Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/718140
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 24 AUGUST 2016 11 Business Today www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way Fruit and veg sales reach €12.6 million during fi rst half of 2016 The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables sold through official markets in the first half of this year amounted to 22.4 million kilograms, yielding €12.6 mil- lion. This represented a growth of 9.1 per cent in weight and a 2.0 per cent drop in wholesale value over the corresponding period in 2015, the National Statistics Office said. Fresh vegetable supply went up by 10.2 per cent to 21.2 million kilograms over 2015. Increases were registered in most of the supply of vegetables, mainly eggplant (44.4 per cent), watermelons (25.4 per cent), carrots (20.2 per cent) and vegetable marrows (18.7 per cent). In contrast, the wholesale value of fresh vegetables decreased by 2.0 per cent to €10.6 million. The supply of fresh fruit declined by 7.5 per cent, reflecting drops in almost all fruit under review, with the exception of lemons, oranges, and strawberries, which increased by 43.2, 10.0 and 4.0 per cent respectively. The wholesale value of fresh fruit declined by 1.9 per cent to €2.0 million. Regional statistics The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables supplied by Maltese farmers marked an increase of 9.2 per cent over the corresponding period in 2015. Maltese farmers supplied 20.8 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables or 93.0 per cent of the total supply. The wholesale value of such produce went down by 1.6 per cent, from €11.7 million to €11.5 million. Gozitan farmers contributed 1.6 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables or 7.0 per cent of the total supply. In volume terms, this produce increased by 8.1 per cent, while the wholesale value went down by 5.7 per cent over 2015. January-June 2016 Between January-June 2016, the All Items fresh fruit price index went up by 1.88 points (1.3 per cent) to 141.41 points. The respective volume index went up by 83.74 points (85.1 per cent) to 182.20 points. The All Items fresh vegetables price index declined by 18.75 points (13.5 per cent) to 119.81 points. In contrast, the respective volume index increased by 9.53 points or 10.2 per cent to 102.78 points. VW settles protracted dispute with suppliers Carmaker Volkswagen has re- solved a dispute with two ex- ternal suppliers that had halted production at several plants in Germany, hitting the output of Golf and Passat models. The suppliers, one making seats and the other gearbox parts, had stopped delivering to VW in a contract row. But after more than 20 hours of negotiations that went on through the night, VW said it had settled its differences with CarTrim, which makes seats, and ES Automobilguss, which produces cast iron parts needed to make gearboxes, but gave no further details. The suppliers confirmed an agreement had been reached. The conflict had threatened VW's profitability following last year's diesel emissions test cheating scandal and also risked hurting hundreds of other VW suppliers. The stoppages affected 27,700 staff. The two suppliers at the centre of the row, CarTrim, which makes seats, and ES Automobilguss, which makes cast iron parts used in gearboxes, were demanding compensation from VW because they said they their incomes had been hit when VW cancelled a contract. Car and parts production has already been halted at four plants and was due to be stopped at two others later this week. VW has 10 factories in Germany. However, VW said both companies had agreed to start supplying it again and that the affected factories would gradually resume production. On Monday, VW told the BBC the production stoppage would not affect cars that had already been ordered. Production at Wolfsburg, which makes Golfs, and at Zwickau where Golfs and Passats are made, is due to begin again later this week. Production also stopped at Braunschweig, which makes chassis parts and plastic parts, but should start again next Monday. ÂIn what the company said was an unrelated issue, production was halted at Emden, which makes Passats, last week and will resume today. In some cases, employees were sent home. In others, they went on to short-time working on other jobs within the plants. Pressure had been growing on both sides to resolve the dispute, with Germany's economy ministry warning of the broader impact on jobs. Five hundred companies that supply parts for the Golf were being forced to build up inventories because the carmaker was not buying, according to the German Association of Supply Chain Management, Procurement and Logistics. In addition, VW's customers face delays in the delivery of new cars, which could prompt them to cancel purchase contracts and switch to other brands. Oil prices slump as hopes of OPEC agreement fade Oil prices were down again yes- terday as signs of rising supply outweighed hopes that producing nations will agree steps to support prices. On the ICE Futures exchange, the October contract for global benchmark Brent, was down 0.31% at $49.39 a barrel while U.S. counterpart West Texas Intermediate fell 0.65% to $47.09. According to Olivier Jakob, analyst at the Switzerland-based Petromatrix, the dynamics of the market are being controlled by short selling and short covering, market terms for selling a crude contract and then buying it back later for a lower price. "Whenever the price starts falling, its traders selling and when the price rises like it did last week, it is clearly short covering," he said. Some observers are now also shrugging off the prospect of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reaching a consensus on a production freeze next month, especially with oil prices still over $47 a barrel. However, others have indicated that OPEC doesn't want a repeat of the first two months of 2016— when oil sank to the $30-a-barrel mark—and would be prepared to act if the psychological $40 barrier was breached. Goldman Sachs, in a report, said talk of an output freeze by the OPEC and a weak dollar had helped drive prices up this month but neither was enough to sustain current levels. Oil prices have more than halved from mid-2014 due to a global supply glut. Raising hopes that producers could revive efforts to tackle excess supply, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on 11 August OPEC and non-members will discuss the market next month including any action that may be needed. The International Energy Forum, which groups producers and consumers, is due to meet on 26-28 September in Algiers. A previous attempt by producers to freeze output collapsed in April on tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the refusal of some countries to join. Analysts remain skeptical concrete action will result this time. OPEC members Iraq and Nigeria are looking to boost exports of crude and, while others such as Venezuela support a production freeze, their own output is falling. In July, Iraq's crude exports hit 3.71 million barrels a day and produced around 4.33 million barrels of crude a day, a sharp rise of 80,000 barrels a day from the previous month, the International Energy Agency said.