Showing 1 - 4 of 4
Developing sustainable logistics infrastructure
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 19/11/2014
» Thailand is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, but low efficiency in its logistics systems contributes to relatively high logistics costs in relation to GDP. This is in part a result of the industrial structure, geographical dispersal of industrial centres, widely spread population centres and logistics infrastructure overfocused on road transport. Successive Thai governments have all taken proactive measures to improve logistics costs in relation to GDP, but ongoing improvement in logistics efficiency is critical for the sustainable development of the economy.
Following the grain chain into Southeast Asia
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 05/11/2014
» Last week I presented a paper at the annual Asia Pacific Food & Fibre Summit in Melbourne, Australia. The conference focused primarily on the challenges of exporting Australian food products to Asia. It was well attended by a wide range of government policymakers and senior executives from some of the world's largest bulk grain handlers.
When work becomes an adventure
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 21/05/2014
» Those of us who have lived and worked in Southeast Asia for any length of time have become used to the volatility and unpredictability of normal life. Maintaining sustainable business operations can also be a challenge.
The palm Oil-Sustainability Trade-Off
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 13/02/2013
» Oil palm is a remarkably efficient crop that provides the majority of the world's vegetable oil and generates valuable revenue for the developing countries where it is grown. Trade value is US$50 billion a year for the commodity that goes into about half the products on supermarket shelves (soap, margarine, ice cream, noodles and chocolate, to name a few), but palm oil has struggled on the road to sustainability. It is even a candidate for some UK power plants as a cheap but unsustainable fossil-fuel alternative.