tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232Sun, 31 Jul 2011 03:06:52 +0000commoditiestradingdairyManage your low-tech expansion in the age of high-techhttp://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)Blogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-5867641434346975436Wed, 27 Jul 2011 02:33:00 +00002011-07-26T22:33:25.420-04:00tradingcommoditiesdairyI know I have been absent for quite a while, but it was due to family priorities. I am coming back with a short but acute issue: can Canadian trading houses be competitive on the international scene? The question might seem silly at first glance, but consider the following: European trading houses can have their operational credit at Euribor + 75 points, while in Canada we can be happy to get http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2011/07/competitive-advantages-of-commodities.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-7666663583209885020Fri, 14 May 2010 22:16:00 +00002010-05-14T18:16:41.371-04:00One of my readers made a very sweet comment on the collection article and then asked a very pertinent question: "did you collect?" Well, you're right, what good would all this talk be indeed if the results were not there? So, I would like to proudly announce that the issue has been resolved in a somewhat creative manner and that all the amounts have been recuperated! Victory through intelligence,http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2010/05/results.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-8376724012531088872Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:54:00 +00002010-02-22T18:54:19.268-05:00I thought some of you might be interested in (what has proven to be) a rather efficient approach to dealing with an international trade issue. This is a basic skeleton for a strategic approach to the issue, not purporting to be an exhaustive treatment. Defining Intelligence Needs Before formulating a strategy, intelligence must be gathered. Before gathering intelligence, the intelligence needshttp://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2010/02/short-guide-to-approaching.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-6592973040656733787Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:47:00 +00002010-02-12T12:47:17.653-05:00A small correction for those die-hard Bruce Lee fans: he was not born in Hong Kong but rather in San Francisco. However, he did grow up from his infancy in Hong Kong.http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2010/02/erratum.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-8110501642475541573Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:51:00 +00002010-02-09T17:51:23.126-05:00For those of you who are fans of Chinese Kung-Fu cinema, I must let you know that I have made it (safely but painfully) to Hong Kong, the birthplace of the one and only, Bruce Lee. I believe Bruce Lee really represents the resilience of this people, who have not only survived, but thrived over centuries of colonization and oppression, in a little enclave, surrounded by super-powers. I would thinkhttp://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2010/02/birth-place-of-bruce-lee.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-3272300617480310083Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:48:00 +00002010-02-08T23:21:14.035-05:00So, speaking about financing international trade... it also comes a time when, after financing something and going overboard with confidence, we have to also make sure that the financing comes back. I am talking about clients paying late (or defaulting completely), of course, something that is extremely complex in international transactions that are not expensive enough to start legal proceedingshttp://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2010/02/adventures-in-dairy-trading.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-4393037132645159472Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:26:00 +00002010-02-03T22:26:35.669-05:00So I promised a new piece, but in the mean time life had caught up with me and my noble desires did not materialize; for that I apologize. However, I never default on my word... Operating an international trading house in Canada, especially in Quebec, is not an easy thing to do. SMEs that provide export and import services to local manufacturers and distributors are very important agents of http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2010/02/wishful-thinking_03.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-3048039606199650330Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:53:00 +00002009-10-28T09:53:50.996-04:00Just to give a heads-up, following my comments about the financial aspects of living and doing business in Montreal (and Quebec in general), triggered by the city hall leaders' debate, I will write a short piece on the financing of international trade, a subject that is very dear to politicians, but who don't have a clue on what it really takes. I will contend that two things are really importanthttp://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2009/10/upcoming-subjects.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-1564598070449303595Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:48:00 +00002009-10-28T07:48:32.029-04:00I had some very interesting comments from people reading the blog and I wanted to quickly address them. These comments were mostly regarding the urban sprawl and the migration of families towards the suburbs, taking with them obs, investment funds and creating a whole lot of traffic. None of the candidates except Mr. Bergeron had a realistic view of the problem and Mr. Bergeron had a plan that http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2009/10/leaders-debate-on-montreals-economic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-8778840713554183485Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:02:00 +00002009-10-27T16:02:16.304-04:00The three "community leaders" running for the mayor of Montreal position in the 1st of November 2009 municipal elections in Montreal crossed their wits today, October 27, 2009 in a debate that was causing embarrassment due to the lack of discipline, charisma and substance. The incumbent mayor, Mr. Tremblay, has obviously the most charismatic presence, and he is the one that can sell even the http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2009/10/leaders-debate-on-economic-future-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-7323190720984679118Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:26:00 +00002009-10-22T11:41:03.542-04:00Since I've been working in the dairy commodity trade, I can understand why these "road warriors" can't actually bridge the evolutionary gap: because if you were the missing link in the evolutionary process, you would probably get along with your ancestors as well as your progeny. The trader is like the last existing cowboy, using the six-shooter because it's more reliable than those http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-commodity-traders-really-do-bridge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-6717914517861609879Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:44:00 +00002009-10-21T20:15:30.192-04:00Part of my mandate for Lactopur, Inc. a small but well known Canadian dairy trading house, is to develop a network of representative agents in Africa. Finding a dairy rep requires the following:- a trust worthy person- good work ethics- knowledgeable about the industryIt is possible to fulfill two out of three requirement, but it is difficult to fill all three of them.However, our knowledge of http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2008/11/developing-agent-network-for-dairy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-6102121923724448389Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:38:00 +00002008-11-13T18:38:26.868-05:00http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2008/11/communologi_13.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-4416001212341662867Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:47:00 +00002008-06-26T23:31:33.598-04:00Hello everyone,We are presently in Yichang, in the belly of the Chinese Chicken (central China), where the largest hydroelectric dam in the world has just been built. This engineering feat very much symbolizes the whole of China, of enourmous proportions, clockwork precision but tarnished appearance.From the beginning of the trip so many things have happened, and I will try to give a swift http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2008/06/hello-everyone-we-are-presently-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-3319242155242167106Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:48:00 +00002008-04-17T15:15:39.858-04:00"Le Devoir" had a small but significant article in its April 17th, 2008 issue in the Economy section, about how the increase in food prices worldwide affects China.At the end of the first trimester, food prices in China increased by 21% from the same period last year, reported the Chinese National Statistics Bureau (NSB).The (NSB) representative, Li Xiaochao said that "since last year, food has http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2008/04/international-food-prices-increase.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-5114101766990598649Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:23:00 +00002008-04-16T17:34:49.073-04:00I am quite convinced that most people are wondering: what is the structure of the Chinese government? The "dragon" is large and quite complex, so I tried to simplify it a bit for us, Westerners, and our limited capacity of understanding complex administrative structures.The first flow chart explains the administrative structure of the Chinese government and the different government departments, http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2008/04/chinese-government-structure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-1176548521319491839Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:14:00 +00002008-04-07T15:03:41.798-04:00When speaking bout the size of China, one cannot ignore the newest engineering feat that's being built right now: The Three Gorges Dam. Here are some figures that provide a vision of the sheer size of this project, courtesy of Wikipedia (with all the caveats that come with it). I would like to encourage people who have better or more precise information to contribute to the posts.The total http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2008/04/three-gorges-dam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-7918637103397112720Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:57:00 +00002008-04-07T14:14:30.823-04:00Here are some numbers that will give you an idea of how Big China really is, in every sense of the word (these numbers are taken from Knowledge News, a very interesting publication providing general knowledge to the North Americans who actually care about this kind of stuff):"Big Geographic Numbers 3.7 million – China's total area, in square miles (9.6 million sq km). Only Russia and Canada are http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2008/04/introducing-china-its-big-really-big.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545529001055077232.post-5722678883699346078Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:55:00 +00002008-04-07T13:56:19.143-04:00Stay tuned for a series of articles on China, in preparation of the HEC Montreal MBA Campus Abroad experience...http://intlbizdev.blogspot.com/2008/04/china-series.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Manage Your Expansion)0