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Pork producers fight their way through PED virus outbreak

WATERLOO | A killer swine virus that broke out sometime last spring in Iowa is sending a winter chill through hog markets across the U.S., according to agriculture experts.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea reportedly had cut into the U.S. hog herd by 1 percent between September and December. PED, caused by a porcine coronavirus, results in vomiting and occasionally diarrhea in sows and gilts and severe diarrhea and vomiting in nursing and recently weaned pigs.

It is fatal to the youngest animals, agriculture leaders say.

It would be very devastating on a herd, said Bill Northey, Iowa secretary of agriculture.

It also can leave its mark on hog markets.

It is an impact and, of course, it impacts the market, Northey said. Its big enough that people think it could cut the supply enough that it could have some market impact, too.

The outbreaks effect has been dramatic, said Cody McKinley, public policy director at the Des Moines-based Iowa Pork Producers Association.

People moving in and out of operations spread the oral-fecal disease with contaminated boots or trucks that havent been properly sanitized, McKinley said.

Essentially, were having real concerns as trucks are moving around the state, as producers are going in and out of their buildings, he said. We have to take a second look at what theyre doing and how theyre doing it. You can pick it up as easy as going to the local Caseys and picking up a pizza.

It doesnt take much to spread the disease, McKinley said, noting that Dr. Rodney Butch Baker, senior clinician for swine biosecurity at Iowa State Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine, said a thimbleful of PED can affect the entire U.S. herd.

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Pork producers fight their way through PED virus outbreak

How to install a new page in Word Press – Video


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How to install a new page in Word Press - Video

PRESS RELEASE: FAST Casualwear plans to enter the online shopping business

DGAP-News: FAST Casualwear AG / Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision FAST Casualwear plans to enter the online shopping business

13.01.2014 / 09:36

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FAST Casualwear plans to enter the online shopping business

Hamburg, January 13, 2014 - FAST Casualwear AG, a manufacturer of casual footwear and apparel in China, plans to expand the distribution of its products to popular Chinese online shopping platforms in order to strengthen the sales of its FAST branded products.

For the new online sales of its products under the company-own label FAST, FAST Casualwear has chosen several well-known Chinese online platforms like TAOBAO (www.taobao.com), TMALL (www.tmall.com), JD (www.jd.com), PAIPAI (www.paipai.com) and VIPSHOP (www.vipshop.com) but also AMAZON (www.amazon.com), the biggest online shopping platform worldwide.

FAST has been aggressively developing new sales models and intends to expand its sales activities to different retail channels. By establishing online sales platforms, the company will not only enter a new distribution channel for FAST products to enhance sales for future growth. FAST will also develop an integrated online to offline operations model. Thus, in the future FAST will be able to offer its customers a synchronized online and offline shopping experience. The combined online and offline distribution permits FAST to achieve an integrated sales promotion and to organize interactive events, thereby creating an organised multi-dimensional online shopping model.

To support FAST's online marketing business activities and to accelerate the further development of its online sales, the company intends to authorise a renowned e-commerce operator to benefit from its extensive online marketing experience, e-commerce business network, its large customer base and competent management team.

'With a compound annual growth rate over 30 per cent, online shopping sales have significantly increased in China during the past few years. FAST wants to take advantage of the opportunity arising from the rapidly growing number of online consumers. We expect to enhance our brand and product awareness by being present in online shopping platforms. And we hope the FAST brand will rapidly achieve nationwide market coverage', says Wing Chi Chong, CEO of FAST Casualwear.

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PRESS RELEASE: FAST Casualwear plans to enter the online shopping business

PRESS RELEASE: Haikui Seafood signs land use agreement for new production facility

PRESS RELEASE: Haikui Seafood signs land use agreement for new production facility

DGAP-News: Haikui Seafood AG / Key word(s): Contract Haikui Seafood signs land use agreement for new production facility

13.01.2014 / 08:31

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Haikui Seafood signs land use agreement for new production facility

Frankfurt am Main, January 13, 2014. The Chinese subsidiary of Haikui Seafood AG has successfully signed an agreement regarding the acquisition of land use rights with the local authorities in Dongshan, paving the way for the construction of its new production site. The acquired land is located in the Dongshan Marine Biotechnology Industrial Park, Dongshan Island, Fujian Province, and has a total size of 1,000 mu (approximately 667,000 square metres). Total land costs amount to 110.0 million Renminbi (around 13.2 million Euros), of which Haikui Seafood has paid 70 per cent (77.0 million Renminbi or 9.2 million Euros) upon signing of the land use agreement. The remaining 30 per cent (33.0 million Renminbi or 4.0 million Euros) are due by the end of June 2014.

'The construction of the new processing facility in Dongshan is an important step in our mid- to long-term strategy. With the new facility we intend to double our existing processing capacity. Through greater efficiency and higher productivity, the new factory is expected to improve our competitiveness and our margins. The new factory will also enable us to conduct the business of extracting compounds from marine processing by-products, which would also boost our overall profitability', says Chen Zhenkui, CEO of Haikui Seafood.

After the initial site preparation, the company intends to start Phase 1 of the site construction around April 2014, so that it could go into operation by the end of 2015.

The estimated total investment amount for the new seafood-processing factory is approximately 550.0 million Renminbi (approximately 66.0 million Euros). Recently, Haikui Seafood secured a long-term loan from the German development finance institution DEG (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft), a subsidiary of KfW (Kreditanstalt fr Wiederaufbau), amounting to 25 million US dollar, which will contribute to the financing of the new factory. As a precondition for the granting of the loan, DEG performed an extensive audit on economic, environmental and social aspects of Haikui Seafood's operations. Apart from aligning Haikui Seafood's financing structure with its asset structure, the loan offers attractive financing costs: The annual interest rate is the applicable 6-month US dollar LIBOR plus 4 per cent - currently adding up to 4.34 per cent. The loan has a maturity of seven years. According to the loan repayment schedule, the first of ten equal semi-annual instalment repayments is due on March 15, 2016.

About Haikui Seafood AG

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PRESS RELEASE: Haikui Seafood signs land use agreement for new production facility

PRESS RELEASE: Continental AG: Continental Posts Further Growth in 2013 and Exceeds Target for Adjusted EBIT

PRESS RELEASE: Continental AG: Continental Posts Further Growth in 2013 and Exceeds Target for Adjusted EBIT

DGAP-News: Continental AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous Continental AG: Continental Posts Further Growth in 2013 and Exceeds Target for Adjusted EBIT

13.01.2014 / 08:33

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Continental Posts Further Growth in 2013 and Exceeds Target for Adjusted EBIT

- International Automotive supplier publishes provisional key figures for fiscal 2013

- Sales climb to around EUR33.3 billion despite substantial negative exchange rate effects

- Outlook for 2014: Sales increase of around 5% targeted

Hanover, January 13, 2014. With an adjusted EBIT margin of 11.2%, the Continental Corporation significantly exceeded its target for fiscal 2013. Sales of the international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer, and industry partner increased slightly year-on-year to approximately EUR33.3 billion in 2013.

'Our strong commitment has paid off: We were able to more than offset the economic limitations in Southern Europe and some emerging markets. Our success was achieved in spite of considerable negative exchange rate effects due to the strong euro, which amounted to over EUR700 million. The adjusted EBIT of EUR3.7 billion represents an extremely strong performance by the whole Continental team. In 2013 we therefore achieved an impressive continuation of the successful path we have been pursuing for years,' said Continental's CEO Dr. Elmar Degenhart at the announcement of the provisional key figures on Monday during the Auto Show in Detroit, U.S.A.

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PRESS RELEASE: Continental AG: Continental Posts Further Growth in 2013 and Exceeds Target for Adjusted EBIT