer-to-peer support is vital for employee wellbeing. Companies should therefore ensure that part of their strategy includes encouraging people to share their experiences through focus groups, and creating psychologically safe spaces for people to share their experiences.

Managers also have a critical role to play in creating a working environment where people feel they can share how they’re feeling with colleagues. This is backed up by research from UKG which discovered that managers have just as much of an impact on mental wellbeing as people’s partners. Leaders should therefore carve out time to check in with their direct reports to understand any issues that might be impacting their mental health, before working together on a plan to support them to get the help they need.

This could include the use of tools such as remote consultations and self-directed online programmes so people feel in control of their own wellbeing.

Communication is keyAbove all, communication is key to taking a preventative approach to health in the workplace. This could take the form of regular email updates or presentations from leaders that inform staff members of new benefits. Employee feedback sessions are also important in understanding the types of benefits people want to see introduced in the future. With research by Deloitte, showing that focusing on employee wellbeing is key for increased retention, it pays for firms to invest in a strong preventative health strategy. Why businesses must take a preventative approach to health and wellbeing

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What you should know before you start chasing bargains at the EOFY sales

Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock Park Thaichon, University of Southern Queensland

What cost-of-living crisis? Millions of Australians are expected to spend A$10.1 billion during the end of financial year (EOFY) sales.

Many products, from cars and holiday packages to clothing and white goods will be available at marked down prices over the next few weeks.

Clothing and accessories will attract the biggest spend, followed by electronics and technology, household items and decorations and then appliances and white goods.

To put the estimated $10.1 billion EOFY spend in perspective, in 2023 Australians spent $361 billion on retail goods, with $63.6 billion of that spent online.

With such high spending, consumers need to make informed decisions to maximise their savings and avoid pitfalls.

Buyer beware

It is important to understand the return and exchange policies of the different retail stores.

Most retailers allow shoppers who change their mind up to 30 days to return and receive a refund or exchange the product. Some may have shorter return periods or may not accept returns on sale items.

These items are sometimes referred to as final sales, non-refundable purchases, last-chance deals, no-return sales and clearance items. This means if a customer bought something on sale and later doesn’t want it, they can’t return or exchange it.

Shoppers should be aware of a store’s returns and refunds policy so they’re not left with unwanted goods. Lucian Milasan/Shutterstock

Some retailers have specific conditions about where items can be returned. For example, in Melbourne David Jones requires boutique brands to be returned to specific branch locations. For example, items purchased instore from Chanel can only be returned at Elizabeth Street and Bourke Street Mall branches.

Other conditions might include no refunds/no exchanges on large electrical items, furniture or mattresses unless faulty or damaged. Or retailers may only offer instore credit or charge a 25% restocking fee when a customer cancels an order for a large or bulky item.

Many retailers, such as streetwear brand Culture Kings, also require a payment if the return process involves shipping.

As well as these conditions, retailers require any returned items to be in their original condition and sometimes, their original packaging. Being aware of these policies can help customers make more informed decisions and avoid being stuck with items they don’t want.

What to buy and where to get it

Certain items, such as off-season clothing, electronics and furniture are often discounted during EOFY sales, making it a good time to get them at reduced cost.

However, some items, like the latest Playstation or newest smart phone, may not be as heavily discounted and might be better bought at other times of the year.

Shoppers should also avoid buying items they are unlikely to use or consume before they expire including perishable goods like food, cosmetics and vitamins.

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It’s also important to consider the value of the item and whether the discount offered during sales justifies the purchase, especially for big-ticket items that may require significant storage space or maintenance.

Customers should also consider where to buy their items. Online retailers often have competitive prices and a wide selection, but some customers may prefer to see the item before they purchase instore.

Multi-channel shopping is a combination of both instore and online shopping. It gives customers the flexibility to choose how and where they want to browse and purchase.

For example, some customers prefer to touch, feel and try a product instore but then make the purchase online for convenience, taking advantage of any free shipping offers and online discount.

Pressure tactics

It is important to be wary any deceptive tactics to persuade you to buy unwanted products.

For example, some stores might use misleading advertising or pressure tactics to convince customers to make purchases with the feeling of fear of missing out (FOMO).

Our research found FOMO played a role in panic buying.

During the EOFY sales, businesses may try to create a sense of urgency by claiming that items are selling out quickly or prices will increase soon.

For example, online sites might state a product is “low in stock”, “151 items have been sold today” or “25 people are watching this item”.

By being aware these tactics are intended to lock them into buying, customers can take their time to consider purchases carefully and avoid being swayed into buying things they do not really want or need.

Ultimately, the best approach for customers is to plan ahead, research prices and shop around to find the best deals for their needs.

Why we have EOFY sales

The original purpose of the EOFY is to mark the end of a 12-month accounting period for businesses and individuals. EOFY sales help businesses clear out last year’s stock and make way for new.

Moving stock also helps to improve the bottom line by converting unsold goods into revenue.

If consumers are savvy, they can find ways to make savings while also putting money back into the economy.

Park Thaichon, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Southern Queensland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Browns becomes world’s biggest tea exporter in deal with LIPTON

• LIPTON Teas and Infusions and Browns Investments agree long-term partnership to accelerate tea industry transformation
• Lankan firm to get control of Lipton tea estates in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania; deal second overseas acquisition after purchase of James Finlay Kenya last year
• Strategic relationship with Lipton to champion global adoption of new quality, social and environmental standards
• LIPTON Teas and Infusions CEO Nathalie Roos says Browns the preferred partner with credibility, capabilities and scale, to work with to raise standards in the whole tea industry
• Communities to be offered 15% stake at discounted price with annual dividend
• Endowment of 1 b Kenyan shillings into new Community Welfare Trust

Browns Investments Plc Chairman Ishara Nanayakkara

LIPTON Teas and Infusions CEO Nathalie Roos

LIPTON Teas and Infusions yesterday announced it has agreed terms of a partnership which will result in the transfer of its tea estates in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania to Browns Investments alongside an agreement that all tea sold by Browns worldwide will be grown and harvested to a new set of standards covering quality, social and environmental protections.

This long term partnership will make Browns the world’s leading tea exporter – around 87 million kilograms each year as well as one of the largest suppliers to the world’s largest tea company, LIPTON Teas and Infusions. By working together, the two companies will raise tea quality globally and accelerate the application of responsible farming methods across the industry to drive sustainable growth. Browns will invest in its estates in Kenya and Sri Lanka to meet the new standards by 2025, as well as in the creation of additional skilled employment opportunities in Kenya.

Terms of the transaction, which is subject to standard regulatory clearances, are not disclosed.

Browns separately in a filing to the Colombo Stock Exchange said subsidiary B Commodities ME FZE incorporated in the United Arab Emirates has entered into a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Ekaterra Holdco UK Ltd., Ekaterra Group Holdings BV incorporated in Netherlands to acquire the controlling stake of four companies for a consideration to be calculated at completion in accordance with the provisions of the SPA.

The companies are Lipton Teas and Infusion Kenya Plc (98.56%) which produces 33 million kilos on an extent of 14,100 hectares; Lipton Tea Plc, Kenya (51.99%) which produces 3 million kilos on 282 hectares; Lipton Teas and Infusion Tanzania Ltd., (100%) which produces 9.4 million kilos on 28,572 hectares and Lipton Teas and Infusion Rwanda (100%) producing 2.6 million kilos on 816 hectares.

This is Brown’s second overseas acquisition following the purchase of James Finaly (Kenya) Ltd last year.

In line with Lipton Teas and Infusions’ vision of creating value for all, the proceeds or the transaction will be reinvested into the East Africa region to drive local and industry-wide progress in relevant areas such as skills development and climate change mitigation.

The Government of Kenya has supported the companies in identifying opportunities for local communities to benefit from the partnership and future growth of the industry.

Shares totalling 15% of the main Kenyan operating company will be offered to the communities of Kericho and Bomet, where the estates are situated, at a substantial discount to create accessible communal equity and mutually aligned economic participation.

LIPTON Teas and Infusions and Browns are also jointly creating a Community Welfare Trust with an initial one billion Kenyan shillings dedicated to helping address other needs at local and neighbouring communities.

LIPTON Teas and Infusions CEO Nathalie Roos said: “Browns is the preferred partner with credibility, capabilities and scale, to work with us to raise standards in the whole tea industry. The team’s commitment to sustainability and community development aligns with our own. Together, we are setting a new precedent for transforming the global tea market - one cup at a time.”

Browns Investments Plc Chief Executive Director Kamantha Amarasekera said: “We look

forward to working hand-in-hand with LIPTON Teas and Infusions and local partners to foster a sustainable, responsible, and prosperous future for all. This partnership marks a significant step towards elevating the-industry as a whole, while also ensuring a positive impact on the livelihoods of the communities we serve.”

Developed together with producers across East Africa and beyond, LIPTON Teas and Infusions has established a series of rigorous standards that span critical areas of tea quality, human rights, climate mitigation, and nature protection. A scorecard-based approach that recognises tangible progress by producers has been designed to encourage rapid and meaningful action.

Browns has committed to invest to meet these new standards worldwide by 2025. This includes initiatives on its existing Sri Lanka and Kenyan estates, such as factory modernisation and crop diversification in support of biodiversity. Browns also commits to maintaining and extending all environmental and social practices already in place on the LIPTON Teas and Infusions estates.

By working together, the two companies will raise tea quality and accelerate the use of responsible farming methods, driving growth and value creation for the industry.

In line with its vision of creating value for all, LIPTON Teas and Infusions has pledged to reinvest the proceeds from the transaction into the region to benefit the overall tea industry.

Further funding in education will expand the reach of the recently inaugurated Lipton Tea Innovation and Technology Academy in Kabianga, Kenya. The Academy provides vocational training as well as bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD level courses to develop the highest standards of tea cultivation, harvesting, and processing. Additional funding will allow for extra programmes, more student places, and the digitization of the curricula to provide online learning for maximise accessibility and impact.

Other initiatives will support climate change mitigation and resilience efforts. LIPTON Teas and Infusions, for example, will lead the development of a self-sustaining ecosystem for green and/or low nitrogen fertilisers in the region, enabling a stepchange in the finances of growers - as fertilizer is typically among the largest costs of production - and achieve an acceleration toward net zero for the entire industry.

In addition to the offer of shares, which includes a guaranteed annual dividend payout, Browns will pay an above-market premium to Kenyan smallholders to produce superior quality tea. Offering double what farmers would previously have received will incentivise a shift from quantity to quality, while securing a substantial uplift in farmers’ livelihoods.

All these efforts will further contribute to LIPTON Teas and Infusions’ collaboration in the country’s development of the “Kenya Origin” mark for tea, symbolising sustainable quality and unique geographic characteristics.

LIPTON Teas and Infusions is the world’s largest tea business, with world-class brands that are household names such as Lipton, Pukka, TAZO, T2 and PG Tips. With production sites in four continents and a presence in over 100 countries, LIPTON Teas and Infusions’ products are enjoyed by hundreds of millions of consumers around the world each day. As an independent company since July 2022, LIPTON Teas and Infusions is united in one purpose: creating value for all with every sip, from plant to cup.

Browns Investments is a prominent and diversified conglomerate and a significant part of the esteemed LOLC Holdings PLC group of companies, which is recognised as one of the largest and most profitable listed corporations in Sri Lanka.

Headquartered in Colombo, Browns has a rich heritage in managing plantation businesses, with ownership of Maturata Plantations, Hapugastenne Plantations PLC, and Udapussellawa Plantations PLC in Sri Lanka, as well as estates in Kenya. As one of the largest tea producing companies globally, Browns currently oversees an expansive 40,000-hectare area, producing approximately 43 million kilograms of black tea and providing employment to over 15,000 people across Sri Lanka and Kenya. Moreover, Browns Investments stands as one of the largest agricultural employers in Sierra Leone, with its 10,000 -hectare sugar plantation supporting the livelihoods of close to 5,000 employees. Browns becomes world’s biggest tea exporter in deal with LIPTON | Daily FT

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Mahindra launches new variant for 'XUV700' starting at Rs 16.89 lakh

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS): Leading SUV manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra on Wednesday launched a new variant for the XUV700 -- AX5 Select (AX5 S), starting at Rs 16.89 lakh (ex-showroom).

The new AX5 Select variant comes with various features, including a Skyroof, Dual 26.03cm HD Superscreen, Push-Button Start/Stop, and a roomy 7-seater configuration.

"These features, typically associated with higher-end models, make the AX5 Select an excellent choice for customers looking for luxury at a more affordable price point," the company said.

In addition, the new car comes with in-built navigation with native maps, personalised greeting and safety alerts, Amazon Alexa built-in, wireless Android Auto, six speakers with sound staging, and speed-sensitive door locks, among others.

"The AX5 Select variant represents an unparalleled blend of luxury, performance, and affordability, making it the perfect choice for the next generation of achievers," the company stated.

Mahindra continues to innovate with fresh offerings, consistently introducing multiple variants to meet the growing needs of customers.

Among the recent launches, it includes the 7-seater in the MX variant and the limited Blaze edition on the AX7L trim featuring a Blaze Red colour, dual-tone black exterior elements, and an all-black interior with red accents, delivering a bold and unique look.According to the company, the XUV700 has been very well received in Mahindra’s international markets such as South Africa, Australia, Nepal and New Zealand since its launch in 2022, making it a truly global SUV. Mahindra launches new variant for 'XUV700' starting at Rs 16.89 lakh | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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For Europe to emulate Silicon Valley’s tech success, it should change its startup funding model

More zoom, less doom? Andrii Yalanskyi

Michaela Hruskova, University of Stirling and Katharina Scheidgen, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Tech startups will be enthused by the news that Silicon Valley venture capital (VC) veteran General Catalyst is on the verge of raising US$6 billion (£4.8 billion) for backing new companies. It comes hot on the heels of an announcement from Andreessen Horowitz, another major VC, of a new US$7.2 billion investment fund. These are among the largest fundraisings in years, coming at a time when the VC sector has been going through a lull, with worldwide total investments down from US$644 billion in 2021 to US$286 billion in 2023.

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The bad news, depending on where you live, is that most of the proceeds are likely to be invested Stateside. American startups mop up around half of all global VC funding, while Europe and the UK are lucky to see a quarter. This is despite the fact that Europe and the UK have a slightly larger share of world GDP than the US (17% v 16%).

VC investment by country (US$)

 

Dealroom, CC BY-SA

This helps to explain why America’s leading three tech firms, Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia, are worth around US$7.5 trillion, while Europe’s equivalents, ASML, SAP and Prosus, are worth some US$700 billion. So what can be done to change this situation?

Silicon Valley’s edge

Silicon Valley’s success can be attributed to a range of mutually reinforcing factors, many of which planted their seeds decades ago. These include lucrative government contracts, entrepreneurial universities nearby, and the accumulation of wealth and talent from tech giants such as Apple, Nvidia, and OpenAI. This kind of head start is difficult to replicate.

US investors often plough millions of dollars into relatively early-stage companies, which are sums that other ecosystems simply cannot match. But startups typically first need to demonstrate traction with customers, usually in the form of sales revenue or user numbers. This is different from tech investment hubs such as Berlin and Scotland, where investors tend to only require a strong team with just an idea for the startup to be considered to have good potential for investment. Our research suggests that this might be an underappreciated reason for Silicon Valley’s success.

Having done in-depth interviews with 63 entrepreneurs and investors across Silicon Valley and Berlin, the different expectations of investors are very noticeable. For instance, the founders of San Francisco-based AirBnb had to use their credit cards to keep the company afloat, and even resorted to selling cereal boxes before eventually securing funding.

Similarly, the founders of food delivery app DoorDash, which is also based in San Francisco, built a full prototype and were making the deliveries themselves for nearly half a year before raising their first round of investment.

US startups like Airbnb had to survive on a shoestring to get funding. AlesiaKan

This is in stark contrast to European ecosystems. Recent examples from Berlin include language tutor marketplace HeyLama, which secured funding nearly immediately after inception. Meanwhile, pet care startup Rex raised more than US$5 million within months after launching.

And yet, between 2020 and 2022, US$44 billion was invested in early-stage deals in Silicon Valley as opposed to US$5.8 billion in Berlin. Equally, roughly 31% of US but only 19% of European seed-stage startups progress to the next round of fundraising.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the companies that do not raise follow-on funding fail, but it may help explain why Silicon Valley’s exits amount to US$403 million on average, as opposed to US$53 million in Berlin.

So why is it not the case that US startups struggle more when they have to meet higher expectations to get funded? And could other ecosystems catch up by adopting the same strategy?

The ‘valley of death’

The journey of a business idea from inception to early traction is often referred to as the “valley of death”. During this period, the startup needs to keep developing the business, build the product, and figure out a reliable business model. There is no one-size-fits-all blueprint and many companies fail, either because the idea is not viable or they run out of money.

Silicon Valley’s preferred funding model of investing into startups with traction somewhat decreases the risk of failure for VCs. In the long term this should result in more funds for reinvesting into new startups, which likely helped the whole ecosystem to flourish. There’s also a benefit to those entrepreneurs who can delay fundraising until they can demonstrate traction, since the startup is likely to be worth more. This means they can get more money or give up a smaller percentage of the business.

This would suggest that European startup ecosystems ought to think about moving towards this model. But it comes with a major downside. Few entrepreneurs have enough money to maintain the company through the valley of death – and it tends to be longer and deeper for the most innovative ideas. This is particularly an issue for entrepreneurs from under-represented groups, such as disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, women and immigrants, who are less likely to have the necessary resources or connections. Thus, adopting the American investment threshold could make the startup world even more inaccessible to them.

To get the benefits of the US system without damaging diversity, there need to be support structures in place, such as incubator and accelerator programmes, to help startups gain traction. Even so, these need to be designed carefully to ensure they signal credibility, and therefore help – rather than hinder – the incubated companies to secure their first round of investment.

Michaela Hruskova, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, University of Stirling and Katharina Scheidgen, Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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How Continental Competition Policy Strengthens the African Marketplace

• By Chilufya Sampa: Regional price distortions hurt small traders the most; as more states adopt competition rules, it's the traders and consumers who will win big.
• National economies may reign supreme, but cross-border trade remains vibrant across Africa. Markets are interconnected. A drought in one country will impact the price of maize in a neighbouring country. Businesses understand this dynamic and often operate on a regional basis. Take an example: traders buy soybeans in Malawi and Zambia to then sell them in Kenya.
• When markets work well, everyone benefits. Barriers to entry are lowered, benefiting micro and small business, while consumers can access a variety of goods at lower prices. But when large, and vertically integrated suppliers operate across borders and abuse their dominant market position, they earn excessive margins. Looking at soybeans again, the African Market Observatory showed that traders earned a mark-up of up to 91% by suppressing farmer prices in Malawi and Zambia and increasing prices to buyers in Kenya.
• This is where competition authorities would ordinarily step in to enforce market rules. Yet, a recent report by the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate reveals that nearly half the countries in sub-Saharan Africa lack competition laws and institutions. This has dire consequences. Markets become pawns in the hands of a few businesses, which dictate how those markets operate, thus defeating the principles of open markets and competition. In many instances, such businesses determine prices - whether buying or selling - to their benefit.
• In the agriculture sector, it leads to poverty and food insecurity. Small food producers are squeezed; they face higher prices for their supplies and lower prices for their goods and often exit these markets. Data confirms this sad reality. In African cities, food prices are on average more than 30% higher compared with low- and middle-income countries in other parts of the world.
• But it is not all bad news.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, a vibrant competition landscape is emerging. Nine countries have strong competition regimes in place with a history of enforcing case law while a further 17 countries have nascent competition authorities in place. Increasingly, these national authorities are turning towards regional competition organisations to strengthen their capabilities. Improved cooperation among competition organisations on advocacy and investigations is leading to better enforcement.
• Leveraging regional African institutions and enforcement is a first step towards building a strong, continent-wide, competitive market. Better coordination and cooperation between regional competition authorities and national authorities is needed to help regulate cross-border anti-competitive behaviour and reinforce the capabilities of national authorities. This is of particular importance for countries that currently do not have competition laws or institutions in place.
• A win-win situation
• Regional economic communities, such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), have an essential role in tackling regional anti-competitive conduct.
• For example, the COMESA Competition Commission has demonstrated how it can regulate cross-border competition as well as support national authorities in their work. It recognizes that competition enforcement at the regional level cannot be effective if national authorities are weak. As such, it helps to develop national competition laws, strategic plans and internal capacity. It sponsors training and can, upon request, review competition conduct and mergers.
• Yet, COMESA relies on national competition authorities to provide data and the knowledge to help other national regulators. Through COMESA, for example, the Zambian regulator provided support to national authorities in Ethiopia, Malawi, Seychelles and Eswatini. National authorities are the building blocks for regional competition enforcement.
• Reviewing cross border mergers
• COMESA has been active in regulating cross-border competition through the review of mergers with regional implications. In the past 10 years, 369 mergers and acquisitions have been assessed. It is notable that in the food and agriculture sector, these reviews have not blocked any mergers. Significant mergers, such as those between Bayer/Monsanto and ETG/SABIC Agri-Nutrient, have been allowed to proceed.
• Is this a failure of COMESA to regulate the market? Most likely not. Rather, these mergers exemplify how regional authorities depend on national regulators for data. In these cases, the information received may not have been sufficient, leading to erroneous analysis. The strength of COMESA is reflected in the capabilities of national authorities.
• Competition regulators at the national, regional and continental levels provide the building blocks for a thriving and competitive African economy. Effective competition policy and enforcement are prerequisites for open economies, fair trading conditions and a level playing field. In the agrifood sector, competition is essential. Our livelihoods, well-being and food security depend on it.
• Mr. Sampa is the former head of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in Zambia from 2011 to 2022. He is an active member of the International Competition Network (ICN), the African Competition Forum (ACF) and the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network (ICPEN) which he presided in 2018-19.
• Read the original of this report, including embedded links and illustrations, on the African Arguments site.How Continental Competition Policy Strengthens the African Marketplace

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