Trade and Development

A handy way to study various trade patterns is to visit the international trade statistics web site, here. The nice thing about the site is that it will produce maps for you. Just explore and see for yourself. In particular, look at a commodity such as any of the aluminium products (76...) and compare the countries who export these goods with the countries who export and provide the raw materials (2606). Alternatively look at the countries who supply (export) the raw materials for chocolate and the countries who import the beans for processing and making the bars of chocolate.

It's all in a box

The Box is an ambitious and unique year-long project for BBC News to tell the story of international trade and globalisation by tracking a standard shipping container around the world


It began its journey in September 2008 with a consignment of Scotch whisky where it was placed on a container ship at the port of Greenock near Glasgow which was bound for China. Since then it has been to Los Angeles carrying tape measures and is now heading for Brazil with a consignment of household goods.

To track the containers journey and to find out more click this link to the BBC's home to the box.

Credit crunch hits NIC's

Most of the world's toys are made in China.
But in the last seven months, half the country's toymakers have gone out of business.
Last year's toy scandal, when lead paint was found in Chinese made toys sold in the US, was the beginning of the trouble.
Wang Suzhen has seen orders at her factory slip
New safety regulations added to costs, wages were on the rise, and then factory owners noticed that their orders from overseas were beginning to dwindle as customers in America and Europe cut back because they have less money to spend.

A bugs life?

Exotic species of spiders are making their homes in the UK, scientists say.
Researchers believe arachnids arriving in imports of food and plants are now able to survive and spread thanks to the UK's increasingly mild climate.
The new inhabitants include a species of false widow spider and some believe the deadly black widow could be next to invade.