Daily Archives: February 11, 2017

US, EU Food Standards Major Hurdle for Caribbean Exporters – Caribbean360.com (subscription)

Posted: February 11, 2017 at 8:48 am

Oraine Halstead (left) and Rhys Actie tend tomatoes in a greenhouse at Colesome Farm at Jonas Road, Antigua. (Photo credit: Desmond Brown/IPS)

By Jewel Fraser

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Thursday February 9, 2017, IPS As Caricom countries struggle to move away from their traditional reliance on a single industry or major crop in the face of growing economic uncertainty worldwide, they are finding it increasingly difficult to enter markets in the EU and North America with new types of food products.

But tariffs are no longer the main barriers to accessing important markets, according to a document produced by the ACP-EU Overcoming Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) programme.

The ACP-EU is of the view that Non-tariffs barriers will become the main challenge of the future multilateral trade system. Specifically, technical barriers related to compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) in export markets and other standards including those relating to labelling and packaging.

The EU considers these technical, non-tariff, barriers to trade so challenging for its African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) partners that it provided 15 million euros starting in 2013 to help those developing countries upgrade their processes and become compliant, thus giving them a better chance of success on the EU and North America markets.

The Caribbean Agribusiness Association (CABA) is one Caribbean organisation that was able to access funding to help its members move toward HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) certification, which the ACP-EU TBT programme identified as a crucial requirement. Since the early 2000s, the US and EU have stipulated that foods entering their markets must have HACCP certification.

Ten of CABAs members were present at a regional conference, held at the Radisson Hotel in Port-of-Spain Jan. 29-30, to report on the benefits they received from the HACCP training. They heard some sobering statistics with regard to the EU and US food industry that provided context for the TBT programme.

Dr. Andre Gordon, chief executive officer of TSL Technical Services Limited, told delegates that each year, the UK records approximately one million cases of food-borne illnesses, of which about 20,000 require hospitalisation, and 500 deaths are recorded. The cost to the UK of dealing with food-borne illnesses is 1.4 billion pounds annually.

In the US, approximately 48 million cases of foodborne illnesses are recorded annually, resulting in 128,000 hospitalisations and 3,000 deaths. The cost to the US of dealing with food-borne illnesses is approximately 77.7 billion dollars annually, the delegates heard.

The 2016 report, Addressing Food Losses due to Non-Compliance with Quality and Safety Requirements in Export Markets: the case of Fruits and Vegetables from the Latin America and the Caribbean Region, by two Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) experts, underlined how much is at stake for Caribbean agribusiness exporters.

The report reveals that Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) provide over 90 per cent of the fruits and nearly 80 per cent of all vegetables imported by the US. Nonetheless, some countries in the region have very high rejection rates at US ports of entry, including Jamaica, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic, the document states.

The report said, While many LAC countries have a good rate of acceptance in comparison with other countries exporting to the USA and EU, a few countries within LAC perform very poorly, revealing great disparity in preparedness for export trading within the region. The report noted that Multiple handling failures along the chain are likely the cause of the most frustrating complaints by international buyers.

Dr. Gordon, who oversaw the Jamaica ackee industrys transformation that made it compliant with US Food and Drug Administration regulations in the early 2000s so that it could gain access to the US market, explained to IPS the obstacles facing Caribbean exporters.

The problem in general with all agribusiness companies in the Caribbean is typically lack of technical capacity and knowledge of the requirements and lack of the resources to implement the systems as required, he said.

However, Dr. Gordon said, The cultural change that is required is probably the biggest single limitation to implementing and sustaining certification systemsIf the management and ownership [of agribusinesses] do not have a vision of becoming global players then the effort and resources required are going to seem unattainable and not good value for money. A lot of firms have issues with understanding the value for money proposition of embarking on a certification programme.

The briefing paper SPS measures lead to high costs and losses for developing countries, published not long after the EU mandated HACCP certification for all exporters to the EU, noted that As the income level of developing countries is far smaller, the opportunity cost of compliance is relatively far higher than that for developed country exporters.

The rapid change in SPS measures, regulations and notifications of new regulations is another problem facing developing countries in preparing for compliance. It also imposes extra costs on investors and exporters and creates uncertainty for them.

However, the papers author concluded, while the cost of compliance is high, the cost of lack of compliance is even higher because of loss of market share or reduced access to markets.

Dr. Gordon revealed that in 2010, the Caribbean had the second highest level of food rejections of any region at US ports of entry.

A March 2016 FAO report highlighted other issues hindering Caribbean agribusinesses in their efforts to export. The report states: A number of deep-seated challenges inhibit Caribbean agriculture diversification and competitiveness: the small and fragmented nature of most farm units; the absence of strong farmer grass-roots organizations; the cost of agricultural labor; the ageing demographics of Caribbean farmers; an education system that does not prepare youth to seek employment opportunities in the agricultural sector; and extension systems that have historically focused on managing the traditional export crops.

The problem of small farm units is being addressed head on, said CABAs president Vassel Stewart, with the formation of CABEXCO, a new umbrella organisation for SMEs in the Caricom agribusiness sector, which will jointly procure raw materials and services as well as market its members products and reach out to new buyers.

The resulting economies of scale will also hopefully make it easier to bear the cost of becoming compliant with US and EU food export regulations.

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These Two Caribbean Properties Were Named Among The Best Vacation Villas Under The Sun – Caribbean360.com (subscription)

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One of the views of and from Cheval Blanc Flemands Villa in St Barts.

GEORGIA, USA, Thursday February 9, 2017 Offering privacy, flexibility and convenience, vacation villas are increasingly in demand worldwide, particularly with well-heeled guests looking to escape the public eye without sacrificing the luxury and style they expect.

CNNs Joe Minihane recently compiled a list of the worlds 12 best luxury villas for winter sun, and the Caribbean snagged two places with Cheval Blanc Flemands Villa in St Barts and Valley Trunk in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

Noting that St Barts has a reputation for being home to the Caribbeans swankiest, most exclusive accommodation, Minihane said that Cheval Blanc Flemands Villa in Baie des Flamands is one of the islands finest.

With its own infinity pool, direct access to the beach and a home cinema for chilling out when the sun goes down, its a byword for luxury, the travel writer said.

It doesnt come cheap, however. Theres space for six people across three bedrooms, with prices starting at US$50,453 per week.

Moving on to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, Valley Trunk is named after the Trunk Back turtles that nest there and is set in 19 acres of tropical gardens.

Valley Trunk in the British Virgin Islands.

Theres a fully crewed 68-foot yacht available 24 hours a day, plus access to a personal yoga teacher and spa therapists, among other high-end amenities.

Its three suites and two villas can host up to 16 adults and eight children, and weekly rates start at US$9,074 on an all-inclusive basis.

The Caribbean villas are in good company, with other properties making CNNs list including Twin Palms Estate in Palm Springs, Florida, which was once home to legendary crooner Frank Sinatra; Samujana in Koh Samui, Thailand; Villa Solaro in Capri, Italy; Villa Basmah in Essaouira, Morocco; Rawnsley Park in Australia; Amilla Villa Estate in the Maldives; Villa Armonia at Puente Romano in Marbella, Spain; Koro Lodge at Bushmans Kloof in South Africa; Villa Aata in Bora Bora, Tahiti; and the cluster of luxury villas at Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus.

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Cruise liner pulls out of Bahamas for Cuba – Jamaica Observer

Posted: at 8:48 am

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) The Bahamas says it is regrettable that Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) has decided to drop Grand Bahama from its scheduled four-day voyage to the country.

NCL said that the service will begin calls to Havana, Cuba this year.

The timing for the Sky to drop Freeport, Grand Bahama, an island that is still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Matthew, which struck the island in October 2016, is regrettable. We look forward to Norwegian returning to that island in 2018, Bahamas Tourism said in a statement.

It said that NCL received approval for a one day per week sailing into Cuba, and that date coincides with their Freeport stop, which resulted in them dropping Freeport, Grand Bahama from its four-day schedule.

Norwegian Cruise Lines have been sailing in The Bahamas for 50 years and all of its vessels are registered under the Bahamian flag. This not only proves confidence in our destination, but it is also a testament to our stability in the region, Bahamas Tourism added.

It said that figures from 2016 show that cruise visits were up by 5.8 per cent in 2016 over 2015.

A total of 4,219,218 visitors cruised to The Bahamas through to November last year, compared to 4,066,530 for the same period in 2015. As a result, thousands of jobs and millions of dollars have been injected into The Bahamian economy as a result of the cruise industry.

Moreover, many cruise lines which committed to move their itinerary to Asia have moved back to the region, where The Bahamas owns the market share. This is further evident in the investments by all major cruise lines including Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Disney, MSC and Carnival Cruise Line.

The main Opposition Free National Movement (FNM) said that the decision by CNL to withdraw from Grand Bahama underscores the downward spiral of the local economy.

There are constant reminders every week of more hotels and resorts closing, more workers being laid off, and now we have cruise lines leaving our beautiful waters for other countries, said FNM Deputy Leader, K Peter Turnquest.

This change in destinations will mean that The Bahamas will lose out on 25 cruises, which make stops in both Nassau and Freeport, in the second half of 2017. This will have major negative impact on our tourism industry.

We will experience a loss of customers, a loss in revenues, and profits and an increase in our national debt. With the US-Cuba relations on the mend, The Bahamas needs to work double time to ensure that other cruise lines do not end their calls on Bahamian ports.

When companies start to leave the Bahamas and a trend is allowed to begin, it is hard to stop. This Progressive Liberal Party Government has not been working to save these cruise lines from leaving, rather they have focused solely on massive foreign-owned resorts. We need to catch ourselves from this death spiral quickly or we will be over the cliff before we know it., he added.

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Ancient Tropical Tortoise Found in a Deep Blue Sinkhole in the Bahamas – Seeker

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The Sawmill Sink hole, on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, had something special waiting at the bottom for divers from the University of Florida: the 1,000-year-old skeleton of an extinct tortoise species, one so well preserved it yielded its ancient DNA intact.

The find, described by University of Florida researchers in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, is being called the first DNA sample extracted from an extinct tropical species.

"This is the first time anyone has been able to put a tropical species into an evolutionary context with molecular data," said study co-author David Steadman, in a statement.

"And being able to fit together the tortoise's evolutionary history together will help us better understand today's tropical species, many of which are endangered," he added.

The tortoise, Chelonoidis alburyorum, with a shell described as about the size of a football, seems to have lived a harsdscrabble life. Evidence of bite marks from predators such a crocodiles adorned the shell's surface.

Credit: University of Florida

The fact that anything from the ancient animal, much less DNA, was intact was a happy accident of chemistry. For DNA to remain intact for a long time, it needs to exist in cold, dry conditions - quite the opposite of life in the West Indies. But Sawmill Sink is a deep blue hole deep enough that, at its bottom, 80 feet down, say researchers, water devoid of oxygen is created by the decay of plants and animals. That lack of oxygen kept the tortoise preserved, allowing researchers 1,000 years later to find it and sample its DNA.

RELATED: World's Deepest Blue Hole Is in South China Sea

Bone collagen preserved in the skeleton helped the researchers date the find, while other, more poorly preserved tortoises allowed them to determine that Chelonoidis alburyorum went extinct about 780 years ago. Not coincidentally, the scientists say, soon after humans settled in the area.

"There's a correlation that the arrival of humans spelled the demise of the tortoises," said Steadman. "It's probably a blend of direct hunting and habitat loss as the humans started burning the forests in the dry season."

Will the tropics yield more such well-preserved treasures of nature? Only time will tell.

"We now know so much about the tortoise's anatomy, how it lived and its evolutionary context," Steadman said. "To be able to do that with other species is a goal."

Top Photo: The fossil skull of the Bahamian tortoise, which yielded the first ancient tropical DNA.

WATCH VIDEO: 5 Islands That Are Going To Disappear

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These Offshore Drilling Stocks Are Up Big as Earnings Season Starts – Fox Business

Posted: at 8:46 am

What happened

Shares of a number of offshore drilling stocks are up big on Friday following the announcement of Q4 earnings fromNoble Corporation Ordinary Shares (NYSE: NE). Noble's shares are leading the way today, up over 12% as of 2:50 p.m. EST, butSeadrill Ltd(NYSE: SDRL) stock is also up more than 10%, whileENSCO PLC(NYSE: ESV) andDiamond Offshore Drilling Inc(NYSE: DO) are both up around 5%:

NE Price data by YCharts.

Today's jump for these stocks is largely tied to Noble's earnings release. The company reported an adjusted loss of $0.15 per share. And while a loss isn't exactly great, Wall Street analysts were expecting a much bigger $0.22-per-share loss from the company this quarter. On a GAAP basis, Noble's loss was much bigger, as the company took a $1.3 billion impairment against five of its drilling rigs.

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From an operations perspective, Noble has made a lot of progress. The company generated positive operating cash flows in 2016, and the impairments above are a reminder that the global drilling vessel fleet still has a lot of rationalization to go through before reaching parity with existing demand for work.

There's still less offshore activity, and that's not changing overnight. Image source: Getty Images.

From a capital perspective, Noble remains on sound footing. The company issued $1 billion in new debt in the fourth quarter, due in 2024, and used $762 million of the proceeds to pay off debt due in 2020, 2021, and 2022. At the quarter's end, Noble reported a cash balance of $726 million, $2.45 billion in undrawn credit capacity, and no major debt maturities within the next couple of years.

Noble's report comes on the back of a surprisingly good report from Diamond Offshore on Feb. 6. The company delivered a strong $0.53-per-share earnings profit. And while a one-time gain of $0.26 per share tied to a settlement over a contract dispute won't boost future quarters, Diamond still delivered a stronger result than many were expecting.

ENSCO is scheduled to hold its earnings call on Feb. 28, while Seadrill will likely report sometime in March. But investors probably shouldn't put too much stock in Noble's or Diamond Offshore's results when it comes to optimism for ENSCO or Seadrill.

If you're following offshore drillers, it's probably best to focus more on their balance sheets and less on GAAP profits and revenue at this stage. Look for the companies that are best-positioned to ride out the downturn, which could continue through 2017, and have the financial stability to make it to the recovery.

Noble, Diamond Offshore, and ENSCO are all in much better positions than Seadrill in that regard.Seadrill has nearly $5 billion in obligations due within 12 months, while the other three have less than $1.6 billion combined. The others also have a combination of cash and available credit liquidity to address their short-term obligations, while Seadrill has far more debt maturing in the next several months than it has the liquidity to deal with.

There is real opportunity in offshore drillers, but also very real risk of permanent losses. Make sure you balance the two, and understand the risks before investing in any of these companies. It's also important to acknowledge that it could take another year -- or more -- before the offshore market really starts recovering.

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Cost Impact of Immigration and Visa Reform to US Customers Using Offshore Services – Forbes

Posted: at 8:46 am


Forbes
Cost Impact of Immigration and Visa Reform to US Customers Using Offshore Services
Forbes
2000x-18 Most US organizations have substantially used offshore service providers in IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) to drive cost reduction. But there is currently a great deal of discussion in Congress and the Trump Administration as well ...

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Israel Puts Off License Award In First Offshore Oil, Gas Bid Round – OilPrice.com

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Israel has extended the original deadlines for each step of its first offshore oil and gas bid round launched last November, Energy Minister Yuval Steiniz said on Thursday.

Under the original plan for re-opening Israels offshore to new oil and gas exploration, the country announced its first bid round for development of resources in its territorial waters. At the time, minister Steiniz quoted independent research as having estimated that there are additional resources in a range of 6.6 billion barrels of oil and 2,137 BCM of natural gas yet to be found offshore Israel. The ministry is auctioning off 24 exploration blocks of up to 400 square kilometers (154.4 square miles) each, and will award 3-year licenses, extendable by another 3 years under certain conditions. In order to keep a healthy competition, companies with significant holdings in active offshore leases in the area are not allowed to bid. That means that Israels Delek and U.S.-based Noble Energy which are developing the giant Leviathan natural gas field are not bidding.

The original timetable had stipulated that the deadline for submission of proposals would be April 21, 2017, with winners of the new blocks expected to be announced in July 2017.

However, under the revised timetable, the closing date for bid submission is July 10, 2017, and bid bonds are valid until March 1, 2018, which may mean that the awarding of the licenses may take place next year.

Related: U.S. Oil Rig Count Up On Rising Oil Prices

Dozens of companies have expressed interest in the bidding process, thus the extension to allow for more time to prepare for bids, Natural Gas World quoted Steiniz as saying at a roadshow in Tel Aviv.

In the eastern Mediterranean, other countries are also advancing bid rounds and licensing awards. Cyprus has recently awarded three offshore blocks one to Italys Eni, one to an Eni/Total partnership, and the other to ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum while Lebanon opened last month five offshore blocks up for bidding, re-launching the first licensing round after three years of political impasse.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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After selling off all oilsands assets, Statoil looks to Newfoundland offshore – Calgary Herald

Posted: at 8:46 am

A file photo shows the company logo at the headquarters of Norwegian energy firm Statoil outside Oslo. BERIT ROALD / AFP/Getty Images

A week after Statoil sold off all its assets in Albertas oilsands, it looked eastward, to Newfoundlands offshore.

There, the Norwegian energy giant saw opportunity in the North Atlantic, announcing this week plans to drill two offshore exploratory wells this summer in the Flemish Pass Basin, roughly 500 kilometres east of St. Johns, N.L.

It is a gamble pulling out of one area with vast pools of proven oil reserves, while simultaneously launching a drilling program in the open ocean, where discovering commercially viable reservoirs is not certain.

But analysts say there is logic behind Statoils decision. While companies shifting their investments to offshore exploration are taking on more risk, there is upside.

The crude found beneath the ocean floor is generally lighter and more valuable than oilsands bitumen. Offshore oil can also be shipped anywhere in the world by tanker, whereas Albertas landlocked oil requires pipelines to access markets abroad pipelines that still need to be built.

You fill up a tanker from your platform and you send it to whoever is willing to pay the best price for it, said Kevin Birn, senior director for IHS Markit.

Whereas in Western Canada, the history has been you put it in a pipeline and it goes south. Those prices are subject to transportation costs down to the Gulf Coast and you have a lower price as a result.

Statoil Canada president Paul Fulton said the decision to invest in the offshore is in line with the parent companys strategy of funding safe, high-volume projects (with) low-carbon emissions.

He said Statoils exit from the oilsands was a commercial decision that had nothing to do with criticism from environmentalists in Norway, as has been suggested by some.

The upstream emissions from potential projects out there (on the East Coast) are very good, so we see that as a good fit and it fits into the competitive portfolio of Statoil globally, Fulton said in an interview.

Analysts, however, say criticism in Norway had to have been a factor in the sale of oilsands assets.

Statoil in particular was facing some political pushback from Norway as a state-owned company operating in the oilsands, said Nathan Nemeth, an upstream research associate at Wood Mackenzie.

Nemeth said oilsands and offshore projects both face long planning phases, high upfront costs and complicated construction issues, but the payback of capital for offshore comes much more quickly because of flush production from freshly drilled wells. Oilsands production, on the other hand, is steady and predictable for decades.

Statoils offshore investment comes as Calgary-based Husky Energy confirmed earlier this week it had shipped its first oil to an unnamed customer in China from the White Rose project, about 350 km east of Newfoundland.

The pieces of the puzzle fell together for the sale, company spokesman Mel Duvall said in an email. Favourable freight rates made it economically attractive.

Statoil is a major player in Newfoundlands offshore oil sector with a nine per cent stake in the Hebron project, a five per cent share in Hibernia and a 15 per cent stake in Terra Nova.

In 2015, the company bought six exploration licences in the Flemish Pass Basin and its first two licences for offshore Nova Scotia.

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Don’t like your government? Just start a micronation like these 6 dudes – Mashable

Posted: at 8:44 am


Mashable
Don't like your government? Just start a micronation like these 6 dudes
Mashable
Ever been so fed up with your government that you decided to break away and form your own nation? A surprising number of Australians have. There are about 100 micronations spread out across the world, tiny governments unto themselves and yet not ...

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Frommer: Dumbing down the cruise experience – News Chief

Posted: at 8:43 am

By Arthur Frommer

The recent tendency of the cruise lines to eliminate port stops in actual cities inhabited by local residents replacing those ports with stops in phony, artificial "private islands" or "private beaches" has now escalated. By creating a phony island for their passengers on Caribbean cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line has given us the phony island to end all such fakes.

It's called "Harvest Caye," and it's a separate small island developed by the cruise line, reachable by a 15-minute boat ride from the mainland of southern Belize. Passengers are disembarked on Harvest Caye, from which they walk under a canopy shielding them from the sun to the various facilities on this private island. If travelers want to experience the real Belize, they could take the boat ride to the mainland, but I would assume that this further trip primarily is for people signing up for an escorted sightseeing tour of the mainland. I am guessing that few passengers would board that boat and, after arriving, walk close to 3 miles to the Placencia Village on the mainland.

Rather, the facilities on the private island are designed to keep passengers rooted there, spending money at the various enticing comforts and attractions of Harvest Caye.

The island has hundreds and hundreds of chaise lounges, several villas for daylong rent, several restaurants charging for their meals, an entire shopping village, a giant swimming pool, a zoo (of all things) and every other artificial attraction meant to keep passengers from ever experiencing the nature and community life of Belize.

And what about Belize itself? Is it worth visiting? The answer to that would cause long-time visitors to Belize to sputter with indignation. Belize is one of the great ecological adventure areas of the world. It sports caves for tubing, waterfalls for swimming under, exotic birds and every sort of sealife manatees, particularly, and lobsters as well. Several organizations seeking to protect the unique and enthralling environment of Belize are apoplectic with anger over what developments like Harvest Caye will do to their cherished area.

The Norwegian Cruise Line passengers spending their day at Harvest Caye see and experience nothing of Belize they might as well have stayed at home and visited a heated day spa or steam bath. They have not experienced any kind of foreign travel, an experience that, to me, is one of the chief rewards of booking aboard a traditional cruise. I, for one, will avoid those cruises that substitute so-called private islands for actual real-life islands and communities.

Arthur Frommer is the pioneering founder of the Frommer's Travel Guide book series. He co-hosts the radio program, The Travel Show, with his travel correspondent daughter Pauline Frommer. Find more destinations online and read Arthur Frommer's blog at frommers.com.

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