Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 24 July 2021

Sat Jul 24 08:39:06 CAT 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 24 July 2021

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ü  Covid: The holiday makers having to self-isolate abroad

ü  Firm fined £2.6m for claiming clothes prevent Covid

ü  Covid: New testing plan will not work, warn firms

ü  Rail services face cuts as staff self-isolate

ü  Rural vacuum for getting hold of cash

ü  GM, Cruise demand Ford drop 'BlueCruise' name for hands-free driving

ü  Wall Street notches record closing high on earnings, economic strength

ü  Global supply chains buckle as virus variant and disasters strike

ü  Tesla lobbies India for sharply lower import taxes on electric vehicles - sources

ü  EV startup Rivian announces $2.5 bln funding round led by Amazon, Ford

ü  China regulator bars Tencent from exclusive rights in online music

ü  Global insurance recovery will be faster, stronger than in 2008 -Swiss Re

ü  Brazil competition regulator signals 'complex' path for Oi sale approval

ü  United Airlines urges federal action on congestion at Newark airport - letter

ü  Zambia: Govt's Desire to Make Zambia Food Secure Impressive

ü  Nigeria Going Through Its Worst Unemployment Crisis - World Bank

ü  Nigeria: Prices of Protein, Carbohydrate-Rich Foods in Nigeria Up 58%

ü  Mozambique: EDM Replaces Electricity Network in Maputo

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Covid: The holiday makers having to self-isolate abroad

In early July, university student Aimee flew out to Zakynthos, Greece. More than a week into her trip, the tour operator she was travelling with said that there had been a few cases of coronavirus and asked everyone to take a test. Aimee's came back positive.

"I was sharing with a roommate, but the operator moved them out so I could isolate," She tells the BBC. Aimee is now on the fifth day of her self-isolation at the resort in Zakynthos.

"My friends have been bringing me food and dropping it at the door. I've got a balcony, but I'm still going a bit crazy in the room."

Aimee says she couldn't find any information for a while about what protocols she was meant to follow, but she is paying for tests every three days. Fortunately, her hotel room was already paid for until the end of the month.

"I knew it was a risk going on holiday, but it was one I was willing to take," she says.

'The price of holidays in the UK has sky-rocketed'

Samantha is currently on the seventh day of quarantining with her friend Charlotte in Majorca in the Balearic Islands.

"My sinus felt a little bunged up, but I just put it down to the flight and pressure that I usually get after flying," she says.

She took an NHS lateral flow test that she had brought with her and tested positive. Immediately she called her tour operator and the hotel reception to let them know and for advice.

The tour operator and the hotel recommended speaking to the Spanish Health Authorities, who told the two friends to take a PCR test and isolate where they were for 10 days.

"I haven't felt ill as such, and even though we are stuck in our hotel room, we have tried to make the most of what we have," she says.

"We have been using the balcony as a living room, taking my tablet out to watch films in the evening and trying to make the most of it."

Samantha says that she and Charlotte have been very touched by the kindness shown to them.

Charlotte reached out asking for a kettle and teabags on a private Facebook group, and a fellow guest brought them to the hotel when she arrived.

"Other guests in the hotel we have talked to over the balcony have also been very helpful and brought us milk and butter from the restaurant," says Samantha.

"It is lovely to know that there are so many people willing to help."

The pair have had to pay upfront to keep the room on at the hotel, but their travel insurance will reimburse their costs. As Samantha is the one with coronavirus, her new flight home is also covered, but Charlotte will have to pay for her flight home, because her travel insurance doesn't cover her if she is not ill.

Asked why they chose to go abroad in the midst of the pandemic, Samantha said that they were aware of the risks.

"My friend has worked all through the pandemic and has always used foreign holidays to recharge," she explains.

"The prices of everything in the UK has sky rocketed, there's no availability anywhere and the weather isn't guaranteed."

The women feel that people "need to start living with COVID-19 because it is quite clearly not going away".

What to do if you test positive for Covid while abroad

"It's essential to take out insurance, even in some cases if you are on a package holiday," says Rory Boland, Travel Editor at consumer group Which?.

"It's crucial to check the detail to make sure that you have enough cover if you do need to isolate. Some policies have a 'day benefit' rate, but check that that will be enough to cover the cost of the hotel and everything else you might need if you do need to quarantine."

He added that some customers might have travel insurance or flexible booking policies that might also just cover them if they need to self-isolate, but not necessarily the other people travelling with them.

Which? says that when you're abroad, you should still minimise the risk of catching Covid as you would at home - by meeting people outside if possible, limiting the number of people you meet in crowded places and washing your hands regularly. Some countries will have different policies on when and where to wear a mask.

If you do find you test positive, each country - and sometimes the regions within it - will have different rules on where and for how long you need to quarantine, Mr Boland adds.

Some might require travellers to stay in their hotel rooms, while others might be moved to designated quarantine hotels.

"Contact your hotel and travel operator in the first place," says Mr Boland. "They should be able to help you navigate some of the health information, particularly if it is in a different language."

If you are staying independently or are just struggling to find the information you need, the Foreign Office does have advice on what to do if you test positive in different countries.

If you need urgent help because something has happened to a friend or relative abroad, contact the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in London on 020 7008 5000 (24 hours).

And if you need emergency help, the FCDO recommend contacting the nearest British embassy, consulate or high commission.-BBC

Firm fined £2.6m for claiming clothes prevent Covid

An Australian activewear firm has been fined £2.6m (5m Australian dollars) for claiming its clothing "eliminated" and stopped the spread of Covid.

Lorna Jane had advertised that its clothing used "a groundbreaking technology" called LJ Shield to prevent the "transferal of all pathogens".

However, in a ruling, a judge said the company's claim was "exploitative, predatory and potentially dangerous".

Lorna Jane said it accepted the court's ruling.

The company maintained that it had been misled by its own supplier. "A trusted supplier sold us a product that did not perform as promised," said Lorna Jane chief executive Bill Clarkson.

"They led us to believe the technology behind LJ Shield was being sold elsewhere in Australia, the USA, China, and Taiwan and that it was both anti-bacterial and anti-viral. We believed we were passing on a benefit to our customers."

The legal action was brought by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) after Lorna Jane began marketing the clothing last July during the Covid pandemic.

In a judgement published on Friday, a federal court judge found that Lorna Jane "represented to consumers that it had a reasonable scientific or technological basis" to make its claims when it had none.

The court fined the company "for making false and misleading representations to consumers and engaging in conduct liable to mislead the public".

Rod Sims, chairman of the ACCC, said: "This was dreadful conduct as it involved making serious claims regarding public health when there was no basis for them."

He added: "The whole marketing campaign was based upon consumers' desire for greater protection against the global pandemic."

The company also admitted that its founder, Lorna Jane Clarkson, who is also its chief creative officer, authorised and approved the LJ Shield activewear promotional material and personally made some false statements in a press release and an Instagram video.

The judge said he had taken into account that "the conduct emanated from a high managerial level within the company" and "was directed by Ms Clarkson".

Ms Clarkson, who was born in Lancashire but emigrated to Australia with her family when she was a child, started the business more than 30 years ago.

Lorna Jane, which has stores across Australia, New Zealand, the US and Singapore, has been ordered by the judge to publish corrective notices. It is also not allowed to make any anti-virus claims related to its activewear clothing for three years unless it has reasonable basis to do so.

Last week, the company was also fined 40,000 Australian dollars by the Therapeutic Goods Administration drug regulator for "alleged unlawful advertising" in relation to Covid.

It said: "This kind of advertising could have detrimental consequences for the Australian community, creating a false sense of security and leading people to be less vigilant about hygiene and social distancing."-BBC

Covid: New testing plan will not work, warn firms

The government's plan to allow key industries in England to apply for named workers to be exempt from self-isolation is "undeliverable", an industry body has said.

The idea is to let staff keep working in sectors such as energy and water by introducing daily Covid testing.

But the CBI said the list would soon be "significantly challenged".

And it called for an earlier date for the relaxation of self-isolation rules under the NHS Covid app.

As things stand, the rules on self-isolation are due to be relaxed next month.

John Foster, CBI director of policy said: "If we want the economy to stay open, we need a confident but balanced plan. We should bring forward the date from 16 August when those who have been double-jabbed no longer need to self-isolate if they test negative once contacted.

"We also need a test-and-release scheme for those who have not been double-jabbed."

A spokeswoman for the government said:"Self-isolation remains an essential tool in our national efforts to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

"We are working closely with businesses to help them understand how the exemption works and what to do if their staff are eligible."

She added that the new daily contact testing measures were "a short-term and highly focused measure intended to apply only in exceptional circumstances, with the core purpose of preventing significant harm to public welfare as a result of disruption to critical services".

The government's plans allow 16 key sectors in England to deploy daily Covid testing instead of self-isolation for a limited number of essential workers.

The scheme, introduced following concerns that some sectors of the economy were suffering because too many of their workers had been told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid app, will only apply to workers who are fully vaccinated.

It covers sectors including transport, emergency services, border control, energy, digital infrastructure, waste, the water industry, essential defence outputs and local government.

The policy applies only to workers named on a list kept updated by officials - it is not a blanket exemption for all employees in a sector.

Mr Foster said the list would help some critical sectors to "keep moving".

But he added it would "rapidly become significantly challenged".

"The idea of potentially thousands of businesses emailing Whitehall officials to request approval for individuals to go to work is undeliverable, let alone undesirable," he said.

He also said the list missed out many businesses in the various supply chains that would be "crucial to the running of these key industries, so will need to be significantly expanded within days".

However, the CBI has welcomed the government's approach to tackling staff shortages in the food industry - allowing supermarket depots and food manufacturers to use a test-and-release scheme which allows a blanket exemption.

"We need mass testing - not mass self-isolation - to tackle staff shortages. That's why the government should be applauded for moving to a test-and-release scheme for the food industry to help relieve staff shortages.

"If the Daily Contact Testing scheme is deemed as a good, safe solution by the government, the next step must be to scale this up at pace."

'Laborious process'

Essential transport is one of the key sectors included in the government's list of critical key workers eligible for exemption from self-isolation.

But the body representing major ports said it deserved to be treated like parts of the food industry, with blanket exemptions.

The UK Major Ports Group (UKMPG) said its members had to go through "laborious process of producing, agreeing, and receiving official letters of approval from Government to secure exemption for named individuals only"."

"Considering UK major ports handle nearly half of all the nation's food and feed, UKMPG fails to understand why it is acceptable for one rule to be given to food hauliers and one rule for another critical pinch point in the supply chain.

"While thousands of supermarket staff have been waived through with a blanket exemption, our industry has not been afforded such a privilege."-BBC

Rail services face cuts as staff self-isolate

Train companies have said they may have to reduce timetables to cope with shortages of staff forced to isolate by the NHS Covid app.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said that as Covid cases were increasing, more staff were being "pinged" by the app.

It said that while companies were working to "minimise any disruption, there may be an impact on services".

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it had agreed to reduced timetables.

"We recognise the challenges operators are facing due to staff shortages and have agreed that they can consider a reduced or revised timetable in the event of serious shortages," a DfT spokesperson said.

"These timetables must prioritise safe and reliable services and we urge passengers to check before they travel."

The number of people in England and Wales being "pinged" by the NHS app rose by 17% to 618,903 alerts in the week to 15 July.

Cancellations growing

Some rail companies have already announced cancellations because of pinging. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs Thameslink and Southern trains, has announced it will introduce a reduced timetable from Monday 26 July.

GTR said: "Unfortunately, like other industries across the country, coronavirus continues to affect our operations. We have fewer colleagues available at the moment due to a significant increase recently in the number of our people affected by Covid-19.

"Our colleagues have continued to work tirelessly throughout the pandemic and we're really sorry for any inconvenience caused by the latest changes."

Other companies have announced similar moves:

·         West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway cancelled 600 trains last week as the number of staff self isolating surged

·         London Northwestern services will change from Saturday. Buses will replace trains on some Saturday services and four services between Northampton and Euston will be removed on weekdays

·         GWR will introduce a reduced timetable from Monday. Nearly 5% of total services will be cancelled, while other shorter notice cancellations may also happen, depending on staff availability

·         Avanti, Thameslink and Southern will also reduce their services from Monday

West Midlands Trains, which operates West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern, also said it has a driver shortage after being unable to train new workers due to Covid restrictions and social distancing rules.

The company had recruited over 100 drivers as they anticipated many existing drivers were due to retire but it has now lost 25,000 training days and said it will take a year to catch up.

Meanwhile, a senior rail source has told the BBC that the government's plan to require rail companies to apply for exemptions for "pinged" workers is completely unmanageable and will lead to cancellations.

"It will take longer to deal with cases than the isolation," the source said. "This is very much a current problem and an ongoing risk.

"The crux of the government's thinking appears to be how essential certain roles are. But trains get essential workers to work. This does not mean transport is sorted and is not a comfort to those doing the timetable or arranging train drivers' schedules."

The source added that the vast majority of train drivers were already double-vaccinated and that the government had "set the bar very high" for exemptions.-BBC

Rural vacuum for getting hold of cash

People living in rural areas are having to travel further to find somewhere to withdraw and deposit cash free of charge, says the City regulator.

Almost every urban resident has access to a bank, building society, post office or ATM within 2km of home, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

This drops to three-quarters of the UK rural population, its research found.

While longer distances are expected for rural residents, campaigners fear vulnerable people face difficulties.

In rural areas of the UK, fewer than half (45%) of residents have a bank branch within 5km of their home.

The FCA said it was considering stronger requirements of the sector to ensure five million people who rely on notes and coins are able to have access to it.

A new bank branch opening! What's going on?

Cash access as vital as running water, says Age UK

"We expect firms to help protect access to cash and wider banking services in ways that meet consumers' needs, and we continue to engage with firms closing their branches, to ensure that they treat their customers fairly," said Sheldon Mills, executive director at the FCA.

"We will also review over the coming months how we can strengthen our guidance to help protect reasonable access to cash and banking services." 

Graphic

Withdrawals from cash machines in the UK fell by £37bn during the first 12 months of the Covid pandemic.

The FCA research found that a greater proportion of consumers were finding it difficult to cope with fewer retailers accepting cash. However, it found that eight out of 10 small and medium-sized businesses said they were "very likely" to accept cash over the next five years.

Uptake of digital money services has increased, but there are concerns that the technology does not suit everyone, with some of the most vulnerable people in society still relying on cash.

Right to cash

Charity Age UK said that people required the same guarantee of access to cash as they did for running water, electricity and the post.

Closures of cash machines and bank branches, as well as risks to the continued economic viability of network of producing, transporting and sorting cash, have prompted government and regulators to take action.

The Treasury has already thrown its weight behind the use of local shops as an alternative to ATMs. It is keen on the idea of shops offering cashback to customers, even if they have not made a purchase.

The government has also published plans to ensure consumers and businesses have a legal right to withdraw and deposit cash within "a reasonable distance" of their home or premises.-BBC

GM, Cruise demand Ford drop 'BlueCruise' name for hands-free driving

(Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) and its Cruise robo-taxi subsidiary said early Saturday they have asked a U.S. federal court to stop Ford Motor Co (F.N) from using the name "BlueCruise" to market its hands-free driving technology.

In a statement and documents released shortly after midnight Detroit time, GM said Ford's use of the BlueCruise name infringed on GM's Super Cruise and other GM trademarks for automated driving, such as Hyper Cruise, as well as Cruise's trademarks.

"While GM had hoped to resolve the trademark infringement matter with Ford amicably, we were left with no choice but to vigorously defend our brands and protect the equity our products and technology have earned over several years in the market," GM said in its statement.

Ford, in a statement, called GM and Cruise's claim "meritless and frivolous."

"Drivers for decades have understood what cruise control is, every automaker offers it, and 'cruise' is common shorthand for the capability," it said.

Ford noted that GM has not taken action against other companies that use the word "cruise" in marketing names used to describe automated driving systems.

Automakers are racing to deploy technology to enable drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel in traffic jams or on highways. The so-called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, such as Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) semi-automated Autopilot technology, are not supposed to allow drivers to fully disengage from driving for extended periods.

Automakers have used the word "cruise" for decades to describe cruise control systems which allow drivers to set a speed the car will maintain, usually in highway driving.

GM's complaint argues that "automated driving is not cruise control."

GM announced in 2012 it would use the name Super Cruise for its hands-free driver assistance technology. It has been marketing the technology using that name since 2017.

GM's majority-owned Cruise self-driving vehicle unit has been operating since 2013.

Ford announced it would use the name BlueCruise for its hands-free driving technology in April this year. read more

In their complaint, GM's lawyers state the automaker engaged in "protracted discussions" with Ford before deciding to go to court.

GM contends Ford's BlueCruise system "is far less advanced than Cruise’s technology and thus likely to yield an inferior consumer experience, with the potential for comfort and safety issues" that could tarnish the Super Cruise brand.

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Wall Street notches record closing high on earnings, economic strength

(Reuters) - Wall Street gained ground for the fourth straight session on Friday, extending a rally that pushed all three major U.S. stock indexes to record closing highs as upbeat earnings and signs of economic revival fueled investor risk appetite.

The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow all notched weekly gains.

"We see a continuation of the last couple days. It's roller coaster in reverse. We did the drop first, and we’ve been climbing back to the top ever since," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Growth (.IGX) and value (.IVX) stocks seesawed for much of the week as market participants weighed spiking infections of the COVID-19 Delta variant against strong corporate results and signs of economic revival.

"There’s push and pull, there’s clearly conflict in the market," Zaccarelli added. "There’s a strong difference of opinion as to whether the future’s bright or whether there are clouds on the horizon."

Market participants now look toward next week with the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting and a series of high-profile earnings.

The Fed's statement will be parsed for clues regarding the timeframe for tightening its accommodative policies, although Chairman Jerome Powell has repeatedly said the economy still needs the central bank's full support.

Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 238.34 points, or 0.68%, to 35,061.69, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 44.33 points, or 1.02%, to 4,411.81 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 152.39 points, or 1.04%, to 14,836.99.

A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., July 19, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Second-quarter reporting season is firing all pistons, with 120 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 88% have beaten consensus, according to Refinitiv.

"We’re seeing companies, on average, beat on the top and on the bottom line," Zaccarelli said. "We’re seeing the resilience of the consumer and that’s been the story of the earnings season so far."

Analysts now expect aggregate year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 78.1% for the April to June period, a sizeable increase from the 54% annual growth seen at the beginning of the quarter.

Shares of chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) fell after said late Thursday that it still faces supply constraints and provided disappointing guidance. read more

American Express Co (AXP.N) gained following the release second-quarter results, which handily beat expectations on the strength of a global recovery in consumer spending. read more

Social media firms Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) and Snap Inc (SNAP.N) advanced on the back of their upbeat results. read more

Those reports gave a boost to shares of Facebook Inc (FB.O), which is due to post second-quarter results next week.

Other high-profile earnings expected next week include Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O).

Industrials Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), Boeing Co (BA.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N), General Dynamics Corp (GD.N), 3M Co (MMM.N) Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), along with a host of healthcare, consumer goods and others, are also on deck.

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Global supply chains buckle as virus variant and disasters strike

(Reuters) - A new worldwide wave of COVID-19. Natural disasters in China and Germany. A cyber attack targeting key South African ports.

Events have conspired to drive global supply chains towards breaking point, threatening the fragile flow of raw materials, parts and consumer goods, according to companies, economists and shipping specialists.

The Delta variant of the coronavirus has devastated parts of Asia and prompted many nations to cut off land access for sailors. That's left captains unable to rotate weary crews and about 100,000 seafarers stranded at sea beyond their stints in a flashback to 2020 and the height of lockdowns.

"We're no longer on the cusp of a second crew change crisis, we're in one," Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, told Reuters.

"This is a perilous moment for global supply chains."

Given ships transport around 90% of the world's trade, the crew crisis is disrupting the supply of everything from oil and iron ore to food and electronics.

German container line Hapag Lloyd (HLAG.DE) described the situation as "extremely challenging".

"Vessel capacity is very tight, empty containers are scarce and the operational situation at certain ports and terminals is not really improving," it said. "We expect this to last probably into the fourth quarter – but it is very difficult to predict."

Meanwhile, deadly floods in economic giants China and Germany have further ruptured global supply lines that had yet to recover from the first wave of the pandemic, compromising trillions of dollars of economic activity that rely on them.

The Chinese flooding is curtailing the transport of coal from mining regions such as Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, the state planner says, just as power plants need fuel to meet peak summer demand.

In Germany, road transportation of goods has slowed significantly. In the week of July 11, as the disaster unfolded, the volume of late shipments rose by 15% from the week before, according to data from supply-chain tracking platform FourKites.

Nick Klein, VP for sales and marketing in the Midwest with Taiwan freight and logistics company OEC Group, said companies were scrambling to free goods stacked up in Asia and in U.S. ports due to a confluence of crises.

"It's not going to clear up until March," Klein said.

MORE PAIN FOR AUTOMAKERS

Manufacturing industries are reeling.

Automakers, for example, are again being forced to stop production because of disruptions caused by COVID-19 outbreaks. Toyota Motor Corp said this week it had to halt operations at plants in Thailand and Japan because they couldn't get parts.

Stellantis temporarily suspended production at a factory in the U.K. because a large number of workers had to isolate to halt the spread of the virus.

The industry has already been hit hard by a global shortage of semiconductors this year, mainly from Asian suppliers. Earlier this year, the auto industry consensus was that the chip supply crunch would ease in the second half of 2021 - but now some senior executives say it will continue into 2022.

An executive at a South Korea auto parts maker, which supplies Ford, Chrysler and Rivian, said raw materials costs for steel which was used in all their products had surged partly due to higher freight costs.

"When factoring in rising steel and shipping prices, it is costing about 10% more for us to make our products," the executive told Reuters, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

"Although we are trying to keep our costs low, it has been very challenging. It's just not rising raw materials costs, but also container shipping prices have skyrocketed."

Europe's biggest home appliances maker, Electrolux (ELUXb.ST), warned this week of worsening component supply problems, which have hampered production. Domino's Pizza (DPZ.N) said the supply-chain disruptions were affecting the delivery of equipment needed to build stores.

U.S. AND CHINA STRUGGLE

Buckling supply chains are hitting the United States and China, the world's economic motors that together account for more 40% of global economic output. This could lead to a slowdown in the global economy, along with rising prices for all manner of goods and raw materials.

U.S. data out Friday dovetailed with a growing view that growth will slow in the last half of the year after a booming second quarter fueled by early success in vaccination efforts.

"Short-term capacity issues remain a concern, constraining output in many manufacturing and service sector companies while simultaneously pushing prices higher as demand exceeds supply," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.

The firm's "flash" reading of U.S. activity slid to a four-month low this month as businesses battle shortages of raw materials and labor, which are fanning inflation.

It's an unwelcome conundrum for the U.S. Federal Reserve, which meets next week just six weeks after dropping its reference to the coronavirus as a weight on the economy.

The Delta variant, already forcing other central banks to consider retooling their policies, is fanning a new rise in U.S. cases, and inflation is running well above expectations.

'WE NEED TO SUPPLY STORES'

Ports across the globe are suffering the kinds of logjams not seen in decades, according to industry players.

The China Port and Harbour Association said on Wednesday that freight capacity continued to be tight.

"Southeast Asia, India and other regions' manufacturing industry are impacted by a rebound of the epidemic, prompting some orders to flow to China," it added.

Union Pacific (UNP.N), one of two major railroad operators that carry freight from U.S. West Coast ports inland, imposed a seven-day suspension of cargo shipments last weekend, including consumer goods, to a Chicago hub where trucks pick up the goods.

The effort, which aims to ease "significant congestion" in Chicago, will put pressure on ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and Tacoma, specialists said.

A cyber attack hit South African container ports in Cape Town and Durban this week, adding further disruptions at the terminals.

If all that were not enough, in Britain the official health app has told hundreds of thousands of workers to isolate following contact with someone with COVID-19 - leading to supermarkets warning of a short supply and some petrol stations closing.

Richard Walker, managing director of supermarket group Iceland Foods, turned to Twitter to urge people not to panic buy.

"We need to be able to supply stores, stock shelves and deliver food," he wrote.

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Tesla lobbies India for sharply lower import taxes on electric vehicles - sources

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is likely to set up a factory in India if successful with imported vehicles, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Twitter, after the company wrote to Indian ministries seeking a big reduction in import duties on electric vehicles, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

The electric-car maker's pitch to lower duties, however, is likely to face resistance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration which has championed high import taxes for many industries in a bid to boost local manufacturing.

"We want to do so, but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country," Musk said in reply to a tweet about launching the company's cars in India. (https://bit.ly/2WfUrEw)

"But we are hopeful that there will be at least a temporary tariff relief for electric vehicles," Musk added.

Other luxury automakers in India have also lobbied the government in the past to lower taxes on imported cars but have had little success due to opposition from rivals with domestic operations.

Tesla, which aims to begin sales in India this year, said in a letter to ministries and the country's leading think-tank Niti Aayog that slashing federal taxes on imports of fully assembled electric cars to 40% would be more appropriate, according to the sources.

That compares with current rates of 60% for cars priced below $40,000 and 100% for those above $40,000.

"The argument is that at 40% import duty, electric cars can become more affordable but the threshold is still high enough to compel companies to manufacture locally if demand picks up," one of the sources said. The sources declined to be identified as the letter has not been made public.

According to Tesla's U.S. website, only one model - the Model 3 Standard Range Plus - is priced below $40,000.

Niti Aayog did not respond to an email seeking comment. Ministries that Tesla wrote to included the transport and heavy industries ministries, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Indian market for premium EVs, indeed for electric cars in general, is still very much in its infancy with vehicles far too costly for the average consumer and very little charging infrastructure in place.

Just 5,000 of the 2.4 million cars sold in India last year were electric and most were priced below $28,000.

Daimler's (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes Benz began selling its EQC luxury EV in India last year for $136,000, and Audi launched three electric SUVs this week with sticker tags that begin at around $133,000.

While lower duties would give Tesla a better chance to test the market, its plan to begin sales in India does not hinge on a change in government policy, both sources said.

Tesla registered a local company in India in January and has ramped up local hiring while also scouting for showroom space. read more

India's transport minister Nitin Gadkari told Reuters in March that India would be willing to offer incentives to ensure Tesla's cost of production in the country is less than that in China, but only if it manufactures locally. read more

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

EV startup Rivian announces $2.5 bln funding round led by Amazon, Ford

(Reuters) - Electric car startup Rivian said on Friday it has closed a $2.5 billion fundraising round led by investors Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and T. Rowe Price.(TROW.O)

The announcement came the day after the California-based company said it was exploring building a second U.S. assembly plant. Reuters, citing unnamed sources, reported on Thursday that Rivian's planned plant, dubbed "Project Tera," will include battery cell production. read more

“As we near the start of vehicle production, it’s vital that we keep looking forward and pushing through to Rivian’s next phase of growth,” Rivian Chief Executive R.J. Scaringe said in a statement.

“This infusion of funds ... allows Rivian to scale new vehicle programs, expand our domestic facility footprint, and fuel international product rollout,” he added.

Rivian, which has a plant currently in Normal, Illinois, said it has raised about $10.5 billion to date. It will seek a valuation of well over $50 billion in a potential public listing later this year, a source previously told Reuters.

Automakers are racing to develop EVs as China, Europe and other countries and regions mandate lower carbon emissions. Rivian aims to compete when it rolls out its R1T pickup and R1S SUV, as well as a delivery van for Amazon.

Scaringe said in a letter to customers last week that COVID-19 had delayed the launch of its vehicles. The first deliveries of the R1T, previously slated for July, were pushed to September, while the R1S was delayed to autumn. read more

Scaringe told Reuters last November that Rivian planned to follow the initial three vehicles with smaller models targeted at China and Europe where it may eventually build vehicles.

In addition to Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, Ford and funds managed by T. Rowe Price, Friday's funding round also was led by D1 Capital Partners. It also included participation by Third Point, Fidelity Management and Research Co, Dragoneer Investment Group and Coatue, Rivian said.

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

China regulator bars Tencent from exclusive rights in online music

(Reuters) - China's market regulator on Saturday said it would bar Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) from exclusive music copyright agreements and fined the company for unfair market practices in the online music market after its acquisition of China Music Corporation.

The Chinese government has been stepping up antitrust actions in recent months against the country's large tech companies, including a record $2.75 billion fine on e-commerce giant Alibaba for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour.

Tencent and Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME.N), the unit created from the acquisition, said they would abide by the decision and comply with all regulatory requirements.

The State Administration Of Market Regulation (SAMR) said it had investigated Tencent's activities in the online music broadcasting platform market in China, in which music copyright is the core asset, in a notice posted on its official website.

Reuters reported in mid-July that the antitrust regulator would order Tencent's music streaming arm to give up exclusive rights to music labels that it has used to compete with smaller rivals, citing people with knowledge of the matter. read more

Tencent held more than 80% of exclusive music library resources after its acquisitions, the regulator said, increasing its leverage over upstream copyright parties and allowing it to restrict new entrants, the regulator said.

SAMR said Tencent and its affiliated companies must not engage in exclusive copyright agreements with upstream owners of such rights, while existing agreements must be terminated within 30 days of the regulatory notice.

The regulator also ordered Tencent to pay a fine of 500,000 yuan ($77,150).

Earlier this month, the regulator said it would block Tencent's plan to merge the country's top two videogame streaming sites, Huya and DouYu , on antitrust grounds. read more

($1 = 6.4808 Chinese yuan renminbi)

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Global insurance recovery will be faster, stronger than in 2008 -Swiss Re

(Reuters) - The global insurance industry is poised to recover more quickly and forcefully from the pandemic than it did after the 2008 financial crisis, despite such obstacles as low interest rates and inflation risk, insurer Swiss Re AG's (SRENH.S) chief Americas economist said on Friday.

Unlike the prior crisis, the pandemic did not weaken insurers' overall capitalization or financial strength, which allows companies to write new coverage and increase revenue, economist Thomas Holzheu told Reuters.

Writing new policies was more difficult in 2009 and 2010 when insurers were reeling from capital losses, slow economic growth and depleted incomes of companies and individuals.

In contrast, businesses and individuals now have more money from government stimulus and support programs, and are more conscious of the need to buy protection against risks, he added.

"We see a much stronger, more resilient demand for insurance - last year, this year, and we expect for the next few years - compared with the financial crisis, when the industry was a part of the financial markets issues," he said.

Swiss Re's view aligns with other bullish signs. Global commercial insurance prices, for example, rose 18% in the first quarter of 2021 from a year earlier, on average, insurance broker Marsh McLennan Cos Inc (MMC.N) said in May. Rates have risen since late 2017.

Swiss Re said it expects annual growth for all premiums, not just commercial, to reach 3.3% this year and 3.9% in 2022, after falling just 1.3% last year. That compares with a 3.7% decline in 2008, during the financial crisis, and a slower rebound of 0.5% and 2.1% in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Sector bellwether Travelers Companies Inc (TRV.N) on Tuesday beat second-quarter Wall Street estimates by more than $1.00 a share. read more

Other large U.S. insurers are due to report results over the next two weeks.

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Brazil competition regulator signals 'complex' path for Oi sale approval

(Reuters) - The superintendence of Brazil's competition regulator Cade said on Friday it viewed an asset sale by Brazilian telecom Oi SA (OIBR4.SA) as "complex," suggesting that TIM (TIMS3.SA), Telefônica Brasil and América Móvil's Claro (AMXL.MX) may struggle to wrap up a quick sale.

The three companies won an auction to buy Oi's mobile network operations for 16.5 billion reais ($3.17 billion) in December, pending regulatory approval, after Oi filed for bankruptcy protection in 2016.

The decision by Cade's superintendence informs whatever final move the full board of the regulator may give.

($1 = 5.2006 reais)

United Airlines urges federal action on congestion at Newark airport - letter

(Reuters) - United Airlines (UAL.O) wants the federal government to step in to address congestion problems at Newark Liberty International Airport as a runway repair project that began July 6 causes headaches for many summer travelers.

United Chief Executive Scott Kirby asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson "to temporarily and proportionally reduce the number of operations per hour at Newark while airport capacity is constrained by runway construction."

Newark, which was the 15th busiest U.S. airport in 2020 by total passengers, has seen lengthy flight delays, long taxi delays and numerous cancellations in recent weeks.

United, which has a hub at the northern New Jersey airport, flies about 65% of all Newark flights.

In the July 15 letter, which has not been previously reported, Kirby said that during a six-day period in July "the average number of (Newark) flight cancellations by all airlines was more than 100 flights per day" which placed a "severe strain on employees and operations."

Kirby told regulators that United, which plans to resume a full schedule at Newark this fall, wants the FAA to step in to ensure that flight reductions are shared equitably among the airlines who fly in and out of the airport. He did not advocate returning to slot controls like those at New York's JFK and LaGuardia airports, however.

Kirby asked FAA to "bring together all relevant parties to reduce the number of flights per hour temporarily and proportionally during July, August, and September."

An FAA spokeswoman said the agency is "reviewing the letter and will respond directly to" United.

United said it supported the need of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to work on the runways now, when traffic remains below pre-pandemic levels.

But, Kirby added, "it is well established that Newark has consistently been the worst-performing airport in the country from an air traffic perspective over the past few years."

He added that "During the 15-year period from 2005 to 2019, Newark was the most delayed core airport in the system for 10 of those years."

The Port Authority did not immediately comment on Kirby's letter.

United is cancelling about 70 of its current 240 scheduled flights a day at Newark since the runway construction began, airline officials said. Pre-pandemic it flew about 430 flights a day.

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Zambia: Govt's Desire to Make Zambia Food Secure Impressive

Government must be commended for continuing to deliver agriculture inputs on time especially to farmers being supported through the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).

Government support to the farmers has not only been critical in ensuring that the country achieves yet another bumper crop this year, but it has also been important in sustaining food security and keeping food prices relatively low especially during the COVID-19 period.

Yesterday, Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary Davison Mulenga commended Neria's Investments for the timely delivery of inputs to various districts in region, thereby contributing to this year's bumper harvest.

The permanent secretary said Neria's Investments has greatly contributed to the province's bumper crop recorded in the region because of early delivery of inputs under the FISP.

Early delivery of the inputs has been part of President Edgar Lungu's commitment in encouraging the country to diversify from a mono-economy that is heavily dependent on copper mining to a diversified one.

This year's maize bumper harvest is already having a desirable effect on mealie meal prices which is on a downward trajectory.

A few months ago, Government's commitment to developing agriculture was also demonstrated in the quick response to the invasion of African Migratory Locusts in parts of Southern and Western provinces.

The invasion of the locusts created panic as farmers feared that the pest would wipe out crops in fields in affected areas.

However, the Government, working closely with other partners such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and ther stake holders, including local communities, deployed counter measures that led to the prompt removal of the pest.

Currently, Government has deployed surveillance teams, led by agriculture extension officers, to ensure that the locusts are kept under control.

The spraying of fields helped to protect crops as well as incomes of smallholder farmers who depend on the crops for their survival.

As a result of the Government's successful efforts in control of the locusts, the 2021 Crop Forecast Report shows that Kazungula district, which is one of the areas affected by the locusts, has produced 46,774 metric tonnes of maize this year compared to the 20,381 metric tonnes it produced last year.

Besides ensuring continued production of crops, Government has also been encouraging diversification in agriculture through empowerment programmes that have led to the expansion of aquaculture as well as livestock production across the country.

Fish production through aquaculture has since grown rapidly from just over 5,000 metric tonnes in 2005 to just over 30,000 metric tonnes in 2017.

The Government's aim has been to reduce fish imports into Zambia, a country that is endowed with over 70 per cent of all the water bodies in the region.

The Government's vision is to boost agriculture production and value addition to products in order to create jobs from the food processing industries and help the country gain foreign exchange agriculture exports in order to stabilise the local currency as well as make the country food secure.-Times of Zambia.

Nigeria Going Through Its Worst Unemployment Crisis - World Bank

Nigeria is currently going through one of its worst unemployment crises in recent times, a new report by the World Bank has stated.

The multilateral institution also noted that the socio-economic challenges facing Nigerians in the last 10 years have led to an astronomical increase in the number of citizens seeking asylum and refugee status in other countries.

This is as the World Bank, in a separate report, has estimated that about 4,000 Nigerian children were made orphans by the COVID-19 pandemic between March 2020 and July 2021.

The report, which expressed concern about the country's rising unemployment situation was published by the Washington-based institution with support from the Korea World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF) and the Rapid Social Response (RSR) trust funds.

In the report titled: 'Of Roads Less Travelled: Assessing the Potential for Migration to Provide Overseas Jobs for Nigeria's Youth', the World Bank further estimated that there were 2.1 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria in 2020 alone.

World Bank, however, blamed a combination of rising unemployment, booming demographics, and unfulfilled aspirations as resulting in increasing pressure on young Nigerians to migrate in search of gainful employment overseas.

In addition, the Washington-based institution disclosed that the number of international migrants from Nigeria has increased threefold since 1990, growing from 446,806 in 1990 to 1,438,331 in 2019.

It explained that despite this trend, the share of international migrants as a proportion to Nigeria's population has remained largely constant, increasingly slightly from 0.5 per cent in 1990 to 0.7 per cent in 2019.

According to the bank, recent rise in irregular migration notwithstanding, the share of international migrants in Nigeria's population was much lower compared to the shares in Sub-Saharan Africa and globally.

The data showed that the number has risen by over 1,380 per cent in the years between 2010 and 2019, indicating that in comparison, the number of persons coming into Nigeria from outside has been relatively stagnant in the decade under consideration.

"An important trend that is observed in the data is the rise in the number of refugees and asylum seekers from Nigeria. The share of refugees and asylum seekers from Nigeria has increased drastically in the last decade, growing from 27,557 in 2010 to 408,078 in 2019," it stated.

It noted that although the country was reaping dividends from the success of its citizens in the diaspora, which was put at five per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019, when it comes to the discourse on international migration, the narrative has not been palatable.

"Nigeria is facing one of the most acute jobless crises in recent times. Between 2014 and 2020, Nigeria's working age population grew from 102 million to 122 million, growing at an average rate of approximately 3 per cent per year.

"Similarly, Nigeria's active labour force population, that is, those willing and able to work among the working age population, grew from 73 million in 2014 to 90 million in 2018, adding 17.5 million new entrants to Nigeria's active labour force.

"Since 2018, however, the active labour force population has dramatically decreased to around 70 million--lower than the level in 2014-- while the number of Nigerians who are in the working-age population but not active in the labour force has increased from 29 million to 52 million between 2014 and 2020.

"The expanding working-age population combined with scarce domestic employment opportunities is creating high rates of unemployment, particularly for Nigeria's youth," the World Bank report noted.

However, between 2010 and 2020, the international financial institution estimated that the unemployment rate rose five-fold, from 6.4 per cent in 2010 to 33.3 per cent in 2020, with the rates being particularly acute since the 2015/2016 economic recession and further worsened as COVID-19 led to the worst recession in four decades in 2020.

Increasingly, it noted that educated Nigerians were struggling to find employment opportunities in the country while unemployment rates increased substantially for Nigerians across all education levels over the years, becoming progressively challenging for educated Nigerians to find employment opportunities.

"Combined with significant demographic changes and increased aspirations of the youth, Nigeria's unemployment crisis is creating migratory pressure in the economy.

"Unemployment is considered to be a key driver of migration. Consequently, multiple surveys show that the number of Nigerians, who are looking to migrate internationally is high and increasing," it pointed out.

In the last few years, the bank stated that the number of persons eager to migrate has increased from 36 per cent in 2014, to 52 per cent in 2018, noting that the desire to migrate remains higher among unemployed (38 per cent), youth (39 per cent), secondary education graduates (39 per cent), urban residents (41 per cent) and post-secondary graduates (45 per cent) in Nigeria.

It maintained that since there has not been an expansion of legal migration routes for youth increasingly eager to find opportunities in the overseas labour market, young Nigerians are opting for irregular migration routes to realise their hopes for a better life.

"What is worrying, however, is the increase in the number of forced and irregular migrants from Nigeria,"it disclosed.

It stressed that to ensure mutual cooperation, the European Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), which was established in 2015, with the aim to promote areas of mutual development interest between Europe and Africa, has since provided more than €4 billion in aid to African countries to address various development-related challenges and priorities in Africa.

Since its inception, the EUTF, the bank stated, has provided more than €770 million for migration-related projects in Nigeria, with most of the funds invested in border control measures, awareness campaigns to stop trafficking, and the creation of jobs domestically, including for returned Nigerian migrants.

While predicting that by 2100, Europe's working age population between the ages of 20 and 64 would decline by 30 per cent owing to low birth-rates and increased longevity, it further projected that at same time, the working age-population in Nigeria could increase by 140 per cent.

"By expanding legal pathways for migration and implementing supporting measures to reap dividends from current migrants in the diaspora, Nigeria can further benefit from international migration.

"Nigeria's institutions are well-placed to promote managed migration approaches that help create opportunities for prospective Nigerian jobseekers to find employment internationally and can be supported to help design schemes that increase the returns to human capital investments for Nigerian youth," the report concluded.

4,000 Nigerian Children Orphaned by COVID-19

In a related development, the multilateral institution has estimated that 4,000 Nigerian children were made orphans by the COVID-19 between March 2020 and July 2021.

The report by the bank's experts at the Imperial College of London, revealed that over 4,100 Nigerian children lost one or both primary caregivers within the aforementioned period, while 4,300 lost one or both primary and secondary caregivers.

The report posted on the bank's blog was jointly authored by World Bank's Lead Economist, Laura Rawlings and a senior technical advisor, Centre for Disease Control (CDC) COVID-19 International Task Force, Susan Hillis, and titled: "For every two COVID-19 deaths, one child loses a caregiver. We must do more to address the orphan crisis."

The report stated: "The COVID crisis will leave many unwanted legacies. The world has been closely tracking the COVID-19 death toll, with official mortality counts now reaching over four million people, largely concentrated among adults. The children left behind have been practically invisible.

"Our estimates of the toll on children left behind, just released, are that for every two people, who die of COVID, one child is left orphaned, facing the death of a parent or grandparent caregiver, who had been living in their home.

"By the end of June 2021, because of COVID-19, our estimates show that nearly two million children under 18 years had lost a mother, father, and/or grandparent caregiver, who lived in their household."

According to the experts, countries with primary caregiver death rates of at least one per 1,000 children include Peru (10.2 per 1,000 children), South Africa (5.1), Mexico (3.5), Brazil (2.4), Colombia (2.3), Iran (1.7), the USA (1.5), Argentina (1.1), and Russia (1.0).

They also noted that at the current rate, one child was being orphaned every 12 seconds due to a COVID-19-associated death, adding that the toll was growing.

The authors noted that the COVID-19 related deaths had a wide range of effects on the children from economic, developmental to psychological impacts, which would reverberate across generations.

According to them, children orphaned by COVID face a constellation of risks, which often arrive with rapid and broad consequences.

"The threats of poverty, malnutrition, displacement and separation from siblings or other family members, school dropout, depression, violence and child marriage can emerge suddenly from the Pandora's box of COVID-19," they said.

Nigeria had as of July 20, 2021, recorded about 2,128 COVID-19 deaths, suggesting that for every one death in the country, an average of two children become orphans.-This Day.

Nigeria: Prices of Protein, Carbohydrate-Rich Foods in Nigeria Up 58%

Market surveys in seven states show that the prices of the cost of protein-rich foods rose by an average of 60.5 per cent while carbohydrate quickened 59 per cent.

The prices of protein and carbohydrate-rich foods in Nigeria rose at an average of 58 per cent in the last year, as the country continues to face insecurity, attacks on farmers, and economic problems aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, a PREMIUM TIMES survey has shown.

Market surveys in seven states show that the prices of all food items dramatically skyrocketed, and the cost of protein-rich foods rose by an average of 60.5 per cent while carbohydrate quickened by 59 per cent.

The rise means Nigerians are spending a lot more to buy food and millions of low income-families find it difficult to get critical nutrients like protein needed especially by children for proper growth and development.

Food inflation in Nigeria fell for the third consecutive month to 21.83 per cent in June after reaching its highest rate in more than a decade. The peak rate in March was 22. 95 per cent.

Nigeria is not self-sufficient in food production, and the country relies on imports to supplement deficits in almost all types of food, from fish to sugar to maize.

Government initiatives to boost production have yielded little returns. In June, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the country has failed to produce enough cassava, perhaps the most widely consumed food in Nigeria, despite investments over decades.

The government closed its land borders in 2018 and blocked access to foreign exchange for food importers as part of efforts to discourage importation and grow domestic production.

With local production not rising as expected, the measures only led to a significant rise in food prices. Rising insecurity compounded the problem.

Market insight

PREMIUM TIMES has examined how prices of food have risen in the last one year, and how the increase has affected consumers and farmers alike.

In this part of the series, we examined the prices of only protein and carbohydrate-based foods. The research covered meat (beef, chicken and goat), fish (fresh, iced and dried), crayfish, egg, garri, yam, cassava, and yam flour, and semovita/semolina.

Our research showed that on average, the price of a kilogram of chicken rose from between N1300 to N1700 and N1800 to N2500, while a kilogram of beef rose from N1550 to N2000.

The price of a big bag of crayfish rose from N40,000 to N80,000 and one basket increased from N7000 to N15,000.

A kilogram of iced fish increased from N1200 to N1800, and 20 pieces of dried fish rose to N5000 against the previous price of N2500. A crate of egg sold for N1500 as against N850.

For carbohydrate-rich foods, the survey found that the price of a 1.5 kilogram of garri (popularly called a mudu) rose from N250 t0 N550 on average. In some states, garri sold in a 20-litre paint container went for N6500 against the previous price of N5000.

Five tubers of medium-sized yam rose from N2000 to N3500. One big tuber in some states rose from N1500 to N2000.

Also, the price of 10 kilograms of semovita rose from N3500 to N5600.

The price of a 50-kilogram bag of cassava flour rose to N2000 from the N1500.

Yam flour sold in a four-litre paint container sold for N1500 against its former price of N1200, and the price of 100-kilogram bag of the same flour rose from N70, 000 to N85, 000.

What traders say: Abuja

Chukwu Okoroafor, a trader at the Garki Model Market in Abuja, attributed the increase in the prices of garri to cost of production and insecurity in the country.

"Due to the cost of production, kidnapping in the farm, and the farmers/herders clashes, some farmers are no longer going to the farm. That's why you see prices of things going high," Mr Okorofor said.

"A bag of yellow garri that goes for the sum of N15,000 as of last year is now sold at the rate of N28,000.

"Last year I sold a mudu of yellow garri for N250 but as I am speaking with you now, it has doubled in price. A mudu is now N500."

Mr Okorofor said a medium-sized bag of white garri that was N12,500 before now goes for N25,000 and a mudu now goes for N400 against its previous price of N150.

Auwalu Yusuf, a food seller in the same market, said prices went up as a result of supply problems.

"Companies hoarding the products just to increase it at their own time should please stop this," he said.

A yam dealer at the market, Mallam Lawan, said the hike in food items has curtailed the purchasing power of consumers.

"If you come here some years back, I don't think I will be able to listen to you because I will be busy attending to plenty of customers," Mr Lawan told our reporter.

At Wuse market in Abuja, Alhaji Ibrahim, who has been in the business of selling dried fish for over 20 years, said prices doubled in the last two years to three years.

"A cartoon of fish sold at N18,000 now costs an average of N27,000 - N29,000," Mr Ibrahim said.

"Due to road blockage, banditry and Boko haram and border closure that is why you see all things going high. Because of "this, I have lost almost N300,000 - N500, 000."

Ekiti

At the Olojudo market, Ido Ekiti in Ekiti State, Idowu Ojo, who sells cassava and yam flour, attributed the increase in the cost of food items to insecurity.

Bolanla Adetitun, a yam trader at the Olojudo market, also expressed worry over the rising cost of the commodity.

"100 pieces of yam which formerly sold for N40,000 now sells for N60,000," she said.

Kingsley Okonkwo, a trader at the same market, said scarcity and high cost of raw materials like corn for producing semovita was also a factor for price rise.

"I must tell you, I have ordered some bags of semovita but what most of the companies do now is to ration the products because they don't even produce enough again," he said.

Ajayi Idowu, frozen food seller, said a carton of frozen turkey previously sold at N17,500 now costs N23,000 while a cartoon of frozen chicken is now sold at N20,000 from N17,000.

Anambra

At Ose market in Onitsha, Anambra State, Chioma Njoku, a yam seller, said, "I remember in 2017, I sold a tuber of yam from an average of N200 to N250 but now things are very difficult.

"100 pieces of yam sold for N40,000 before is now N55,000 and a tuber of yam now goes as high as N550 to N700," she said.

She explained that the high cost of transporting food commodities was one of the reasons for the hike in price.

Lagos

At Agege market in Lagos, Soje Ayiba, a meat seller, lamented how prices of meat have risen in recent years.

"This is as a result of an increase in fuel price leading to rising in the cost of transporting the cattle and goats from the north down to the southern part of the country," he said.

"A kilogram of beef as at last year was N1,550 to N1,950 this year while a kilogram of goat meat which was sold at the rate of N1,300 last year now costs N1,800."

Olawoye Aremu, an egg trader said prices were up at the poultry farms as a result of costly feeds and ingredients like maize and soybeans.

Ogun

The situation was no different in Ogun where residents lamented the high cost of food commodities in the state.

Alex Adeleye, a food vendor, who owns a restaurant in Abeokuta, said he has reduced the quantity of food he sells and increased the price to be able to make a profit.

"The prices of foodstuffs in the market are becoming so worrisome, due to this I have to reduce the quantity and still, increase the prices at which I sell to my customers," he said.

"A plate of Amala is now N1,000 as against the previous cost of N700 while a plate of pounded yam goes from N700 to N1,200."

Nike Ogundipe, a housewife and a mother of five, lamented how difficult it is to buy food items now.

"Before, when I go to the market with N5,000 I will still have a little change to go back home with, but now it is no longer like that, I now find it so difficult to even buy enough foodstuff with N5,000.

"Here in Ogun one small tuber of yam that sells for N500 is now N1,000 to N1,200," she said.

Ezeokoli Charity, who sells crayfish and dried fish at the Ipare market in Ondo State, attributed the increase in crayfish to the government.

"The reason for this increase is bad government, this is the season of crayfish but still crayfish is not cheap in the market now.

Plateau

At Angwar Rukuba market in Jos, Plateau State, a mudu of cassava flour which sold for N200 before now costs an average of N350 - N400.

A tuber of yam that costs N900 is now N1,300 while a mudu of garri now costs N450 from the previous N300 in the market.

Traders and farmers unions speak

The president of the National Association of Yam Farmers, Processors and Marketers, Simon Itwange, explained that insecurity has been a major factor in the increase in the price of yam.

He said this is coupled with the simple law of demand and supply.

"A lot of farmers are unable to go to their farms," Mr Itwange said.

He added that multiple taxes as a result of the movement of the yam from one place to another, from several security checkpoints, add up to the cost of the yam and lack of storage facilities.

As a mitigating strategy for insecurity, he said they've devised a new method in which people are encouraged to plant yams in cement bags in their compounds and undeveloped plots within the city, and the yams are growing well.

"This will enable us to have yams available all year round," he said.

Momoh Mustapha, who is the president of the Catfish Association of Farmers in Nigeria (CAFAN), gave the same reasons.

"The insecurity in the north is affecting the price, where we source our raw feed materials," he said.

He said a bag of raw materials like the feed was N5,000 as at last year, now it is N9,000.

"Our fish farmers are still struggling to sell, they can't break even to N1,000 presently for one kilo," he said.

"Fishmongers and farmers are short-changed to manage to sell at the present price, even though they have their own local feed millers in Lagos.

"For last year it was sold at 650 to 800 naira due to high cost of production," he said.

Also speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, the national president, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Ibrahim Kabir, said there are many reasons why food prices have skyrocketed across the country but one of them he said, is that demand is outpacing supply.

"So there's scarcity," he said. "Secondly, the naira is also losing its value every passing day. You know the dollar now sells for about N500 so prices of all things not only food are going up.

"And the only way to solve the problem of food pricing is by producing optimally during this season otherwise the situation will escalate through the end of the year and next year we will have worst problems than we have already which portray troubles because we have the problem of insecurity due to banditry, kidnapping from other reasons but once it comes from hunger, it's going to be more devastating because is going to affect so many people," Mr Kabir said.

"So, we need to work very hard around the food system to make sure that we have food in the country.

"We must also try to follow the NIMET advice, we are taking advice as farmers that we should not plant in flood-prone areas so that what we will plant will not be flooded," he added.-Premium Times.

Mozambique: EDM Replaces Electricity Network in Maputo

Maputo — Mozambique's publicly owned Electricity Company, EDM, on Friday started to replace obsolete cables and pylons over about seven kilometres in the inner Maputo neighbourhood of Malhangalene, in a bid to improve the quality of power reaching consumers.

The director of EDM Customer Service in the KaMpfumo municipal district, Eduardo Magaia, said the drive is budgeted at eight million meticais (about 126,000 US dollars) and will consist of a complete replacement of low voltage cables and metallic pylons, by insulated cables and concrete pylons.

He added that, after the intervention, scheduled to last two months, 3,700 consumers will then enjoy better quality of electricity. "The great benefit consumers will have is better quality without the current frequent power cuts, because the network is obsolete."

EDM was forced to make constant interventions in Malhangalene whenever there was a power cut, but Magaia was convinced that, after the ongoing work has been concluded, the situation will definitely improve. Similar work will be undertaken in other areas of the municipal district.

Magaia also declared that EDM is replacing the current electricity meters with more modern equipment to monitor consumers' use of electricity, in a bid to reduce the frequent theft of electricity that causes the company huge losses.

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Blog:            <https://bullszimbabwe.com/category/blogs/bullish-thoughts/> www.bullszimbabwe.com/blog

Twitter:         @bullsbears2010

LinkedIn:       Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe

Facebook:      <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimbabwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA> www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

Skype:         Bulls.Bears 

INVESTORS DIARY 2021

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Companies under Cautionary

ART

PPC

Dairibord

Starafrica

Fidelity

Turnall

Medtech

Zimre

Nampak Zimbabwe

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

(c) 2021 Web: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com>  www.bullszimbabwe.com Email:  <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77 344 1674

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