[asia-apec 1094] Cargill's plans for APEC

[PAN Asia Pacific]

For those of you who think APEC is dead, why are some of the
world's largest corporations so interested in it?

The news clipping below reveals a lot about the APEC process. 
Notice how Cargill's manager says that the Open Food System is
expected to be the central trade issue during the summit.  That
would certainly make Cargill happy; after all, they and their
policy advisors were the ones that actually drew up the plans for
the system in the first place. 

For the full story see the article written by Brewster Kneen and
myself (http://www.poptel.org.uk/panap/laapec.htm)

Best,

Devlin 

APEC SUMMIT PLANS TO TAKE MEASURES FOR FOOD SECURITY

by Rupa Damodaran
(New Straits Times, Tuesday April 27, 1999, p.24)

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in New Zealand in
September this year is expected to seek new measures towards
achieving food security in the region. 

Cargill Holdings (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd cuntr manager James N. Reimer
said the “Open Food System” intitiative is expected to be the
central trade issue during the summit. 

Reimer, whose company is a member of the American Malaysian Chaber
of Commerce, said countries like Malaysia could be a model for the
Asean region. 

“This is especially seen in the agriculture food policy here where
its rice imports have been increased and balanced with the domestic
production,” he said in Petaling Jaya yesterday. 

Malaysia has already liberalised its trade policies and balanced its
increased imports with higher value exports and has also developed
high quality port and transportation infrastructure. 

Achieving food security through balanced trade and domestic
production, he said, had broad benefits for all Apec members.

The Apec Business Advisory Council had called on economic leaders
for action in the food sector to achieve sustainable growth and
development. 

Apec leaders have created a task force on food to study supply,
demand and environmental parameters. 

The countries should implement a food system to achieve the most
efficient, co-operative, reliable, safe and sustainable supply to
the Asia Pacific region. 

Under an Apec open food system, emphasis is placed on infrastructure
that promotes efficient processing of food between and within
countries. 

“There will be an alignment of food prices with world market values
and free trade in food as well as regional co-operation to ensure
technological advances in production and processing reach all
economies. 

Cargill is an international marketer, processor and distributor of
agricultural, food, financial and industrial products in more than
1,000 locations in 65 countries.