Showing 1 - 10 of 19
Migrant workers deserve far better
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 01/02/2021
» Migrant workers contribute significantly to various industries in Southeast Asia, particularly labour-intensive sectors. In Thailand, the seafood supply chain relies on thousands of workers from Myanmar, while Malaysia's rubber glove industry employs workers from Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, and also Myanmar.
Hope for global action on migrants
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 17/12/2018
» It was very welcome news that a landmark accord on migration was endorsed last week at the United Nations migration conference in Marrakech, Morocco. The Global Compact on Migration (GCM) is a pledge by 164 countries to reduce discrimination with the aim of making mass migration safer, more orderly and humane.
Reform on the menu
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 05/06/2017
» Southeast Asia faces challenges of food security and nutrition as population growth and rising affluence increase food demand and competition for resources. Longer-term challenges include changes in consumption patterns, volatile food prices, climate change impact, conversion of agricultural land to industrial uses, and migration of labour from rural to urban areas.
Trade game-changer
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 19/02/2016
» As the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is poised to change the landscape of international trade and more Southeast Asian nations consider joining it, experts are concerned that the world's largest trade pact will divide Asean and overshadow the arrival of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) at the end of this year.
Pacific shift
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 12/02/2016
» Vietnam and Japan have emerged as the biggest potential winners of the newly signed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) while countries such as Thailand could feel the pain from failing to take part in the years-long negotiations of the biggest trade deal in history.
Cash crops a short-term fix, but long-term plan essential
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 25/01/2016
» For the past 30 years, Prasert Thongsiri's daily routine has consisted of walking to his five-rai rubber tree plantation in Songkhla around 1 am and spending the next five hours there tapping latex. He inherited the plantation from his father, who was also a rubber tapper, and has enjoyed a substantial income from it, helping to fund the education of his two children.
Don't bet on a bounce
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 25/01/2016
» The tumbling price of natural rubber has severely hurt growers in Southeast Asia, home to about 80% of the world's production. Despite the latest attempt by the Thai government to help growers, the outlook remains bleak for the commodity, for which prices have been falling for five years amid a supply glut and slowing demand in a weak global economy.
Palm oil revival
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 11/01/2016
» Asean palm oil producers are poised to benefit from a price rebound that could be sustained throughout 2016, as dry conditions linked to El Nino curb palm production while demand surges from fuel producers for palm-based biodiesel.
Asean countries identifying and filling gaps
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 21/12/2015
» With the Asean Economic Community (AEC) about to improve skilled labour mobility and open new job opportunities, the demand for medium- and high-skilled workers is expected to surge, along with competition to attract those talents.
Cyclical softness
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 07/09/2015
» The sharp fall in global oil prices this year has begun to drag down petrochemical prices and spreads as demand slows in China while new capacity continues to arrive on the market, experts say.