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Global Frozen Fruit Trade Grows Robustly

fruit

Global Frozen Fruit Trade Grows Robustly

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Frozen Fruits – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Global frozen fruit imports continue to grow in physical terms, expanding twofold over the past decade. In 2020, global imports rose by +3% y-o-y to 2.7M tonnes. In value terms, imports reached $5.8B last year. The U.S. and Germany remain the largest importers of frozen fruits worldwide, with a combined 34%-share of the global figure. The U.S. featured the highest growth rate of imports in physical terms in 2020. The average global frozen fruit import price amounted to $2,121 per tonne in 2020, increasing by +8.2% y-o-y. 

Global Frozen Fruit Imports by Country

In 2020, global imports of frozen fruits amounted to 2.7M tonnes, increasing by +3% on 2019 figures. In value terms, frozen fruit imports expanded by +11.4% y-o-y to $5.8B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020. Global frozen fruit imports have expanded twofold in the past decade.

In 2020, the U.S. (544K tonnes) and Germany (376K tonnes) constituted the key importers of frozen fruits worldwide, together comprising approx. 34% of total imports. France (186K tonnes) occupied the next position in the ranking, followed by the Netherlands (159K tonnes). All these countries together held approx. 13% share of total imports. The following importers – Poland (115K tonnes), Belgium (113K tonnes), the UK (107K tonnes), Canada (100K tonnes), China (98K tonnes), Russia (95K tonnes), Japan (82K tonnes), Austria (66K tonnes) and Australia (55K tonnes) – together made up 31% of total imports.

In 2020, the most notable growth rate in purchases amongst the leading importing countries was attained by the U.S. (+19.7% y-o-y), while imports for the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the largest frozen fruit importing markets worldwide were the U.S. ($1.1B), Germany ($675M) and China ($428M), with a combined 39% share of global imports.

The average frozen fruit import price stood at $2,121 per tonne in 2020, growing by +8.2% against the previous year. There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2020, the country with the highest price was China ($4,385 per tonne), while Russia ($1,148 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Austria, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

World’s Largest Suppliers of Frozen Fruits

In 2020, Poland (335K tonnes), followed by Serbia (205K tonnes), Canada (201K tonnes), Mexico (159K tonnes), China (133K tonnes), the Netherlands (115K tonnes) and Egypt (113K tonnes) represented the major exporters of frozen fruits, together constituting 52% of total exports. Peru (101K tonnes), the U.S. (101K tonnes), Morocco (85K tonnes), Costa Rica (75K tonnes), Belgium (73K tonnes) and Germany (61K tonnes) occupied a relatively small share of total exports.

In value terms, the largest frozen fruit supplying countries worldwide were Poland ($551M), Canada ($436M) and Serbia ($428M), together comprising 28% of global exports. These countries were followed by Mexico, Peru, the U.S., the Netherlands, China, Belgium, Egypt, Germany, Morocco and Costa Rica, which together accounted for a further 38%.

Source: IndexBox Platform

gypsum

Global Gypsum and Anhydrite Imports Shrink with Declined Purchases from the U.S. and India

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Gypsum And Anhydrite – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Global gypsum and anhydrite imports fell from $991M in 2019 to $901M in 2020. The U.S., India, Japan, Indonesia and the UK constitute the largest importers of gypsum and anhydride worldwide. In 2020, these five countries saw significant drops in import volume. China, the Netherlands and Sweden were among the few countries that managed to increase their imports. In 2020, the average gypsum and anhydrite import price grew by +6% against the previous year.

Global Gypsum and Anhydrite Imports

In 2020, global gypsum and anhydrite imports fell to 30M tonnes, dropping by -14.2% on 2019. In value terms, gypsum and anhydrite imports dropped to $901M (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

In 2020, the U.S. (6M tonnes), distantly followed by India (5.0M tonnes), Japan (2.4M tonnes), Indonesia (2.0M tonnes) and the UK (1.6M tonnes) were the key importers of gypsum and anhydrite, together generating 52% of total imports. The United Arab Emirates (1,326K tonnes), Bangladesh (1,108K tonnes), Canada (933K tonnes), Belgium (758K tonnes), South Korea (673K tonnes), Viet Nam (653K tonnes), Israel (571K tonnes) and China (556K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.

The world’s largest importers, U.S. (-2% y-o-y), India (-6.3% y-o-y), Japan, Indonesia and the UK, saw significant drops in the import volume. By contrast, China, the Netherlands and Sweden managed to boost their purchases from abroad.

In value terms, the largest gypsum and anhydrite importing markets worldwide were the U.S. ($141M), India ($89M) and Japan ($86M), together comprising 35% of global imports. These countries were followed by Indonesia, the UK, Canada, Viet Nam, China, Belgium, South Korea, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which together accounted for a further 32%.

In 2020, the average gypsum and anhydrite import price amounted to $30 per tonne, increasing by +6% against the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of destination; the country with the highest price was China ($50 per tonne), while the United Arab Emirates ($11 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Canada, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Platform

delivery

Has COVID-19 Changed the French Food Delivery Market Forever?

The French food delivery market is hugely lucrative, worth €180 billion and growing. Food makes up 20% of our manufacturing output, highlighting its economic importance.

The market was flipped on its head during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw restaurants, cafes, and bars close their doors and demand for deliveries rise.

Electrix, a producer of coffret électrique encastré for the food industry, explores how the pandemic has changed consumer needs and how the market could look in the coming months.

Our Changing Food Delivery Habits

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. As businesses closed their front doors and we were confined to our homes, consumer behavior changed.

People were forced to turn to online shopping for non-essential items, but many also began to shop online for critical supplies, like groceries. Takeaway food deliveries increased as people sought comfort in delicious restaurant food at home. 29% of French households were already getting meals delivered to their home regularly, which naturally increased when we were unable to go out.

We were seeing a shift towards eating out before the pandemic. In 2019, there was an 8.5% increase in people eating outside the home, whether that was in bars, restaurants, or cafes. 48% of people said this was the activity they were most eager to get back to, scoring it higher than seeing family and friends or attending events.

Fast Grocery Delivery will Become the Norm

Demand for grocery deliveries rose as people sought to avoid contracting the virus in shops. Stores struggled to keep up with this demand initially, but they soon adapted. Because of this huge response, we’re now seeing companies offer grocery deliveries in as little as 15 minutes across the country. Interestingly, this activity reached a new high in Europe in the first quarter of 2021 rather than during the first lockdown.

Cajoo, the first French company to offer immediate grocery deliveries, put itself up for sale as its competition rose quickly. It went from being an innovator to one of many businesses offering the same services in an instant, so high is the demand for fast food shopping deliveries.

It’s important to note that these operations are expensive and require multiple locations. Cajoo committed to paying its drivers a salary, while we’ve seen other providers cut delivery costs in order to remain more profitable, which can impact driver earnings. One thing is for sure – fast grocery delivery is here to stay.

Will People Dine out More Again?

While lockdown restrictions have eased, capacity in restaurants, bars, and cafes is still limited as the vaccine rollout continues. We know that eating out is the activity the French public has missed the most during the lockdown, but we’re seeing mixed results on people returning to restaurants.

In December 2020, a survey was released on our intentions to dine out after lockdown restrictions were eased, and the results were surprising. 51% of respondents said they intended to dine out less than usual, while 35% said they’d do it as much as they had prior to the pandemic. While many restaurants have been fully booked since reopening, the hospitality industry union UMIH has estimated that the recent introduction of green passes could reduce visitor numbers by 15–20%.

It’s clear that we’re taking precautions as France continues its roadmap out of lockdown. While visits to restaurants after the easing of restrictions exceeded 2019 levels by 50%, consumers are currently dining out less. We expect this trend to continue in the coming months because of the backlash to the COVID pass, despite the fact that dining out is a much-loved activity in the country.

Fast Food Delivery will Get More Competitive

As people ordered more fast food through the pandemic, delivery services increased fiercely. Uber Eats has long dominated the takeaway delivery market in France, but we saw Deliveroo triple its subscribers by offering unlimited deliveries for a small initial fee of 1€, rising to only 5.99€ at the end of 2020.

When France fully exits from lockdown restrictions – whenever that may be– we may see a decline in fast food delivery orders. The pandemic increased competition between the providers of these services as they looked to capitalize on increased demands, but we may see even more discounts as spend in this area inevitably drops.

A Backlash to Competitiveness?

With competition at an all-time high in the food delivery market, we’re seeing businesses undercut themselves and each other to gain key market shares, such as the low delivery prices offered by Deliveroo. We know that this can impact the earnings of its drivers, so could we also see a backlash to this type of ruthless competitiveness? Just Eat, which has a smaller share in the market, hired 4,500 drivers on permanent contracts in order to build and an ethical brand.

Values matter to French consumers, and half wouldn’t continue to buy from a business that didn’t have similar values to them. We could see businesses that take an ethical stance increase their market share.

There’s no doubt that the past 18 months have shifted consumer behaviors in a way we never expected, and this will impact the future of the market. The food delivery market in France is highly valuable, and we’re seeing new trends emerge as a result of our changing habits.

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Sources

https://blog.paylead.fr/the-pandemic-ignites-a-food-delivery-war-in-france/

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Afghanistan

China Is Unlikely to Tap into Afghanistan’s Resources to Strengthen Its Position in the Global Lithium Market

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘China – Lithium Carbonate – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Although China is the second-largest importer of lithium carbonate in the world, it dominates globally in exports for lithium oxide and lithium hydroxide. With moderate lithium deposits, the country will need to find ways to expand its resource reserves to support the rapid development of its electric car and electronics industries. It is widely viewed that China will construct lithium mining facilities in Afghanistan, but this is very unlikely in the near future due to the difficult military and political situation there.

Key Trends and Insights

China remains the second-largest importer of lithium carbonate worldwide but dominates globally in lithium oxide and hydroxide exports. According to IndexBox, in 2020, China’s market share consisted of 57K tonnes or 67% of worldwide exports. South Korea and Japan were the main importers of Chinese lithium.

Lithium production in China grew from 10.8K tonnes of lithium content in 2019 to 14K tonnes in 2020. According to USGS estimates, China stands in fourth place globally for lithium reserves (1.5M tonnes of lithium content), behind Chile (9.2M tonnes), Australia (4.7M tonnes) and Argentina (1.9 M tonnes).

The rapidly developing electric car and electronics industries in China will require enlarging their resource reserves to meet production needs. Alternative methods to increase their mineral reserves could include expanding domestic excavation, building mining facilities abroad or expanding lithium imports.

Recently in China, there have been discussions about creating a mining facility in Afghanistan for rare earth metals to provide one means of expanding their resource reserves. Implementation of such a project in the near future is highly unlikely, mostly due to the difficult military and political situation in the country. Mes Aynak in Afghanistan, one of the world’s largest copper deposits, serves as a precedent, where China invested in mining operations. In 2008, the Chinese Company MCC-JCL Aynak Minerals (MJAM) received a permit to rent and develop the ore, but to this day they haven’t begun to extract nor smelt the ore. Currently, the project remains within an exploration phase. The main reasons for the facility’s stalled construction are threats of armed conflict in Afghanistan and a shortage of necessary resources such as coal and phosphate.

There are no reliable sources of data about Afghanistan’s lithium deposits. According to estimates from the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, there are 1.4M metric tonnes of rare earth elements in the country. There is no open-source information detailing whether those minerals are accessible for the extraction or whether they are contaminated by radioactive elements. At the moment, there are no active mining operations for lithium in Afghanistan. The mining industry is significantly under-developed there, and due to a low GDP, the only method to stimulate growth is foreign investment.

Currently, the Belt and Road Initiative should enable China to strengthen its leading position in the global lithium export market. The initiative’s main goal is to construct a unified large market among countries in Asia Pacific, Africa as well as Central and Eastern Europe. It should help China increase exports of lithium as well as increase imports of crude ores when necessary. Within the Belt and Road Initiative, China has invested in transport and logistics infrastructure in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan.

Lithium Carbonate Imports into China

In value terms, lithium carbonate imports expanded sharply by +8.5% to $261M (IndexBox estimates) in 2020. In physical terms, lithium carbonate imports into China reached 50K last year.

Chile (37K tonnes) constituted the largest lithium carbonate supplier to China, with a 74% share of total imports in 2020. Moreover, lithium carbonate imports from Chile exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest supplier, Argentina (13K tonnes), threefold.

The average lithium carbonate import price stood at $5,208 per tonne in 2020, falling by -36.5% against the previous year. Average prices varied noticeably amongst the major supplying countries. In 2020, the country with the highest price was Argentina ($5,922 per tonne), while the price for Chile stood at $4,889 per tonne. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Argentina.

Lithium Oxide and Hydroxide Exports from China

In value terms, South Korea ($357M) and Japan ($313M) constituted the largest markets for lithium oxide and hydroxide exported from China worldwide.

Lithium oxide and hydroxide exports from China skyrocketed to 57K tonnes in 2020, picking up by +16% against the previous year. In value terms, lithium oxide and hydroxide exports declined slightly to $688M (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

South Korea (29K tonnes) and Japan (26K tonnes) were the main destinations of lithium oxide and hydroxide exports from China. In 2020, the most notable growth rate regarding the volume of shipments, amongst the main countries of destination, was attained by South Korea (+68% y-o-y).

The average lithium oxide and hydroxide export price stood at $12,120 per tonne in 2020, which is down by -15.2% against the previous year. Average prices varied noticeably for the major overseas markets. In 2020, the country with the highest price was South Korea ($12,491 per tonne), while the average price for exports to Japan totaled $11,968 per tonne. In 2020, the most notable growth rate in terms of prices was recorded for supplies to Japan.

Source: IndexBox Platform

powdered milk

Powdered Milk Exports from New Zealand Remain Stable with Robust Demand from China

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘New Zealand – Dried Milk – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

In physical terms, powdered milk exports from New Zealand remain stable. In value terms, exports rose by +3.5% y-o-y to $5.8B in 2020. China was the largest importer of New Zealand’s powdered milk, accounting for a 41% share of its total exports. The United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka followed distantly, with a combined 9.5%-share of the New Zealand’s export volume. In 2020, Chinese purchases grew by +2.2% y-o-y. The average export price for powdered milk from New Zealand jumped by +4.8% compared to the figures of the previous year. 

Powdered Milk Exports from New Zealand

In 2020, the volume of powdered milk exported from New Zealand stood at 1.9M tonnes, flattening at the year before. In value terms, powdered milk exports expanded slightly by +3.5% y-o-y to $5.8B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

China (781K tonnes) was the main destination for powdered milk exports from New Zealand, with a 41% share of total exports. Moreover, powdered milk exports to China exceeded the volume sent to the second major destination, the United Arab Emirates (93K tonnes), eightfold. Sri Lanka (87K tonnes) ranked third in terms of total exports with a 4.6% share.

In 2020, Chinese purchases rose by +2.2% y-o-y. Exports to the other major destinations recorded the following average annual rates of exports growth: the United Arab Emirates (-1.6% per year) and Sri Lanka (+1.3% per year).

In value terms, China ($2.3B) remains the key foreign market for powdered milk exports from New Zealand, comprising 40% of total exports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by the United Arab Emirates ($287M), with a 4.9% share of total exports. It was followed by Sri Lanka, with a 4.7% share.

The average export price for powdered milk from New Zealand stood at $3,094 per tonne in 2020, picking up by +4.8% against the previous year. Average prices varied noticeably for the major export markets. In 2020, the countries with the highest prices were Malaysia ($3,478 per tonne) and Australia ($3,427 per tonne), while the average price for exports to Singapore ($2,904 per tonne) and Indonesia ($2,968 per tonne) were amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was recorded for supplies to Thailand, while the prices for the other major destinations experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Platform

Power Electronics vehicle EV

3 Prominent Trends Influencing the Demand for Power Electronics Market Between 2021-2027

The power electronics market is estimated to witness stellar growth underscored by the rising requirement for electronics modules in smart home appliances and the purchase of advanced consumer electronics. These modules are used extensively in air conditioners, smart TVs, HVAC control systems, robotic vacuums, smart energy meters, and other smart appliances for increasing the power efficiency of devices and to abstain the possibility of electrocutions. Mounting inclination towards IoT and AI technologies in smart homes could create new business prospects for power electronic manufacturers.

According to a report published by Global Market Insights, the power electronics market is projected to surpass USD 30 billion by 2027. This could be possible given to some of the trends mentioned below.

Ramping up sales of electric vehicles

Electric vehicles are steadily replacing conventional gasoline vehicles and are gaining prominence across North America and Asia Pacific. Escalating prices of fuel in APAC has incited consumers to shift towards more affordable transportation solutions like EVs. Over the coming years, it is likely that electric vehicles could become with the preferred mode of transit in view of new technological advancements in longer-lasting and affordable batteries.

This shift could also evidently ramp up the production of power electronics systems, such as MOSFETs, power switches, power modules, IGBTs, and power management integrated circuits (PMICs), as there are heavily integrated into battery management units (BMU), automotive powertrain systems, and motor drives. Government initiatives to encourage sales of EVs as to concerns over emissions and the environment could boost the supply and demand of power electronics in the EV sector.

Installation of EV charging stations across Europe

With production and sales of electric vehicles spiking up across European countries like France, the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany, the requirement for effective charging infrastructure is heightened. According to the Department for Transport, in January 2021, there were 20,775 public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, of which, 3,880 were fast chargers. These charging infrastructures are integrated with a myriad of power electronic systems. Incremental construction of new EV charging stations across remote locations in Europe may augment the power electronics business outlook across the region. As per a report, the Europe power electronics market was valued at over USD 4 billion in 2020 is anticipated to register 4.5% CAGR between 2021 to 2027.

Technological advancements in power electronics

Companies like NXP Semiconductor N.V., Texas Instruments Incorporated, Fuji Electric Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, STMicroelectronics N.V., ON Semiconductor Corporation, Infineon Technologies AG, TOSHIBA ELECTRONIC DEVICES & STORAGE CORPORATION, among others are holding a significant share in the power electronics sector. All these companies are focusing on taking strategic initiatives like investing in R&D activities for developing technologically advanced products, and mergers & acquisitions.

Highlighting such instances, in May 2019, Infineon Technologies AG announced the launch of HybridPack series of power modules, which has applications in electric vehicles. While in December 2020, Toshiba launched 1,200V silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET, which has applications in DC-DC converters, photovoltaic inverters, and AC-DC converters.

international business

Troubles to Come: Glimpsing the Post-Pandemic Landscape for International Business Disputes

Some eighteen months into the Covid-19 pandemic, the world continues to grapple with the immediate effects. Even in parts of the world that have achieved meaningful levels of vaccination, the rise of the Delta variant has lengthened both the pandemic itself, and the governmental countermeasures that result, and the parts of the world whose populations remain largely unvaccinated are still dealing with the first-order health and economic effects of the event.

The fact that the pandemic continues to have these effects, and is likely to continue well into 2022, counsels humility as we strive to discern the path forward for business. In the weeks after the onset of the pandemic, for instance, much of the international business world anticipated a wave of very substantial legal disputes arising out of the application of the law of force majeure to the event. But businesses proved to be adept at managing their way through those challenges, without allowing them to devolve into legal disputes and broken relationships. Thus, while there was a meaningful ripple of force majeure lawsuits and arbitrations, the expected wave did not materialize. It is certainly a cliché at this point, but as we endeavor to look forward, the one thing we can be certain of is that we will face further uncertainty.

Nevertheless, the future landscape for international business disputes, in litigation and arbitration, is starting to emerge, and we can venture some observations about what is already happening and some educated thinking about what is likely to follow. One thing stands out: The volume of international business disputes worldwide jumped in 2020. There are no official statistics for international lawsuits in US courts, but the leading arbitration institutions worldwide do publish statistics, and those show that the number of disputes committed to international arbitration in 2020 was up by 10%, which is well above the pre-pandemic trendline. Given that the pandemic likely stressed middle-market international businesses at least as much as it did larger companies, and that middle-market businesses are less likely to have arbitration clauses in place, it’s a fair bet that litigation of cross-border disputes have jumped as well.

This is no surprise – times of disruption tend to lead to more disputes. And given that the world is not yet even out of the pandemic, it’s reasonable to expect that this elevated incidence of international disputes – and thus elevated dispute risk for businesses – will continue for some time. In addition to the surge in disputes overall, practitioners are also seeing some specific developments in the kinds of cases that are being filed, and business and political developments that indicate what sorts of issues might come to the fore in the near to medium term as well.

International Business Disputes Already Arising

The Covid-19 pandemic has been the single largest force majeure event that has ever struck the international business community – larger than the Great Depression, larger than World War II, and larger than the oil shock of the 1970s or the 2009 financial crisis. It has affected virtually every business sector, to some extent or another, and the entire geography of the world. Thus, unsurprisingly, it has engendered serious business disputes across sectors and worldwide as well. Several such trends are already upon us:

Manufacturing, supply chain, and distribution

The onset of the pandemic in early 2020, for many businesses, brought with it an effective and immediate demand stop – not merely a downturn, but a near-complete stop. Others, meanwhile, saw an immediate demand surge. Combined with the immediate effects of the pandemic and governmental countermeasures, this led in very short order to disarray in logistics and supply chains, and in distribution channels. Overall, that shock eased over the course of the pandemic to date, and the parts of the world that are haltingly exiting from the pandemic are now experiencing marked demand amplification. Thus, even now, supply chains and distribution channels are now facing continuing whiplash, while some parts of the world are still stuck with serious impediments to consumer and business demand.

Disputes that were forestalled during the first year of the pandemic are now crystallizing into lawsuits and arbitrations, as temporary accommodations “sunset” and some supply chain participants simply fail. Businesses are still managing their way through, and there is not yet a massive wave of supply and distribution disputes, but they are now readily visible in the publicly filed cases and in discussions between businesses and their counsel and are likely to continue. Some are being presented as force majeure disputes and many others are presenting as simple breaches of contract or in insolvency proceedings. And now the same kinds of issues are also appearing in construction disputes, as the US and other real estate markets have heated up and international construction supply chains are stressed by the demand surge. Close surveillance of supply and distribution relationships thus remains important at this stage.

Corporate transactions

Another area that has seen a marked uptick in cases explicitly arising out of the pandemic has been in the corporate transactional deal space. There have been quite a few instances in which parties to prospective deals have invoked the pandemic, in one way or another, to forestall deal closings or to bail out of deals. These disputes have arisen often on the basis of Material Adverse Change or Material Adverse Event clauses, giving rise to substantial litigation and arbitration regarding the scope and applicability of these provisions. Given how the transactional space has taken off since the first stages of the pandemic, it appears that this development might be tailing off, at least in the parts of the world that are exiting the pandemic. But these cases will continue until the world is all the way out of this, and it’s also going to leave some other issues in its wake: The market is now seeing earn-out disputes related to the pandemic, for instance, and moving forward there are probably going to be novel “earn-out” disputes based on non-revenue, post-closing consideration benchmarks. The pandemic will also likely give rise to some novel valuation and damages disputes going forward, as parties dispute how to factor pandemic-era numbers into those measurements.

Tech transactions and intellectual property

Business and consumer adjustments to pandemic life have resulted in increased adoption of technology solutions of all sorts, in all areas of business, from communications solutions to supply and distribution management to business processes and CRM. This increased adoption of new technology solutions has been especially marked among middle-market companies, many of whom had been relatively late adopters prior to the pandemic.

This entails increased exposure to tech transaction disputes, which are still somewhat novel for many businesses. It also entails increased value of technology assets – both for a company’s own IP assets and for those that business license or acquire – and of company data. This in turn raises the stakes of disputes that do arise, and even further, increases the temptation for potential wrongdoers, inside or outside of the organization, to attempt improperly to “monetize” their access to these assets. Accordingly, there has been a marked uptick of IP, trade secret, and non-compete disputes, increasingly including cross-border disputes. And of course, the pre-pandemic trend toward more cross-border cybersecurity exposure and data protection compliance risk has only been accelerated by the increased adoption of tech solutions resulting from the pandemic. Businesspeople and in-house legal leaders thus must now have a working knowledge of their organizations’ entire suite of tech solutions, tech transactions, and the disputes that often arise out of them.

International Business Disputes On the Horizon

The sorts of international business disputes discussed above are likely to continue, both in the parts of the world that are closer to an exit from the pandemic and certainly in those that are further behind. But even the path out of the pandemic will be strewn with business disputes, many of which will be novel.

Insolvencies

Many if not most governments have reacted to the pandemic with massive fiscal support for consumers and for businesses. Some jurisdictions have also implemented legal supports, such as debt enforcement holidays and state declarations of force majeure in favor of their domestic businesses. As a result, the pandemic to date has featured remarkably fewer insolvencies than what the business community had feared at the outset. Chapter 15 filings in the US – that is, US insolvencies in aid of primary insolvency proceedings overseas – jumped by 68% in 2020, but insolvency filings worldwide remained steady in many jurisdictions and actually dropped substantially in many others. However, those fiscal and legal supports are now largely reaching their sunsets. Accordingly, a recent World Bank report has forecasted a substantial rise in insolvency proceedings worldwide in late 2021 and 2022, as “zombie” organizations lose fiscal and legal supports and fail to survive. Legal and business leaders thus should monitor the financial health of key counterparties, as well as supply and distribution behavior.

China

China was of course central to the supply chain story over the last year and a half. There was widespread disruption in business relationships involving China, but contested disputes ended up being fairly rare, in part because China managed to work their way through the pandemic speedily – and probably also because disputes with Chinese counterparties, often sited in China and/or requiring enforcement in China, can be a particularly unappealing prospect, even as business disputes go.

But those relationships remain under strain, especially when the Chinese supplier has its own upstream suppliers in jurisdictions that are still suffering from the pandemic, so again the risk isn’t gone.  And going forward, the movement toward supply chain diversification – “China plus one” – is continuing and now appears likely to become a secular trend, and is necessarily going to entail some increase in disputes involving Chinese vendors, as relationships are scaled back or ended altogether. Organizations pursuing supply diversification, particularly with regard to Chinese counterparties, should be planning well ahead for the management of those transitions and endeavoring to manage away from legal disputes within China.

Tax Structuring Changes in Light of the Prospective Global Minimum Tax

This final sort of upcoming cross-border disputes remains somewhat speculative, but it is likely to affect some meaningful fraction of cross-border businesses with operations overseas. This summer, the OECD and dozens of other countries agreed in principle to a global minimum corporate tax regime, in part as a “pay-for” for the huge fiscal outlays of the pandemic.

Many of the details of the GMT remain under development, and it is expected that most manufacturing and other “brick and mortar” operations are likely to be excluded from the regime. But it does appear likely that the GMT will cause substantial restructuring of multinational corporate presences, as the tax benefits currently enjoyed in some jurisdictions evaporate and inter-jurisdictional competition shifts to non-tax measures, such as tariffs and duties. Those restructurings will entail follow-on disputes, as local relationships are ended. Organizations facing potential exposure to the new GMT should begin planning now for the corporate restructurings that will necessarily follow because managing through the transition with minimal dispute risk will be a complicated and laborious task.

The Practice of International Business Disputes and Dispute Risk Management Moving Forward

Even prior to the pandemic, the practice of international arbitration had been moving toward more usage of remote videoconferencing, at least for procedural stages of arbitrations. With the pandemic, remote proceedings – which can result in substantial cost savings – are now being adopted for merits in arbitration, with witnesses appearing and testifying remotely. And even courts in many jurisdictions, including the US, are now regularly conducting procedural conferences remotely, if not yet trials. And the increased overall incidence of international business disputes, as a result of the pandemic, may be expected to further increase the adoption of international arbitration for the resolution of international business disputes, which is already the preferred practice of repeat users of international dispute resolution services and is even more valuable to organizations that encounter such disputes more sporadically.

The business world will exit from the pandemic era, haltingly and over time. But the sorts of international business disputes that have resulted from the event are likely to persist even after it has ended, and for some time to come. Dispute risk will follow. But that risk can be managed effectively, with diligent surveillance and monitoring of cross-border relationships, careful management of incipient disputes, and the use of experienced counsel and cost-saving measures such as arbitration and remote technology. These dispute risk management practices can help to ensure that organizations will enter the post-pandemic landscape with the least possible damage and the best possible competitive posture for the future.

plantain imports

Global Plantain Imports Reduce but European and American Purchases Ramp Up

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Plantains – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Global plantain imports continue a two-year downward trend, decreasing by -15.1% y-o-y to 958K tonnes in 2020. While El Salvador, the second-largest importer worldwide, reduces the purchases from abroad, American and European imports steadily grow. In physical terms, supplies to the U.S. jumped by +7.6% y-o-y to 406K tonnes. European imports increased by +1.2% y-o-y, reaching 274K tonnes last year. In 2020, the average plantain import price rose slightly by +1.8% y-o-y.

Global Plantain Imports by Country

For the third consecutive year, the global market recorded decline in overseas purchases of plantains, which decreased by -15.1% y-o-y to 958K tonnes in 2020. In value terms, plantain imports declined to $628M (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

In value terms, the U.S. ($250M) constitutes the largest market for imported plantains worldwide, comprising 40% of global imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by the Netherlands ($52M), with an 8.3% share of global imports. It was followed by Spain, with a 6.2% share.

The U.S. was the major importing country with an import of about 406K tonnes, which resulted at 42% of total imports. El Salvador (76K tonnes) ranks second in terms of the total imports with a 7.9% share, followed by the UK (5.8%), Spain (5.3%), the Netherlands (5.1%) and Romania (4.5%). The following importers – Italy (39K tonnes), France (35K tonnes), North Macedonia (30K tonnes), Belgium (29K tonnes), Hungary (27K tonnes), Canada (26K tonnes) and Senegal (20K tonnes) – together made up 21% of total imports.

In physical terms, imports into the U.S. increased by +7.6% y-o-y in 2020. At the same time, Belgium (+76.9%), Spain (+68.8%), Italy (+47.6%), France (+30.6%), North Macedonia (+20.2%), Canada (+14.4%) and the UK (+7.3%) displayed positive paces of growth. Belgium emerged as the fastest-growing importer in 2020. By contrast, El Salvador (-1.4%), Romania (-8.0%), the Netherlands (-9.2%), Hungary (-10.9%) and Senegal (-44.0%) illustrated a downward trend over the same period.

European plantain imports grew by +1.2% y-o-y to 274K tonnes in 2020. In value terms, imports in the EU rose by +1.4% y-o-y, reaching $224M in 2020.

In 2020, the average plantain import price amounted to $655 per tonne, picking up by +1.8% against the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of destination; the country with the highest price was the Netherlands, while El Salvador was amongst the lowest.

Source: IndexBox Platform

sensors market

Top 4 Trends Set to Drive the Pressure Sensors Market Forecast

The growing adoption of pressure sensors across the oil & gas industry has significantly influenced the global pressure sensors market size. The deployment of pressure sensors has increased with numerous oil & gas manufacturers conducting large-scaled explorations for discovering crude oil reserves. This is crucial because pressure sensors are integrated across different oil & gas manufacturing components such as compressors, pipelines, offshore drills, pumping systems, and pressure vessels.

It would thus be sale to declare that with increasing crude reserve discoveries, the demand for pressure sensors will escalate over the forthcoming years.

According to the research conducted by Global Market Insights Inc., pressure sensors market is speculated to exceed USD 13.5 billion by the end of 2027.

Various industry players operating in the market are involved in strategic merger & acquisition activities to gain a competitive advantage and expand business operations. For instance, in March 2020, TE Connectivity acquired majority stakes of First Sensor AG. This acquisition is expected to help the company in expanding its product portfolio of advanced pressure sensors offering customized solutions across a range of industries.

Here are some trends that will propel pressure sensors market growth over 2021 to 2027:

Increasing adoption of gauge pressure sensors

Gauge pressure sensors are being increasingly used in HVAC control systems across industrial and residential sectors. These sensors calculate the relative pressure in reference to the varying atmospheric pressure. Calculating relative pressure is important for efficient functioning of HVAC control systems. Owing to this, gauge sensors accounted for a 13.5% market share in 2020 and are anticipated to proliferate at a substantial rate during the study time span.

Advancements in resonant solid-state technology to increase demand for pressure sensors

Pressure sensors developed using resonant solid-state technology are highly stable, consume low power, and measure pressure with utmost precision. In addition, the vigorous nature of these sensors allow them to sustain under extreme environments like high temperatures, thereby increasing their utility across the chemical, pharmaceutical, and aerospace industries. Driven by these factors, the resonant solid-state technology accounted for a 13% market share in 2020 and is predicted to proliferate at a CAGR of 7% through 2027.

Increasing demand for industrial applications

Amongst all the applications of pressure sensors, the industrial application acquired a market share of 22% in 2020 and is poised to proliferate at a CAGR of 7.5% during the stipulated time span. Increasing support from governments of developed economies like the U.S., South Korea, and Germany for establishing smart manufacturing facilities can be attributed to this growth. Pressure sensors are used in smart factories for applications that need to measure or control pressure. They are deployed across a variety of components like pneumatic systems, compressors, hydraulics, and air pressure drives across smart manufacturing facilities. Owing to all these factors, the adoption of pressure sensors is likely to increase in the years to come.

Expanding automotive industry across Europe

Europe is home to some of the top automotive manufacturers like Daimler AG, PSA Group, Audi, and BMW Group. Automobiles are integrated with pressure sensors across their gearbox, transmission, braking system, cooling system, and fuel system. In addition, the automotive sector has inculcated advanced tech like ADAS in upcoming self-driving cars. Owing to all these factors, the market for pressure sensors in Europe will exhibit a CAGR of 6.5% over the forecasted time span.

yogurt

UK Yogurt Imports Spike While Most Other Countries Reduce Purchases

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Yogurt – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The global yogurt imports dropped by -7.2% y-o-y to $2.4B in 2020. The UK remains the leading yogurt importer worldwide. Last year, the UK emerged as the fastest-growing country in terms of yogurt imports. In 2020, France, Germany and Belgium were the prime yogurt suppliers to the UK, providing 80% of the total import volume. 

Yoghurt Imports by Country

In 2020, the amount of yogurt imported worldwide dropped to 1.5M tonnes, with a decrease of -12.1% compared with the previous year’s figure. In value terms, yogurt imports fell by -7.2% y-o-y to $2.4B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

In 2020, the UK (261K tonnes), followed by Italy (168K tonnes), the Netherlands (118K tonnes), Spain (116K tonnes), Portugal (110K tonnes), Germany (103K tonnes), Belgium (100K tonnes) and Sweden (77K tonnes) were the key importers of yogurt, together comprising 68% of total imports. France (49K tonnes), Hungary (34K tonnes), Austria (33K tonnes), Ireland (32K tonnes) and China (28K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.

In value terms, the largest yogurt importing markets worldwide were the UK ($423M), Italy ($266M) and Spain ($167M), together comprising 35% of global imports. The Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, France, Ireland, Austria, China and Hungary lagged somewhat behind, together accounting for a further 40%.

In 2020, the average yogurt import price amounted to $1,587 per tonne, increasing by 5.6% against the previous year. There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2020, the country with the highest price was Ireland ($1,781 per tonne), while Hungary ($1,168 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

Major Yogurt Suppliers to the UK

In 2020, the UK attained the most notable rate of growth in terms of purchases, amongst the main importing countries. France (95K tonnes), Germany (59K tonnes) and Belgium (54K tonnes) were the main suppliers of yogurt imports to the UK, together accounting for 80% of total imports. These countries were followed by Greece, Ireland, Spain and Poland, which together accounted for a further 19%. In 2020, the biggest increases were in supplies from Poland, while purchases from the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the largest yogurt suppliers to the UK were France ($140M), Germany ($79M) and Greece ($77M), together comprising 70% of total imports.

Source: IndexBox Platform