[Pramuka] [Business Blog] Recession and price pressure puts bite on suppliers
More than a quarter of British fruit and vegetable suppliers have plunged into the red, hit by recession, rising costs and pressure from supermarkets to cut prices. Plimsoll, the market research company, found that of 1,000 companies selling fresh fruit, salads and prepared vegetables, 288 made a loss in their most recent reported results. For more than half of these companies, 2008-09 was the first year in which they made an annual loss, and 131 reported a loss for the second or third year in a row. Robert Balicki, the chief executive of World Wide Fruit, the apple specialist, which saw a 5 per cent decline in sales last year, said: “Pricing is keen. The number of promotions have definitely increased and there is more competition. “The £1 deal is taking quite a big portion of the market. It’s affecting English growers as many can’t get the returns they need to invest in new orchards for the future.” Those who supply fruit and vegetables to retailers such as Tesco and Asda have come under increasing pressure from buyers to lower prices to sell their goods on promotion. Although about an eighth of companies that buy fresh food from farmers and sell them to retailers and caterers regularly make an annual loss, the number has more than doubled as the recession affects business, according to Plimsoll. Government plans for Britain to become more self-sufficient in food production could be threatened. The UK imports 37 per cent of its food, and the Government has set a target of increasing UK fruit and vegetable production by about 20 per cent. Mr Balicki believes that the focus on cheap fruit and vegetables in shops could affect the UK’s supplies from abroad in the long term. Imported fruit accounts for about 60 per cent of World Wide’s sales in the UK. “Five or ten years ago, everyone wanted to sell their fruit in the UK,” he said. “Now that has changed as we have a reputation for low prices. Suppliers are getting better prices in the US and on the Continent. “This doesn’t really matter as long as there’s enough supply, but if there’s a global shortage we will have to review our pricing structure.” David Pattison, a senior analyst with Plimsoll, said: “A lot of companies have been severely affected by the last 18 months to two years. Increasingly, we are seeing companies making a loss for the first time in their history, and I think they can rightly claim they are victims of difficult trading conditions. Buyers are becoming more shrewd and sharp to make sure they get the most out of their suppliers.” As well as price pressures, the industry has been hit by rising commodity prices, including oil and the materials used in packaging. The fresh-produce market was thought to be relatively immune to the recession because of the growing focus on healthy eating, and because its products are usually out of date within three days. Yesterday Fyffes, the Irish tropical fruit company, reported a 20 per cent rise in costs during the first half of the year. David McCann, the chairman, said: “Fyffes continues to pursue increases in selling prices in all markets in the context of the higher industry costs.” Smaller companies appear to have been most severely affected, but even large suppliers, such as Bakkavör, of Iceland, the UK’s biggest fresh produce supplier, have been affected. Bakkavör returned to profit in the three months to June 30 after more than a year of quarterly losses, following a restructuring programme. The company said that trading conditions in Europe remained “tough” in the short term, although it added that demand for fresh prepared foods continued to grow over the long term. Other well-known companies, such as Del Monte, the fruit distributor, have also suffered, with sales down by 9.2 per cent to £148.2 million at the group’s UK division. Going off? • One in three companies in the analysis by Plimsoll recorded an average fall in sales of 15 per cent • The average gross profit margin of smaller fresh produce companies is 19.6 per cent, almost double the 10 per cent of larger companies • Only few companies have improved their pre-tax profit margin in the past decade. Most have made a loss for at least one year or recorded declining profit for a few years -- Posted By anjos to Business Blog at 9/04/2009 10:54:00 PM [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Pramuka] [Business Blog] 'Business as usual' as Rio Tinto and China suspend iron ore b...
Rio Tinto said yesterday that it was no longer in negotiations with China over multibillion-dollar iron ore contracts, signalling a shift to softer diplomatic relations between the miner and its largest customer. The annual negotiations to settle iron ore prices have become fraught with difficulties this year, not least because of the arrest in China of Rio’s four-strong negotiating team on allegations of industrial espionage and bribery. The arrests prompted speculation that China was trying to intimidate Rio Tinto into agreeing a lower price for its iron ore this year. The world’s second-biggest miner may also be facing a backlash following its decision to reject a $19.5 billion (£12 billion) capital injection by Chinalco, the Chinese state-owned metals group, in a deal that would have been the country’s largest foreign investment. Sam Walsh, the head of Rio Tinto’s iron ore division, admitted yesterday that there were no active price negotiations under way. However, analysts said that behind the scenes it was very much business as usual and the company had quietly secured the pricing structure it wanted all along. The row between Rio Tinto and China comes after six years of price rises for iron ore, the raw material used to make steel. But a collapse in steel demand this year brought about by the economic slowdown has encouraged the Chinese to insist on a much lower price for 2009-10. China’s official iron and steel trade body, CISA, has pushed for a steep discount of between 40 per cent and 50 per cent off last year’s benchmark price. Rio Tinto has held out for a 33 per cent discount, which has already been accepted by Japanese and Korean mills. Formal negotiations with China may have reached an impasse, but Chinese steel mills need supplies to meet a recent surge in demand. As a result, the two sides appear to have reached a private compromise and China’s steel mills are buying supplies from Rio Tinto at a price that is 33 per cent lower than last year’s benchmark — the same price that the miner has agreed with other customers. Rio Tinto has not publicised the deal, which analysts believe is a face-saving gesture towards the Chinese. “Maybe the year ends without an agreement and the Chinese simply pay the same as the Japanese under the banner of a provisional price, then live to negotiate a fresh contract next year,” the chief executive of a small mining company said. The surge in Chinese purchases will lift Rio Tinto’s total iron ore exports to more than 200 million tonnes this year, despite the slump in demand for the raw material experienced during the first quarter. “We are shipping every tonne we can produce and we are producing more than last year,” a Rio Tinto spokesman in Australia said. China’s aggressive buying comes despite the arrest of Stern Hu, the chief iron ore negotiator, and three other employees two months ago. The four Rio Tinto employees were initially accused of stealing state secrets but this has been downgraded to industrial espionage. Chinese state media has alleged that they were gathering information from steel mills to give them a favourable position in the iron ore negotiations. Rio Tinto has denied any wrongdoing. China’s quiet adoption of the Japanese benchmark price has come as spot prices for the metal surged to almost $100 per tonne earlier this summer. -- Posted By anjos to Business Blog at 9/04/2009 11:12:00 PM [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Pramuka] Lowker Guru TK Di Cisaranten Kulon Bandung
VISI INSAN KAMIL Membangun system pendidikan anak bertaraf internasional dengan biaya murah dan berkurikulum islami Mendirikan pusat pengembangan pendidikan anak untuk meningkatkan kualitas guru dan anak Mengembangkan kemampuan orang tua dalam mendidik anak MISI INSAN KAMIL Untuk mencapai visi tersebut, maka Yayasan pendidikan ini membantu guru, orang tua, dan masyarakat dalam mengoptimalisasikan seluruh aspek perkembangan anak. Kami membutuhkan 1 staf Pengajar 30 Jam / Perminggu Tahun Ajaran 2009 -2010 untuk Taman Bermain Insan Kamil ( 3-6 Tahun ) di Bandung Kriteria : Wanita Pendidikan Min. S1 Untuk staf pengajar Kependidikan dan Non kependidikan Memahami Perkembangan Anak Usia Dini berwawasan luas baik ilmu pengetahuan umum ,agama dan perkembangan usia dini Berpengalaman dalam mengajar Anak Usia dini, metode dan teknik pengajaran anak usia dini Menguasai Administrasi ( Ms Office dan Internet ) Mandiri, Memiliki Perencanaan Kerja,dan berjiwa Kepemimpinan Cinta dan memahami dengan dunia anak , energik , komunikatif , kreatif bisa bekerjasama. Mempunyai kecerdasan emosi Berdedikasi terhadap Pendidikan dan Agama Aktif di Organisasi dan Masyarakat Fasih melafalkan Al Qur'an Pembelajar Sejati Taman Bermain Insan Kamil dan Konsultasi Anak Jl Blok sawah Luhur Kav 3 jl.gandasari Cisaranten Kulon - Bandung Kantor Pusat Jl. Kudus No.20 Menteng - Jakarta Pusat Bagi yang berminat menghubungi : Komp. Griya Prima Asri Blok E 18. Jl. Elang No.26 Baleendah Kab. Bandung Ria .022-76870068 Tia .021-23601000 Email : yayasan_insankamil@ yahoo.com Berkas Paling Lambat : Tgl 12 September 2009
[Pramuka] [tanya] sewa truk tni/polisi
salam Pramuka, Kakak-kakak, mo tanya pengalaman kakak sekalian yang pernah menggunakan/ menyewa truk tni/polisi untuk berkemah. bagaimana sebaiknya yang dilakukan kisaran harga. maaf, informasi ini berguna buat saya yang sedang diberi amanah mengadakan kegiatan perkemahan cukup banyak pesertanya. sekitar 100an orang. biasanya saya sewa truk sayur untuk kemah :D terima kasih megi p “We never fail when we try to do our duty, we always fail when we neglect to do it.” Lord Baden Powell Lebih aman saat online. Upgrade ke Internet Explorer 8 baru dan lebih cepat yang dioptimalkan untuk Yahoo! agar Anda merasa lebih aman. Gratis. Dapatkan IE8 di sini! http://downloads.yahoo.com/id/internetexplorer/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
