Trading Chain Research Articles

PERFOMANCE ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE TRADING INSTITUTION OF PASAKBUMI (EURYCOMA LONGIFOLIA JACK) IN KUBU RAYA REGENCY AND PONTIANAK CITY, WEST KALIMANTAN PROVINCE

Pasak bumi (Eurycoma longifolia Jack) is one of the main non forest products actively traded in West Kalimantan. The marketing of pasak bumi presented specific characteristics directly related to the natural environment of pasak bumi. The strong mutual dependency between pasak bumi collectors and traders is central to understanding the marketing of pasak bumi. The main objective of this research is to assess the overall performance of the pasak bumi trading. More specific goals are : (1) to analyze the determining factors of the trading chain, and (2) to analyze the interrelation between marketing characteristics and pasak bumi collectors' and traders' behaviours. The research was carried out in Kubu Raya and Pontianak City,West Kalimantan Province. Primary and secondary data were collected by observation and in-dept interview and analyzed using an institutional analisis development framework. The result showed that institutional pattern of the pasak bumi chain is a typical patron-client system. Low accessibility, asymmetric information, limitation on capital and high value of pasak bumi are all factors directly affecting the marketing institution. Stakeholder that obtained largest margin in trading system and profit margin is trader in the city.

DESIGNING COCOA TRANSPORT NETWORKS USING A SUPPLY CHAIN NETWORK EQUILIBRIUM MODEL WITH THE BEHAVIOUR OF FREIGHT CARRIERS

This paper presents a multi-channelled supply chain network equilibrium (SCNE) model with the behaviour of freight carriers, which is developed to represent the trading chain of cocoa in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The model takes into account the behaviour of local collectors, local traders, exporters, and freight carriers. Utilising this SCNE in the lower level, a combinatorial optimisation is undertaken in the upper level within the framework of mathematical programmes with equilibrium constraints, where a suitable set of transport network improvement actions is selected from a number of possible actions for improving the efficiency of cocoa supply chain network (SCN). The upper level is solved with a modified probability- based discrete binary particle swarm optimisation. Finally, the model is applied to an actual cocoa SCN in Sulawesi for investigating the impact of transport measures to the international trading of cocoa.

Export Performance in Europe: What Do We Know from Supply Links?

One of the most important recent developments in international trade is the increasing interconnectedness of export production through a vertical trading chain network that streches across many countries, with each country specializing in particular stages of a good’s production. Using value added trade statistics, this paper tries to dissect and reshape understanding of European exports: where exports values are created, the role of vertical supply links in export growth, what is contributing to the growth in supply links, and how comparative advantages of countries are affected by supply links over time. Our analysis finds strong role of supply links in cross-country export performance in Europe, where these links between countries grew based on physical proximity, cost differential and similarity in export structure.

Export Performance in Europe: What Do We Know from Supply Links?

One of the most important recent developments in international trade is the increasing interconnectedness of export production through a vertical trading chain network that streches across many countries, with each country specializing in particular stages of a good’s production. Using value added trade statistics, this paper tries to dissect and reshape understanding of European exports: where exports values are created, the role of vertical supply links in export growth, what is contributing to the growth in supply links, and how comparative advantages of countries are affected by supply links over time. Our analysis finds strong role of supply links in cross-country export performance in Europe, where these links between countries grew based on physical proximity, cost differential and similarity in export structure.

Analisis Industri Retail Nasional

Fast moving in retail industry is the latest trading industry in trading chain. The study is to identify the condition of retail industry in Indonesia. This uses normative juridical approach. The research material is gathered by literature or document review. The analysis for modern retail industry is conducted through qualitative, thus explaining law material gathered from library being selected, arranging systematically, and finally getting conclusion figured to answer problems related to the rules for monopoly and dysfunction business competition in retail industry. The study result showed that modern market, which so far having a good performance, will have challenges. One biggest challenge is the potential for slow-moving revenue growth as the effects of slow-moving economic caused by global crisis.

Contributors

Contributors

An ANN Approach to Demand Forecasting in Retail Trade in Bangladesh

For a small retail trading chain, demand forecasting is the main driver to effectiveness and efficiency. However, as large number of varied models and products are marketed through a super market, several attributes affect forecasting. Because of these affecting parameters, nonlinearity arises. As a result, traditional forecasting approaches can not provide good estimation of demand. A fuzzy neural network analysis can provide better solution in this case. This research first analyzed the trend and seasonality patterns of a selected product in a retail trading chain in Bangladesh. Then demand was forecasted using traditional Holt-Winter's model. The same was done again using artificial neural network (ANN) with fuzzy uncertainty. Finally, the errors, measured in terms of MAPE, were compared for finding the best fitting forecasting approach. The research found that the error levels in Holt-Winter's approach are higher than those obtained through fuzzy ANN approach. This is because of influence of several factors on demand function in retail trading system. It was also observed that as forecasting period becomes smaller, the ANN approach provides more accuracy in forecast. An efficient and accurate demand forecasting system can play a major role in minimizing inventory costs of a super market. It must be noted that inventory cost is the single most important element of total cost for a super market. As such minimization of inventory cost should be of prime importance. Thus, an optimum forecast is essential (2). Although the market share of super stores in Europe and the USA is really significant in retail business, it is not the same in a developing country, like Bangladesh. Traditionally, the retail business in Bangladesh is dominated by small independent grocery stores. However, the recent trend in the capital of Bangladesh, the mega city of Dhaka, with a population of 15 million, has changed. Super markets are rapidly gaining market share in retail business. Driven by changing life style, strong growth of middle class group, coupled with favorable demographic pattern, organized large stores concept is expanding very fast. Currently there are 35 large super markets only in the city of Dhaka. Based on recent growth of super markets in Dhaka, it is expected that the overall retail market share of the super markets will increase rapidly in the next few years. As such an efficient inventory management system, coupled with an accurate forecasting system has become essential for such chain markets.

Medicinal plants research in Pakistan.

Out of about 258,650 species of higher plants reported from the world; more than 10% are used to cure ailing communities. Beside many known drugs (e.g.tubocurarine, reserpine, aspirin and morphine etc) are discovered based on traditional knowledge. Majority of the people in Pakistan rely on medicinal plants to find treatment for their minor, even in some cases major diseases. Some wild plants are now being commonly used e.g. Ephedra, Artimisia, St. John’s wort,Hippophae beside some that have been domesticated e.g. Garlic, Ginseng and Cumin etc. There is a local market system (Pansara) specifically dealing with medicinal plants business in Pakistan and several plants are exported. Plants having active constituents are used to treat various ailments in both human and animal. In most instances, certain plant species are considered specific for a particular illness but occasionally they have mixed usage. Women, followed by children, are identified as the principal collectors of medicinal plants. Due to over-collection, several species have gone extinct in the Hindukush-Himalayan regions. Local collectors, vendors, herbal drug dealers and others are the ones who threaten the flora of Pakistan contribute (though unknowingly) to the extinction of some and bringing others to the brink of extinction. Though medicinal plants from wild are important source of income for local communities, but if not properly managed, this may lead to the destruction of habitat and in return extinction of species. There is therefore, a need to find ways to harvest medicinal plants sustainably from the wild, train local collectors (in proper collection techniques, train the people in growing medicinal plants, and remove some of the middlemen from the trading chain. In the present article, an effort was made to review the status of medicinal plants research in Pakistan. Key words: Medicinal plants of Pakistan, research and development, conservational issues, marketing, problems and prospects.

Free amino acid amounts in raw cocoas from different origins

Raw cocoa is the processed and traded form of the cocoa seed. Fresh seeds undergo fermentation and a drying process before they are prepared for transport and shipping. Depending on the local situation in the producer region the seeds are collected from big estates and are fermented and dried in big lots or they originate from small farmer's crop trees. In the subsequent transport and trading chain raw cocoas may be mixed and stored before they finally are sold and brought to the consumer countries. Local or regional variations in cocoa plant material, fermentation procedures and drying processes finally result in a typical traded good with respect to the amino acids, which form an important part of the flavour precursors. These free amino acids and their composition result from the fermentation procedure of fresh seeds. In the course of the fermentation specific cleavage of cocoa storage proteins delivers the amino acid patterns. In this study the variation of free amino acid amount and distribution of 108 commercially fermented and traded cocoa samples and two Theobroma grandiflorum (Willd. ex Spreng.) K. Schum samples were determined. This examination showed clearly, that content and distribution of free amino acids in raw cocoa from different origins vary greatly (5–25 mg g−1 fatfree dry matter), in some cases country and even region-specific differences were apparent. It is important to notice typical, region-specific variations in the amounts and compositions of free amino acids.

The nature and growth of vertical specialization in world trade

Dramatic changes are occurring in the nature of international trade. Production processes increasingly involve a sequential, vertical trading chain stretching across many countries, with each country specializing in particular stages of a good’s production sequence. We document a key aspect of these vertical linkages — the use of imported inputs in producing goods that are exported — which we call vertical specialization. Using input–output tables from 10 OECD and four emerging market countries we calculate that vertical specialization accounts for 21% of these countries’ exports, and grew almost 30% between 1970 and 1990. We also find that growth in vertical specialization accounts for 30% of the growth in these countries’ exports.

The Nature and Growth of Vertical Specialization in World Trade

Dramatic changes are occurring in the nature of international trade. Production processes increasingly involve a sequential, vertical trading chain stretching across many countries, with each country specializing in particular stages of a good's production sequence. We document a key aspect of these vertical linkages-the use of imported inputs in producing goods that are exported -- which we call vertical specialization. Using input-output tables from the OECD and emerging market countries we estimate that vertical specialization accounts for up to 30 percent of world exports, and has grown as much as 40 percent in the last twenty-five years. The key insight about why vertical specialization has grown so much lies with the fact that trade barriers (tariffs and transportation costs) are incurred repeatedly as goods-in-process cross multiple borders. Hence, even small reductions in tariffs and transport costs can lead to extensive vertical specialization, large trade growth, and large gains from trade. We formally illustrate these points by developing an extension of the Dornbusch-Fischer-Samuelson ricardian trade model.

Some Assyrians at Sippar in the Old Babylonian Period

The trade in tin, textiles, and silver between Ashur and its trading colony Kanesh is by now well known from the partly published archives from Kanesh. While the textiles involved were primarily produced in Ashur itself, a small proportion of them were imported from Babylonia, being described in the texts as “Akkadian textiles”. This link in the trading chain is still scarcely documented in the absence of the trading archives which must be presumed to have existed at Ashur, and probably at Sippar. The Babylonians themselves were actively involved in the trade, as is shown by the well-known but still inadequately published letter VAT 9249, referring to the absence of the Akkadians and their textiles from Ashur because of a revolt in their country.From its geographical position the city of Sippar must have occupied a focal position in trading relations between Babylonia and the kingdoms to the north and north-west. It naturally figures in the Old Babylonian itinerary from Larsa to Emar. Some years ago W. F. Leemans summarised the evidence for trading relations between Sippar and Assyria and the Middle Euphrates and for Sippar's involvement in the trade in tin in the reverse direction from Ashur to Babylonia.