The Knowledge to Decide

The ASEAN nations collectively – if considered a nation – would be the seventh largest economy in the world. Their combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is about USD2.4 trillion (as of 2015). ASEAN has a consumer base of more than 600 million, an expanding labor force and a rising Ecommerce industry. There is a growing need to streamline industrial inventories and develop an efficient logistics industry to aid increasingly complex supply chains. Will ASEAN’s logistics industry rise to the challenge? The growing wealth of ASEAN economies With rising costs in China, creeping political turbulence around the world and slower global growth, ASEAN is being seen as a haven of tranquillity by investors. ASEAN’s business sphere is not mature, dominated as it is by small and medium-sized enterprises. But the abundance of natural resources and cost-effective skilled labor has lured many companies to carry out manufacturing processes in this region. For instance, Thailand and Indon

As one of the top five staple foods in the world, bananas might soon become extinct due to an advancing fungal disease known as the Sigatoka complex. Agronomists fear that this disease could wipe out the world’s banana supply in the next 5-10 years. The Sigatoka complex consists of three fungal diseases – black Sigatoka, yellow Sigatoka and eumusae leaf spot. They are lethal as they cripple the immune system and match the metabolism of the host plant. This means that the fungi can replicate enzymes to penetrate the plant’s cell walls, which enable it to feed on other carbohydrates and sugars. The disease is forcing farmers need to step up and make 50 fungicide applications (annually) to their banana crops. Up to 35% of banana production expenditure is for fungicide applications. However, many farmers cannot afford this and end up either growing inferior quality bananas and switching to other crops. How will the possible extinction of bananas impact global food supply?

China is set to open a government-sponsored ‘cloning park’ in early 2016, with a goal to produce 100,000 cloned cattle annually. This is because Chinese farmers are not able to meet market demand for beef cattle. Clones ensure a reliable and regular supply. Interestingly, a report highlights the average calorie intake of a person has increased from 1,863 to 3,074 calories – with a major chunk coming from animal calories. China’s meat demand coincides with a tax recommended by U.K. researchers on meat to deal with rising demand along with health and environmental issues that are synonymous with meat consumption and production. Will cloned meat be able to meet rising market demand? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/china-opts-for-cloned-cow-meat/