Economy, services, commodities and prices-Production at Penlac to resume |24 July 2009
At first the reception at the Le Rocher-based company would only say there was a lack of raw materials. Questions were asked. How come, at a time of foreign exchange abundance, Penlac could not import the raw materials in time, keep production rolling and satisfy the local market?
Management explained this week that the shortcomings were not with Penlac but were the result of a delay in shipping. The ship that was bringing the raw materials broke down, but production at Penlac is expected to be in full swing soon.
Following the flotation of the rupee, after the earlier liberalisation of trade, there is now a range of imported paint products in the country. Prices and quality differ.
Imports are competition for made-in-Seychelles products. They are a wake-up call for our local manufacturers, and there is now little excuse to cease production or run out of stock.
During the time Penlac was hit by a delay in receiving raw materials from overseas, it lost a share of the Seychelles market to importers of overseas products. Penlac will now have to make up for the loss.
One trader was selling imported paint at half the price of similar Penlac products. It must be pointed out that the trader was honest enough to tell a customer that the imported water-based paint was of lower quality than Penlac’s.
Adam Moosa of Francis Rachel Street, Victoria, was selling imported universal undercoat at R390 for a 3.5-litre container. Penlac used to sell universal undercoat at R280 for a 4-litre container. Thus the price per litre of undercoat was R70 at Penlac and R111 at Adam Moosa.
There is no independent comment so far on the quality of the undercoats.
It will be interesting to see if Penlac’s new prices will reflect market competitiveness in the prevailing trading environment.
The rupee continues to appreciate against the United States dollar. Local manufacturers should see the macro-economic reform programme as a motor for factory reorganisation, greater efficiency and competitiveness. At the end of the day the factory owners, workers, customers and the government should all benefit.
STC’s price revision
The Seychelles Trading Company (formerly SMB) is expected to announce its quarterly price revision this weekend.
It will publish prices that will remain fixed for the next three months on a number of basic commodities, including cooking oil, milk powder, infant formula, rice, flour, sugar, fruit and vegetables.
UK: empty shop premises ‘to hit 15%’
About 15% of High Street shops in Britain will be empty by the end of 2009, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has predicted.
This would be more than double the 7% of stores that were vacant at the start of the year.
And the BRC said some areas have already seen up to 40% of shop space empty, amid the slump in consumer confidence.
Big names such as Woolworths have disappeared from the High Street, but overall UK retail sales have not collapsed, as some had feared.
Some High Streets have lost custom to nearby towns and shopping centres, meaning they may “never go back” to being important shopping destinations, the report added.
However, it insisted that the High Street still has a bright future, but needs “nurturing through this difficult period”.
It called on ailing town centres to focus on local character and create attractive, safe environments.
Commodity briefs from around the world
• South Korea leases Philippine land to grow feed maize
• Raw sugar seen breaching 20¢ per pound
• Thai sugar premiums slip as New York futures near three-year high
• Kenyan tea prices move lower with irregular demand
• EU vegetable oils weaken on flagging demand concerns
• Zambia pegged to export maize after harvesting surplus
• China’s monthly wheat imports highest since 2005
• Brazilian maize exports tail off as demand dips
• Bangladesh tenders for wheat as Indian supply is interrupted
Crude oil prices
As at 22/07/09
Nymex Crude Future 64.58 dollars per barrel
Dated Brent Spot 65.28 dollars per barrel