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Ivory Coast targets 50% cocoa production locally within two years
The head of the national regulator announced that Ivory Coast will increase its domestic cocoa production to 50% within two years. This is up from the current 42%, he said. Yves Brahima Kone, the managing director of Ivory Coast’s Coffee and Cocoa Council, said that cocoa processing was essential to boost local industry and support economic growth. Kone, who spoke at the opening of the Abidjan plant in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast's country, said that the Ivory Coast has invested to boost the domestic industry. He said that five plants will be completed and operational in two years. Older facilities will also be upgraded. Kone said that "thanks to our investment and others in progress, our installed grinding capacity is 1,06 million tons which is more than 50% of our total production." The Abidjan Grinding Plant was inaugurated by the regulator on Thursday, in partnership with a Singaporean affiliate of Malaysian chocolate group Guan Chong Berhad. In two years, it will be increased to 110,000 tonnes. The warehouses of the top cocoa producer have a capacity to store 150,000 tons. In two years, the San Pedro plant, located at the port of the southwest part of the country will double its storage capacity to 100,000 tonnes and be able to match Abidjan. Transcao, the grinding company of the regulator, will be able to grind 210,000 tons of cocoa and store 300,000 tonnes of beans in two warehouses. We needed to invest in this sector in order to accelerate the processing of cacao beans in Ivory Coast. Kone stated that this gives others confidence, as they know we are also committed and taking the same risk. (Editing by Ayen deng Bior and Anait Miridzhanian, editing by David Evans).
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Sources say that Kazakhstan's TCO has shipped the first oil from Kazakhstan to Germany via Druzhba.
Two industry sources said that Kazakhstan's Tengizchevroil exported 100,000 metric tonnes of oil to Germany via Russia's Druzhba pipe last month, as it ramped up production. TCO is 50% owned by Chevron, 25% by ExxonMobil, 20% KazMunayGaz, and 5% Lukoil. Tengiz is the largest oilfield in Kazakhstan. The consortium declined comment. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is Kazakhstan's primary oil export channel. It ships around 80% via Russia's Black Sea Terminal. The world's biggest landlocked country, however, is trying to diversify its routes of export. Chevron announced in January that it had started a $48 billion expansion at Tengiz. This is due to the high levels of sulphur and harsh weather conditions. KazMunayGaz reports that the production on the field between January and May was 15.9 millions tons. The Kazakhstani oil exports via the Druzhba pipeline (Friendship), built by the Soviets, will increase this year from 1.5 million to 2,000,000 tons or 40,000 barrels a day. KEBCO is the name given to Kazakhstan's oil that comes via Russia. This distinguishes it from Russia’s Urals blend, which has been sanctioned by Western countries. Mark Potter is responsible for editing and reporting.
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The rupee has its best week for over two years, as the dollar struggles to recover.
The Indian rupee has had its best week in January 2023 as an Iran/Israel ceasefire reduced oil prices, and slashed demand for safe-haven dollars. Worries about the Federal Reserve's independence have also added pressure to the greenback. The rupee rose 1.3% in a week, the best performance it has had in over two years. It closed at 85.4750 per U.S. Dollar on Friday. Crude oil prices fell by more than 11% in the past week, after Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire at the end of a 12-day conflict that included U.S. involvement. The dollar index fell 1.5% for the week, as investors were unnerved at the recent signs of a deterioration in the independence of the U.S. Central Bank. They pushed the greenback to its lowest level in more than three years. "A part of the dollar's decline is due to Washington's inability to predict policy, and this is not likely to change," MUFG said in a recent note. The rupee has risen this week, but continues to trail behind its Asian counterparts due to persistent dollar weakness that is expected over the next 2025. The rupee has not changed much this year, despite currencies such as the Korean won or offshore Chinese yuan being up between 2% to 9%. Analysts and bankers believe that, while rupee underperformance will likely persist, a weaker dollar along with portfolio inflows in the short term should support the currency. In the past few sessions, foreign investors have been buying Indian government bonds. Block trades and Initial Public Offerings have also attracted global interest. Investors will try to gauge future policy rates by focusing on the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Inflation data and remarks from Fed policymakers later on Friday.
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German industry leaders to meet with EU sector chiefs on sector challenges
A source with first-hand knowledge said that Germany will send some top industrial CEOs next week to Brussels to discuss with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen how to maintain the competitiveness of the sector in the face of trade wars, high energy prices and other challenges. Source: The meeting, which will be led by Hendrik Wüst, state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia and include CEOs from Thyssenkrupp Rheinmetall Lanxess Lanxess Lufthansa is expected to attract the CEOs for Thyssenkrupp Lufthansa Rheinmetall, Lanxess Lanxess among others. North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's largest state, is also its industrial heartland. It has been under pressure for years from Asian competitors, bureaucracy, high energy prices and increasing trade barriers. Sources said that the CEOs of E.ON Covestro and Lanxess, as well as Henkel, DHL and Uniper, will attend the July 2 working lunch. Source: The companies that attended the meeting all have their headquarters in North Rhine-Westphalia and employ around 1,5 million people. They also generate around 500 billion euro ($585 billion) in combined sales. Brussels and Washington are seeking to reach a deal ahead of the July 9 deadline, set by U.S. president Donald Trump. If an agreement cannot be reached, U.S. goods could be imported at 50% of their EU equivalents. Politico was the first to report on the meeting. (1 dollar = 0.8544 euro) (Reporting and editing by Christoph Steitz, FriederikeHeine, Ludwig Burger and Sabine Wollrab)
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China bans power banks that are not certified and have been recalled from planes
China's aviation regulator has banned passengers from carrying power bank without Chinese safety certification marks, or those that have been recalled recently by manufacturers due to safety concerns. This move applies to all passengers boarding flights in China. It follows a global series of incidents involving lithium batteries, such as power banks, and planes overheating. A spare power bank could have been the cause of an Air Busan fire that occurred in January. In March, a Hong Kong Airlines flight flying from China to Hong Kong had to land in China because a fire broke out in an overhead luggage compartment. When they are damaged or faulty, lithium batteries found in laptops, mobiles, electronic cigarettes, and power banks may short-circuit, causing extreme heat, smoke, or fire. As passengers bring more battery-powered devices on planes, they are becoming a greater concern for aviation safety. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration recorded three overheating incidents of lithium batteries in planes every two weeks last year, compared with just one a week during 2018. China's Civil Aviation Administration announced on Thursday that power banks must clearly be marked with "3C", short for China Compulsory certification, which authorities require products that may impact health, safety and environmental protection. This month, several leading power banks manufacturers in China such as Anker and Romoss recalled battery products because of safety concerns. China's market regulator revoked and suspended the 3C certification for several battery cell and power bank manufacturers. Airlines around the world have tightened their power bank regulations since the Air Busan incident. Although aviation rules say that power banks are to be kept in cabin luggage, airlines have been banning them on board. Since 2014, China has prohibited passengers from using power banks to charge devices during flights. Southwest Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to require that portable charging devices be visible during flights. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom, Editing by Aiden Lewis
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Tanjug Agency reports that the US has postponed sanctions against Serbian NIS Oil Company for a fourth time.
Tanjug News Agency reported that the United States had postponed its sanctions against NIS, a Russian-owned Serbian Oil Company for a forth time. NIS has secured three waivers so far, with the last expiring later this Friday. NIS, which has a majority ownership by Russia's Gazprom and Gazprom in Pancevo (just outside Belgrade), operates Serbia's sole oil refinery. The plant has a capacity of 4.8 millions tons per year and can meet the majority of Serbia's oil needs. The sanctions could threaten its crude oil supplies. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury placed initial sanctions on Russia's petroleum sector on 10 January, and gave Gazprom a 45-day deadline to sell its NIS holdings. Gazprom transferred to Gazprom a stake in NIS of approximately 5.15% on February 26 in an effort to avoid sanctions. Gazprom owns 11.3% of NIS while Gazprom holds 44.85%. The Serbian Government owns 29.87% of NIS, while the rest is held by small investors. NIS imports 80% of the oil it needs via Janaf, Croatia's pipeline operator. The rest is covered by the crude oil produced in Serbia. (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson, Joe Bavier and Aleksandar Vaovic)
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Transneft reports that oil flow will continue to decline in 2025
Transneft, Russia's oil pipeline monopoly, has seen its oil flow continue to fall this year despite the OPEC+ agreement and technological challenges. This was confirmed by Maxim Grishanin on Friday. He also stated that due to the decline in turnover, the revenues would not reach the level typical of the last 10 years until 2030. Transneft, which operates 67,000-kilometre-long (42,000-mile) oil pipeline network, handles more than 80% of all the oil produced in Russia. Transneft CEO Nikolai Tokarev stated that the company will ship 447 million metric tonnes (around 8,94 million barrels of oil per day) in 2024. This includes 435 million tons from Russia and 12 million ton of oil from Kazakhstan. The total flow was down from 460 millions tons in 2023. Transneft earns most of its revenue from the tariffs it charges on oil and petroleum products shipped through its vast network of pipelines. (Reporting and editing by Jane Merriman, Joe Bavier and Vladimir Soldatkin)
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Heathrow Airport in the UK increases revenue forecast by nearly $5 billion due to a rebound in travel demand
Heathrow Airport in Britain raised its revenue expectations for the year on Friday, following better than expected demand for long-haul flight demand amid a rebounding leisure market. In 2025, the airport, which is Europe's busiest hub, will generate revenues of 4,96 billion pounds (3,61 billion pounds) - a significant increase over previous estimates of 3,57 billion pounds. The easing of inflation and rising living costs has stimulated an increase in travel demand. However, the geopolitical and economical uncertainties in the Middle East as well as the United States continue to make the market challenging for leisure providers. Heathrow has said that it is seeing some signs of slowing on routes with a high business traffic, but attributed it to economic uncertainties rather than geopolitical factors. The airline expects that increased passenger traffic and larger aircraft will lead to more capacity, and new direct routes for the remainder of the year. Heathrow's passenger traffic projection for 2025 is 84.2 million, which is a small improvement on last year's figures. Costs for airports are expected to rise this year due to rising security costs, increased service reductions, and higher contract costs from the national insurance. Heathrow anticipates that adjusted operating costs will rise to 1,63 billion pounds by 2025. This is an increase of 7.2% compared to 2024, and a 17-million-pound increase compared to its December investor report.
US reviews the possibility of rescinding $4 billion in California grants for high-speed rail
The Trump Administration announced on Thursday that it will review the decision to rescind $4 billion in funding for California's High-Speed Rail Project.
The project was approved by voters in 2008 for $10 billion, but costs have increased dramatically and President Donald Trump is a harsh critic of the effort. Under former president Joe Biden, the Transportation Department awarded more than $3 billion to this project.
The initial estimate of the total project cost was $40 billion. However, that number has risen to $89 billion and $128 billion.
California High-Speed Rail Authority has not yet issued a statement.
Federal Railroad Administration announced that it was reviewing the funds for the California Central Valley segment between Merced to Bakersfield at the direction Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
The entire San Francisco-to-Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 for $33 billion, USDOT said, but the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment alone will cost more than the original total, USDOT said.
Duffy stated that taxpayers had been subsidizing the California High-Speed Rail Project for far too long. The project was massively over-budget, and it has been delayed. If not, I'll have to decide whether the money can be used for other infrastructure projects in the United States that deserve it.
USDOT cited a report that the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment alone has a funding gap of at least $6.5 billion.
(source: Reuters)